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April 2 Daily Devotional

Thine Is My Heart: Devotional Readings from the Writings of John Calvin

John Calvin (compiled by John H. Kromminga)

Bible Reading

MAY 1 Bible Text: It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: —II Timothy 2:11 Devotional: While we live in this world, our life is hidden, even as the life of trees is hidden in winter. Behold, trees are dry, we see no strength in them, a man would think it were but dead wood; but yet their strength shows itself in the springtime. Even so it is with the faithful. For while they are in this world, their life is shut up in hope. Now that which we hope for is not seen, the eye of man cannot attain unto it. It follows, then, that in dying we must live; not only with one kind of death, but we must die daily, we must decay, as touching the outward man; as he says, sickness, poverty, shame, and such things, serve us to renounce this world and feel that our life is but a shadow, that it is nothing, yes, and that we receive so many messages of death when things do not go as we would have them. And therefore let us note well that Paul meant here not simply that we must die once, and then live; but while we live that we are daily buried as it were; that we see death present as it were; that we are like sheep that have the knife at their throats. For it is not enough for us to die so, but we must follow the standard of the Son of God and look to his resurrection, which is sufficient to make the bitterness of death sweet to us. - —Sermons MAY 2 Bible Text: Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that cloth speak: behold, it is I. —Isaiah 52:6 Devotional: We ought carefully to observe the word "know"; for to "know the name of the Lord" is to lay aside every false opin- ion, and to know him from his word, which is his true image, and next from his works. We must not imagine God according to the fancy of men, but must comprehend him as he declares himself to us. The Lord, therefore, concludes that he will actually assist them, and will fulfill all that he has promised, that the people may know that their hope has not been without foundation, and that they may be more and more confirmed in the knowledge of his name. We must keep in remembrance that experiential knowledge confirms the truth of the word. —-Commentaries MAY 3 Bible Text: I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. —Luke 11:8 Devotional: In our supplications, let us have a real and permanent sense of our need, and seriously considering our necessity of all that we ask, let us join with the petitions themselves a serious and ardent desire of obtaining them. For multitudes carelessly recite a form of prayer, as though they were dis- charging a task imposed on them by God; and though they confess that this is a remedy necessary for their calamities, since it would be certain destruction to be destitute of the Divine aid which they implore, yet that they perform this duty merely in compliance with custom, is evident horn the cold- ness of their hearts, and their inattention to the nature of their petitions. They are led to this by some general and confused sense of their necessity, which nevertheless does not excite them to implore a relief for their great need as a case of present urgency. Now what can we imagine more odious to God than this hypocrisy, when any man prays for the pardon of sins, who at the same time thinks he is not a sinner, or at least does not think that he is a sinner? What open mockery of God himself! But such depravity pervades the whole human race, that as a matter of form they frequently implore God for many things which they either expect to receive from some other source independent of his goodness, or imagine themselves already to possess. The crime of some others appears to be smaller, but yet too great to be tolerated; who, having only imbibed this principle, that God must be appeased by devotions, mutter over their prayers without meditation. But believers ought to be exceedingly cautious never to enter into the presence of God to present any petition without being inflamed with a fervent affection of soul, and feeling an ardent desire to obtain it from him. Moreover, although in those things which we request only for the Divine glory, we do not at the first glance appear to regard our own necessity, yet it is our duty to pray for them with equal fervor and vehemence of desire. As when we pray that his name may be hallowed, or sanctified, we ought (so to speak) ardently to hunger and thirst for that sanctification. —Institutes, III, xx, vi MAY 4 Bible Text: Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. —Isaiah 42:20 Devotional: "Seeing many things." The Prophet himself explains what is the nature of this blindness of which he spoke, and shows that it is double; and this shows clearly that he spoke of the Jews, who by wicked contempt had quenched God's light. Our guilt will be double when we shall come to the judgment- seat of God, if we shut our eyes when he exhibits the light, and shut our ears when he teaches by his word. The heathen nations will be indeed without excuse; but the Jews, and others to whom the Lord revealed himself in 'so many ways, will deserve double condemnation for having refused to see or hear God. We, therefore, who have so many and so illustrious examples set before us at the present day, ought to dread this judgment; for in many persons there will now be found not less blindness and obduracy than formerly existed among the Jews, and not more excusable. - —Commentaries MAY 5 Bible Text: Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. —I Timothy 1:2 Devotional: Let this be well understood, that when God receives us into his love, there is nothing that moves him to this but our wretchedness and miserable state; yes, the mercy of God, in that he pities us and has compassion on us, shows that there is on our part a wretchedness and misery to be pitied, so that the one answers to the other. Note well, then, do we want him to love us? Then we must begin at this end, namely with a feeling that we are wretched creatures, that we are castaways and damned. Whoever they would be that would hope for salvation, and have no taste or feeling of their wretchedness, are like a man who would try to leap above the clouds. Let us learn, let us learn the way to come to this grace of God, which is no other than this, that we shall stand aghast at our wretchedness and be ashamed and cast down within ourselves, because there is nothing in us but naughtiness and wicked- ness. And then let us flee to that infinite mercy and pity wherewith God is moved to love us. - —Sermons MAY 6 Bible Text: And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. —Revelation 14:13 Devotional: But what advantage, you will say, is it to me to have had a son of so much promise, since he has been torn away from me in the first Bower of his youth? As if, indeed, Christ had not merited, by his death, the supreme dominion over the living and the dead! And if we belong to him (as we ought) why may he not exercise over us the power of life and of death? However brief, therefore, either in your opinion or in mine, the life of your son may have been, it ought to satisfy us that he has finished the course which the Lord has marked out for him. Moreover, we may not reckon him to have perished in the flower of his age who had grown ripe in the sight of the Lord. For I consider all to have arrived at maturity who are sum- moned away by death; unless, perhaps, one would contend with him, as if he can snatch away anyone before his time. This, indeed, holds true of everyone; but in regard to Louis, it is yet more certain on another and peculiar ground. For he had arrived at that age when, by true evidences; he- could prove himself a member of the body of Christ: having put forth this fruit, he was taken from us and transplanted. Yes, instead of this transient and vanishing shadow of life, he has regained the real immortality of being. Nor can you consider yourself to have lost him, whom you will recover in the blessed resurrection in the kingdom of God. For they had both so lived and so died, that I cannot doubt but they are now with the Lord; let us, therefore, press for- ward toward this goal which they have reached. There can be no doubt but that Christ will hind together both them and us in the same inseparable society, in that incomparable participation of his own glory. Beware, therefore, that you do not lament your son as lost, whom you acknowledge to be preserved by the Lord, that he may remain yours for ever who, at the pleasure of his own will, lent him to you only for a season. Nor will you derive small consolation from this consideration, if you only weigh carefully what is left to you. Charles sur- vives to you, of whom we all entertain this sentiment, that there is not one of us who does not desire that he might have such a son. Do not suppose that these expressions are only intended for your hearing, or that there is exaggeration here, in order to bespeak your favor. This is no more my habit than it is my disposition. —Correspondence MAY 7 Bible Text: He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. —Ephesians 4:10 Devotional: Though Christ began to make a more illustrious display of his glory and power at his resurrection, having now laid aside the abject and ignoble condition of this mortal life, and the shame of the cross, yet his ascension into heaven was the real commencement of his reign. This the apostle shows, when he informs us that he "ascended that he might fill all things." Here, in an apparent contradiction, he suggests to us that there is a beautiful harmony, because Christ departed from us, that his departure might be more useful to us than that presence, which, during his continuance on earth, confined itself within the humble mansion of his body .... The Lord declared to his disciples, "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you." Now, he proposes a consolation for his bodily absence, that he "will not leave them comfortless, or orphans, but will come again to them," in a manner invisible, indeed, but more desirable: because they were then taught by a more certain experience that the authority which he enjoys, and the power which he exercises, is sufficient for the faithful, not only to procure them a blessed life, but to insure them a happy death. ... Being received up into heaven, therefore, he removed his bodily presence from our view; not that he might no longer be present with the faithful who were still in a state of pilgrimage on earth, but that he might govern both heaven and earth by a more efficacious energy. Moreover, his promise, that he would be with us till the end of the world, he has per- formed by his ascension; by which, as his body was elevated above all heavens, so his power and energy have been diffused and extended beyond all the limits of heaven and earth. -Institutes, II, xvi, xiv MAY 8 Bible Text: And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure. —Isaiah 33:6 Devotional: "The fear of Jehovah is his treasure." This is a very re- markable passage; and it teaches us that our ingratitude shuts the door against God's blessings, when we disregard the Author of them, and sink into gross and earthly desires; and that all the benefits which we can desire or imagine, even though we actually obtained them, would be of no avail for our salvation if they were not seasoned with the salt of faith and knowledge. Hence it follows that the Church is not in a healthy condition unless when all its privileges have been preceded by the light of the knowledge of God, and that it flourishes only when all the gifts which God has bestowed upon it are ascribed to him as their Author. But when the knowledge of God has been taken away, and when just views of God have been extinguished or buried, any kind of prosperity is worse than all calamities. - —Commentaries MAY 9 Bible Text: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. —Psalm 110:1 Devotional: So, in another place, when, speaking in the name of God, he says, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool," he apprises us that though numerous and powerful enemies conspire to assault the Church, yet they are not strong enough to prevail against that immutable decree of God, by which he has constituted his Son an eternal King. Whence it follows that it is impossible for the devil, with all the assistance of the world, ever to destroy the Church, which is founded on the eternal throne of Christ. Now with respect to its particular use to each individual, this same eternity ought to encourage our hope of a blessed immortality; for we see that whatever is terrestrial and worldly is temporary and perishable. Therefore, to raise our hope towards heaven, Christ declares that his "kingdom is not of this world." In a word, whenever we hear that the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, excited by this declaration, we ought to penetrate to the hope of a better life, and as we are now protected by the power of Christ, let us expect the full benefit of his grace in the world to come. - Institutes, II, xv, iii MAY10 Bible Text: Therefore being justifed by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: —Romans 5:1 Devotional: The principal hinge on which faith turns is this - that we must not consider the promises of mercy, which the Lord offers, as true only to others, and not to ourselves; but rather make them our own, by embracing them in our hearts. Hence arises that confidence, which the same apostle in another place calls "peace"; unless anyone would rather make peace the effect of confidence. It is a security, which makes the conscience calm and serene before the Divine tribunal, and without which it must necessarily be harassed and torn almost asunder with tumultuous trepidation, unless it happens to slumber for a moment in an oblivion of God and itself. And indeed it is but for a moment; for it does not long enjoy that wretched oblivion, but is most dreadfully wounded by the remembrance, which is constantly recurring, of the Divine judgment. In short, no man is truly a believer unless he be firmly persuaded that God is a propitious and benevolent Father to him, and promise himself every thing from his goodness; unless he depend on the promises of the Divine benevolence to him, and feel an undoubted expectation of salvation. —Institutes, III, ii, xvi MAY 11 Bible Text: Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. —Malachi 3:8 But we know that other sacrifices are now prescribed to us; and after prayer and praises he bids us to relieve the poor and needy. God, then, no doubt, is deprived by us of his right, when we are unkind to the poor and refuse them aid in their necessity. We indeed wrong men, and are cruel; but our crime is still more heinous, inasmuch as we are unfaithful stewards; for God deals more liberally with us than with others, for this end—that some portion of our abundance may come to the poor; and as he consecrates to their use what we abound in, we become guilty of sacrilege whenever we give not to our brethren what God commands us; for we know that he engages to repay, according to what is said in Proverbs 19: 17, "He who gives to the poor lends to God." —Commentaries MAY 12 Bible Text: There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. —Job 34:22 Devotional: So then let us know that it is greatly for our profit that God today sends us his Word to enlighten us, that we may con- sider our sins. Though we have not thought of them for a while, we are reminded of them, so that we may put into practice what Saint Paul urges, namely to humble ourselves, to be ashamed before God, and to condemn ourselves by recognizing the wickedness which is so deeply rooted in us. See, I say, how God works our salvation, by making us feel such a power and effectiveness in his Word that we endeavor to examine our whole life thoroughly, to the end that we may be displeased with ourselves. But those who are stubborn and despise God, and come like deranged men to fight against him, and cannot endure any warning; he must send them, as unreasonable people, to the day of which Elihu speaks here, where there shall be no dark- ness or cover so thick, but it shall be laid wide open, in the sight of all creatures. They cannot now endure that God should make them ashamed, that their sins might be buried forever. Nevertheless, in spite of their defiance, angels and devils and men must know their wickedness, and they must be shamed everywhere by this light which discloses all secrets. Thus you see how we ought to apply this. text to our instruction. For surely our Lord's threatening of men with the great day is in order that they should prepare for it; and so the remedy is ready for us. God does not delay to indict us until we appear before him; but executes his jurisdiction daily by the Gospel; as our Lord Jesus Christ says, that when the Holy Spirit comes, he shall judge the world. Therefore, when the Gospel is preached, God exercises a sovereign jurisdiction, not upon men's bodies, as they are today, but upon their souls; and he wills that we should be condemned thereby to our own welfare. And therefore, seeing that God warns us so much and so often that we must in the end come to the great light, let us not persist in shutting our eyes, nor wilfully be blind when he sends us his Word to disclose our filthiness and to show us that we cannot hide ourselves from his sight. So let us profit by the means that are given us today. But if we wish to play the wild beasts and always seek foxholes, yet in the end we shall feel that it is not said in vain that there is no darkness before God. For he will make us to behold those things in his countenance and glorious majesty which we re- fused to see here in the mirror of his Word. —Sermons MAY 13 Bible Text: Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: —Psalm 49:1 Devotional: As God's providence of the world is not presently apparent, we must exercise patience, and rise superior to the suggestions of carnal sense in anticipation of the favorable issue. That it is our duty to maintain a resolute struggle with our afflic- tion'S, however severe these may be, and that it were foolish to place happiness in the enjoyment of such Heeting posses- sions as the riches, honors, or pleasures of this world, may be precepts which even the heathen philosophers have enforced, but they have uniformly failed in setting before us the true source of consolation. However admirably they discourse of a happy life, they confine themselves entirely to commendations upon virtue, and do not bring prominently forward to our view that God, who governs the world, and to whom alone we can repair with confidence in the most desperate circumstances. But slender comfort can be derived upon this subject from the teaching of philosophy. If, therefore, the Holy Ghost in this psalm introduces to our notice truths which are sufficiently familiar to experience, it is that he may raise our minds from them to the higher truth of the Divine government of the world, assuring us of the fact that God sits supreme even when the wicked are triumphing most in their success, or when the righteous are trampled under the foot of disgrace, and that a day is coming when he will dash the cup of pleasure out of the hands of his enemies, and rejoice the hearts of his friends, by delivering them out of their severest distresses. This is the only consideration which can impart solid comfort under our afflitions. Formidable and terrible in themselves, they would overwhelm our souls, did not the Lord lift upon us the light of his countenance. Were we not assured that he watches over our safety, we could find no remedy from our evils, and no quarter to which we might resort under them. - —Commentaries MAY 14 Bible Text: Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. —John 12:13 Devotional: We ought to derive from this a profitable admonition; for if we are members of the Church, the Lord calls upon us to cherish the same desire which he wished believers to cherish under the Law; that is, that we should wish with our whole heart that the kingdom of Christ should flourish and prosper; and not only so, but that we should demonstrate this by our prayers. In order to give us greater courage in prayer,' we ought to observe that he prescribes to us these words. Woe then to our slothfulness, if we extinguish by our coldness or quench by in- difference that ardor which God excites. Yet let us know that the prayers which we offer by the direction and authority of God will not be in vain. Provided that we be not indolent or grow weary in praying, he will be a faithful guardian of his kingdom, to defend it by his invincible power and protection. True, indeed, though we remain drowsy and inactive, the majesty of his kingdom will be firm and sure; but when—as is frequently the case—it is less prosperous than it ought to be at the present day, fearfully scattered and wasted, this unquestionably arises through our fault. And when but a small restoration, or almost none, is to be seen, or when at least it advances slowly, let us ascribe it to our indifference. We daily ask from God that his kingdom may come, but scarcely one man in a hundred earnestly desires it. Justly, therefore, we are deprived of the blessing of God, which we are weary of asking. —Commentaries MAY 15 Bible Text: Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, 0 Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; —Psalm 94:12 Devotional: You know, Madame, how we should turn to our prefit both the chastisements we receive from the hand of our merciful Father and the succor which he sends in time of need. It is certain that all diseases ought not only to humble us in setting before our eyes our frailty, but also cause us to look into ourselves, that having recognized our own poverty we may place all our trust in his mercy. They should, moreover, serve us for medicine to purge us from worldly affections, and retrench what is superfluous in us, and since they are to us- the messen- gers of death, we ought to learn to have one foot raised to take our departure when it shall please God. Nevertheless, he lets us taste of his bounty as often as he delivers us from them, just as it has been a most salutary thing for you, Madame, to have known the danger in which you were and from which he has delivered you. It remains for you to conclude with Saint Paul that when we have been delivered from marty deaths by his hand, he will also withdraw us from them in time to come. And thus take courage, so much the more to give yourself up to his service, as you do well to con- sider that it is to that end he has reserved you. —Letter to Madame De Coligny MAY 16 Bible Text: A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, 0 priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? —Malachi I:6 Devotional: It was God's complaint that he was deprived of his own right and in a double sense, for the Jews did not reverence him as their Father, nor fear him as their Lord. He might indeed have called himself Lord and Father by the right of creation; but he preferred to appeal to their adoption; for it was a re- markable favor when the Lord chose some out of all the human race; and we cannot say that the cause of this was to be found in men. Whom then he designs to choose, he binds to himself by a holier bond. But if they disappoint him, their falseness is wholly inexcusable. This doctrine is not less useful to us at this day than it was to the Jews; for though the adoption is not exactly the same, as it then belonged to one seed and to one family, yet we are not superior to others through our own worthiness, but because God has gratuitously chosen us as a people to himself. Since this has been the case, we are his; for he has redeemed us by the blood of his own Son, and by rendering us partakers, by the gospel, of a favor so ineffably great, he has made us his sons and his servants. Except then we love and reverence him as our Father, and except we fear him as our Lord, there is found in us at this day an ingratitude no less base than in that ancient people. - —Commentaries MAY 17 Bible Text: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, —Ephesians 1:13 Devotional: Paul asserts that the Ephesians were "sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." This shows that there is an eternal teacher, by whose agency the promise of our salvation, which other- wise would only strike the air, penetrates into our minds. Sim- ilar also is his remark, that the Thessalonians were "chosen by God through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of truth." By this connection he briefly suggests that faith itself pro- ceeds only from the Spirit. John expresses this in plainer terms: "We know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us." Again, "Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." Therefore Christ promised to send to his disciples "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive," that they might be capable of attaining heavenly wisdom. He ascribes to him the peculiar office of suggesting to their minds all the oral instructions which he had given them. For in vain would the light present itself to the blind, unless the Spirit of understanding would open their mental eyes; so that he may be justly called the key with which the treasures of the kingdom are unlocked to us; and his illumination constitutes our mental eyes to behold them. It is therefore that Paul so highly commends the ministry of the Spirit; because the instructions of preachers would produce no benefit, did not Christ himself, the internal teacher, by his Spirit, draw to him those who were given him by the Father. Therefore, as we have stated, that complete salvation is found in the person of Christ, so, to make us partakers of it, he "bap- tizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire," enlightening us unto the faith of his Gospel, regenerating us so that we become new creatures, and purging us from profane impurities, consecrates us as holy temples to God. —Institutes, III, i, iv MAY 18 Bible Text: It may be the Lord thy God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. —Isaiah 37:4 Devotional: "Thou wilt therefore lift up a prayer." This is the second reason why Hezekiah sent messengers to Isaiah; namely, that he also would pray along with others. Hence we learn that it is the duty of a prophet, not only to com Fer t the afHicted by the word of the Lord, but also to offer his 'prayers for their salvation. Let not pastors and ministers of the word, therefore, think that they have fully discharged their duty, when they have exhorted and taught, if they do not also add prayer. This indeed is what all ought to do; but Hezekiah sent to Isaiah in a particular manner, because he ought to lead the way to others by his example. Besides, "to lift up a prayer" is nothing else than "to pray," but the mode of expression deserves attention; for it shows how our feelings ought to be regulated when we pray. Scripture everywhere enjoins us to "lift up our hearts to heaven," for otherwise we would have no fear of God. Moreover, our stupidity is so great that we are immediately seized by gross imaginations of God; so that if he did not bid us look to heaven, we would choose rather to seek him at our feet. "To lift up a prayer," therefore, is to pray in such a manner that our hearts may not grovel on the earth, or think anything earthly or gross about God, but may ascribe to him what is suitable to his majesty, and that our warm and earnest affections may take a lofty flight. In this sense it is said in the Psalm, "Let my prayer come up before thee as incense, and as the evening sacrifice" (Psalm 141: 2). —Commentaries MAY 19 Bible Text: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? —Acts 2:37 Devotional: This is the beginning of repentance, this is the entrance unto godliness, to be sorry for our sins, and to be wounded with the feeling of our miseries. For so long as men are care- less, they cannot take such heed to doctrine as they ought. And for this cause the word of God is compared to a sword, be- cause it fortifies the flesh, that we may be offered to God for a sacrifice. But there must be added to this pricking in heart readiness to obey. Cain and Judas were pricked in heart, but despair kept them back from submitting themselves unto God. For the mind oppressed with horror can do nothing else but Bee from God. Therefore we must take a good heart to us, and lift up our mind with this hope of salvation, that we may be ready to addict and give ourselves unto God, and to follow whatever he shall command. - —Commentaries MAY 20 Bible Text: And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. —Psalm 130:8 Devotional: Let us learn from this passage in what way we are to expect deliverance from all calamities, or the order which it becomes us to observe seeking it. Remission of sins always goes first, without which nothing will come to a favorable issue. Those who only desire to shake off the punishment are like silly in- valids, who are careless about the disease itself with which they are affiicted, provided the symptoms which occasion them trouble for a time are removed. In order, then, that God may deliver us from our miseries, we must chiefly endeavor to be brought to a state of favor with him by obtaining the rernis- sion of our sins. If this is not obtained, it will avail us little to have the temporal punishment remitted; for that often happens even to the reprobates themselves. This is true and substantial deliverance, when God, by blotting out our sins, shows himself merciful towards us. Whence also we gather that having once obtained forgiveness, we have no reason to be afraid of our being excluded from free access to, and from enjoying the ready exercise of, the loving-kindness and mercy of God; for to redeem from iniquity is equivalent to moderating punish- ments or chastisements. - —Commentaries MAY 21 Bible Text: And the servant of the Lord must not strive; hut he gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient. —II Timothy 2:24 . Devotional: The servant of God must not strive, but be gentle and patient and fit to teach. Here we will conclude that they who give themselves to vain questions show plainly that they have no desire nor zeal to serve God. For though a man be never so wise, yet notwithstanding we must count him as a des- perate devil if we see he does not have this affection in him, to serve God, if he have not this end and mark before him, to honor God. And surely it is not without cause that it was said in an old proverb that learning in a man that does not rule himself aright is like a sword in a madman's hand. This is Saint Paul's meaning, to point out all them that are given to contention, to the end that we may detest them, and abhor them, as men that seek not in any way to serve God. And why? For these are things that can no more agree to- gether than fire and water, to serve God and to love contentions and disputations, which breed nothing but strife and debate. —-Sermons MAY 22 Bible Text: Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. —Isaiah 49:15 Devotional: "Shall a woman forget her child?" In order to correct that distrust, he adds to the remonstrance an exhortation full of the sweetest consolation. By an appropriate comparison he shows how strong is his anxiety about his people, comparing himself to a mother, whose love toward her offspring is so strong and ardent as to leave far behind a father's love. Thus he did not satisfy himself with proposing the example of a father (which on other occasions he very frequently employs), but in order to express his very strong affection, he chose to liken himself to a mother, and calls them not merely "children" but the fruit of the womb, towards which there is usually a warmer affection. What amazing affection does a mother feel toward her offspring, which she cherishes in her bosom, suckles on her breast, and watches over with tender care, so that she passes sleepless nights, wears herself out by continual anxiety, and forgets herself! And this carefulness is manifested, not only among men, but even among savage beasts, which, though they are by nature cruel, yet in this respect are gentle. "Even if they shall forget." Since it does sometimes happen that mothers degenerate into such monsters as to exceed in cruelty the wild beasts and forget "the fruit of their womb," the Lord next declares that, even though this should happen, still he will never forget his people. The affection which he bears toward us is far stronger and warmer than the love of all mothers. We ought also to bear in mind the saying of Christ, "If ye, being evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more your heavenly Father?" (Matt. 7:11). Men, though by nature depraved and addicted to self-love, are anxious about their children. What shall God do, who is goodness itself? Will it be possible for him to lay aside a father's love? Certainly not. Although therefore it should happen that mothers (which is a monstrous thing) should for- sake their own offspring, yet God, whose love toward his people is constant and unremitting, will never forsake them. In a word, the Prophet here describes to us the inconceivable carefulness with which God unceasingly watches over our salvation, that we may be fully convinced that he will never forsake us, though we may be afflicted with great and numerous calamities. —Commentaries MAY 23 Bible Text: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in. due season we shall reap, if we faint not. —Galatians 6:9 Devotional: But since no man in this terrestrial and corporeal prison has strength sufficient to press forward in his course with a due degree of alacrity, and the majority are oppressed with such great debility that they stagger and halt, and even creep on the ground; and so make very inconsiderable advances -let us everyone proceed according to our small ability, and prosecute the journey we have begun. No man will be so unhappy, but that he may every day make some progress, however small. Therefore let us not cease to strive, that we may be incessantly advancing in the way of the Lord; nor let us despair on account of the smallness of our success; for how- ever our success may not correspond to our wishes, yet our labor is not lost, when this day surpasses the preceding one; provided that, with sincere simplicity, we keep our end in view, and press forward to the goal, not practising self-adulation, nor indulging our own evil propensities, but perpetually exerting our endeavors after increasing degrees of improvement, till we shall have arrived at a perfection of goodness, which, indeed, we seek and pursue as long as we live, and shall then attain, when, divested of all corporeal infirmity, we shall be admitted by God into complete communion with him. -Institutes, III, vi, v MAY 24 Bible Text: But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. —II Samuel 12:23 Devotional: It is God, therefore, who has sought back from you your son, whom he had committed to you to be educated, on the con- dition that he might always be his own. And, therefore, he took him away, because it was both of advantage to him to leave this world, and by this bereavement to humble you, or to make trial of your patience. If you do not understand the ad- vantage of this, without delay, first of all, setting aside every other object of consideration, ask of God that he may show you. Should it be his will to exercise you still farther, by concealing it from you, submit to that will, that you may become wiser than the weakness of your own understanding can ever attain to. In what regards your son, if you bethink your- self how difficult it is, in this deplorable age, to maintain an upright course through life, you will judge him to be blessed, who, before encountering so many corning dangers which al- ready were hovering over him, and to be encountered in his day and generation, was so early delivered from them all. He is like one who has set sail upon a stormy and tempestuous sea, and before he has been carried out into the deeps, gets in safety to the secure haven. - Correspondence 146 MAY 25 Bible Text: And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. —Zechariah 4:13 Devotional: This is the reason why the angel replies, "Dost thou not know what these things mean?" For he does not upbraid Zechariah with ignorance, but rather reminds all the faithful that they ought to quicken themselves and to exert all their ardor to learn, lest sloth should close up the way against them. This reply, then, of the angel no doubt belongs to us all, "Dost thou not know what these mean?" We ought to remem- ber that the things we esteem as common far exceed our thoughts. It indeed often happens that one runs over many parts of Scripture and thinks that he reads nothing but what is clear and well known, while yet experience teaches us that we are inflated with too much self-confidence; for we look down, as it were from on high, on that doctrine which ought, on the contrary, to be reverently adored by us. Then let every one of us, being warned by this sentence of the angel, acknowl- edge that he as yet cleaves to the first principles, or at least does not comprehend all those things which are necessary to be known; and that therefore progress is to be made to the very end of life; for this is our wisdom, to be learners to the end. —Commentaries MAY 26 Bible Text: Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. —Philippians 2:3, 4 Devotional: Let this, then, be our rule for benignity and beneficence- that whatever God has conferred on us, which enables us to assist our neighbor, we are the stewards of it, and must one day render an account of our stewardship; and that the only right dispensation of what has been committed to us, is that which is regulated by the law of love. Thus we shall not only always connect this study to promote the advantage of others with a concern for our own private interests, but shall prefer the good of others to our own. To teach us that the dispensation of the gifts we receive from heaven ought to be regulated by this law, God anciently enjoined the same even in regard to the smallest bounties of his liberality. For he commanded the people to offer to him the first-fruits of the corn, as a solemn avowal that it was unlawful for them to enjoy any blessings not previously consecrated to him. And if the gifts of God are not sanctified to us till after we have with our own hands dedicated them to their Author, that must evidently be a sinful abuse which is unconnected with such a dedication. &mdashInstitutes, III, vii, v MAY 27 Bible Text: Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: there- fore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and hindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. —Job 5:17, 18 Devotional: It would be greatly to be desired that men would come to God without being spurred, and that they would cling to him without any warning being given them of their faults, and with- out any rebukes. This, I say, would be a thing greatly to be desired, and also that we were without faults, and were as the angels, desiring nothing but to yield obedience to our Maker and to honor and love him as our Father. But inasmuch as we are so perverse as not to cease to offend God; and besides that play the hypocrites with him, seeking to hide our faults from him; and inasmuch as there is such great pride in us that we would have God to let us alone and to uphold us in our lusts, and finally wish to be his judges rather than that he should be ours; considering, I say, how we are so perverse, it is necessary for God to use some violent remedy to draw us to him. For if he should handle us altogether gently, what would become of it? We see this partly even in young children. For if their fathers and mothers do not chastise them, they send them to the gallows. It is true that they do not perceive it; but exper- ience shows it, and we have common proverbs to express it, as, "The more the fathers pamper their children, the more they spoil them:" and the mothers do it still more, for they are fond of Battering them, and in the meantime bring them to naught. Herein God shows us as it were small beams of the thing as it is in himself. For if he should handle us mildly, we should be utterly undone and past recovery. Therefore he must show himself a Father to us, and be rough with us, seeing we are of so sturdy a nature that if he should deal gently with us we would take no profit from it. You see how we may understand the truth of this doctrine, that the man is happy whom God chastises. That is to say, considering what our nature is, namely how stubborn, how it resists being put in order, and how we would fail to profit if God never chastised us; therefore it is necessary that he should bring us up short and that he would give us so many lashes with his whip that we are forced to take notice of him whether we want to or not. So we shall finally come to the conclusion that that man is happy whom God chastises; especially if he add to this the second grace, namely that he cause his rods and his corrections to be effective. —Sermons MAY 28 Bible Text: Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? —John 14:22 Devotional: His design was to exhort his disciples to the earnest study of godliness, that they might make greater progress in faith; and therefore he is satisfied with distinguishing them from the world by this mark, that they keep the doctrine of the gospel. Now this mark comes after the commencement of faith, for it is the effect of their calling. In other passages Christ had reminded the disciples of their being called by free grace, and he will afterwards bring it to their recollection. At present, he only enjoins them to observe his doctrine, and to maintain godliness. By these words Christ shows in what manner the gospel is properly obeyed. It is when our services and outward actions proceed from the love of Christ; for in vain do the arms and the feet and the whole body toil, if the love of God do not reign in the heart, to govern the outward members. Now since it is certain that we keep the com- mandments of Christ only in so far as we love him, it follows that a perfect love of him can nowhere be found in the world, because there is no man who keeps his commandments per- fectly; yet God is pleased with the obedience of those who sincerely aim at this end. —Commentaries MAY 29 Bible Text: His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for 1 shall never be in adversity. —Psalm 10:5, 6 Devotional: There is a very great difference between a despiser of God, who, enjoying prosperity today, is so forgetful of the condition of man in this world, as through a distempered imagination to build his nest above the clouds, and who persuades himself that he shall always enjoy comfort and repose- there is a very great difference between him' and the godly man, who, knowing that his life hangs only by a thread, and is encompassed by a thousand deaths, and who, ready to endure any kind of afflictions which shall be sent upon him, and living in the world as if he were sailing upon a tempestuous and dangerous sea, nevertheless bears patiently all his troubles and sorrows, and comforts himself in his affiictions, because he leans wholly upon the grace of God, and entirely confides in it. The ungodly man says, I shall not be moved, or I shall not shake forever; because he thinks himself sufficiently strong and powerful to bear up against all the assaults that shall be made upon him. The faithful man says, What though I may happen to be moved, yea, even fall and sink into the lowest depths? My fall will not be fatal, for God will put his hand under me to sustain me. By this, in like manner, we are furnished with an explana- tion of the different effects which an apprehension of danger has upon the good and the bad. Good men may tremble and sink into despondency, but this leads them to flee with all haste to the sanctuary of God's grace; whereas the ungodly, while they are affrighted even at the noise of a falling leaf, and live in constant uneasiness, endeavor to harden themselves in their stupidity, and to bring themselves into such a state of giddy frenzy, that being, as it were, carried out of themselves, they may not feel their calamities. —Commentaries MAY 30 Bible Text: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. —Ephesians 6:12 Devotional: But you know the admonition which Saint Paul has given on that score, that is, that we have not to fight against Hesh and blood, but against the hidden wiles of our spiritual enemy. Wherefore let us not waste our energies upon men, but rather let us set ourselves against Satan. Therefore, forgetting and pardoning the faults of those whom you may conceive to have been your enemies, apply your whole mind to repel his malice who thus engaged them to their own destruction in setting themselves against you to seek your ruin. This magnanimity will not only be pleasing to God, but it will make you the more loved among men; and I do not doubt that you have such re- gard to that as you ought. However you have also to consider that if God has been pleased to humble you for a little while, it has not been without motive. For although you may be innocent in regard to men, you know that before this great heavenly Judge there is no one living who is not chargeable. Thus, then, it is that the saints have honored the rod of God, by yielding their neck and bowing low their head under his discipline. David had walked very uprightly, but yet he confessed that it had been good for him to be humbled by the hand of God. For which reason, as soon as we feel any chastisement, of whatsoever kind it may be, the first step should be to retire into ourselves, and well to examine our own lives, that we may apprehend those blessings which had been hidden from us; for sometimes too much prosperity dazzles our eyes, that we cannot perceive wherefore God chastises us. It is but reasonable that we should do him at least as much honor as we would a physician, for it is his to heal our inward maladies, which are unknown to ourselves, and to pursue a course of healing, not according to our liking, but as he knows and judges to be fitting. What is more, it must needs happen sometimes that he makes use of preservative remedies, not waiting till we have already fallen into evil, but preventing it before it comes. —Letter to Protector Somerset MAY 31 Bible Text: But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifiation, and redemption: —I Corinthians 1:30 Devotional: He who imagines that in order to obtain righteousness he must produce any works, however small, can fix no limit or boundary, but renders himself a debtor to the whole law. Avoiding, therefore, all mention of the law, and dismissing all thought of our own works, in reference to justification, we must embrace the Divine mercy alone, and turning our eyes from ourselves, fix them solely on Christ. For the question is not how we can be made righteous, but how, though un- righteous and unworthy, we can be considered as righteous. And the conscience that desires to attain any certainty re- specting this must give no admission to the law. Nor will this authorize anyone to conclude that the law is of no use to believers, whom it still continues to instruct and exhort, and stimulate to duty, although it has no place in their consciences before the tribunal of God. For these two things, being very different, require to be properly and carefully distinguished by us. The whole life of Christians ought to be an exercise of piety, since they are called to sanc- tification. It is the office of the law to remind them of their duty, and thereby to excite them to the pursuit of holiness and integrity. But when their consciences are solicitous how God may be propitiated, what answer they shall make, and on what they shall rest their confidence, if called to his tribunal, there must then be no consideration of the requisitions of the law, but Christ alone must be proposed for righteousness, who exceeds all the perfection of the law. -Institutes, III, xix,ii

Devotional

Bible Text:

Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? —John 19:10

Devotional:

"Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee?" We see in Pilate an image of a proud man, who is driven to madness by his ambition; for when he wishes to exalt his power, he deprives himself of all praise and reputation for justice. He acknowledges that Christ is innocent, and therefore he makes himself no better than a robber when he boasts that he has power to cut his throat.

Thus wicked consciences, in which faith and the true knowledge of God do not reign, must necessarily be agitated, and there must be within them various feelings of the flesh, which contend with each other; and in this manner God takes signal vengeance on the pride of men, when they go beyond their limits, so as to claim for themselves infinite power.

By condemning themselves for injustice, they stamp on themselves the greatest reproach and disgrace. No blindness, therefore, is greater than that of pride; and we need not wonder, since pride feels the hand of God, against which it strikes, to be armed with vengeance. Let us therefore remember that we ought not rashly to indulge in foolish boastings, lest we expose ourselves to ridicule; and especially that those who occupy a high rank ought to conduct themselves modestly, and not be ashamed of being subject to God and to his laws. —Commentaries


John Calvin was the premier theologian of the Reformation, but also a pious and godly Christian pastor who endeavored throughout his life to point men and women to Christ. We are grateful to Reformation Heritage Books for permission to use John Calvin's Thine Is My Heart as our daily devotional for 2013 on the OPC Web site. You can currently obtain a printed copy of that book from Reformation Heritage Books.

Dr. Joel Beeke, who is editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, has this to say:

"Calvin shows us the piety of a Reformed theologian who speaks from the heart. Having tasted the goodness and grace of God in Jesus Christ, he pursued piety by seeking to know and do God’s will every day. He communed with Christ, practicing repentance, self-denial, and cross-bearing. Moreover, his theology worked itself out in heart-felt, Christ-honoring piety. The selections of this devotional bear this out, and hopefully will be used by God to direct pious hearts in our own day."

These devotional readings from John Calvin were compiled by John H. Kromminga. Be sure to read his "Introduction" to John Calvin's Thine Is My Heart.

 

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