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May 27 Daily Devotional

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

John Calvin (compiled by John H. Kromminga)

Bible Text:

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: For he maketh sore, and bindeth 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 without 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 experience 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 flattering 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


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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