June 12 Daily Devotional

May the table set before them become a snare. It was not on his own account that David pleaded in this manner; but it was a holy zeal for the divine glory which impelled him to summon the wicked to God’s judgment seat. It was also owing to this, that he was not carried away by violence of passion, like those who are actuated by a desire of taking revenge. Since, then, the Spirit of wisdom, uprightness, and moderation, put these imprecations into the mouth of David, his example cannot justly be pleaded in self-vindication by those who pour forth their wrath and spite upon every one

that come their way, or who are carried away by a foolish impatience to take revenge; never allowing themselves to reflect for a moment what good purpose this can serve, nor making any efforts to keep their passion within due bounds. We need wisdom by which to distinguish between those who are wholly reprobate and those of whose amendment there is still some hope; we have also need of uprightness, that none may devote himself exclusively to his own private interests; and of moderation too, to dispose our minds to calm endurance. In short, if we would be true imitator of David, we must first clothe ourselves with the character of Christ, that he may not administer to us at the present day the same rebuke which he gave to two of his disciples of old, “You know not what manner of spirit you are of” (Luke 9:55).

May they be blotted out of the book of life. What is spoken by the Apostle John (1 John 2:19) remains true, that none who have been once really the children of God will ever finally fall away or be wholly cut off. But as hypocrites presumptuously boast that they are the chief members of the Church, the Holy Spirit well expresses their rejection, by the figure of their being blotted out of the book of life. Moreover, it is to be observed that all the elect of God are called the righteous; for, as Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4, 7, “This is the will of God, even our sanctification, that every one of us should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour: for God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” And the climax which the same Apostle uses in the eighth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans, at the 30th verse, is well known: “Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

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John Calvin, A Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms, is copyright © 1999 by P & R Publishing Company, all rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—except for brief quotations for the purpose of review or comment, without the prior permission of the publisher, P & R Publishing Company, P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865-0817.

Unless marked by an asterisk, italic Scripture excerpts preceding Calvin's exposition are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House, all rights reserved. Phrases of Scripture within Calvin's exposition are based on an unidentified older translation, or in rare instances modified to conform to the NIV excerpts preceding Calvin's exposition.

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