The Wonder of His Benefits

23 MARCH

What shall I render unto the LORD for all His benefits toward me? Psalm 116:12

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Psalm 136

The psalmist now exclaims that the multitude of God's benefits to him is so great that he cannot find adequate language to express His gratitude. His question is emphatic, What shall I render unto the LORD?, indicating that it was not his desire but the means that were inadequate to render thanks to God. Acknowledging this inability, the psalmist uses the only means in his power to extol the grace of God. He seems to say, "I am exceedingly wishful to discharge my duty, but when I look around me, I find nothing that will prove an adequate recompense."

He cannot offer to God sufficient compensation for His benefits, the psalmist says, adding that he felt obligated to do so not just for one series of benefits but for a variety of innumerable benefits. "There is no benefit on account of which God has not made me a debtor to Him; how should I have the means of repaying Him for them?" he seems to ask. Since the means of recompense fails him, the expression of thanksgiving is the only thing he can offer that will be acceptable to God.

David's example teaches us not to treat God's benefits lightly or carelessly, for if we estimate them according to their value, that very thought ought to fill us with admiration. Each one of us has had God's benefits heaped upon us. But our pride, which carries us away into extravagant theories, causes us to forget this very doctrine of God's generosity towards us. Nonetheless, that ought to engage our unremitting attention. Furthermore, God's bounty toward us merits more praise because He expects no recompense from us, nor can receive any, for He stands in need of nothing, and we are poor and destitute in all things.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: It is so easy to think that certain blessings are owed to us, but this is not a proper way to cultivate thankfulness to God. David's perspective is much healthier; his praise flows out of recognizing the wonder of these blessings and their source in God. What impact could this perspective have on your day today?

365 Days With Calvin 

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

The Purpose of the Sabbath

8 MARCH

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High. Psalm 92:1

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Isaiah 1:12-18

As the psalm’s inscription says, the Jews were in the habit of singing Psalm 92 on the Sabbath day. It is apparent in other passages that other psalms were also applied to this use. As the words may be literally read in the Hebrew, it is good for giving thanks unto the LORD. The psalmist says it is good to have a certain day set apart for singing the praises of God; it is a useful arrangement that one day is chosen on which the Lord’s people can celebrate God’s works.

The reason the psalmist dedicates this psalm to the Sabbath is obvious. The day is not to be holy in the sense of our being devoted to idleness, as if idleness could be acceptable worship to God, but in the sense of separating ourselves from all other occupations so that we can meditate upon divine works. Because our minds are inconstant, we are apt to wander from God when exposed to various distractions. We need to be disentangled from all cares if we would seriously apply ourselves to the praises of God.

The psalmist teaches us that rightly observing the Sabbath does not consist of idleness, as some absurdly imagine, but in the celebration of the divine name. The argument that he makes is drawn from the profitableness of service, for nothing is more encouraging than to know that our labor is not in vain and that what we engage in meets with divine approbation.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: The Lord did not give us the Sabbath so that we might fritter it away doing nothing unprofitable. It is given so that we might focus on Him and on His Word, and keeping it as a matter of the heart. Take a moment to re-examine how you spend your Sabbaths. Is there room for improvement?

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Guarding Against Hypocrisy

2 MARCH

Nevertheless they flatter Him with their mouth, and they lied unto Him with their tongues. Psalm 78:36

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Matthew 15:1-20

We are not to suppose that the psalmist is saying these people made no acknowledgment of God, but he does intimate that, because the confession of their mouth did not proceed from the heart, it was therefore constrained by duty to guard against the gross hypocrisy of uttering with the tongue before others one thing, while thinking something different in our hearts.

We also learn that we should beware of the hidden hypocrisy of the sinner, who, being constrained by fear, flatters God in a slavish manner, mortally smitten with this disease, for though divine majesty elicits some kind of awe from them, yet they would be grateful if the light of divine truth would be completely extinguished. It is not enough to yield assent to the divine word unless that is accompanied with true and pure affection, so that our hearts are not double or divided.

The psalmist promise out in the next verse the cause and source of dissimulation is that such people are not steadfast and faithful (Ps. 78:37). By this he intimates that whatever does not proceed from unfeigned purity of heart is considered lying and deceit in the sight of God. Since uprightness is everywhere required in the law, the psalmist accuses hypocrites with covenant-breaking because they have not kept the covenant of God with the fidelity that is required. As I have observed elsewhere, we can presuppose a mutual relation and correspondence between the covenant of God and our faith, in order that the unfeigned consent of the latter may attest to the faithfulness of the former.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: Whether or not we are guilty of hypocrisy can be a daunting question. Do we love God, and are we thankful for Him and His will? Or do we serve Him because we fear Him, all the while wishing that He would cease to exist? Let us pray much for living, vital reality in our Christianity.

365 Days With Calvin 

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke