The Erosion of Trust

1 MARCH

Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; because they believed not in God, and trusted not in His salvation. Psalm 78: 21-22

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: John 3:14-21

To remove all thought that divine wrath was unduly severe, the enormity of the guilt of the Israelites is described by the psalmist: They believed not in God, and trusted not in His salvation. Indisputably, promises were made to Israelites which they should have assented to. However, extreme infatuation which carried them away from God prevented them from yielding to those promises.

Trusting in the salvation of God means leaning upon His fatherly providence and regarding Him as sufficient to supply all our needs. From this we learn how hateful unbelief is in the sight of God. We learn that the true nature of faith is and what its fruits are. True faith is when men quietly submit themselves to God, being persuaded that their salvation is singularly precious in His sight. It is being fully assured that God will give them whatever they need. We are led to surrender ourselves to Him to be governed according to His good pleasure.

Faith is the root of true piety. It teaches us to hope for and to desire every blessing from God. It also persuades us to be obedient to Him, even while those who distrust Him are murmuring and rebelling against Him.

Furthermore, the prophet teaches that pretences to faith, which are made by those who do not hope for salvation from God, rest upon false grounds. When we believe in God, the hope of salvation is speedily produced in minds. This hope renders to Him the praise of every blessing.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: Trusting God’s salvation is the essence of spiritual life. Unbelief is pledging allegiance to Satan. How can we learn to exercise faith more consistently and to hate unbelief more profoundly?

365 Days With Calvin

Selected end Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Held by my Right Hand

28 FEBRUARY

Nevertheless I am continually with Thee: Thou hast held me by my right hand. Psalm 73:23

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: 2 Timothy 1:6-12; 4:17-18

When the psalmist speaks of God “holding him by the right hand,” he means that he was, by the wonderful hand of God, drawn back from the deep gulf into which the reprobate cast themselves. He ascribes wholly to the grace of God that he was restrained from breaking into open blasphemies and from hardening himself in error. That he was brought to condemn himself of foolishness, he also ascribes wholly to the grace of God, who stretched out His hand to hold up the psalmist and prevented him from a fall that would have destroyed him.

From this we see how precious our salvation is in the sight of God, for when we wander far from Him, He continues to look upon us with a watchful eye and to stretch forth His hand to bring us to Himself. We must beware of perverting this doctrine by making it a pretext for slothfulness. Yet experience teaches us that when we are sunk in drowsiness and insensibility, God exercises care for us. Even when we are fugitives and wanderers from Him, He is still near us.

There is no temptation, be it ever so slight, that would not easily overwhelm us if we were not upheld and sustained by the power of God. The reason why we do not succumb, even in the severest conflicts, is because we receive the help of the Holy Spirit. He does not always put power in us in an evident and striking manner (for He often perfects it in our weakness), but it is enough that He succors us. Though we may be ignorant and unconscious of it, He upholds us when we stumble and lifts us up when we have fallen.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: God’s faithfulness becomes so clear when we wander from Him and He does not fail to hold us by our hand. Beginning with your childhood, meditate on God’s faithfulness toward you throughout your entire life.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Understanding Their End

27 FEBRUARY

Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Psalm 73:17

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Revelation 20:11-21:8

The end of the wicked that David mentions here does not refer to their exit from the world or their departure from the present life, which is true of all men. Why then did David need to enter into the sanctuary of God to understand that? No, the word end here refers to the judgment of God, by which he makes clear that, even when God is thought to be asleep, He is only delaying for a time the execution of the punishment that the wicked deserve.

This must be further explained. If we would learn from God what the condition of the ungodly is, we must understand that, after they have flourished for a short time, they will suddenly decay. Though they happen to enjoy a time of prosperity now and until death, yet that means nothing compared to the nothingness of their life.

God declares that all the wicked shall perish in misery. If we see Him executing vengeance upon the wicked in this life, we must remember that it is the judgment of God. On the contrary, if we do not see punishment inflicted on them in this world, let us not presume that they have escaped punishment or that they are the objects of divine favor and approbation. Rather, let us suspend our judgment, since the last day has not yet arrived.

In short, if we would rightly profit by addressing ourselves to the consideration of the works of God, we must first beseech Him to open our eyes, for only sheer fools would presume to be clear-sighted and of a penetrating judgment. Second, we must give all due respect to God’s Word by assigning to it that authority to which it is entitled.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: We miss so much truth around us when we fail to observe the world through the lens of the Bible. The wicked often prosper and, without God’s revelation of their end, we might be tempted to envy them. Thank God for His Word, by which we can see this more clearly and remain more content with what we possess. How else can this truth promote genuine contentment and keep us from controversies?

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

A Willing Sacrifice

26 FEBRUARY

I will freely sacrifice unto Thee: I will praise Thy name, O LORD; for it is good. Psalm 54:6

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: 1 Samuel 1

If deliverance is granted to David, he promises he will offer sacrifice and praise in gratitude. There can be no doubt here that David will return thanks to God in a formal manner when he has the opportunity to do so. 

Though God principally looks at the inward sentiment of the heart, he does not excuse the neglect of such rites that the law has prescribed. David promises to testify his appreciation of the favor that he received from God in the manner common to all the people of God. His sacrifice thus becomes the means of exciting others to their duty by his example.

He would also freely sacrifice. David does not allude here to the fact that sacrifices of thanksgiving were at the option of worshipers, but rather that he would pay his vow with alacrity and cheerfulness after he had escaped his present dangers. 

In general, men make big promises to God when they are under the pressure of affliction, but after they are under the pressure of affliction, but after they are rescued they soon relapse into the carelessness that is natural to them and forget the goodness of the Lord. But David truly promises to sacrifice freely and in another manner than the hypocrite, whose religion is the offspring of servility and constraint.

This passage teaches us that we cannot look for acceptance in the presence of God unless we also bring to His service a willing mind. 

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: It is easy to promise service and devotion when we need God's deliverance. But let us make sure that, by God's grace, we follow through with what we promised to demonstrate our thankfulness to God.

365 Days With Calvin 

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Sinning Against God

25 FEBRUARY

Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest. Psalm 51:4

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Psalm 32

Some believe that the psalmist here reverts to the circumstances of his sin, though it was committed against man and was concealed from every eye but of God. No one was aware of the double wrong that David had inflicted upon Uriah nor of the wanton manner in which he had exposed his army to danger. His crime which was unknown to men might be said to have been committed exclusively against God. Others think that David here intimates that, however deeply he was conscious of having injured men, he was primarily distressed about having violated the law of God.

But I believe David is saying here that even if the world pardoned him, God was the judge before whom David had to appear. Conscience hailed him to God’s bar. Thus the voice of man offered no relief to him, however much others might be disposed to forgive or to excuse or to flatter. David’s eyes and soul were directed to God, regardless of what man might think or say.

To one who is overwhelmed with the dreadfulness of having offended  God and thus is subject to His sentence, no other accuser is needed. God is to the sinner more than a thousand men. There is every reason here to believe that to prevent his mind from being soothed into false peace by the flatteries of his court, David fully recognized the judgment of God upon his offense. It was an intolerable burden, even if he should escape trouble from the hands of his fellow creatures. This will be the experience of every true penitent.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION:  It is a blessing (though often a painful one) to realize that God is our judge. Our guilty consciences are often relieved by the forgiveness of others, but we should not rest until we are assured of God’s forgiveness.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Invitation Through Warning

24 FEBRUARY

Now consider this, yet that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. 

Psalm 50:22

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Isaiah 55

This verse offers the kind of severe teaching that is absolutely necessary in dealing with hardened hypocrites, who otherwise would deride all instruction. While the psalmist threatens his listeners with the intent of alarming them, he also offers them the hope of pardon if they hasten to avail themselves of it.

To prevent them from further delay, he warns them of the severity and suddenness of divine judgment. He also charges them with base ingratitude for forgetting God. What remarkable proof we have here of the grace of God in extending the type of mercy to corrupt men who have impiously profaned His worship, who audaciously and sacrilegiously mocked His forbearance, and who abandoned themselves to scandalous crimes!

In calling them to repentance, God extends to sinners the hope of reconciliation with Himself so that they may venture to appear in the presence of His majesty. Can we conceive of greater clemency than this, to invite himself and into the bosom of the church such perfidious apostates and violators of His covenant, who have departed from the doctrine of godliness in which they were brought up?

Great as it is, we would do well to reflect that it is no greater than what we ourselves have experienced. We too, have drifted away from the Lord, and only in His singular mercy have been brought back by the Lord into His fold.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: As parents, we often warn our children about threatening dangers even as we protect them from those dangers. With that in mind, how do God’s warnings to us in chapters such as Psalm 50 and Isaiah 55 and books like Hebrews and Revelation actually promote the perseverance of the saints?

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke