Assurance of His Protection

19 MARCH

The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Psalm 110:2

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Psalm 2

It is astonishing that though the whole world has united to oppose Christ's kingdom, the church has continued to spread and prosper. David here encourages the godly not to be dispirited by the foolhardy attempts of those who presume to introduce discord and disorder into the kingdom of Christ, for God will use His invincible power to maintain the glory of His sacred throne.

When our minds are agitated by various commotions, let us confidently rest, knowing that no matter how much the world rages against Christ, they will never be able to hurl Him from the right hand of the Father. Moreover, because He does not reign on His own account but for our salvation, we may rest assured that we will be protected and preserved from all ills under the guardianship of this invincible King.

Doubtless our condition in this world will include many hardships, but God's will is that Christ's kingdom should be encompassed with many enemies, His design being to keep us in a state of constant warfare. Therefore it becomes us to exercise patience and meekness, and, assured of God's aid, boldly to consider the rage of the whole world as nothing. 

This passage also tells us about the calling of the Gentiles. If God had not told us about the extension of Christ's kingdom to the Gentiles, we could not today be regarded as His people. But since the wall is broken between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14), and the gospel promulgated, we too have been gathered into the body of the church, and know that Christ puts forth His power to uphold and defend us.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: Although believers are troubled by worldly enemies or by internal discord and disorder, we can be assured that the church of Christ will be restored to peace. We can look to heaven, confident that God will not allow evil to triumph but will uphold and defend His bride. How does this comfort us here and now?

365 Days With Calvin 

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Keeping Watch Over Us

21 FEBRUARY

Awake, why sleepest Thou, O LORD? arise, cast us not off forever. Psalm 44:23

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Isaiah 43:1-7

In this verse the saints express the desire that God, in pity for them, will at length send them help and deliver them. Although God allows  the saints to plead with Him in this babbling manner, asking Him to rise up or awaken, they should be fully persuaded that God continually keeps watch for their safety and defense.

We must guard against the notion of Epicurus, whose god, having his abode in heaven, delighted only in idleness and pleasure. But since the insensibility of our nature is so great that we do not fully comprehend the care that God has for us, the godly here request that God will be pleased to give them some evidence that he is neither forgetful of them nor slow to help them. 

Likewise we must firmly believe that God ceases not to regard us, even though He appears to be doing so. Yet such assurance is of faith and not of the flesh, that is to say, it is not natural to us. Thus the faithful often give utterance before God to this contrary sentiment, which they conceive from the state of things as they see it. In doing so, they discharge from their beasts those morbid affections that belong to the corruption of nature, and which then allows faith to shine forth in its pure and native character.

It may be objected that though nothing is more holy than prayer, prayer may become defiled when some forward imagination of the flesh is mingled with it. I confess that is true, but in using the freedom which the Lord grants to us, let us consider that in the goodness and mercy by which He sustains us, God wipes away this fault so that our prayers are not defiled by it.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: Just as our eyelids protect our eyes every moment of a day, so God watches over us and protects us moment by moment. Think of some ways that God protects you without your being aware of it.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Surrounded by Angels

17 FEBRUARY

The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. Psalm 34:7

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: 2 Kings 6:8-19

Though the faithful are exposed to many dangers, they may be assured that God is the faithful guardian of their life. The power of God alone would be sufficient, but in mercy for our infirmity God employs angels as His ministering spirits to protect us. It helps confirm our faith to know that God has innumerable legions of angels that are ready to serve as often as He is pleased to help us. What is more, the angels that are called principalities and powers are always intent on preserving our life because they that this duty is entrusted to them.

God indeed designates with propriety the wall of His church and every kind of fortress and place of defense to her. But in accommodation to the measure and extent of our imperfection, He shows us His power to aid us through the work of His angels. Moreover, what the psalmist says about one angel can be applied to all other angels, for they are "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Heb. 1:14). In other places Scripture teaches us that, whenever it pleases God and whenever He knows it to be for our benefit, He appoints many angels to take care of His people (2 Kings 6:15; Ps. 41:11).

So, however great is the number of our enemies and the dangers by which we are surrounded, the angels of God, who are armed with invincible power, constantly watch over us and array themselves on every side to deliver us from all evil.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: How often we forget about God's armies of angels that surround us to protect us! How could this change the way we face each day? Ask God to open your eyes to this blessing, and thank Him for it.

365 Days With Calvin 

Selected and edited by Joel R. Beeke