God’s strength never fails

He giveth power to the faint. The Prophet now applies to the present subject the general statements which he made; for we have said that his intention was to give warmer encouragement to the people, and to lead them to cherish better hope. Because the Jews were at that time weakened and destitute of all strength, he shews that on this account it belongs to God to give assistance to those who were thus exhausted and weakened. He therefore magnifies the power of God on this ground, that they may conclude and believe that they ought not to doubt of their salvation so long as they enjoy his favor. It was indeed to the people who were held captive in Babylon that the Prophet looked; but we ought also to apply this doctrine to ourselves, that whenever our strength shall fail, and we shall be almost laid low, we may call to remembrance that the Lord stretches out his hand ‘to the faint,” who are sinking through the want of all help. But first, we must feel our faintness and poverty, that the saying of Paul, “The power of God is made perfect in our weakness,” (<471209>2 Corinthians 12:9,) may be fulfilled; for if our hearts are not deeply moved by a conviction of our weakness, we cannot receive seasonable assistance from God. 30. The youths are wearied and faint. By this comparison the Prophet illustrates more powerfully what he had formerly said, that the strength which God imparts to his elect is invincible and unwearied; for men’s strength easily fails, but God’s strength never fails. It is indeed certain that all the vigor which naturally dwells in us proceeds from God; but since men claim as their own what God has bestowed generally on all, the Prophet thus distinguishes between the strength of men which appears to be born with them, and that strength by which God peculiarly supports his elect; for God’s kindness, which is diffused throughout all nature, is not sufficiently perceived. And thus by “men’s strength” he means that which is generally possessed by mankind, and by “God’s assistance,” he means that by which he peculiarly assists us after our strength has failed; for the Prophet speaks of the grace of God which is cormmonly called supernatural, and says that it is perpetual, while men can have nothing in themselves but what is fading and transitory; that by this mark he may distinguish between the Church of God and the rest of the world, and between spiritual grace and earthly prosperity. [Calvins's Commentary on Is 40]

Calvin’s final will and testament

I, John Calvin, servant of the Word of God in the Church of Geneva, weakened by many illnesses…thank God that he has not only shown mercy towards me, His poor creature, and…has suffered me in all sins and weaknesses, but, what is much more, that He has made me a partaker of His grace to serve Him through my work…I confess to live and die in this faith which He has given me, inasmuch as I have no other hope or refuge than His predestination, upon which my entire salvation is grounded. I embrace the grace which He has offered me in our Lord Jesus Christ and accept the merits of His suffering and dying, that through them all my sins are buried; and I humbly beg Him to wash and cleanse me with the blood of our great Redeemer, as it was shed for all poor sinners, so that, when I shall appear before His face, may bear His likeness. Moreover, I declare that I endeavoured to teach His Word undefiled and to expound Holy Scripture faithfully, according to the measure of grace which He has given me. In all the disputations which I have led against the enemies of the Truth, I employed no cunning or any sophistry, but have fought His cause honestly. But oh, my will, my zeal, were so cold and sluggish that I know myself guilty in every respect. Without His infinite goodness, all my passionate striving would only be smoke; indeed, the grace itself which He gave me would make me even more guilty. Thus, my only confidence is, that He is the Father of Mercy, who as such desires to reveal Himself to so miserable a sinner. As for the rest, I desire that after my passing my body be buried according to the customary form in expectancy of the day of the blessed resurrection. [John Calvin]

On the 2nd Commandment

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.

As in the first commandment the Lord declares that he is one, and that besides him no gods must be either worshipped or imagined, so he here more plainly declares what his nature is, and what the kind of worship with which he is to be honored, in order that we may not presume to form any carnal idea of him. The purport of the commandment, therefore, is, that he will not have his legitimate worship profaned by superstitious rites. Wherefore, in general, he calls us entirely away from the carnal frivolous observances which our stupid minds are wont to devise after forming some gross idea of the divine nature, while, at the same time, he instructs us in the worship which is legitimate, namely, spiritual worship of his own appointment. The grossest vice here prohibited is external idolatry. This commandment consists of two parts. The former curbs the licentious daring which would subject the incomprehensible God to our senses, or represent him under any visible shape. The latter forbids the worship of images on any religious ground. [John Calvin]

 

Our help comes from the LORD

I will lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from? What then is the meaning of this unsettled looking of the prophet, who casts his eyes now on this side and now that, as if faith directed him not to God? The thoughts of the godly are never so stayed upon the word of God as not to be carried aay at the first impulse to some allurements and especially when dangers disquiet us, or when e are assailed with sore temptations, it is scarcely possible for us, from our so being inclined to the earth, not to be moved by the enticements presented to us, until our minds put a bridle upon themselves and are vain and turn them back to God. Whatever we may think, would the prophet say, all the hopes which draw us away from God are vain and delusive. The Psalmist declares that those lose their plans who, disregarding God, gaze to a distance all around them, and make long and devious circuits in quest of remedies to their troubles. It is indeed certain, that in thus speaking of himself, he exhibits to us a malady with which all mankind are infected; but still, it will not be unsuitable to suppose, that he was prompted to speak in this manner from his own experience; for such is the inconstancy natural to us, so that as soon as we are smitten with any fear, we turn our eyes in every direction, until faith, drawing us back from all these erratic wanderings, direct us exclusively to God. All the difference between believers and unbelievers in this respect, is that although all are prone to be decieved, and easily cheated by impostures, yet satan bewitches unbelievers b his enchantments; whereas, in regard to believers, God corrects the vice of their nature, and does not permit them to perservere in going astray. The meaning of the prophet is abundanty obvious, which is, that although all the helps of the world, even the mightiest, should offer themselves to us, yet we ought not to seek safety anywhere but in God, yes, rather, that when men shall have long wearied themselves in hunting after remedies, now in one quarter and now in another, they will at length find from experience, tht there is no assured help but in God alone. [John calvin]

Walking in the midst of trouble

Should I walk in the midst of trouble, etc. Here David declares the sense in which he looked flint God would act the part of his preserver — by giving him life from the dead, were that necessary. The passage is well deserving our attention for by nature we are so delicately averse to suffering as to wish that we might all live safely beyond shot of its arrows, and shrink from close contact with the fear of death, as something altogether intolerable. On the slightest approach of danger we are immoderately afraid, as if our emergencies precluded the hope of Divine deliverance. This is faith’s true office, to see life in the midst of death, and to trust the mercy of God — not as that which will procure us universal exemption from evil, but as that which will quicken us in the midst of death every moment of our lives; for God humbles his children under various trials, that his defense of them:may be the more remarkable, and that he may show himself to be their deliverer, as well as their preserver. In the world believers are constantly exposed to enemies, and David asserts, that he will be safe under God’s protection from all their machinations. He declares his hope of life to lie in this, that the hand of God was stretched out:for his help, that hand which he knew to be invincible, and victorious over every foe. And from all this we are taught, that it is God’s method to exercise his children with a continual conflict, that, having one foot as it were in the grave, they may flee with alarm to hide themselves under his wings, where they malt abide in peace. [Calvin's commentry on Psalm 138 ]

Madness of exchanging the Truth for a lie

"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." [Jer 2:13]

If a reason is given here why the Prophet had bidden the heavens to be astonished and terrified, then we must render the words thus, “For two evils have my people done:” but I rather think that the preceding verse is connected with the former verses. The Prophet had said, “Go to the farthest lands, and see whether any nation has changed its gods, while yet they are mere inventions.” I think then the subject is closed with the exclamation in the preceding verse, when the Prophet says, “Be astonished, ye heavens.” It then follows, “Surely, two evils have my people done,” even these, — “they have forsaken me,” — and then, “they sought for themselves false gods.” When any one forsakes an old friend and connects himself with a new one, it is an iniquitous and a base conduct: but when there is no compensation, there is in it united together, folly, levity, and madness. If I despise what I know to be profitable to me, and embrace what I understand will be to my hurt, does not such a choice prove madness? This then is what the Prophet now means, when he says, that the people had sinned not only by departing from the true God, but also by going over, without any compensation, unto idols, which could confer no good on them. He says that they had done two evils: the first was, they had forsaken God; and the other, they had fallen away unto false and imaginary gods. But the more to amplify their sin, he makes use of a similitude, and says that God is a fountain of living waters; and he compares idols to perforated or broken cisterns, which hold no water. When one leaves a living fountain and seeks a cistern, it is a proof of great folly; for cisterns are dry except water comes elsewhere; but a fountain has its own spring; and further, where there is a vein perpetually flowing, and a perennial stream of waters, the water is more salubrious and much better. The waters which rain brings into cisterns are never so wholesome as those which flow from their own native vein: and when the very receptacles of water are full of chinks, what must they be but empty? Hence then God charges the people with madness, because he was forsaken, who was a fountain and a fountain of living waters; and further, because the people sought unprofitable things when they went after their idols. For what is to be found in idols? some likeness; for the superstitious think that they labor not in vain, when they worship false gods, and they hope to derive some benefit. There are then some resemblances to the true in false religions; and hence the Prophet compares false gods to wells, because they were made hollow, suitable to hold water; but there was not a drop of water in them, as they were broken cisterns. We now perceive what the Prophet meant, — that we cannot possibly be free from guilt when we leave the only true God, as in him is found for us a fullness of all blessings, and from him we may draw what may fully satisfy us. When therefore we despise the bounty of God, which is sufficient to make us in every way happy, how great must be our ingratitude and wickedness? Yet God remains ever like himself: as then he has called himself the fountain of living waters, we shall at this day find him to be so, except he is prevented by our wickedness and neglect. But the Prophet adds another crime; for when we fall away from God, our own conceits deceive us; and whatever may appear to us at the first view to be wells or fountains, yet when thirst shall come, we shall not find a drop of water in all our devices, they being nothing else but dry cavities. [John Calvin]

 

True piety in Worship

20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh. Col 2:0-23

All which things tend to corruption. He sets aside, by a twofold argument, the enactments of which he has made mention — because they make religion consist in things outward and frail, which have no connection with the spiritual kingdom of God; and secondly, because they are from men, not from God. He combats the first argument, also, in Romans 14:17, when he says, The kingdom of God is not in meat and drink; likewise in 1 Corinthians. 6 13, Meat for the belly, and the belly for meats: God will destroy both. Christ also himself says, Whatever entereth into the mouth defileth not the man, because it goes down into the belly, and is cast forth. ( Matthew 15:11.) The sum is this — that the worship of God, true piety, and the holiness of Christians, do not consist in drink, and food, and clothing, which are things that are transient and liable to corruption, and perish by abuse. For abuse is properly applicable to those things which are corrupted by the use of them. Hence enactments are of no value in reference to those things which tend to excite scruples of conscience. But in Popery you would scarcely find any other holiness, than what consists in little observances of corruptible things. A second refutation is added — that they originated with men, and have not God as their Author; and by this thunderbolt he prostrates and swallows up all traditions of men. For why? This is Paul’s reasoning: "Those who bring consciences into bondage do injury to Christ, and make void his death. For whatever is of human invention does not bind conscience."

Gall and Travail

He hath builded against me, and encompassed me with gall and travail. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. [lamentations 3:5-6]

The words, as translated, may seem harsh, yet they have no common beauty in Hebrew. The Prophet says he was blocked up and straitened as it were by walls; and as we shall see, he repeats this comparison three times; in other words, indeed, but for the same purpose. God, he says, hath built against me, as, when we wish to besiege any one, we build mounds, so that there may be no escape. This, then, is the sort of building of which the Prophet now speaks: God, he says, holds me confined all around, so that there is no way of escape open to me. He then gives a clearer explanation, that he was surrounded by gall F53 or poison and trouble. He mentions poison first, and then, without a figure, he shews what that poison was, even that he was afflicted with many troubles. He afterwards adds, Here he amplifies what he had before said of poison and trouble; he says that he was placed in darkness, not that he might be there for a little while, but remain there for a long time; he hath made me, he says, to dwell in darkness. But the comparison which follows more clearly explains the Prophet’s meaning, as the dead of ages. The word µlw[ , oulam, may refer to future or past time. Some say, as the dead for ever, who are perpetually dead. But the Scripture elsewhere calls those the dead of ages who have been long buried, and have decayed, and whose memory has become nearly extinct. For as long as the dead body retains its form, it seems more like a living being; but when it is reduced to ashes, when no bone appears, when the whole skin and nerves and blood have perished, and no likeness to man remains, there can then be no hope of life. The Scripture then calls those the dead of ages, who have wholly decayed. So also in this place the Prophet says, that he dwelt in darkness, into which he had been cast by God’s hand, and that he dwelt there as though he had been long dead, and his body had become now putrid. This way of speaking appears indeed hyperbolical; but we must always remember what I have reminded you of, that it is not possible sufficiently to set forth the greatness of that sorrow which the faithful feel when terrified by the wrath of God.  [John Calvin]

 

The Heavens declare the glory of God II

The heavens declare the glory of God.[Psalm 19]

Day unto day uttereth speech. Philosophers, who have more
penetration into those matters than others, understand how the stars
are arranged in such beautiful order, that notwithstanding their
immense number there is no confusion; but to the ignorant and
unlettered, the continual succession of days is a more undoubted
proof of the providence of God. David, therefore, having spoken of
the heavens, does not here descend from them to other parts of the
world; but, from an effect more sensible and nearer our apprehension,
he confirms what he has just now said, namely, that the glory of God
not only shines, but also resounds in the heavens. The words may be
variously expounded, but the different expositions which have been
given of them make little difference as to the sense. Some explain
them thus, that no day passes in which God does not show some signal
evidence of his power. Others are of opinion that they denote the
augmentations of instruction and knowledge, - that every succeeding
day contributes something new in proof of the existence and
perfections of God. Others view them as meaning that the days and
nights talk together, and reason concerning the glory of their
Creator’, but this is a somewhat forced interpretation. David, I have
no doubt, here teaches, from the established alternations of days and
nights, that the course and revolutions of the sun, and moon, and
stars, are regulated by the marvellous wisdom of God. Whether we
translate the words Day after day, or one day to another day, is of
little consequence; for all that David means is the beautiful
arrangement of time which the succession of days and nights effects.
If, indeed, we were as attentive as we ought to be, even one day
would suffice to bear testimony to us of the glory of God, and even
one night would be sufficient to perform to us the same office. But
when we see the sun and the moon performing their daily revolutions, -
- the sun by day appearing over our heads, and the moon succeeding in
its turns — the sun ascending by degrees, while at the same time he
approaches nearer us, — and afterwards bending his course so as to
depart from us by little and little; — and when we see that by this
means the length of the days and nights is regulated, and that the
variation of their length is arranged according to a law so uniform,
as invariably to recur at the same points of time in every successive
year, we have in this a much brighter testimony to the glory of God.
David, therefore, with the highest reason, declares, that although
God should not speak a single word to men, yet the orderly and useful
succession of days and nights eloquently proclaims the glory of God,
and that there is now left to men no pretext for ignorance; for since
the days and nights perform towards us so well and so carefully the
office of teachers, we may acquire, if we are duly attentive, a
sufficient amount of knowledge under their tuition.

3. There is no language nor speech [where] their voice is not heard.
This verse receives two almost contrary interpretations, each of
which, however, has the appearance of probability. As the words, when
rendered literally, read thus — No language, and no words, their
voice is not heard — some connect the third and fourth verses
together, as if this sentence were incomplete without the clause
which follows in the beginning of the fourth verse, Their writing has
gone forth through all the earth, etc. According to them, the meaning
is this:– The heavens, it is true, are mute and are not endued with
the faculty of speech; but still they proclaim the glory of God with
a voice sufficiently loud and distinct. But if this was David’s
meaning, what need was there to repeat three times that they have not
articulate speech? It would certainly be spiritless and superfluous
to insist so much upon a thing so universally known. The other
exposition, therefore, as it is more generally received, seems also
to be more suitable. In the Hebrew tongue, which is concise, it is
often necessary to supply some word; and it is particularly a common
thing in that language for the relatives to be omitted, that is to
say, the words which, in which, etc., as here, There is no language,
there is no speech, [where] their voice is not heard. Besides, the
third negation, ylb, beli, rather denotes an exception to what is
stated in the preceding members of the sentence, as if it had been
said, The difference and variety of languages does not prevent the
preaching of the heavens and their language from being heard and
understood in every quarter of the world. The difference of languages
is a barrier which prevents different nations from maintaining mutual
intercourse, and it makes him who in his own country is distinguished
for his eloquence, when he comes into a foreign country either dumb
or, if he attempt to speak, barbarous. And even although a man could
speak all languages, he could not speak to a Grecian and a Roman at
the same time; for as soon as he began to direct his discourse to the
one, the other would cease to understand him. David, therefore, by
making a tacit comparison, enhances the efficacy of the testimony
which the heavens bear to their Creator. The import of his language
is, Different nations differ from each other as to language; but the
heavens have a common language to teach all men without distinction,
nor is there any thing but their own carelessness to hinder even
those who are most strange to each other, and who live in the most
distant parts of the world, from profiting, as it were, at the mouth
of the same teacher.

4. Their writing has gone forth, etc. Here the inspired writer
declares how the heavens preach to all nations indiscriminately,
namely, because men, in all countries and in all parts of the earth,
may understand that the heavens are set before their eyes as
witnesses to bear testimony to the glory of God. As the Hebrew word
wq, kav signifies sometimes a line, and sometimes a building, some
deduce from it this meaning, that the fabric of the heavens being
framed in a regular manner, and as it were by line, proclaims the
glory of God in all parts of the world. But as David here
metaphorically introduces the splendor and magnificence of the
heavenly bodies, as preaching the glory of God like a teacher in a
seminary of learning, it would be a meagre and unsuitable manner of
speaking to say, that the line of the heavens goes forth to the
uttermost ends of the earth. Besides, he immediately adds, in the
following clause, that their words are every where heard; but what
relation is there between words and the beauty of a building? If,
however, we render wq, kav, writing, these two things will very well
agree, first, that the glory of God is written and imprinted in the
heavens, as in an open volume which all men may read; and, secondly,
that, at the same time, they give forth a loud and distinct voice,
which reaches the ears of all men, and causes itself to be heard in
all places. Thus we are taught, that the language of which mention
has been made before is, as I may term it, a visible language, in
other words, language which addresses itself to the sight; for it is
to the eyes of men that the heavens speak, not to their ears; and
thus David justly compares the beautiful order and arrangement, by
which the heavenly bodies are distinguished, to a writing. That the
Hebrew word wq, kav, signifies a line in writing, is sufficiently
evident from Isaiah 28:10, where God, comparing the Jews to children
who are not yet of sufficient age to make great proficiency, speaks
thus:

"For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon
line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little."

In my judgment, therefore, the meaning is, that the glory of God is
not written in small obscure letters, but richly engraven in large
and bright characters, which all men may read, and read with the
greatest ease. [John Calvin]