Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin in the Psalms

by John Calvin, Sinclair B. Ferguson (Foreword)

Readings from Calvin's Commentary on the Psalms capture the depth of his insight, wisdom, and devotion to God and provide a year's worth of daily meditations.

Genres: Devotional, Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Reference, Old Testament, Christianity

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

French-Swiss theologian John Calvin broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1533 and as Protestant set forth his tenets, known today, in Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536).

The religious doctrines of John Calvin emphasize the omnipotence of God, whose grace alone saves the elect.

* Jehan Cauvin
* Iohannes Calvinus (Latin)
* Jean Calvin (French)

Originally trained as a humanist lawyer around 1530, he went on to serve as a principal figure in the Reformation. He developed the system later called Calvinism.

After tensions provoked a violent uprising, Calvin fled to Basel and published the first edition of his seminal work. In that year of 1536, William Farel invited Calvin to help reform in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of ideas of Calvin and Farel and expelled both men. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg as the minister of refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and people eventually invited him back to lead. Following return, he introduced new forms of government and liturgy. Following an influx of supportive refugees, new elections to the city council forced out opponents of Calvin. Calvin spent his final years, promoting the Reformation in Geneva and throughout Europe.

Calvin tirelessly wrote polemics and apologia. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible as well as treatises and confessional documents and regularly gave sermons throughout the week in Geneva. The Augustinian tradition influenced and led Calvin to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation.

Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of Protestantism that bears his name. His views live on chiefly in Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, which have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major figures and entire movements, such as Puritanism, and some scholars argue that his ideas contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the west.

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Calvin referred to the Psalms as "an anatomy of all parts of the soul." This volume of daily readings in the Psalms was compiled by Sinclair Ferguson. Each reading includes the astute notes from Calvin, showing his grasp of the ways our Savior shines in all of scripture. For more than eight years I have made it my usual practice to spend time memorizing the Psalms. I have greatly appreciated the illumination provided by this volume of readings. My project continues and I will seek out other theologians like Spurgeon to shed new light on each Psalm.

that we may worship God with constant sacrifices of praise, until being gathered into the kingdom of heaven, we sing with elect angels an eternal hallelujah.~John Calvin

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my devotional books for 2009. Read through it again in 2015. Being a huge fan of John Calvin, I thoroughly enjoyed these brief selections from his commentaries on the Psalms, edited by Sinclair B. Ferguson.

The Psalms are some of my favorite portions of the Bible, and I always enjoy making them a central part of my daily (or semi-daily) Bible reading time. In fact, I think it no coincidence that they are the the middle of our Bible. There is great strength and comfort in the Psalms, as well as a display of pretty much every type of emotion known to man. David and the other psalm writers show their humanity as they plead with God, praise him, and intercede on behalf of others.

And even though Calvin's commentaries were written in the 16th century, it was quite astonishing how relevant there were to today's world.

[Jesse Atkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've generally never found Calvin to be a gripping author, and the excerpts chosen for this were sometimes the worst that could be chosen, covering topics or interpretive points that were uninteresting or irrelevant to a modern reader. Overall, there were a few helpful excerpts and otherwise I was bored and annoyed at the original translator.

[Eric Molicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still my favorite devotional even after multiple readings.

[Joy O’Toole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accessible and rich in theology.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calvin is always edifying, and particularly excels in the Psalms. However, I didn't always feel like I really understood the meaning of the text a lot more. Still, I was daily edified. Get it, read it!

Loved it.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great devotional for diving in and meditating on the Psalms all year.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenging. Profound. Deep.

Needed.

[Hunter Leavine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Calvin and this resource is a good way to get more acclimated with his commentary. The book basically breaks his commentary into a format that follows a year.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calvin's writings are always deep. Daily readings that are more theological than subjective testimony are really good for me. The content is excellent. I don't connect quite as well with his writing style as with others. These readings are excerpts from his larger and more complete commentary on the Psalms, and as such I tend to see them as less personal than many other devotional books. Perhaps that comparison comes from reading this volume immediately following Valley of Vision. Thy are different, but each is wonderful in its own way.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of two devotionals that I read in 2012 that I would classify as brief but "meaty". This work gives you 366 daily readings, each one page each, to be read in tandem with the Book of Psalms. Each day you read through not only the Psalms, but devotional thoughts on that particular text from the Reformer John Calvin. I highly recommend this work for anyone looking for a serious devotional to work through.

[Amy Crick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this devotional book for years now, and I still use it year after year. I can never tire of Calvin (being the Calvinist I am), and every year seem to find something I missed the year prior to apply to life in Christ.

[Paula]

Helps me as a supplement, to get through Psalms when I feel like I the words are going in one eye out the other... reading the prayers of a smartie. Yes, square as a book by a presby leader can be!

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an ongoing read and I will probably continue to be so for awhile yet.