I have been aware previously of some examples of Calvin’s prayers that are recorded in various places, but have been struck by them again as I work my way through his commentary on Jeremiah. Calvin ends each lecture – for that is how these teachings were first given – with a prayer that picks up on the content of the passage he has been teaching on. Personally, I am finding his prayers at the end of each lecture as stimulating and edifying as the commentary itself, and so thought I would share some of them here as a weekly Sunday post.
This first one, comes at the end of Lecture 2 on Jeremiah, in which Calvin has been commenting on Jeremiah 1:6-12 in which God responds to the prophet’s reluctance because of his youthfulness and inexperience. Calvin’s subsequent prayer is for obedience and teachability.
“Grant, Almighty God, that since thou art pleased kindly to invite us to thyself, and hast consecrated thy word for our salvation, – O grant that we may willingly, and from the heart, obey thee, and become so teachable, that what thou hast designed for our salvation may not turn to our perdition; but may that incorruptible seed by which thou dost regenerate us into a hope of the celestial life so drive its roots into our heart and bring forth fruit, that thy name may be glorified; and may we be so planted in the courts of thine house, that we may grow and flourish, and that fruit may appear through the whole course of our life.”
Commentary on Jeremiah, vol 1, p51 Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1989