- Home
- Speakers
- John Calvin
- Stand In Awe, And Sin Not: Commune With Your Own Heart Upon Your Bed
John Calvin
John Calvin (1509–1564). Born on July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France, John Calvin was a French theologian, pastor, and reformer whose teachings shaped Protestantism. Initially studying law at the University of Orléans, he embraced Reformation ideas by 1533, fleeing Catholic France after a crackdown. In 1536, he published Institutes of the Christian Religion, a seminal work articulating Reformed theology, emphasizing God’s sovereignty and predestination. Settling in Geneva, he became a preacher at St. Pierre Cathedral, implementing church reforms, though he was exiled in 1538 over disputes, only to return in 1541. Calvin’s sermons, often expository, drew thousands, and he founded the Geneva Academy in 1559 to train pastors. His writings, including commentaries on nearly every Bible book, influenced global Protestantism. Married to Idelette de Bure in 1540, he had no surviving children and was widowed in 1549. He died on May 27, 1564, in Geneva, saying, “Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit.”
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
John Calvin preaches on the importance of self-reflection and solitude in order to examine one's own faults and sins truthfully and honestly. He emphasizes the need to withdraw from external distractions and influences to commune with one's own heart, away from the deception of empty applause and public judgment. Calvin highlights the wisdom in being angry with oneself to abstain from sin, rather than directing anger towards others, as a means of self-correction and growth.
Stand in Awe, and Sin Not: Commune With Your Own Heart Upon Your Bed
Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. —Psalm 4:4 To commune upon one's bed is a form of expression taken from the common practice and experience of men. We know that, during our intercourse with men in the daytime, our thoughts are distracted, and we often judge rashly, being deceived by the external appearance; whereas in solitude, we can give to any subject a closer attention; and, farther, the sense of shame does not then hinder a man from thinking without disguise about his own faults. David, therefore, exhorts his enemies to withdraw from those who witnessed and judged of their actions on the public stage of life, and to be alone, that they may examine themselves more truthfully and honestly. And this exhortation has a respect to us all; for there is nothing to which men are more prone than to deceive one another with empty applause, until each man enter into himself, and commune alone with his own heart. Paul, when quoting this passage in Ephesians 4:26, or, at least, when alluding to the sentiment of David, follows the Septuagint, "Be ye angry and sin not." And yet he has skillfully and beautifully applied it to his purpose. He there teaches us that men, instead of wickedly pouring forth their anger against their neighbors, have rather just cause to be angry with themselves, in order that, by this means, they may abstain from sin. And therefore he commands them rather to fret inwardly and be angry with themselves; and then to be angry not so much at the persons, as at the vices of others. —Commentaries
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
John Calvin (1509–1564). Born on July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France, John Calvin was a French theologian, pastor, and reformer whose teachings shaped Protestantism. Initially studying law at the University of Orléans, he embraced Reformation ideas by 1533, fleeing Catholic France after a crackdown. In 1536, he published Institutes of the Christian Religion, a seminal work articulating Reformed theology, emphasizing God’s sovereignty and predestination. Settling in Geneva, he became a preacher at St. Pierre Cathedral, implementing church reforms, though he was exiled in 1538 over disputes, only to return in 1541. Calvin’s sermons, often expository, drew thousands, and he founded the Geneva Academy in 1559 to train pastors. His writings, including commentaries on nearly every Bible book, influenced global Protestantism. Married to Idelette de Bure in 1540, he had no surviving children and was widowed in 1549. He died on May 27, 1564, in Geneva, saying, “Scripture is the school of the Holy Spirit.”