The Piety of John Calvin: A Collection of His Spiritual Prose, Poems, and Hymns (Calvin 500) [Paperback]

Ford Lewis Battles (Author)

Book Description

Series: Calvin 500 | Publication Date: May 1, 2009

The Piety of John Calvin is an anthology that promotes a warm personal grasp of Calvin, the man. This book seeks to show the Christian man as he saw himself, to see the Christian life as he understood it, and to examine both his theoretical exposition or prayer and his own prayers, in the liturgy and for other occasions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Here is a treasure. With impeccable scholarship and insight, Battles picks out products of Calvin s pen that take us closest to his heart, and presents them in a way that gives them fullest force. What a godly man! And what a wonderful book! --J I Packer

About the Author

Ford Lewis Battles (1915-1979) received his Ph.D. from Hartford Theological Seminary. Battles was a visiting professor of church history at Calvin Theological Seminary and also taught at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Hartford Theological Seminary. He is widely recognized as one of the foremost Calvin scholars today.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: P & R Publishing; Reissue edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875520596
• ISBN-13: 978-0875520599
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,569,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Worth Keeping, June 17, 2009

By 

John A. Bird (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Piety of John Calvin: A Collection of His Spiritual Prose, Poems, and Hymns (Calvin 500) (Paperback)

During his life, John Calvin was ridiculed, slandered, and hated by those who misunderstood him. After 500 years, not much has changed. He is often thought of as no more than a cold and unaffectionate theologian. The goal of The Piety of John Calvin is to give readers a glimpse of the true Calvin--a man who was much different than his caricature.

As the title says, The Piety of John Calvin is "a collection of his spiritual prose, poems, and hymns." Other than the preface and a lengthy introduction, the author lets the reformer speak for himself.

Chapter one, "The Spiritual Pilgrimage of Calvin," is an autobiographical piece taken from the introduction to Calvin's commentary on the Psalms. Calvin's story is interesting, encouraging, and edifying.

The next three chapters are portions from the Institutes: "The Kernel of Calvin's Faith," "Calvin on the Christian Life," and "Calvin on Prayer." These writings reveal Calvin the pastor. Far from being interested in theology as an end in itself, he viewed theology as a means to rightly living the Christian life. "No doctrine of tongue the gospel is, but of life itself." "On the Christian Life," is the longest chapter, and is worth the price of the book.

Calvin was a man of prayer, and he believed it to be one of the greatest blessings and responsibilities of a believer. "As children fly to the protection of their parents, He bids us, urges us to seek in Him our every need." Chapter 4, "Calvin on Prayer," is Calvin's exposition of the Lord's Prayer. Chapter 5 is composed of many of the prayers he used in worship. There are prayers for Sunday, Wednesday, workdays, and any other occasion.

For the reader who loves hymns and music, there is a chapter of "Metrical Psalms Translated by Calvin." Not only are the Psalms arranged for music, but the notes are even included in the book. The book concludes with prose-poems adapted from Calvin's works and an epilogue: "Calvin on Christ and the Church."

For those not interested in John Calvin the man, the writings in The Piety serve their original purpose: to direct the reader's attention to the Lord. The book makes the perfect devotional, music and all. But the reader will also come away with a better grasp of the reformer from Geneva--a man full of devotion and love for God.

The author, Ford Lewis Battles, is considered one of the great Calvin scholars. He spent years translating Calvin's work, including an edition of the Institutes. One of his lifetime goals "was to balance the systematic strain of Calvin with the poetic strain." He achieved that in this book, which I highly recommend. It is one that you'll keep.