Here is a book, published in 1990 by the ICE (Institute for Christian Economics), Gary North’s non-profit publishing house. It consists of fifteen sermons delivered by John Calvin in 1556 on chapters 27 and 28 of the book of Deuteronomy 27 and 28. Edited by James B. Jordan.
The book was published as a definitive answer, fleshed out in 273 pages of Calvin’s own words, to an all-important question posed by Gary during his years of research and writing. It was a question that he addressed in a brief pamphlet he wrote by the same title:
Was John Calvin a theonomist?
Good question!
Hint (and spoiler alert): That question gets answered pretty quickly, explicitly and bluntly in the Preface, written by Dr. North. (You know, Dr. North could be BLUNT at times!) I will let you turn to those opening pages of the book to find out what the answer was.
Here is a link to download the PDF of this book for free. Click here: The Covenant Enforced
Since this PDF does not include what was printed on the flaps and rear side of the original dust jacket, thankfully, that priceless text was preserved on Dr. North’s website in his Free Books section on the description page for the book.
For your reading pleasure, I reprint it below:
(Inside flap)
John Calvin preached through the book of Deuteronomy on weekdays from March, 1555, to July, 1556. In all, he preached 200 sermons, expounding the book in detail and making applications to the social and political life of Geneva, as well as to the personal lives of her citizens.
The fifteen sermons selected here have not been seen in English since they were first translated and published in 1583. In this volume, editor James B. Jordan has revised Arthur Golding’s translation into modern English, making Calvin’s words come alive with renewed impact.
These sermons are as timely today as when they were first preached. Cultures that depart from God fall under His judgment. So says the Bible, and so said John Calvin. Cultures that obey God, however, receive His blessing. If there is a message that the Western world needs to hear at the present time, surely this is it.
(Catalog description)
As the Reformation began to consolidate in Geneva, John Calvin preached 200 sermons on the book of Deuteronomy in order to show the people the kind of Christian republic God wanted them to have. Calvin’s sermons were published in English in the 1580’s, and went through three editions. They have been highly influential in the development of English and American Christian culture. This book contains 15 sermons, those on Deuteronomy 27 and 28, which discuss the blessings and curses of the covenant. Rendered into modern English, these sermons are not only valuable in showing the though of one of the most profound shapers of the modern world, but they are also powerful reading, and will be of tremendous value to pastors, seminarians, and teachers.
(Long description on back cover)
Those Who Sow The Wind Will Reap The Whirlwind?
That’s what God told the prophet Hosea to tell Israel in the eighth century B.C. (Hosea 8:7), and that’s what John Calvin told the citizens of Geneva in A.D. 1556. Unlike many Christians in the western world today, Calvin was convinced that God is alive and active in history. Nations that pleased God by faith-filled obedience to His revealed will would be blessed by God, while those who angered God by rebellious disobedience to His laws would receive curses from Him.
These blessings and curses are not only spiritual, but are also social, agricultural, political, meteorological, and in fact are manifested in every area of national life. Thus, Calvin called the people of Geneva to walk a straight line before God, so that He might give them peace and not war, prosperity and not famine, life and not death.
Calvin showed from the book of Deuteronomy that God has set up a covenant with His people, and that God enforces that covenant. The principles of that covenant are every bit as relevant after the cross as they were before it, Calvin insisted.
The Protestant Reformation transformed the western world because it held to a belief in a living, active, covenant-enforcing God. If we want to recover our cultures from ruin, we must return to Biblical principles of life, and to the God of the covenant.
Once again, here is the link to download a free PDF of the book: The Covenant Enforced
Until next time…