Tracts & Letters (Vol 6) - Calvin - IV - Letters CCCLXXXIII to CCCXCIV

Required reading
Tracts and Letters (Volume 6) by John Calvin (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Letters CCCLXXXIII to CCCXCIV.

My summary
Today we read letters from 1555 addressed to the Church of Paris, the Duchess of Ferrara, Bullinger, Nicholas Radziwill, the Lords of Berne, the Church of Poitiers, Francis Unhard, Valentin Pacaeus, Melanchthon and Martin Sidemann.

The content of today's letters included:
(i) persecutions of Protestants in Europe, including Poland;
(ii) ongoing trouble between Geneva and the Bernese ministers;
(iii) heretics in Geneva;
(iv) the sacraments, including ongoing problems with Luther's view,

What grabbed me
I liked the advice that Calvin gave to a persecuted sister, the Duchess of Ferrara: 'Certes, I am convinced that the same attacks which caused you to backslide, will be again ere long renewed, but I pray you to think how much you owe to Him, who has ransomed you at such cost, and daily invites you to his heavenly inheritance. He is not a master in whose service we should be niggardly, and especially when we consider the issue of all the opprobrium or affliction we have to suffer for his name. Call upon him, trusting that he is sufficient to help our infirmities, and meditate on those noble promises which are to exalt us by the hope of glory in the heavens. For the foretaste alone should make us forget the world, and trample it under our feet. And to prove that the desire of glorifying God is increased in you, or at least is no wise deadened, bethink yourself, Madam, in God's name, not only how to bear testimony to him in your person, but also so to order your household, that the mouths of evil speakers be closed.'

Keep your eyes fixed on God and you can trample the world under your feet.

Next week's reading
Read Letters CCCXCV to CCCCIV.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.