God and the Civil Government

From the duties of Christians at the ballot box to the doctrine of the lesser magistrate, John Calvin (1509-1564) had much to say on the institution and workings of civil government. Included in this volume are his thoughts on elections, rulers, judges, and civil office. His writings discuss the role of God's law in jurisprudence and stipulate the standards by which nations must be governed. He examines just magistrates and tyrants, honor and obedience, and the overruling hand of providence found in all offices and positions of authority. He also issues a biblical warning against fearing men or favoring an unjust cause in judgment.

Pertinent in its thought and stunning in its applicability to contemporary law and politics, Calvin's sermons and writings present a refreshing analysis of the providential institution of civil government and the various jurisdictions of life. His deep understanding of both the nature of man and the root of rebellion and revolution as well as the duties of rulers and citizens in the civil sphere and before God offers the modern reader a powerful and relevant exposition of Scripture's teachings on government and society.

God and the Civil Government is composed of excerpts from Calvin's sermons on Deuteronomy preached in Geneva in 1555 and 1556. The text has been translated from the published version Sermons de M. Jean Calvin sur le v. livre de Moyse nommé Deuteronome (Thomas Courteau, Geneva, 1567) and has been duly compared with Arthur Golding's English translation published in 1583 under the title The Sermons of M. John Calvin upon the Fifth Book of Moses (printed by Henry Middleton for Thomas Woodcocke, London).

Alongside these sermons, chapters six through eleven of this volume have been taken from Calvin's writing on the civil government in his Institutes of the Christian Religion.