The promises of God were never meant to stop at the grave. In today’s reading, John Calvin examines the covenant formula that runs through the entire Old Testament—“I will be your God, and you will be my people” (Leviticus 26:12)—and argues that this promise always carried within it the assurance of life and salvation. If God truly becomes the God of His people, Calvin insists, then He must be the God not only of their bodies but of their souls, and therefore the covenant must extend beyond the present life into eternity. Calvin strengthens this argument by pointing to the lives of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did not experience earthly ease but constant trials, wanderings, famine, family conflict, and sorrow. Their lives were so marked by suffering that their hope could not have been fixed on earthly prosperity. Instead, their hards ...