Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
John CalvinRead
Hence that dread and amazement with which as Scripture uniformly relates holy men were struck and overwhelmed whenever they beheld the presence of God. Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the profound impact of encountering the divine, highlighting human insignificance in the presence of God.
In this quote, John Calvin emphasizes the overwhelming experience holy men face when they come into contact with the divine presence of God. It suggests that true awareness of our own insignificance is often realized in the light of encountering something far greater than ourselves, which can evoke both dread and awe, and challenges us to reflect on our place in the universe.
In practice
During a sermon, a pastor might reference this quote to illustrate the importance of humility before God.
Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.
Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty.
Whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of His fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil.
For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any book, however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there is something written, are scarcely able to make out two consecutive words, but, when aided by glasses, begin to read distinctly, so Scripture, gathering together the impressions of Deity, which, till then, lay confused in our minds, dissipates the darkness, and shows us the true God clearly.
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
If we wish to discuss knowledge in the most highly developed contemporary society, we must answer the preliminary question of what methodological representation to apply to that society
Save for the wild force of Nature, nothing moves in this world that is not Greek in its origin.
I must be cruel, only to be kind.
But there comes a moment in everybody's life when he must decide whether he'll live among the human beings or not - a fool among fools or a fool alone.
When I tell the truth, it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake of defending those that do.
At this point in history when all things which concern man and the structure and elements of history itself are suddenly revealed to us in a new light, it behooves us in our scientific thinking to become masters of the situation, for it is not inconceivable that sooner than we suspect, as has often been the case before in history, this vision may disappear, the opportunity may be lost, and the world will once again present a static, uniform, and inflexible countenance.
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