Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
John CalvinRead
A soul, therefore, when deprived of the Word of God, is given up unarmed to the devil for destruction
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of spiritual guidance and the dangers of being without it.
John Calvin suggests that a person's soul is vulnerable and defenseless against evil when it lacks the divine wisdom and guidance provided by the Word of God. This idea implies that spiritual teachings are essential in protecting individuals from moral and spiritual downfall.
In practice
In a sermon discussing the significance of faith, one might use this quote to highlight the need for spiritual strength.
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.
Very often, I confess, the teller of dreams bores me. His dream could perhaps interest me if it were frankly worked on. But to hear a glorious tale of his insanity! I have not yet clarified, psychoanalytically, this boredom during the recital of other people's dreams. Perhaps I have retained the stiffness of a rationalist. I do not follow the tale of justified incoherence docilely. I always suspect that part of the stupidities being recounted are invented.
There is something noble in hearing myself ill spoken of, when I am doing well.
Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object.
I think perfect objectivity is an unrealistic goal; fairness, however, is not
Is it not certain that the Creator yawns in earthquake and thunder and other popular displays, but toils in rounding the delicate spiral of a shell? -Yeats, The Trembling of the Veil
THEOSOPHY, n. An ancient faith having all the certitude of religion and all the mystery of science.
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