Against the persecution of a tyrant the godly have no remedy but prayer.
John CalvinRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the challenges that come with divine calling and the moral responsibilities it entails.
John Calvin suggests that those chosen by God are expected to face numerous trials and adversities. This acknowledgment of hardship aligns with the belief that a virtuous life involves perseverance through struggles and a commitment to righteousness, reinforcing the notion that true fellowship with the divine comes with significant challenges.
Themes
FaithHardshipDivineChallengesPerseverance
In practice
Example use cases
During a church sermon about the struggles of faith.
More from John Calvin
All quotes →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.
John CalvinRead
Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God's majesty.
John CalvinRead
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.
John CalvinRead
When God wants to judge a nation, He gives them wicked rulers.
John CalvinRead
Wherever we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults.
John CalvinRead
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