John Calvin Quotes
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Unless we ardently and prayerfully devote ourselves to Christ's righteousness we do not only faithlessly revolt from our Creator, but we also abjure him as our Savior.
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It is a most blessed thing to be subject to the sovereignty of God.
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The Creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite, and at the same time, the most abundant furnishings. Everything in it tells of God.
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True peace consists in not separating ourselves from the will of God.
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Again I ask whence it happened that the fall of Adam involved, without remedy, in eternal death so many nations, together with their infant children, except because it so seemed good to God? A decree horrible, I confess, and yet true.
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Faith consists, not in ignorance, but in knowledge, and that, not only of God, but also of the divine will.
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There can be no courage in men unless God supports them by his Word.
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Things that are seen are temporal; things that are unseen are eternal.
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First of all, Scripture draws our attention to this, that if we want ease and tranquility in our lives, we should resign ourselves and all that we have to the will of God, and at the same time we should surrender our affections to him as our Conqueror and Overlord.
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There are people who are known to be very liberal, yet they never give without scolding or pride or even insolence.
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Let this point therefore stand: that those whom the Holy Spirit has inwardly taught truly rest upon Scripture, and that Scripture itself is self-authenticated. . . . Therefore, illumined by his power, we believe neither by our own nor by any one else's judgment that Scripture is from God; but above human judgment we affirm with utter certainty (just as if we were gazing upon the majesty of God himself) that it has flowed to us from the very mouth of God by the ministry of men.
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Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious.
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The word "hope" I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.
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God would remain absolutely hidden if we were not illuminated by the brightness of Christ.
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The whole comes to this, that Christ, when he produces faith in us by the agency of his Spirit, at the same time ingrafts us into his body, that we may become partakers of all spiritual blessings.
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The denial of ourselves which Christ has so diligently commanded his disciples from the beginning will at last dominate all the desires of our heart.
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As far as sacred Scripture is concerned, however much froward men try to gnaw at it, nevertheless it clearly is crammed with thoughts that could not be humanly conceived. Let each of the prophets be looked into: none will be found who does not far exceed human measure. Consequently, those for whom prophetic doctrine is tasteless ought to be thought of as lacking taste buds.
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Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.
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If people mean that man has in himself the power to work in partnership with God's grace they are most wretchedly deluding themselves.
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Rejoicing refers to moderation of spirit when the mind keeps itself in calmness under adversity and does not give indulgence to grief. Constant praying is the way of 'rejoicing perpetually', for by this means we ask from God alleviation in connection with all our distresses.
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The highest honor in the church is not government but service.
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The Angels are the dispensers and administrators of the Divine beneficence toward us. They regard our safety, undertake our defense, direct our ways, and exercise a constant solicitude that no evil befall us.
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Creatures are so governed by the secret counsel of God, that nothing happens but what he has knowingly and willingly decreed.
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There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning.