John Calvin Quotes
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There can be no courage in men unless God supports them by his Word.
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Nobody seriously believes the universe was made by God without being persuaded that He takes care of His works.
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It is a most blessed thing to be subject to the sovereignty of God.
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There is but one Church in which men find salvation, just as outside the ark of Noah it was not possible for anyone to be saved.
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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.
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No one can travel so far that he does not make some progess each day. So let us never give up. Then we shall move forward daily in the Lord's way. And let us never despair because of our limited success. Even though it is so much less than we would like, our labour is not wasted when today is better than yesterday!
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The highest honor in the church is not government but service.
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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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The effect of our knowledge rather ought to be, first, to teach us reverence and fear; and, secondly, to induce us, under its guidance and teaching, to ask every good thing from God, and, when it is received, ascribe it to him. For how can the idea of God enter your mind without instantly giving rise to the thought, that since you are his workmanship, you are bound, by the very law of creation, to submit to his authority?-\-\that your life is due to him?-\-\that whatever you do ought to have reference to him.
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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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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 no wisdom but that which is founded on the fear of God, which Solomon also declares to be the chief part of wisdom.
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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 vices of which we are full we carefully hide from others, and we flatter ourselves with the notion that they are small and trivial; we sometimes even embrace them as virtues.
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Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy.
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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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Many people have accused me of such ferocious cruelty that (they allege) I would like to kill again the man I have destroyed. Not only am I indifferent to their comments, but I rejoice in the fact that they spit in my face.
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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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To crave wealth and honor, to demand power, to pile up riches, to gather all those vanities which seem to make for pomp and empty display, that is our furious passion and our unbounded desire.On the other hand, we fear and abhor poverty, obscurity, and humility, and we seek to avoid them by all possible means.
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Indeed, a Christian ought to be disposed and prepared to keep in mind that he has to reckon with God every moment of his life.
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If God does nothing random, there must always be something to learn.
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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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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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He who has learned to look to God in everything he does is at the same time diverted from all vain thoughts.