What in us seems perfection itself corresponds ill to the purity of God.
Hence that dread and wonder with which Scripture commonly represents the saints as stricken and overcome whenever they felt the presence of God. Thus it comes about that we see men who in his absence normally remained firm and constant, but who, when he manifests his glory, are so shaken and struck dumb as to be laid low by the dread of death–are in fact overwhelmed by it and almost annihilated. As a consequence, we must infer that man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.
~John Calvin~
The Institutes of the Christian Religion (Louisville, KY; Westminster John Knox Press; 1974) Vol. 1.1.3. p. 38-39.
The Old Guys 
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