The commentaries of M. John Calvin upon the Acts of the Apostles, faithfully translated…The commentaries of M. Iohn Caluin vpon the Actes of the Apostles, faithfully translated…

23 Forthwith he smote him. As before the Angel was a minister of gods grace in the delivery of Peter, so now he taketh vengeance upon Herod. And God doth sometimes use the ministry of Angels in heaven in punishing: but sometimes he maketh the devils as hangmen,¹ by whose hand he executeth his judgements. And this doth he as well toward his faithful servants, as toward the reprobate. Saul was troubled and vexed by satan, but the same did also befall holy Job. In the Psalm the punishments wherewith God doth chasten the wicked, are attributed to the evil Angels: yet we see how the Angel which had the government of the safety of the Church, smiteth the Egyptians in the first begotten: although the scripture calleth the wicked spirits Gods spirits, because they are obedient to his commandment though full sore against their will. But where the epithet Evil, is not added as in this place, we must understand the angel which doth willingly obey God, and yet the shape of the Owl, whereof Josephus maketh mention, did rather serve to figure the devil, than an heavenly Angel. Furthermore, I dare not affirm for a surety what manner disease that was. The word which Luke useth doth signify, that he was eaten up of worms. Many conject that it was a lousy disease. This is certain, that even when he was yet alive he was corrupt with stink & rottenness, so that he was as it were a living carcass. So that he was not only vexed with cruel torments, but also made a laughing stock to all men, & of all men reviled. For God intended to make choice of a kind of punishment, wherewith he might oppress the cruelty of a proud man with extreme ignominy. If he had bin overcome of some great & valiant army, & had bin brought to poverty, the judgment of god had not bin so marked: ⟨p. 288⟩and this had bin an honest and princely chastisement: but forasmuch as he abhorreth lice and worms, and this filthiness cometh out of his body,² which doth kill him by eating him up, he is handled according to his deserts. In like sort Pharaoh, forasmuch as he did so oft exalt himself against God with untamed pride, he was not orderly assailed by some prince that did border upon him, but Locusts and caterpillars were gods warriors to make war against him, for the more proudly a man exalteth himself: the more doth he deserve to be cast down of God into the lowest hell with shame and reproach.