--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not our free will but 'it is the…" description: "\"It is not our free will but 'it is the Lord who sets the captive free' (Ps. 145:7). It is not our own virtue but 'it is the Lord who lifts up those who..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/john-cassian-13822_application_it-is-not-our-free-will-but-it-is-the-lo_1498321.png" --- # It is not our free will but 'it is the Lord who sets the… ![“It is not our free will but 'it is the Lord who sets the captive free' (Ps. 145:7). It is not our own virtue but 'it is the Lord who lifts up those who were laid low' (Ps. 145:8). It is not application to reading but 'it is the Lord who gives light to the blind' (Ps. 145:8). It is not our…” quote by John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/john-cassian-13822_application_it-is-not-our-free-will-but-it-is-the-lo_1498321.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/john-cassian-13822_application_it-is-not-our-free-will-but-it-is-the-lo_1498321.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/john-cassian-13822_application_it-is-not-our-free-will-but-it-is-the-lo_1498321.png) > “It is not our free will but 'it is the Lord who sets the captive free' (Ps. 145:7). It is not our own virtue but 'it is the Lord who lifts up those who were laid low' (Ps. 145:8). It is not application to reading but 'it is the Lord who gives light to the blind' (Ps. 145:8). It is not our cautiousness but 'it is the Lord who protects the stranger' (Ps. 145:9). It is not our endurance but 'it is the Lord who raises or gives support to the fallen' (Ps. 144:14).” [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine intervention, not human effort, provides freedom, uplift, guidance, protection, and support to those in need. **In simple terms:** God, not self, grants help. Key Takeaway Rely on divine aid. Themes faith dependence spirituality Mood reverent hopeful Type spiritual religious When to use this quote - faith - prayer - community - personal crisis Key Concepts theology grace divine providence Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance faith and personal responsibility? - What role does prayer play in your life? A Different Perspective Human agency still matters in responding to divine gifts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Cautiousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cautiousness/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Endurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endurance/) [Free will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-will/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [Orthodox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox/) [Orthodox christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox-christian/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [The Lord protects, guides, and watches over those who are His trusted friends in His work. His work and that of His Father and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/the-lord-protects-guides-and-watches-over-those-who-are-his-trusted/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [The gate is small because truth guards the entrance. The way is narrow because the Lord protects us with wise boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/the-gate-is-small-because-truth-guards-the-entrance-the-way-is-narrow/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [“not your trust in princes,          r in a son of man, in whom there is  s no salvation. 4    When  t his breath departs, he returns to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/not-your-trust-in-princes-r-in-a-son-of-man-in-whom-there-is-s-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ere man's corruptions made him wretched, he Was born most noble that was born most free; Each of himself was lord; and unconfin'd Obey'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-otway/ere-man-s-corruptions-made-him-wretched-he-was-born-most-noble-that/) [Thomas Otway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-otway/) > [If you open up your heart You will know what I mean We've been polluted so long But here's a way for you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/if-you-open-up-your-heart-you-will-know-what-i-mean-we-ve-been/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject of all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/a-christian-is-a-perfectly-free-lord-of-all-subject-to-none-a/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [One may always attempt as much insight, love, freedom of thought and expression, justice and tolerance as possible for oneself and the very few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-bey/one-may-always-attempt-as-much-insight-love-freedom-of-thought-and/) [Hakim Bey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-bey/) > [“No one except your husband knows of the cautiousness at the heart of your life. Your adulthood has been a progressive retreat from curiosity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-gemmell/no-one-except-your-husband-knows-of-the-cautiousness-at-the-heart-of/) [Nikki Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-gemmell/) > [“To those who in their turn selectively handle Mormon history and discourage our probing it in a number of areas, one needs to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-f-rogers/to-those-who-in-their-turn-selectively-handle-mormon-history-and/) Thomas F. Rogers > [Activity makes more men's fortunes than cautiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/activity-makes-more-men-s-fortunes-than-cautiousness/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [It’s funny now, trying to socialise with people. There’s this cautiousness about people which I just find really weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/it-s-funny-now-trying-to-socialise-with-people-there-s-this/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [The young suffer less from their own errors than from the cautiousness of the old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/the-young-suffer-less-from-their-own-errors-than-from-the/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [My donkeys are Jack and Don Quixote. They're very smart, very cautious. Much of what people consider stubbornness in donkeys is actually cautiousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-jo-campbell/my-donkeys-are-jack-and-don-quixote-they-re-very-smart-very-cautious/) [Bonnie Jo Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-jo-campbell/) > [When safety is our priority, we live our lives being very, very careful, and we wind up having no lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-safety-is-our-priority-we-live-our-lives-being-very-very-careful/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [“There is no control and no all-powerful creator, either – no more ‘God’ than man – but there is care, scruple, cautiousness, attention, contemplation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-latour/there-is-no-control-and-no-all-powerful-creator-either-no-more-god/) [Bruno Latour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-latour/) ## More by John Cassian > [...just as the edifice of all the virtues strives upward toward perfect prayer so will all these virtues be neither sturdy nor enduring unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/just-as-the-edifice-of-all-the-virtues-strives-upward-toward-perfect/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [ ...the souls of the dead \[are\] not deprived of their intellectual faculties but... they also are not lacking in feelings such as hope and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/the-souls-of-the-dead-are-not-deprived-of-their-intellectual/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [...we should realize that there are three sources for our thoughts - God, the devil, and ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/we-should-realize-that-there-are-three-sources-for-our-thoughts-god/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [In proportion as the ardor of divine love brings you nearer to God, so will a larger concourse of saintly brethren flock to you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/in-proportion-as-the-ardor-of-divine-love-brings-you-nearer-to-god-so/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [Everything we do, our every objective, must be undertaken for the sake of... purity of heart... we must practice the reading of the Scripture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/everything-we-do-our-every-objective-must-be-undertaken-for-the-sake/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [When we say 'hallowed be Your name' to God what we are really saying is 'Father, make us such as deserve knowledge and understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/when-we-say-hallowed-be-your-name-to-god-what-we-are-really-saying-is/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [When the soul is solidly rooted in... peacefulness, when it is freed of the bonds of every carnal urge, when the unshaking thrust of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/when-the-soul-is-solidly-rooted-in-peacefulness-when-it-is-freed-of/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [We are often indifferent to our brethren who are distressed or upset, on the grounds that they are in this state through no fault…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/we-are-often-indifferent-to-our-brethren-who-are-distressed-or-upset/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [The apostles were very sure that everything of theirs which had to do with salvation was a gift to them from God. 'Increase our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/the-apostles-were-very-sure-that-everything-of-theirs-which-had-to-do/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [...we must first scrutinize thoroughly anything appearing in our hearts or any saying suggested to us. Has it come purified from the divine and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/we-must-first-scrutinize-thoroughly-anything-appearing-in-our-hearts/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [“It is not an external enemy we dread. Our foe is shut up within ourselves. An internal warfare is daily waged by us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/it-is-not-an-external-enemy-we-dread-our-foe-is-shut-up-within/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [If you want to correct your brother when he is doing wrong? you must keep yourself calm; otherwise you yourself may catch the sickness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/if-you-want-to-correct-your-brother-when-he-is-doing-wrong-you-must/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [The thief who received the kingdom of heaven, though not as the reward of virtue, is a true witness to the fact that salvation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/the-thief-who-received-the-kingdom-of-heaven-though-not-as-the-reward/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [...whoever is guided solely by his own judgment and decision will never climb up to the summit of perfection and will not fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/whoever-is-guided-solely-by-his-own-judgment-and-decision-will-never/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) > [All of our holy fathers knew this and all with one accord teach that perfection in holiness can be achieved only through humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassian/all-of-our-holy-fathers-knew-this-and-all-with-one-accord-teach-that/) [John Cassian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) [Explore all 49 John Cassian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassian/) ## More Application quotes > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I've been in real estate for a long time and I always try to stay on the edge. I'm really excited about the partnership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-hammer/i-ve-been-in-real-estate-for-a-long-time-and-i-always-try-to-stay-on/) [MC Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-hammer/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“...why don't you take a picture of yourself next to a fucking job application? How about that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-wolf/why-don-t-you-take-a-picture-of-yourself-next-to-a-fucking-job/) Josh Wolf > [Everything for us is a system. We don't think about it discretely as just as a piece of hardware, or discretely as an application...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hosain-rahman/everything-for-us-is-a-system-we-don-t-think-about-it-discretely-as/) [Hosain Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hosain-rahman/) > [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/) [Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/) > [Without application of the mind; there is no drive for taking affirmative action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mercado/without-application-of-the-mind-there-is-no-drive-for-taking/) [Joseph Mercado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mercado/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [At every juncture, advanced tools have been the key to a new wave of applications, and each wave of applications has been key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/at-every-juncture-advanced-tools-have-been-the-key-to-a-new-wave-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The effect of the discovery of printing was evident in the savage religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Application of power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-innis/the-effect-of-the-discovery-of-printing-was-evident-in-the-savage/) [Harold Innis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-innis/) > [As science is more and more subject to grave misuse as well as to use for human benefit it has also become the scientist's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-science-is-more-and-more-subject-to-grave-misuse-as-well-as-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you ask ... the man in the street ... the human significance of mathematics, the answer of the world will be, that mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassius-jackson-keyser/if-you-ask-the-man-in-the-street-the-human-significance-of/) [Cassius Jackson Keyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassius-jackson-keyser/) > [Technology, and applications of this technology, will continue to improve and evolve, providing unprecedented, global access to information, individuals, training, and opportunities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-webb/technology-and-applications-of-this-technology-will-continue-to/) [Maynard Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-webb/) Browse all 918 Application quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not our free will but 'it is the Lord who sets the captive free' (Ps. 145:7). It is not our own virtue but 'it is the Lord who lifts up those who were laid low' (Ps. 145:8). It is not application to reading but 'it is the Lord who gives light to the blind' (Ps. 145:8). It is not our cautiousness but 'it is the Lord who protects the stranger' (Ps. 145:9). 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