John Calvin on Daily Bread

In a sermon on Genesis 2:1-6, Calvin says,

Yet, we must not continue to think that we could not be nourished without ploughing and rain. But let us realize that our Lord, who uses rain today, though he did not use it previously, nevertheless did not prevent the earth from producing fruits. It was clothed beforehand with trees and plants. And how did that happen? We see that everything is attributed to God. It is true Moses says God 'had not yet rained'. That is so we would remember that the rain does not come of its own accord or by chance, but that God sends it, as it is said that the clouds are his containers which he maintains up there, and when he wishes to pierce them, they must all empty (Psa. 33:7), as we will see in the example of the Flood. But the situation is such that we must lift our minds above the entire order of nature if we wish to glorify God as he deserves. We must acknowledge that, as today, he ordered the rain to be of use to us, so the earth will receive the sustenance it gives us, the sustenance the earth was already producing. Whatever drought there may be today and even if the rain should cease altogether, let us hope in our God that he will be able to nourish us and sustain us well when we ask him for our daily bread and open our mouths to be hand fed by him.

Sermons on Genesis: Chapters 1:1-11:4. trans. Rob Roy McGregor. East Peoria, IL: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009. p. 140.