John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 24:14

"These shall lift up their voice, they shall shout; for the majesty of Jehovah they cry aloud from the sea." — Isaiah 24:14 (ASV)

They shall lift up their voice. He elaborates on and expands the consolations he had briefly sketched. For, having previously (Isaiah 10:19–22) said that from that vast multitude a few drops would be left, which would nevertheless overflow the whole world, similarly he now says that the small number of the godly, remaining from an abundant vintage, will nevertheless rejoice and utter a voice so loud that it will be heard in the most distant countries. This was accomplished by the preaching of the gospel. For, regarding the condition of Judea, it appeared to be entirely ruined by it: the national government was taken away, and they were so broken down by foreign and civil wars that they could never rise above them. The rest of the world was silent in singing the praises of God and deaf to hearing His voice; but as the Jews were the first fruits, I will willingly admit that they are here placed in the highest rank.

From this we obtain a remarkable consolation: that the Lord can in a moment restore His Church and make it most flourishing; or rather, He can, as it were, create it out of nothing, for even out of death, as we have seen, He brings life. Now, it is contrary to nature and ordinary custom for so small a number of people to lift up their voice and be heard in distant places; for where there are few people, there is silence, and where there is a crowd, there is commonly a noise. It is therefore a work of God, which surpasses the course of nature and human ability. Otherwise, it would appear as if the Prophet uttered a contradiction: that when the whole of Judea had been devastated and the world emptied, there would be few or almost none left, and yet their shouting would be heard everywhere. This is in itself unbelievable, or rather absurd; but, as we have already said, it is an astonishing work of God.

They shall cry aloud from the sea. By those heralds he means not only those who were the descendants of the Jews according to the flesh, but also those who were descended from them by faith. The crying aloud denotes not only cheerful voices, expressive of gladness and joy, but also confidence, for they will freely and boldly utter with a loud voice the praises of God. He states, at the same time, that it is right that believers should be engaged in extolling God’s perfections and not their own claims to approval. By the sea, he obviously means distant countries, and those which lay beyond the sea and were unknown to the Jews.