John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 25:1

"O Jehovah, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, [even] counsels of old, in faithfulness [and] truth." — Isaiah 25:1 (ASV)

O Lord, you are my God. Until now, Isaiah has prophesied about the judgments of God, which threatened not only a single nation but almost the whole world. Now, it was impossible that contemplating such dreadful calamities as those he foresaw should not cause him great distress. For godly people desire that all humankind be saved; and while they honor God, they also desire to love all that belongs to God.

In short, to the extent that anyone sincerely fears God, they have a powerful and lively sense of the divine judgments. While wicked people are stunned by God's judgments but are not moved by any terror, godly people tremble at the slightest sign of his anger. If this is the case with us, what do we suppose the Prophet experienced, who had almost before his eyes those calamities he foretold? For, so that the ministers of the word might be convinced of the certainty of what they taught, it was necessary that they should be more powerfully impressed by it than most people.

Therefore, since the Lord presented to Isaiah, as in a picture, those dreadful calamities, he found it necessary, under the overpowering influence of grief and anxiety, to turn to the Lord; otherwise, the confused emotions of his mind would have agitated him beyond measure. He therefore draws courage from the belief that, in the midst of these storms, the Lord still determines to promote the benefit of his Church and to bring under his own subjection those who were previously estranged. Isaiah therefore remains firm and steadfast in his calling and does not allow himself to be diverted from his purpose, but continually relies on the hope of mercy and therefore perseveres in celebrating God's praises.

Thus we learn that this thanksgiving is connected with the previous prophecies, and that Isaiah considers not only what he foretold, but why the Lord did it—that is, why the Lord afflicted so many nations with various calamities. It was so that he might subdue those who were formerly incorrigible, who rushed forward with brutal eagerness, and who had no fear of God and no sense of religion or godliness.

You are my God. Being, so to speak, perplexed and confused, he suddenly raises his thoughts to God, as we have already said. From this we should draw a very useful doctrine: namely, that when our minds are perplexed by a variety of troubling thoughts because of numerous distresses and afflictions that happen daily, we should immediately turn to God and rely on his providence. For even the smallest calamities will overwhelm us if we do not turn to him and support our hearts with this teaching.

To bring out the Prophet's meaning more fully, the word but or nevertheless may be appropriately inserted in this manner: “Whatever temptations from that quarter may disturb me, nevertheless I will acknowledge you to be my God.” Thus he promises that he will give to God the praise that is due to him. This cannot happen unless a firm belief in his grace lives in our hearts and holds preeminence, from which grace springs a joy that gives us the most abundant reason for praise, when we are certain of our salvation and are fully convinced that the Lord is our God.

Consequently, those who have no desire to praise God have not believed and have not tasted the goodness of God; for if we actually trust in God, we will inevitably delight in praising his name.

For you have done a wonderful thing. He uses the word פלא (pĕlĕ), wonderful, in the singular number instead of the plural. The Prophet does not limit his view to the present appearance of things but looks to the end. For even people who are otherwise pagans see astonishing events in the governance of the world, the sight of which fills them with amazement; this undoubtedly happened to the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon, and to the Babylonians and Moabites.

But only those who have tasted his goodness and wisdom can profit from God's works. Otherwise, they undervalue and despise his works and do not understand their excellence, because they do not perceive their ultimate purpose. This purpose is that God, wonderfully bringing light out of darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6), raises his Church from death to life, and regulates in the best way, and directs to the most valuable end, those things that to human perception appear to be confused.

Counsels which have been already decreed of old. Now, to give even higher praise to God's providence, he adds that the counsels have been already decreed of old; as if to say that for God, nothing is sudden or unforeseen. And indeed, though he sometimes appears to us to act suddenly, yet all things were undoubtedly ordained by him before the creation of the world (Acts 15:18).

By this word, therefore, the Apostle means that all the miracles that happen contrary to human expectation are the result of that regular order God maintains in governing the world, arranging all things from the beginning to the end.

Now, since we do not understand those secret decrees, and our understanding cannot reach so high, our attention must therefore be directed to their manifestation. For they are concealed from us and exceed our comprehension until the Lord reveals them by his word, in which he adapts himself to our weakness; for his decree is (ἀνεξεύρητον) unsearchable.

Firm truth. From the eternal decrees of God, the Prophet thus proceeds to doctrines and promises, which he undoubtedly indicates by the word truth. For the repetition would be pointless if this word did not signify a connection; because, when God has revealed his purpose to us, if we believe what he says, he then shows himself to be genuinely true. He praises the firmness and certainty of the word when he says that it is steadfast truth; that is, that everything that comes from God, everything that is declared by him, is firm and unchangeable.