John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 25:3

"Therefore shall a strong people glorify thee; a city of terrible nations shall fear thee." — Isaiah 25:3 (ASV)

Therefore the strong people will glorify you. This is the purpose I mentioned; for if the Lord were to destroy the world, no good result would follow. Indeed, destruction could produce no feeling but horror, and we would never be led by it to sing His praise. On the contrary, we would be deprived of all feeling when we perceive nothing but wrath.

But praises flow from a sense of grace and goodness. It is therefore as if he had said, “You will not only strike and afflict, O Lord, but You will also cause the chastisements to have their effect; for by them You will subdue the fierceness of men, so that those who were formerly estranged from You will bend their neck to You.” This passage should lead us to observe how much we need chastisements, which train us to obedience to God. For we are carried away by prosperity to such an extent that we think we have a right to do anything, and we even become rebellious and insolent when God treats us with gentleness.

The city of the terrible nations will fear you. When the Prophet next mentions fear, he shows that this praise does not consist in words or outward gestures, but in the sincere feeling of the heart. Hence we infer that he now speaks of the entire worship of God. However, because many people think they have fully discharged their duty as soon as they have made a confession with the mouth, he adds, for the sake of explanation, “The nations will fear you.” When he calls them strong and powerful, by these epithets he denotes their pride and arrogance, for they were elated by their prosperity. They rebel against God and cannot be made humble or submissive unless they have been deprived of all things.

Therefore, our thoughts should be directed to such views amidst the calamities we perceive. The fierceness of men must be restrained and subdued so that they may be prepared for receiving doctrine and for rendering true obedience. As long as they remain blinded by their wealth and vain confidence, they will fearlessly mock God’s judgments and will never submit to Him.