John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 33:2

"O Jehovah, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou our arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble." — Isaiah 33:2 (ASV)

O Jehovah, have pity upon us. This sentiment was added by the Prophet to remind the godly where they ought to turn in such distresses, even when they appear to be deprived of all hope of safety. They ought to resort to prayer, to supplicate God for the fulfillment of these promises, even when they are most wretched and when the enemy's power to oppress them cruelly is very formidable.

And here we should carefully observe the order the Prophet has followed, by first presenting the promise of God and immediately exhorting to prayer. Not only so, but he interrupts the flow of his discourse and suddenly bursts out into prayer. This is because although the Lord hastens to perform what He has promised, yet He delays for a time to exercise our patience.

But when we ought to wait, we find no steadfastness or perseverance in ourselves; our hearts immediately faint and languish. We ought, therefore, to resort to prayer, which alone can support and gladden our hearts while we look earnestly toward God, by whose guidance alone we will be delivered from our distresses.

Yet let us patiently, with unshaken hope and confidence, await what He has promised us. For in the end He will show that He is faithful and will not disappoint us.

At the same time, the Prophet tells us to consider not only in general the judgment of God against the Assyrians, but also God’s fatherly kindness toward His chosen people. It is as if he had said that the Assyrians will be destroyed, not only so they may receive the just reward of their avarice and cruelty, but because in this way God is pleased to provide for the safety of His Church. But while he exhorts us to pray for mercy, he likewise declares that we will be miserable.

In You we have hoped. To cherish the hope of obtaining favor, believers next declare that they “have hoped in God,” on whom they now call. Indeed, our prayers must be idle and useless if they are not founded on this principle.

“Let Your mercy be upon us,” says David,
“according as we have hoped in You” (Psalms 33:22).

For to go into the presence of God, if He did not open up the way by His word, would be excessively rash. Therefore, as He kindly and gently invites us, so we ought to embrace His word whenever we approach Him.

Besides, patience must be added to faith. Therefore, when faith is taken away, we do not deserve for the Lord to hear us, because it is by faith that we call upon Him. Now faith alone is the mother of calling on God, as is frequently declared in many passages of Scripture. And if faith is lacking, there can be nothing left in us but hypocrisy, than which nothing is more abhorred by God (Romans 10:14).

And from this it is evident that there is no Christianity in the whole of Popery. For if the chief part of the worship of God consists of prayer, and if they do not know what it is to pray (for they tell us to doubt continually, and even accuse the faith of the godly of rashness), what kind of worshippers of God are they? Can that prayer be lawful which is perplexed by uncertainty and does not rely with firm confidence on the promises of God? Do not those Rabbins, who wish to be reckoned theologians, show that they are mere babes? Certainly, our children excel them in knowledge and in the true light of godliness.

Let us also learn from these words that our faith is proved by adversity. For the actual trial of faith is when, with unshaken patience despite all dangers and assaults, we continue to rely on the word and the promises. Thus we will give practical evidence that we have sincerely believed.

Be what You have been, their arm in the morning. Others render it as if it were a continued prayer, “Be our arm in the morning, and our salvation in tribulation.” Regarding believers speaking in the third person, they consider it to be a change frequently employed by the Hebrews.

But I think the Prophet’s meaning is different, for he intended to express that desire which is made more intense by benefits formerly received. Therefore, in my opinion, that clause is appropriately inserted, “their arm in the morning,” in which I supply the words “who has been,” to bring forward the ancient benefits bestowed by God on the fathers. It is as if they said, “You, Lord, did listen to the prayers of our fathers; when they fled to You, You gave them assistance. Now also be You our salvation, and relieve us from our afflictions.”

“Arm” and “salvation” differ in this respect: “arm” denotes the power the Lord exerted in defense of His Church, and that before she was afflicted, while “salvation” denotes the deliverance by which the Lord rescues the Church, even when she appears to be ruined. He therefore records ancient benefits that the Lord formerly bestowed on the fathers, so that this might serve as a plea for God to exercise the same compassion toward the children. It is as if he had said, “O Lord, You formerly turned away the dangers that threatened Your Church; relying on Your favor she flourished and prospered. You also delivered her when oppressed. In the same way You will act on our behalf, especially since it belongs to Your character to render assistance when matters are desperate and at their worst.”

The particle אף, (aph,) even, is very emphatic for confirming our faith, so that we may not doubt that God, who always continues to be like Himself and never degenerates from His nature or swerves from His purpose, will also be our deliverer; for believers have found Him to be such. We ought, therefore, to continually place before our eyes the manner in which the Lord formerly assisted and delivered the fathers, so that we may be fully convinced that we also will not fail to obtain assistance and deliverance from Him.