John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 38:18

"For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth." — Isaiah 38:18 (ASV)

For hell shall not confess thee When he says that he would not have celebrated the praises of God if his life had been taken away, he promises that he will be thankful and will keep it in remembrance, and at the same time declares that the highest and most desirable advantage that life can yield to him is that he will praise God.

But although it is a sign of true piety to desire life for no other reason than to spend it in the unceasing praises of God, yet Hezekiah appears to use language that is too exclusive; for the death of believers declares the glory of God no less than their life, and, being perfectly united to God after death, they do not cease to proclaim his praises along with the angels.

Again, another question arises: “Why was Hezekiah so eager to avoid death and so earnestly desirous of an earthly life?” Even if this second question were answered, the reader will also remember that this terror was not produced by death alone.

For the same Hezekiah, when his life ended, did not resist but willingly yielded to God. Instead, the pious king, when he had been struck by God’s wrath, grieved only on this account: that by his sins he had excluded himself from life, as if he would never afterward enjoy any favor or blessing.

The answer to the first question also depends on this; for we need not wonder if the pious king, not only supposing that he must depart from life, but also thinking that death is the punishment for sins and the vengeance of God, groans and weeps that he is condemned as unworthy of devoting himself to advancing the glory of God. All who have been struck by this thunderbolt are unable, either living or dead, to celebrate the praises of God; instead, being overwhelmed with despair, they must be silent. In the same sense David also says:

In death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall praise thee? (Psalms 6:5).

And the whole Church says:

The dead shall not praise thee, nor those that go down into silence. (Psalms 115:17).

The reason is that those who are ruined and lost will have no grounds for thanksgiving.

Yet it should also be observed that the saints, when they spoke in this manner, did not consider what kind of condition awaited them after death, but, under the influence of the pain they then felt, looked only at the purpose for which they were created and preserved in the world.

The chief object of life, as we said a little earlier, is that people should be employed in the service of God. With the same purpose God protects his Church in the world, because it is his will that his name shall be celebrated.

Now, a person who sees himself cast down, because he does not deserve to be counted or to hold a place among the worshippers of God, does not calmly and attentively consider what he will do after death.

Instead, under the darkening influence of grief—as if all exercise of piety would cease after death—he denies the dead the power of praising God, because the glory of God seems to be buried along with its witnesses.