John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 40:22

"[It is] he that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;" — Isaiah 40:22 (ASV)

It is he that sitteth. He pursues the same subject, though in a different manner, and extols the glory and power of God. Why He does so, we have already to some extent explained. It is because we are so prone to distrust that the slightest occasion makes us waver. Therefore, the Prophet is compelled to repeat the same thing in many ways, so that he may keep our weak and unsteady hearts exercising confidence in God.

Previously, he spoke of the creation of the world, but now he comes to its continuous government. For God did not exert His power only for a single moment in creating the world; He also manifests His power no less effectively in preserving it. This is worth observing, for our minds would be little impressed by knowing that God is the Creator of the world if His hand were not continually stretched out to uphold it in existence. By the word sitteth the Prophet means that the earth does not remain firmly and permanently in its place except as it is upheld by the power of God, for “sitting” is a metaphorical term which denotes “government.”

The inhabitants of which are as locusts. By comparing the inhabitants of the earth to locusts, he reminds us that God cannot be confined within such narrow boundaries, because even the heavens do not contain Him (1 Kings 8:27); so that we may learn, whenever we mention God, to conceive of nothing earthly or human as belonging to His incomprehensible glory. Besides, this metaphor shows how ridiculous the blindness of humans is when they claim anything for themselves. For by their boastings they gain just as much as if some small creatures, such as locusts, were to elevate themselves by leaping, only to fall back immediately to the earth.

Spreadeth it out as a tent. David also employs the same form of expression (Psalms 104:2), and both speak of the aspect and spreading out of the heavens with respect to us. For they do not mean that God spreads out the heavens so that He may dwell in them, but rather so that a place of habitation under them may be given to us. For while the earth sustains us, the heavens cover us, so that we have a dwelling enclosed and covered on all sides.

But it may be thought that these metaphors detract greatly from the dignity of the subject which the Prophet discusses, while his object is to commend and exalt it as much as he can. What is a curtain? What is a tent? I reply, these metaphors nevertheless tend to exalt the subject; for it is as if he had said, “that it is as easy for God to spread out heaven as for a person to spread out a curtain.” And he leaves it to every person to consider how great the difference is between heaven and a curtain, and what their size is, which any person may easily understand.

Lastly, there is an implied contrast between tabernacles or houses, which humans spend a long time, much labor, and great expense to build, and yet which scarcely rise to a hundred feet, and the immeasurable height of the heavens, spread out by an instantaneous act of God’s will. This makes abundantly manifest how great and how excellent a workman He is.