John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 41:12

"Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought." — Isaiah 41:12 (ASV)

You shall seek them. That is, if you seek them; for enemies are not sought when they have been put to flight; and therefore, I think that this future tense should be rendered as a subjunctive: , “If you seek them, you shall not find them; for they shall be destroyed and reduced to nothing.”

Here it should be observed that he describes two kinds of enemies. One kind consists of those who attack us with open violence. The other kind consists of those who attack us with words—that is, who tear us with slanders, curses, and reproaches.

These verbal attackers, as if defending a righteous cause, carry on various controversies with us, summon us to courts of justice, and often accuse us of the very crimes of which they themselves have been guilty. But these are the stratagems of Satan, and we need not wonder that those who are his servants imitate their lord and master.

The Prophet therefore mentions armed enemies who violently fight against the Church, and next brings forward wranglers who annoy the Church by deceit, slander, and a false pretense of justice. We need not wonder, therefore, that such accusations are directed against us, and we should not think it strange if many unprincipled men in the present day sell themselves to Antichrist to slander us; for the same thing happened formerly to prophets and other servants of God.