John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 41:17

"The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them." — Isaiah 41:17 (ASV)

The needy and poor shall seek water. Here he continues the subject which he had begun to address at the beginning of the fortieth chapter. He describes the wretched and afflicted condition in which the Jews would be in Babylon, until at last God would have compassion on them and provide assistance. He therefore prepares them for enduring extreme poverty by saying that they will be thirsty; for this figure of speech, by which a part is taken for the whole, is better suited to express the severity of the affliction. We know that nothing causes people greater distress than the lack of water when they are thirsty.

I Jehovah will listen to them. God declares that he will relieve them when they are brought to this needy condition. From this we should learn to whom this promise belongs: namely, to those who, having been reduced to extremity, are, as it were, parched with thirst and almost fainting.

Thus we also see that the Church does not always possess an abundance of all blessings, but sometimes feels the pressure of great poverty, so that she may be driven by these spurs to call upon God; for we commonly fall into slothfulness when everything goes according to our wishes.

It is therefore advantageous to us to thirst and hunger, so that we may learn to flee to the Lord with our whole heart. In short, we need to be deeply affected by the conviction of our poverty, so that we may feel the Lord’s assistance. The Prophet unquestionably intended, by this circumstance, partly to illustrate the greatness of the favor, and partly to advise the people not to lose heart on account of their poverty.

The needy and poor. We should observe the names by which the Prophet here calls the people of God. When he calls them afflicted and poor, he does not speak of strangers, but of those whom the Lord had adopted and chosen to be his heritage, and whom he forewarns that they must patiently endure some severe hardships. Therefore, we should not wonder if the Lord sometimes allows us almost to languish through hunger and thirst, since he dealt no less severely with our ancestors.

When he says that waters are nowhere to be seen, we should learn that the Lord, in order to test our patience and faith, withdraws every assistance from us, so that we may lean on him alone. Thus, when we look around on every side and see no relief, let us know that the Lord will still assist. By the expression, I will listen, he means that God does not assist every kind of person, but those who pray to him. For if we are so slothful as to disregard his aid, it is right that we should be entirely deprived of it, and, on account of our unworthiness, should feel no relief.