John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 44

Yet now hear. Having previously rebuked the transgressions of the people, and declared that all deserved eternal perdition because both the princes and the people had polluted everything by their crimes, he now mitigates that severity of punishment and comforts the people.

In this passage, I consider the particle ו (vau) to mean But or Yet, as in many other passages. As if he had said, “Though grievous afflictions are about to overtake you, yet now hear what I will do for your sake.”

The verse must be viewed in connection with the former argument, because the Lord declares that he will never permit his people to perish altogether, though they are grievously afflicted. From this, we infer that God is never so angry with his Church as not to leave some room for mercy, as we have already seen on many occasions. The consequence is that the prophets, whenever they threaten, always add some consolation as an abatement.

But lest we should imagine that men have deserved it by their good conduct, he therefore adds, whom I have chosen; for we do not serve God because we are entitled to it, or deserve it, but because he makes us fit by a free election. In this passage, therefore, the words Servant and Elect are synonymous, yet so that election comes first in order, and therefore David says that he was God’s “servant” before he was born, because even from his mother’s womb he had been received into God’s family (Psalms 22:10; Psalms 71:6; Psalms 116:16).

Thus saith Jehovah thy Maker. Though He treated the Jews harshly, so that they might be stripped of all false confidence and might humbly commit themselves to the grace of God, He now caresses them pleasantly with mild and gentle words, so that they may know that by self-denial they will sustain no loss. We must therefore supply here the following contrasts: “You, Jacob, are indeed nothing in yourself, but God your Maker will not despise His work; no nobleness of birth would secure you against perdition, but the adoption which the Heavenly Father has been pleased to bestow upon you will be abundantly sufficient for redeeming you.”

Besides, we should keep in mind what I have often said already: the Prophet does not speak of the first creation by which we are born as human beings, but of the regeneration which belongs and is peculiar to the elect, so that they may obtain a place in the Church of God.

He that formed thee from the womb. This is added so that men may not claim anything for themselves, as if they had moved Him to show kindness to them. By these words He also shows them a hereditary covenant, by which God separated them to be His inheritance before they were born (Romans 9:11).

Some think that this refers to the person of Jacob, because, by taking hold of his brother’s foot (Genesis 25:26), he gave a remarkable proof of his election. However, this is a forced interpretation, and therefore I give a wider meaning to these words: namely, that the Lord was kind and bountiful to His people from the beginning and precluded all merits, because by free grace He “formed him,” and then freely bestowed on him all blessings.

He will help thee. Some supply the relative, “Who will help you;” as if He had said, “Your Helper;” but it is better to read the clause separately. It would be still clearer in the first person, “I will help you;” but as to the substance of the meaning it makes no difference. The statement amounts to this: that He who is the Creator of the people will be ready to give His assistance when the proper time shall arrive. Let every person therefore adopt that reading which he thinks proper; but I have preferred to follow the simple and natural meaning, without supplying any word.

O beloved! The word ישרון (yeshurun) is explained in various ways. Some think that it is derived from ישר (yashar), which means “to be upright,” or “to please;” others from שור (shur), and others from אשר (ashar). But I rather agree with those who translate it Beloved and derive it from the root ישר (yashar).

This designation is also bestowed on that nation by Moses in his song; for, although some render it in that passage Upright, and in this passage also, the old rendering is more suitable: My beloved is grown fat (Deuteronomy 32:15). The Prophet adorns his nation with these titles so that the Jews may be led by past benefits to entertain hope for the future.

This rule ought to be held by all believers as perpetually binding: that, after having experienced the kindness of God toward them, they should likewise expect it for the future. For otherwise they will be excessively ungrateful and will show that they do not rely on the promises of God, which, when they are impressed on our hearts, undoubtedly bring peace and safety. This is not to say that we should be utterly devoid of fear, but that we should strive against all dread and distrust. And therefore He again repeats:

Fear thou not, Jacob. Such is also the import of the consolation given by Christ: Fear not, little flock, for my Father hath good will towards thee (Luke 12:32).

And, indeed, among the dangers which threaten death on all sides, no remedy is better adapted to alleviate terrors than that God has been pleased to bestow His favor upon us, so that He will save us forever. By the word “Beloved,” therefore, He again repeats that this depends on the favor and protection of God, who ascribes to Himself, and entirely claims, all the good that existed among the people.

For I will pour waters. He continues the same subject and, at the same time, explains what will be the nature of the assistance which he has promised. But we should always keep in mind that these prophecies relate to that sorrowful and afflicted period of which he previously spoke—that is, when the people, in the desperate state to which they were reduced, might think that they were completely forsaken and that all the promises of God were vain.

Isaiah meets this doubt and compares the people to a dry and thirsty land, which has no moisture at all. By this metaphor, David also describes his wretchedness (Psalms 143:6). Therefore, although they were worn out by afflictions and their vital moisture had decayed, yet, so that they might not lose courage in their deepest distresses, they should have kept this declaration of the Prophet before their minds.

We, too, when we are brought into the greatest dangers and see nothing before us but immediate death, should similarly turn to these promises, so that we may be supported by them against all temptations. Yet we must feel our drought and poverty, so that our thirsty souls may partake of this refreshing influence of the waters.

I will pour my Spirit. Jehovah himself explains what he means by waters and rivers—that is, his Spirit. In another passage, the Spirit of God is called “water,” but in a different sense. When Ezekiel gives the name “water” to the Holy Spirit, he at the same time calls it “clean water,” for the purpose of cleansing (Ezekiel 36:25).

Isaiah will later call the Spirit “waters,” but for a different reason: that is, because by the secret moisture of his power he gives life to souls. But these words of the Prophet have a broader meaning, because he does not speak only of the Spirit of regeneration, but alludes to the universal grace that is spread over all creatures, and which is mentioned in Psalm 105:30: Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and he will renew the face of the earth.

As David declares in that passage that every part of the world is made alive to the extent that God imparts secret vigor to it, and then ascribes to God might and power by which, whenever he chooses, he suddenly revives the ruined state of heaven and earth, so now for the same reason Isaiah gives the term “water” to the sudden renewal of the Church. It is as if he were saying that the restoration of the Church is at God’s disposal, just as when he fertilizes by dew or rain the barren and almost parched lands.

Thus, the Spirit is compared to “water,” because without Him all things decay and perish through drought; because by the secret watering of his power he gives life to the whole world; and because the barrenness caused by drought and heat is cured so that the earth puts on a new face. This is still more fully explained by the word which he later uses, Blessing.

And they shall spring up. These words contain nothing more than what I quoted from Psalm 104:30: that when the Spirit of God has been sent forth, the whole face of the earth is renewed, and those fields which formerly were burnt up with thirst become green and flourish, just as herbs grow after being watered by the rains.

By these metaphors, he extends the view of this subject and more fully shows that it is just as easy for God to enlarge the Church with additional offspring—a Church that was desolate and had been reduced to ruinous and frightful solitude—as it is to impart to the earth the power of bringing forth.

Yet, though he does not speak of regeneration, we may still apply this statement to it, because he speaks of the restoration of the Church, the chief part of which is the new creation by which the Lord restores His image in the elect. This doctrine may indeed be drawn from it and more copiously explained, but we must first explain the Prophet’s design and make clear the plain and natural meaning of his words.

One shall say. Until now, the Prophet has spoken metaphorically, but now he expresses his meaning plainly, without any figure of speech. He shows what is the nature of that vegetation and herbage of which he spoke.

This means that out of all nations the Lord will gather his people and bring into his Church those who were formerly strangers. He will also raise up and enlarge his Church, which previously appeared to be reduced to nothing. For all will flock to her from every quarter and will wish to be enrolled in the number of believers, as it is also said:

Behold Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia; that man was born there (Psalms 87:4).

That passage, though until now it seemed obscure due to the mistakes of interpreters, is exceedingly well-suited to illustrate this prophecy. It shows that believers, who might have been terrified and ashamed because of their diminished numbers (for we know that only a small number returned from captivity), could cherish hope for that illustrious and magnificent grace of Redemption celebrated by the prophets.

To address these views, the prophet—whoever was the author of the psalm—declares that the Babylonians and Egyptians will be citizens of the Church, and that the Ethiopians and Tyrians, and those who were formerly strangers, will come to be enrolled among the people of God.

“Now,” he says, “Jerusalem lies waste; but one day God will not only gather those who are scattered but will also call others from every quarter, and will unite in one body those who are now at the greatest variance, so that they will boast of being citizens of Jerusalem and will belong to the body of the chosen people as much as if they had been natives.” The same thing is taught in this passage by the Prophet Isaiah, from whom the author of the psalm undoubtedly borrowed that sentiment.

And another shall be called by the name of Jacob. The general meaning is that there will be a vast assembly of men, united in faith and in obedience to the one true God. But as, in a registration, every person either pronounces or writes his own name, the Prophet, keeping his eye on this custom, employs the following modes of expression: “One shall write with his hand, I am God’s, and shall take the surname of Israel; another shall acknowledge that he is God’s, and shall be called by the name of Jacob.”

He describes something new and uncommon, for one who formerly had nothing to do with God will boast that God has adopted him.

“To be called” is in this place equivalent to the French phrase Se reclamer, that is, “to declare oneself to belong to a person.” This is just as formerly, when he spoke of women for whom their husbands' names served as a protection, he introduces them as saying, “Let your name be called on us,” that is, “Let us be named by your name” (Isaiah 4:1).

Although Isaiah appears in this passage to distinguish between those who will expressly declare that they belong to the people of God and will wish to be named by the name of Jacob, yet both clauses refer to the same persons. This is because to be a child of God and to be an Israelite are two things closely connected, for God determines that the Church will be the mother of all his children.

Yet it should be remarked that only those who submit to the government of God are lawful citizens of the Church. If the Prophet had passed by the name of God and mentioned “Jacob” and “Israel,” we still would have had to begin with the Head, from whom proceeds all relationship both in heaven and on earth. But, so that there would be no remaining ambiguity, he has twice described this order: that none are reckoned to belong to the seed of Jacob except those who obey God.

Hence we easily see the Prophet’s meaning. He shows that the Church, as long as she is destitute of God’s blessing, withers and gradually falls into decay. But when the Spirit of God has been poured out, she is quickened and at length gathers strength, not only to recover her former condition but also to grow by a wonderful increase beyond expectation.

Let us remember, however, that the Prophet does not speak of the order of nature, as if the new children of the Church were born such from the womb, because no person gains such high rank by his own industry. Instead, when those who were formerly aliens have been regenerated by faith, he says that they will eagerly enroll their names to testify that they are the children of God.

Thus he describes a change that surpasses nature and all human conceptions, when out of the accursed race of Adam a spiritual Israel is formed.

Some think that the Prophet here expresses the small number of believers when he says, “One shall be called, another shall write;” but that argument has little weight, and the context itself furnishes an easy refutation of their error.

In my opinion, we should rather understand him to mean that the Church will be gathered in crowds from various and distant nations. This is because God will assemble strangers under his authority and will stir them up to boast sincerely, and not in empty words, that they belong to his people.

It should also be observed that true faith cannot exist without immediately breaking forth into confession. For such is the import of these four phrases: “To be called by the name of Israel,” “To write,” “To be known,” “To say, I am the Lord’s;” Those who sincerely worship God ought not to be silent but should testify by both actions and words what they carry inwardly in their hearts.

They profess to be the servants of God and glory in his name throughout their entire lives.