John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 44:24

"Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth (who is with me?);" — Isaiah 44:24 (ASV)

Thus says Jehovah. The Prophet will immediately describe in his own way the strength and power of God; because mere promises would have little authority and weight if God's power were not brought forward to remove all doubt from our hearts. Through our distrust and obstinacy, we are accustomed to diminish the power and goodness of God—that is, to ascribe to it less than we should. Therefore, the Prophet, by remarkable commendations which we will soon see, will encourage believers to learn to hope beyond hope.

Thy Redeemer. He begins by praising the goodness and fatherly kindness with which God has embraced His Church, and which He intends to exercise until the end. For the declaration of His power and strength would have little influence on us if He did not approach us and assure us of His kindness. We should not, therefore, begin with His majesty, nor ascend so high, for fear that we might be thrown down; instead, we should embrace His goodness, by which He gently invites us to Himself. The name Redeemer in this passage refers to past time, because the Jews, who had once been brought out of Egypt as from a gulf by an incredible miracle, should have been strengthened by the remembrance of that “redemption” to expect continual advancement (Exodus 12:51).

And thy Maker. He calls Himself the “Maker” in the same sense that we previously explained: that is, because He regenerates by His Spirit those whom He adopts, and thus makes them new creatures. Therefore, He mentions, in passing, the former benefits that they had received, so that they may conclude from them that God will abide by His promises in the future. When He added from the womb, it was so that the people might acknowledge that all the benefits they had received from God were undeserved, for He anticipated them with His compassion before they could even call upon Him. By this consolation David comforted his heart in very severe distresses:

Thou art he who brought me out of the womb; I trusted in thee while I was hanging on my mother’s breast; I was thrown on thee from my birth; thou art my God from my mother’s womb (Psalms 22:9, 10).

Yet here he does not speak of the favor generally bestowed, by which God brings any human beings into the world, but praises His covenant, by which He adopted the seed of Abraham for a thousand generations; for they were not at liberty to doubt that He would wish to preserve His work even until the end.

Who alone stretcheth out the heavens. Now follow the commendations of His power, because He has measured out at His pleasure the dimensions of heaven and earth. By the word “stretcheth out,” he means that God has in His hands the government of the whole world, and that there is nothing that is not subject to Him; for the power of God should be united with His word in such a manner as never to be separated.