John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 45:22

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." — Isaiah 45:22 (ASV)

Look unto me. Until now he addressed the Jews alone, as if salvation belonged only to them, but now he extends his discourse further. He invites the whole world to the hope of salvation and, at the same time, brings a charge of ingratitude against all the nations, who, devoted to their errors, purposely avoided, as it were, the light of life. For what could be more base than to deliberately reject their own salvation? He therefore commands all to look to him, and to the precept adds a promise, which gives it greater weight and confirms it more than if he had used a bare command.

And you shall be saved. Thus we have a striking proof of the calling of the Gentiles; because the Lord, after having broken down the partition-wall (Ephesians 2:14) which separated the Jews from the Gentiles, invites all without exception to come to him. Besides, we are also reminded here what is the true method of obtaining salvation: that is, when we look to God and turn to him with our whole heart. Now, we must look to him with the eye of faith, so as to embrace the salvation which is exhibited to all through Christ; for God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him may not perish (John 3:16).

For I am God. When he exhorts all the ends of the earth, he at the same time shows that all men have until now wandered and have not looked to the true God. For where infidelity exists, there cannot be a distinct looking towards God, so as to distinguish him from empty masks. In a word, he declares that the ruin of all has been occasioned by their being driven about by their wicked inventions, and thus revolting from the true God, from the knowledge of whom certain and eternal salvation flows. The Lord therefore stretches out his hand, in order to rescue all and point out the method of obtaining salvation.

This makes it evident that it was not at random that the doctrine of the Gospel was preached to all nations, but by the decree of God, by whom it had been long ago ordained.

Yet, as I remarked a little before, he accuses the Gentiles of stupidity, in allowing their senses to be turned and whirled about in all directions, wherever their fancy led them. Though by nature they could not approach to God, and though they even sucked in with their milk the superstitions by which they were blinded, yet God might have justly reproached them with wicked contempt of his grace; for ignorance always implies hypocrisy when men choose rather to be deceived by empty flatteries than to go straight to God.