John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 46:4

"and even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry [you]; I have made, and I will bear; yea, I will carry, and will deliver." — Isaiah 46:4 (ASV)

And even to old age. Here I explain the conjunction ו (vau) to mean therefore; and the reasoning should be carefully observed, for he argues thus: “I have begotten and brought you forth;” and again, “Even when you were little children, I carried you in my arms, and therefore I will be the guardian of your life until the end.” David also reasons in this way:

“Thou art he who brought me out of the womb; I trusted in thee while I hung on my mother’s breasts; I was cast upon thee from my birth; thou art my God from my mother’s womb” (Psalms 22:10).

He therefore promises that he will always be a Father to the Jews. From this we see that we should cherish assured confidence of salvation from the time that the Lord has once begun it in us, for he wishes to continue his work until the end. “The Lord,” says David, “will complete what he hath begun;” and again,

“O Lord, thy loving-kindness is eternal, and thou wilt not forsake the works of thy hands” (Psalms 138:8).

I am the same. The Hebrew word הוא (hu) is, in my opinion, very emphatic, though some interpreters translate it simply as the demonstrative pronoun He; but it means that God is always “the same” and like himself, not only in his essence, but with respect to us, so that we ourselves will feel that he is the same.

When he says, “Even to old age,” it might be thought absurd, for we should become full-grown men after having been carried by God from infancy. But if anyone examines it properly, it will be found that we never make such great progress as not to need to be upheld by the strength of God; for otherwise, the most perfect man would stumble every moment, as David also testifies:

“Forsake me not in the time of old age, withdraw not from me when my strength faileth” (Psalms 71:9).

I have made and will carry. He again argues in the same manner. God does not regard what we deserve, but continues his grace toward us; and therefore we should draw confidence from it: “You did create us, not only that we might be human beings, but that we might be your children; and therefore you will continue until the end to exercise continually toward us the care of a father and of a mother.”