John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 57

The righteous man has perished. Isaiah continues his subject; for, after having shown how fearlessly hypocrites indulge in their luxuries, and with what impudence they despise the word of God, he also complains that they do not consider the works of God. We have been placed here, as in a spacious theater, to behold the works of God; and there is no work of God so small that we ought to pass by it lightly, but all ought to be carefully and diligently observed.

And no man lays it to heart. The Lord holds out as a mirror this event of His providence, more remarkable than all others, that He takes away good and worthy men out of this life, when He determines to chastise His people severely. But no man considers it, or reflects that it is a token of approaching destruction, that God gathers them and places them in safety from being distressed by prevailing afflictions. The general meaning is that wicked men grievously deceive themselves by supposing that there is no greater happiness than to have life continued to a great age, and by thus pluming themselves on their superiority to the servants of God, who die early. Being attached to the world, they also harden themselves by this pretense, that by nothing else than a manifestation of God’s favor towards them, while others die, they continue to be safe and sound.

Men of mercy are gathered. If by “men of mercy” is meant kind or tender-hearted men, this description ought to be carefully studied, by which the Prophet shows what is the true righteousness of the children of God; for hypocrites reckon this to be of no value. But nothing is more acceptable to God than kindness, by which we give evidence of our righteousness and manifest that our heart is free from all hypocrisy. Yet we may with equal propriety take the phrase “men of mercy” in a passive sense, as meaning those whom the Lord has embraced by His mercy, for it is a phrase of frequent occurrence in Hebrew writings. Nor will it be inappropriate to suppose that there is an implied contrast between the grace of God and the wicked and unfavorable judgments of men, for they are accustomed to look on those persons as condemned who are taken away in the flower of their age. But, since God, in many passages of Scripture, represents gentleness and kindness as a distinguishing mark of His children, this may be, as I have said, a definition of true righteousness.

Hence we see that the Lord, at that time, gathered many good men, whose death portended some dreadful calamity, and yet that the Jews paid no regard to such forewarnings and even proceeded to more daring lengths of wickedness; for they thought that all went well with them when they were the survivors of many excellent men. This doctrine is highly appropriate to every age. It frequently happens that God takes good men out of this world when He intends to punish severely the iniquities of the ungodly; for the Lord, having a peculiar regard to His own people, takes compassion upon them and, as it were, snatches them from the burning, that even survivors may perceive in it the wrath of God. And yet this is not an invariable rule; for righteous men are frequently involved, along with the reprobate, in temporal punishments; but it is so frequent that it rarely happens otherwise.

In our own times a remarkable instance of this was given in the death of Luther, who was snatched from the world a short time before that terrible calamity befell Germany, which he had foretold many years before, when he exclaimed loudly against that contempt of the Gospel, and that wickedness and licentiousness which everywhere prevailed. Frequently had he entreated the Lord to call him out of this life before he beheld that dreadful punishment, the anticipation of which filled him with trembling and horror. And he obtained it from the Lord. Soon after his death, behold, a sudden and unforeseen war sprang up, by which Germany was terribly afflicted, when nothing was farther from her thoughts than the dread of such a calamity.

Instances of this kind occur every day; and if men observed them, they would not so heedlessly flatter themselves and their vices. But I thought it right to take special notice of this event, both because it happened lately and because in so distinguished a preacher of the Gospel and prophet of God it must be more clearly seen. We ought, therefore, to consider diligently the works of the Lord, both in the life and in the death of “the righteous,” but especially in their death, by which the Lord calls them away to a better life, that they may be rescued from those afflictions in which the wicked must be plunged.

Peace shall come. The Prophet describes what will be the condition of believers in death. For the wicked, who think that there is no life but the present, imagine that good people have perished, because in death they see nothing but ruin. For this reason he says that Peace shall come, which is more desirable than a thousand lives full of trouble, as if he compared them to discharged soldiers, who are allowed to enjoy ease and quietness.

They shall rest in their beds. He adds the metaphor of sleep, in order to show that they will be absolutely free from all the uneasiness of cares, just as if they were safely and pleasantly asleep on their beds.

Whoever walks before him. I do not think that the verb “walks” is connected with שלום (shalom), “peace,” as some do, who suppose the meaning to be this: that peace will go before believers, so as to be, as it were, the guide of their life. But I am of the opinion that believers, on the contrary, are described by it, as if he had said, “Whoever walks before God will enjoy peace.”

Thus, when righteous people die, and their various labors are finished, and their course is ended, they are called to peace and repose. They rest in their beds, because they do not yet enjoy perfect blessedness and glory; but they wait for the last day of the resurrection, when everything will be perfectly restored. And that, I think, is what Isaiah meant.

It will be said, “Do not righteous people enjoy this peace while they live?” For the fruit of faith is that: in patience we may possess our souls (Luke 21:19). Although faith produces peace in our hearts (Romans 5:3), yet we are tossed about by various storms and tempests, and never in life are we so calm and peaceful as when the Lord takes us to himself.

Peaceful and calm, therefore, is the death of the righteous (Psalms 116:15), for it is precious in the sight of God; but stormy is the death of the wicked. From this we may also learn that souls are immortal; for if souls had no feeling (as some fanatics have dreamed), they could not enjoy “peace.” Thus they enjoy peace and repose, because they live in Christ.

And draw near, you sons of the sorceress. After speaking of the happy and peaceful death of good men, the prophet breaks out with great vehemence against the wicked, who continued to lead a base and shameful life and were unmoved by the death of believers.

Just as he had said that good men enjoy peace, so he threatens that the wicked will have ceaseless war. He taught that for the holy servants of God, death will even be like a hiding-place to shelter them from the whirlwind, storm, and other tempests, so that he might threaten the worst of evils against the obstinate despisers of God.

Here we should observe the contrast between good men who walk before God and the wicked, who do not stop rebelliously resisting God. The former will enjoy peace when they die; the latter will have no peace during life and will feel dreadful torments in death.

He orders them to come forth to the judgment seat of God, which they hope to escape by their disguises. Therefore, he affirms that they gain nothing by their refusal, for they will be dragged against their will.

The more hardened they were, the sharper were the provocations that had to be applied to them. Therefore, the Prophet's harshness could not be excessive, either in arousing them from their stupidity or in casting down their pride.

Indeed, it is well known how insolent the Jews' vanity was on account of their genealogy. For this reason, the prophets frequently beat down their haughtiness and pride, affirming that they were not the children of Abraham because they were illegitimate and traitors.

On this account, Isaiah calls them the seed of the adulterer and the whore. In the same way, Ezekiel reproaches them, Your father is an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite (Ezekiel 16:3). Similar forms of expression are found in many parts of Scripture. Thus, he beats down their intolerable audacity and drags them forward unwillingly and reluctantly, so that they might not think they could escape the judgment seat of God.

On whom have you made sport? The Prophet shows that there is no reason why the Jews should boast so proudly on the pretense of their birth, since they mocked God and the prophets. They thought that they had to deal with men when they rejected the word; as we see that wicked men today, while they fearlessly despise the doctrine of God and laugh at ministers, nevertheless shelter themselves and falsely glory in the name of God. This is the reason why the Prophet deals harshly with them and censures them severely.

On whom have you opened the mouth? The meaning of the words is, “When you put out the tongue against God and mock his word, do you think that you have to deal with a mortal man?” The question (“On whom?”) means that they resorted to disguises and concealments to conceal their impiety; for wicked men do not confess that they are rebels against God, and even complain that they are very unjustly treated. But they must be dragged to the light and convicted of their wickedness; for if there is a God in heaven, they carry on war with him by attacking and rejecting his word and treating it as a fable.

To “open the mouth” and to “put out the tongue” mean the same thing, except that with these expressions he has more fully described their wickedness, in not only rejecting God but also mocking him. The inward contempt of the heart had driven them to open jeers and blasphemies, so that they were not moved by any fear of disgrace.

Seed of the adulterer and the whore. Finally, he concludes that they are treacherous children, a lying seed, and that he has justly reproached them with being “the children of the whore;” for such contempt of God could not be found in the children of Abraham. Hence we learn how wicked men ought to be treated, and with what severity they ought to be reproved, so that they do not flatter themselves; and the more they despise everything that is offered in the name of God, the more their sacrilegious wickedness ought to be exposed and dragged out to public view.

Inflaming yourselves. Others translate it as “Taking delight” or “consolation;” but the Prophet uses a metaphor that is often found in Scripture and is exceedingly well-suited to the present subject. For the Lord compares the ardor by which idolaters are hurried along to the love of a harlot, by which poor, wretched men are inflamed so as to be transported with blind eagerness (Jeremiah 3:1; Hosea 2:2; Hosea 4:5). Idolaters have no moderation and do not permit themselves to be reclaimed from their madness by any arguments. In the sight of God, idolatry is a very base kind of fornication.

Under the oaks, or, with the gods. Some translate אלים (elim) as “gods,” and others as “oaks.” I leave everyone free to adopt either reading, for the meaning will always be the same, and commentators agree that the Prophet condemns idolatry. Therefore, I do not dispute the reading. It is probable, however, that the same thing is repeated twice, in accordance with the practice of Hebrew writers—in a particular and then in a general form—and that the Prophet, by means of an ambiguous word, also alludes to “the gods.”

Sacrificing children. Here he presses even harder on the Jews and shows that they are not the true seed of Abraham, since they pollute themselves with superstitions of every kind. Because of the delight the Jews took in such practices, he exposes their vileness: “You shelter yourselves, indeed, under the name of religion, but I declare that you commit fornication with idols.” In this way, it was proper to expose and freely point out the wickedness that base and malicious men try to cloak with various pretenses. Thus, the Prophet boldly discharges his duty by summoning people to the judgment seat of God and holding them guilty, even though they try every method to excuse themselves.

He shows that they are treacherous and have departed from the law of God by abominable idolatry, and he mentions one kind of shocking, even accursed and monstrous worship: namely, the “sacrificing of children.” From this, it is very evident how powerful the spirit of error is once people have turned aside from God. Satan seizes their minds (2 Thessalonians 2:9) in such a way that he drives them completely into madness and rage. Those who do not hesitate to kill their children, as if it were a righteous sacrifice, must be in a state of furious madness.

And yet those cruel murderers of their children did not lack some pretense, for they cloaked their crime with the example of Abraham, who did not spare (Genesis 22:16) his only-begotten son. The ancient Hebrew writers pronounce it to have been (κακοζηλία) a wicked imitation: “If we are Abraham’s descendants, we ought not to spare our children.” But Abraham did this (Genesis 22:2) by the command of God, while they did it of their own accord and without God’s command.

It was an extraordinary example by which the Lord intended to test and attest Abraham’s faith. Besides, Isaac was not sacrificed, for the Lord was satisfied with Abraham’s cheerful and ready will (Genesis 22:12). They killed their children. It was, therefore, a perverse and damnable imitation, for they differed widely from their father. This should be carefully observed, for a large portion of superstitions has proceeded from this source of (κακοζηλία) wicked imitation. People have rashly and without discrimination seized on everything that was done by the fathers.