John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 57:15

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite." — Isaiah 57:15 (ASV)

For thus has spoken the High and Lofty One. He confirms the previous statement about the restoration of the people from captivity. But this verse may be explained in two ways: either that the Prophet addresses the doubt which might arise in the hearts of good people, and so compares things that are contrasted with each other; or, that he makes an argument from the nature of God, to strengthen weak minds.

To explain these things more clearly, we know, first, that our hearts are often distracted by these thoughts: that God is indeed in heaven, but that there is a great distance between Him and us, and that He overlooks or despises human affairs, and, in short, that He does not care about us at all.

To correct this misconception, the Prophet says that God does indeed dwell in a lofty place, but nevertheless looks at this world and governs it by His providence. For He is anxious about the salvation of people, and dwells with the afflicted, and with those who have a broken and humble heart; as it is said, Jehovah is high, and has respect to the lowly (Psalms 138:6), and in other passages.

The other meaning is that the Prophet shows that God is very different from us; for we tremble in adversity because we measure Him by our own standard, and say, “How shall the Lord help us, who are oppressed?” Besides, people who are in distress are usually overlooked and despised.

So we think that God does not value us, because we form our ideas of Him from our own nature. But we ought to have very different views of Him; and therefore He says that He dwells in heaven, to indicate that He is not subject to human passions. For He is always the same, and never changes His purpose; and therefore, as He has once promised restoration to His people, so He will perform it.

I do not dislike this interpretation, nor do I reject the first one, which is fuller and more comprehensive, and agrees with other passages of Scripture that usually connect those two things: that the Lord dwells in heaven, and takes care of human affairs, and especially of His children, as I briefly mentioned earlier.

Who dwells in eternity. We are changeable, and focus our minds sometimes on one subject, and sometimes on another; and our hearts do not remain fixed on what we have once embraced. For this reason He distinguishes between God and humans, for on Him no shadow of change falls; but we do not have such constancy as to show constant care for those who need our help.

I inhabit the high and holy. קדוש (kadosh) sometimes means the temple, but here it means heaven itself. We see the reason why He calls Him the Holy One, and the inhabitant of the holy and lofty place. It is to inform us how much He differs from us, and how unlike He is to our nature. Besides, we ought to draw from it a special comfort: that the Lord wishes to help the wretched, and even chooses for Himself a dwelling among them, that is, provided they acknowledge their wretchedness.

And with him who is lowly in spirit. Wicked people are oppressed by various calamities, but continue to be fierce and haughty. It will be vain for them to hope that God will draw near to them; for their hearts must be lowly and utterly humbled if they expect to receive any help from God. Therefore, He descends even to the lifeless, that He may breathe new life into them and make them new. Twice He expressly mentions the lowly spirit, and the afflicted heart, that we may know that these promises belong to those who, in their afflictions, shall not be hard-hearted and rebellious, and who, in short, shall put aside all arrogance and be meek and lowly.