John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 60:10

"And foreigners shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee." — Isaiah 60:10 (ASV)

And the sons of the stranger shall build your walls. He continues the same subject. As he previously said that foreigners will submit to His authority in order to build the temple, so he now says that “the sons of the stranger” will devote their labor to building the walls. The comparisons by which he promises the restoration of the Church are various. It is customary in Scripture, when the Church is spoken of, to present sometimes the temple, and sometimes Jerusalem.

He promises that foreigners and strangers will assist in constructing this building, so that the Jews might not be terrified by their poverty or their small number, and consequently lose heart. For they might have been tempted to distrust during the captivity. As a result, even though they hoped to return to their native country, they might still have thought that this could not be accomplished by them.

Now, Cyrus accomplished it when he supplied them with a large amount of gold and silver. But in him, these things were merely foreshadowed. They were actually fulfilled in Christ, to whose reign they must entirely relate. For, first, Christ employed a few apostles (Matthew 10:1), who could not have been sufficient for such a great work; but afterwards He raised up strangers, from whom He chose pastors, and wished that their foreign princes should be nursing-fathers of the Church.

The Papists pervert and corrupt this passage with aggravated wickedness, by twisting it to uphold the tyranny of the Pope, whom they want to possess supreme power over kings and princes. They speak an impudent falsehood when they say that he is Christ’s representative; for Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). The Pope rules barbarously and tyrannically, and claims the power of changing and disposing of kingdoms. But kings submit to Christ in such a manner that they do not cease to be kings, but exercise all their power for preserving the worship of God and administering righteous government.

Therefore, we see how much those people are opposed to the kingdom of Christ who wish to snatch authority and power from kings, so that they themselves might possess it. This also refutes the Anabaptists, who overturn political order to such an extent that they imagine that kings cannot be Christians in any other way than by renouncing their own authority, since even in the royal rank God shows that He desires to hold the highest place.

For in my wrath I struck you. Lest anyone should object that it would have been easier to preserve the Church uninjured than to raise her from hell, God anticipates the objection. He shows that the Jews were justly afflicted in this manner because He had been exceedingly provoked by their offenses.

But He gives them good reason for hope, because He does not choose to demand the punishment which they had deserved. Instead, He will be satisfied, provided that a temporary chastisement humbles them.

In my kindness I have had compassion on you. He reminds the Jews of the cause of this change, so that they may not judge it according to their own understanding. When kingdoms are changed, and frequently rise and fall, people think that these events happen by chance and that this is the common fate of the world.

The Jews might think the same thing when, as a consequence of the Babylonian kingdom being overturned, they were restored to liberty. For this reason, the Lord testifies that all these things are governed by His providence, so that they may not shut their eyes in the manner of heathens.

It is as if He had said, “If you inquire why you have endured so many afflictions, the reason is this: I was angry with you and punished your transgressions. But if you ask the cause of your deliverance, My undeserved kindness, and not your worthiness or an accidental occurrence, was the cause.”

Accordingly, calamities do not happen by chance, nor is God angry without cause; and He is not angry to such a degree as not to leave room for His compassion (Habakkuk 3:2).