John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 8:7

"now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, [even] the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks;" — Isaiah 8:7 (ASV)

Therefore, behold. He speaks in the present tense, so that all may pay closer attention: Behold, the Lord bringeth violent waters. We must pay attention to the metaphors which the Prophet employs, for the style is much more elegant than if it had been plain and unadorned. “It is as if he had said, ‘Because the people are not satisfied with their condition, and desire the riches of others, I will show them what it is to have a powerful king.’” For instance, if a small nation, whose king was humble and little esteemed, had powerful neighbors over whom an illustrious king reigned, and said, “How delightful would it be to serve that prosperous king, to be the subjects of the emperor, or of the kings of France; for their power is irresistible!” would not God justly punish such an unlawful desire?

The more powerful kings are, the more grievously they oppress their people; there is nothing which they will not attempt; they do everything according to their caprice. Besides, they know no limit to their power, and in proportion to their strength, they indulge with less restraint. The Lord reproves that mad desire of the Jews, for not being satisfied with their condition, and for looking not to the Lord, but to the resources of powerful kings; and this reproof is far more graceful under these metaphors than if he had spoken in plain and direct language.

Shiloah, as Jerome tells us, was a small fountain from which flowed a little river that ran gently through the middle of Jerusalem. Since that narrow river yielded them little protection, they therefore distrusted it and desired to have those great rivers by which cities are usually defended and greatly enriched; for there is nothing by which a country is more enlarged or more rapidly enriched than by those large and navigable rivers, which make it easy to import and export merchandise of every description. He therefore compares Euphrates, which was the most celebrated river in all the East, to Shiloah, and pursues the same metaphor, meaning by those rapid waters of the river the Assyrians, who would destroy the whole of Judea and would waste it like a deluge (2 Kings 18:13, 17). “I will show,” says the Lord, “what it is to desire those rapid and violent waters.”

And he shall come up. This passage should be carefully observed, for we all have a distrust that may be called natural to us, so that when we see ourselves deprived of human assistance, we lose courage. Whatever God may promise, we cannot recover ourselves at all, but keep our eyes fixed on our nakedness and sit bewildered in our fear; and therefore we should seek a cure for this fault.

Shiloah, therefore, that is, the calling or lot which God has assigned to us accompanied by a promise, though we do not see it with our eyes, should be our defense, and we should prefer it to the highest power of all the kings in the world. For if we rely on human aid and place our strength in large forces and an abundance of wealth, we must expect the punishment which is threatened here by the Prophet.

The sacred history assures us that these things were fulfilled, so that anyone who reads the history will not need a lengthy exposition of this passage; for the Assyrians, whom the Jews called to their assistance, destroyed them. This was the just punishment of their distrust, and we see in it a striking instance of the wicked greed of men, who cannot be satisfied with the promise and assistance of God.

From this destruction of the Jews let us learn to take heed for ourselves. The Church is almost always in such a condition as to be destitute of human aid, lest, if we were too well supplied, we should be dazzled by our wealth and resources, and forget our God. We should be so well satisfied and so highly delighted with our weakness as to depend wholly on God. We should value the small and gentle waters more highly than the large and rapid rivers of all the nations, and we should not envy the great power of the ungodly. Such is the import of what is written in the Psalms:

The streams of the river shall make glad the city of God, the sanctuary of the tabernacle of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; God will help her before the dawn.
Let the heathen rage, let the kingdoms be moved, and let the earth melt when the sound is uttered.
Jehovah of armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalms 46:4–7).

If it is objected that we should not reject human aid, the answer is easy. The Prophet does not condemn human aid, but he condemns that wicked fear by which we are thrown into distrust and tremble, so that no promise of God can keep us within reasonable bounds.

Now, we should render to God this honor: that though all else should fail, we will be satisfied with him alone and will be convinced that he is near. In that case, it matters little whether we have outward assistance or not. If we have it, we are at liberty to use it; if we do not have it, let us bear the lack of it with patience, and let God alone be sufficient for all that we need. For he will be able to execute his promises, since he has no need of any outward aid. Only let us trust entirely to his power and defense.