Commentary on Isaiah Volume 1 John Calvin (continued)
COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH
kind of prodigy that this king, who possessed so great power, had died, the Prophet says that the eyes of all men were directed towards him, to look at him earnestly, as if they scarcely believed their own eyes.
Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms? They first ask, if it be possible that he who, by the slightest expression of his will, made the earth to tremble, should be so quickly and easily laid low. Next, he mentions that this man was eager, but is unable, to destroy everything, and shows that tyrants, with all their cruelty, are like clouds, which pour down a sudden shower of rain or hail, as if they would destroy everything, but are scattered in a moment. This comparison was also employed by the good old Athanasius, when some one threatened him with the rage of the Emperor Julian. Isaiah shows that this change proceeds from the hand of God, who, by the slightest expression of his will, can overturn the whole world.
17. He made the world as a wilderness. He expresses the cruel and savage disposition of the tyrant, by saying that he brought desolation on the world, that he overthrew cities, that he did not release prisoners. It is sometimes the custom of conquerors to release prisoners, in order to win their hearts by kindness; but tyrants choose rather to be feared than to be loved. They think that the only way to reign is to strike terror into all by inexorable cruelty. There is no reason to wonder, therefore, that their end is so wretched and dismal; for it is impossible that the Lord should not, after having chastised his Church by their cruelty, give them like for like, and withhold all compassion from those who failed to exercise compassion to others. He therefore shows how wretched tyrants are, for they have God for their enemy, and are hated by men.
18. All the kings of the nations. He contrasts the king of Babylon with other kings, in order to show that, after his death, he will be more wretched than all the rest. And thus by comparison he gives a more enlarged view of the judgment of God, by which he would avenge the injuries done to his Church. This passage is the reason why I do not venture to limit, what Isaiah here foretells about the king of Babylon, to the person of Nebuchadnezzar alone; because it does not appear from history that he was denied burial. The Jews, indeed, relate that Evil-merodach gave orders that he should be dug out of his grave, because the nobles of the kingdom would not venture to pay homage to him, unless there were evidence that his father was dead; but Jerome, though otherwise credulous enough, treats this as a fable.
He therefore describes, not a single man, but a whole dynasty; and, in like manner, when Scripture speaks of Antichrist, it includes the whole duration of his reign. Consequently, as if in the person of one man, the Prophet ridicules the pride of all those tyrants, and threatens what shall be their end, namely this, that they shall not have a spot of earth to bury them, though formerly they were insatiable whirlpools, and could not be satisfied with any possessions. They who have scarcely a foot of earth still retain their right to have a grave, which was also highly prized by the patriarchs; for it was