Isaiah 25

Wesley: O Lord—the prophet reflecting upon those great and glorious prophecies which he had delivered, interrupts the course of his prophecies, and breaks forth into a solemn celebration of God’s wonderful works. Thy counsels—from which all thy works proceed, and which thou hast from time to time revealed to thy prophets and people, which were of old, being conceived from all eternity, are true and firm, and shall certainly be accomplished. Both hear: plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

Old counsels are; they were conceived from all eternity.

Calvin: O Lord, thou art my God. Hitherto Isaiah has prophesied about judgments threatening almost the whole world. Godly persons tremble at the slightest token of his anger; the Prophet, having the calamities almost before his eyes, betakes himself to the Lord. He takes courage from the belief that in the midst of these tempests the Lord still determines to promote the advantage of his Church. Wonderful things; counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

The praise is still the seer’s after ch. 13–24. Plans of old, sure. Not process-theism.

Wesley: A city—which is put for cities: or of enemies of God and his people. And under the name cities he comprehends their countries and kingdoms. Strangers—the royal cities, in which were the palaces of strangers, of Gentiles. No city—their cities and palaces have been or shall be utterly and irrecoverably destroyed. Both see: fortified city a ruin, never rebuilt.

The fortified cities of the enemies around Judah are ruined. Do not hunt another heap.

Calvin: for thou hast made of a city a heap. Some refer this to Jerusalem; but I think that the Prophet means cities of enemies, or, indefinitely, cities hostile to the people of God. The foreigners’ palace of strangers to be no city. It shall never be built. The heap is the LORD’s work against those who crushed the poor of v. 4.

The ruined city will never be rebuilt.

Wesley: Shall fear—thy stoutest enemies observing thy wonderful works, shall be converted, or at least forced to tremble before thee. Strong peoples glorify; ruthless cities fear.

They might yet glorify.

Calvin: therefore shall the strong people glorify thee; the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. This is the end of the heap: conversion or trembling. Strong peoples learn whose hand made the ruin.

Both readings: awesome nations will fear you.

Wesley: For—for thou hast defended thy poor and helpless people. As a storm—makes a great noise, but without any effect. Undisputed: stronghold, shelter, shade; ruthless breath like a storm.

The LORD has been a stronghold to the poor of Judah. The wall holds because the LORD is the stronghold.

Calvin: for thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. Hence we see the fruit of conversion: they glorify because he sheltered the needy when the ruthless blew.

Both readings: stronghold to the poor.

Wesley: The noise—the tumultuous noise, as the word properly signifies; the rage and furious attempts of those Heathen nations that fought against God’s people. As the heat—with as much ease as thou dost allay the heat of a dry place, by the shadow of thy clouds. The branch—the arm or power, as a branch is the arm of a tree. Foreigners’ noise subdued; ruthless song put down.

Heathen rage against Judah, not a modern anthem.

Calvin: as the heat in a dry place. If the Lord did not aid when violent men rush upon us, our life would be destroyed. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shadow of a cloud, the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. The song of the ruthless is silenced as easily as heat under a cloud.

No dispute here: noise of foreigners subdued.

Wesley: And—in mount Zion, in God’s church. All people—both Jews and Gentiles. A feast—a feast made up of the most delicate provisions, which is manifestly meant of the ordinances, graces, and comforts given by God in his church. Of wines—which have continued upon the lees a competent time, whereby they gain strength, and are afterwards drawn off, and refined. Both readings: a feast on this mountain for all peoples.

Zion’s feast is gospel ordinance.

Calvin: and the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people a feast of fat things in this mountain, a feast of wines on the lees. This passage has received various interpretations. This mountain is Zion. All people: the feast is not locked to one nation. Fat things and wines well refined: the richness of God’s grace in the Church, after the covering of v. 7 is destroyed.

All peoples; rich food and refined wine.

Wesley: The face—the covering of the face. The veil—the ignorance of God, and of the true religion, which then was upon the Gentiles, and now is upon the Jews. Covering and veil swallowed on this mountain.

Ignorance lifted in Christ, shared with Calvin.

Calvin: and he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. Commentators differ; by the covering he means what hides God from the nations, destroyed on Zion when the feast is made. The same mountain that hosts the feast takes away the veil.

Both traditions agree: all peoples, all nations. The veil that is removed is ignorance of God, and gospel knowledge takes its place.

Wesley: He—Christ will by his death destroy the power of death, take away the sting of the first death, and prevent the second. In victory—Hebrew. Unto victory; so as to overcome it perfectly; which complete victory Christ hath already purchased for, and will in due time actually confer upon his people. Rebuke—the reproach and contempt cast upon his faithful people by the ungodly world. Death swallowed; tears wiped; reproach taken away.

Shared christology with Calvin and with 1 Corinthians 15. The LORD has spoken; do.

Calvin: he hath destroyed death eternally. The Prophet continues his subject; in general he shews that God will put an end to all the distresses of his people. The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. Death swallowed is the same victory the Apostle later names; the feast of v. 6 is not complete while death remains.

Calvin reads the swallowing up of death as fulfilled in Christ. Wesley agrees on the essentials: death ended forever, tears wiped away, reproach lifted.

Wesley: Our God—our Messiah, long since promised, and for whom we have waited long, is come into the world, bringing salvation with him. Behold our God; we waited; we rejoice in his salvation.

Waiting is faith, not a gap in the decree.

Calvin: and it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. The verb is indefinite; the Church speaks. Waiting is the remnant’s office until the salvation of v. 8 is seen.

Our God is still the awaited LORD. Both affirm: we have waited; his salvation.

Wesley: Rest—the powerful and gracious presence of God shall have its constant and settled abode. Moab—the Moabites are put for all the enemies of God’s church. Common to both: hand rests on this mountain; Moab trampled as straw.

Moab from ch. 15–16, then as type of the church’s enemies. Not a living nation on a map.

Calvin: for in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. The design of this beginning is to confirm the feast and the swallowed death: the hand stays on Zion. Moab, named from the oracles already given, stands for the proud enemy still in his place, now straw.

Neither side disputes this: hand on this mountain.

Wesley: He—the Lord, whose power they shall be no more able to resist, than the waters can resist a man that swims. Spread—to smite and destroy them. The spoils—with all their wealth which they have gained by rapine, and spoiling of God’s people. Common to both: swimmer’s hands; pride laid low.

Moab’s skill cannot match the swimmer.

Calvin: and he shall spread out his hands in the middle of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands. The Prophet now explains the former statement. Moab’s own swimming cannot save him; the LORD’s spread hands lay pride low, spoils and all.

Neither side disputes this: pompous pride laid low.

Wesley: And—all thy fortifications, in which thou trustest. High walls to the dust.

Moab’s forts join the heap of v. 2. The feast on Zion remains.

Calvin: and the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust. He now directs his discourse to the country of Moab. The high fort matches the lofty city later named in 26:5. Dust is the end of pride that would not come to the mountain’s feast.

High fortifications brought down.