‘Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
they will see a land that stretches afar.’ (Isaiah 33:17)
“The restoration of the Church consists of two parts; first, that ‘the king shall be seen in his beauty;’ and secondly, that the boundaries of the kingdom shall be extended.
We know that the appearance of Christ is so disfigured as to be contemptible in the eyes of the world, because ‘no beauty or loveliness’ (Isa. 53:2) is seen in Him; but at length, His majesty and splendor and beauty shall be openly displayed, His kingdom shall flourish and be extended far and wide.
Although at present wicked men have everything in their power, and oppress the true servants of God, so that they scarcely have a spot on which they can plant their foot in safety, yet with firm hope we ought to look for our King, who will at length sit down on His bright and magnificent throne, and will gloriously enrich His people.”
–John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, vol. 3, trans. William Pringle, in Calvin’s Commentaries (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1993), 3: 31–33. Calvin is commenting on Isaiah 33:17.
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