Isaiah 40:12

Let the great sea praise the hands of the Son that measured it, and was astonished.… Blessed be his noble act!

(Verse 12 and following) Who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills on a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did he consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. And Lebanon is not enough to burn, and its animals are not enough for a burnt offering. All nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Who has shown him the way of justice, and who has taught him knowledge? Behold, all the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are accounted as the dust on the scales. Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor all the animals enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing in his sight, and they are counted as worthless. Let no one think that the calling of the nations is difficult, and that all flesh will see the salvation of God. […]

He [Christ], who … balances the universe, cannot be contained in a single sepulcher.

(Verse 12) Who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills on a balance? LXX: Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Let no one think that the calling of the nations is difficult, and that all flesh will see the salvation of God. They are commanded to climb the high mountain, those who proclaim the good news to Zion; and the Lord himself will come in strength, and will reward each one according to his work; he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry the nursing ewes. His greatness is described, for nothing is impossible for him; and he who has created everything, and is the Creator of all, can accomplish even these things which are small in comparison. But he uses the words and measurements of human custom, that we may learn the power of God through our words. In the place where the Seventy translated: Who has measured the water with his hand? or as we translate: Who has measured the waters with a handful? Aquila translated: Who has measured the waters with the smallest finger? For this word λιχὰς signifies that the vastness of all the waters is weighed not with the whole hand but with the small finger, which is commonly called the taster: but σπιθαμὴ, that is, the palm, signifies the hand stretched out from the thumb to the extreme finger. But if we contract our hand, it becomes a fist, so that through the palm and the fist we might know the outspread heavens and the globe of the earth. […]

Now this Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not circumscribed to some place, nor is there heaven beyond him, but "the heavens are the work of his fingers," and "the whole earth is held in the hollow of his hand." He is in everything and yet nothing contains him.

For such an indication of God's infinity the words "I Am that I Am" were clearly adequate; but, in addition, we needed to apprehend the operation of His majesty and power. For while absolute existence is peculiar to Him Who, abiding eternally, had no beginning in a past however remote, we hear again an utterance worthy of Himself issuing from the eternal and Holy God, Who says, "Who holdeth the heaven in His palm and the earth in His hand," and again, "The heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool of My feet. What house will ye build Me or what shall be the place of My rest?" The whole heaven is held in the palm of God, the whole earth grasped in His hand. Now the word of God, profitable as it is to the cursory thought of a pious mind, reveals a deeper meaning to the patient student than to the momentary hearer. For this heaven which is held in the palm of God is also His throne, and the earth which is grasped in His hand is also the footstool beneath His feet. This was not written that from throne and footstool, metaphors drawn from the posture of one sitting, we should conclude that He has extension in space, as of a body, for that which is His throne and footstool is also held in hand and palm by that infinite Omnipotence. It was written that in all born and created things God might be known within them and without, overshadowing and indwelling, surrounding all and interfused through all, since palm and hand, which hold, reveal the might of His external control, while throne and footstool, by their support of a sitter, display the subservience of outward things to One within Who, Himself outside them, encloses all in His grasp, yet dwells within the external world which is His own. In this wise does God, from within and from without, control and correspond to the universe; being infinite He is present in all things, in Him Who is infinite all are included.

Who has measured the waters. Here he shows divine power. And first, he establishes it against the errors of idolaters, who detracted from divine power by making the creature equal to the creator: they served the creature rather than the Creator (Rom 1:25); second, against …

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and weighed the heavens with his palm? Who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth? This the Word did, through whom all things were made. His hand, by which all things …

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?....

View the celestial globe, and you are astonished at the extent of it; but the great God metes the heavens with a span; to him they are but a hand-breadth, so large-handed is he.

Who hath measured - The object in this and the following verses to Isa 40:26, is to show the greatness, power, and majesty of God, by strong contrast with his creatures, and more especially with idols. Perhaps the prophet designed to meet and answer an implied objection: that the work of deliverance was so great that it could not be accomplished.

Who--Who else but GOD could do so? Therefore, though the redemption and restoration of His people, foretold here, was a work beyond man's power, they should not doubt its fulfilment since all things are possible to Him who can accurately regulate the proportion of the waters as if He had measured them with His hand (compare Isa 40:15).