Book Five

BOOK FIVE, SIX TOMES. TOME I.

^A Cap. LII. Vers. 1. *Excitare, excitare, Sion; induere fortitudine tua, Sion, et induere gloria tua, Jerusalem, civitas sancta: non ultra perget transire per te incircumcisus et immundus.*

When you hear Sion and Jerusalem in these words, do not think that cities built of stones are simply being indicated. This prophetic discourse signifies rather the assembly of those who have been acquired through faith, and the Church, from the fellowship of the Jews and the Gentiles. For when he says, "Excite yourself," and does so again and again, he imparts to them the most abundant consolation. Just as the most wise Paul says, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound," so where there is a great bitterness of punishment, there is a consolation equal to the calamities, or rather significantly more abundant than the sad circumstances themselves. He commands her to put on her strength, and in addition to this, her glory. Fortitude may be understood as a certain active efficiency or efficacy, not inappropriately, by which the ^B soul of each person is carried with youthful impetuosity toward those things which must be done. And who else could glory be, except that Lord of glory, who is Christ? to whom the divine singer somewhere addresses himself: "Arise, my glory!" And again elsewhere, concerning everyone who believes in him: "You are the praise of their virtue." But how we are to put on this glory and fortitude, the most wise Paul has declared to us. For he said again: "Put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." And furthermore: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." Nay, even the prophet Isaiah, as if introducing the person of the Church like a woman adorned in various ways, says: "Let my soul be glad in the Lord. For he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, and with the tunic of gladness." Christ, therefore, is the garment most fitting for every saint; and the tunic of gladness, which is perceived by the understanding, is for us the cause of strength and glory. He names the Church the holy city. For it was sanctified—not by the legal worship (for the law has perfected no one)—but by having been made conformed to Christ, and a partaker of his divine nature, namely through the communication of the Holy Spirit, in whom we were also sealed unto the day of redemption, having been washed of all filth and freed from every stain. For we have been justified by faith in him, and we have been enriched by him with a certain security in all things, ^D

and we have been, as it were, walled about by his grace, which wards off from us every diabolic assault and the savage incursions of the opposing powers ^A. And he teaches this, saying as it were to Sion, that is to say to Jerusalem, which is the Church of the living God: "No more shall there pass through you the uncircumcised and the unclean." In a historical sense, one may understand what has been said in this way: the neighboring nations of Jerusalem may be understood as uncircumcised and unclean, for they neither knew God by nature and in truth, nor had they obtained the instruction of the Law; indeed, they also fought very frequently against those who were of the blood of Israel, so that they often appeared superior to the host that was in them, and almost passed through it, just as if they had it beneath their feet. But come, let us derive spiritual meanings from those things which happen historically. The throngs of demons, that is to say, the world-rulers of this darkness, together with the profane Satan, keep under their feet souls not yet subject to God, and they pass through them ^B, as it were, with no one hindering or coming to their defense. But when they have been reconciled to God and possess him as their glory and strength, then, then the tyranny of those others shall cease. For it is written: "The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them." The uncircumcised and the unclean, therefore, may be understood as the abominable and profane, the producers of every filth, and the wicked and opposing powers. ^C

VERS. 2. Excute pulverem et surge, et sede, Jerusalem, solve vinculum colli tui, captiva filia Sion. (Shake off the dust and arise, and sit, Jerusalem; loosen the bond of your neck, O captive daughter of Sion.)

He henceforth demonstrates what praises are worthy of the saints, and clearly teaches in what manner one shall put on the strength of his arm and, in addition to this, his glory. For first he commands them to shake off the dust, and thus to arise, and to sit, and to loosen the bond of the neck. By "dust" here, as I suppose, it is proper to understand the earthly disposition and the impurity of carnal desires. For just as it is altogether necessary for those lying on the ground to be covered with dust, in the same way, I think, for those who have a mind prone to the ground and an earthly disposition, ^D thoughts of carnal impurity settle and cling. Therefore, it is necessary for us, who have been called to spiritual union with our Lord Jesus Christ, and who wish to put on him as our strength and glory, to first shake off the dusty and earthly disposition, and to cleanse the mind beforehand, and, as the all-wise Paul says, to put off the old man which is corrupted according to the deceitful lusts, and to put on the new man which is being renewed according to the image of him who created him. When we have done this, we arise—that is, we are endowed with an upright and stable mind, and with a firm heart, according to that which is said elsewhere by God through one of the prophets: "Stand

^A firm, O Sion." The divine David also sings somewhere, "He set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps." It is written also in the Book of Psalms: "God sits upon His holy throne" — which is to say, He possesses the fixed and established state of His kingdom perpetually. For nothing corporeal should be thought of regarding God. But following upon that sitting, that is, upon having attained a certain and established disposition, is the unbinding of the "bond from the neck." For each person is tightened by the chains of his own sins, and we have been brought even under the yokes of sin and of Satan himself. But in Christ we are liberated even from these; and having broken their bonds, as it is written, and having cast off their yoke from ourselves, we accomplish what is good with a free and relaxed mind. Thus the God of all says to us, somewhere, through one of the prophets: "And you shall go forth, and shall leap like calves released from bonds, and you shall trample down the lawless; for they shall be as ashes under your feet."

^B Delivering these things, He first gives us to understand by "The captive daughter of Sion" that God has compassion on those who have fallen under the devilish yoke and who serve sin. Furthermore, He shows that we fall into this even though it is possible for us not to suffer it. For having called Sion captive, He also calls her a daughter. But how was it possible for the daughter of God, who had been deemed worthy of such bright glory, to be caught in the snares of captivity? Who, then, brought her to this? It is not the weakness of the one who preserves her, but the will and purpose of the one who suffers it, which was bereft of the mercy of the Father's bowels, in that she chose evil and, by favoring what is worse, rejected the good.

^C VERS. 3. For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall not be redeemed with money.

Having called her captive, He necessarily introduces those conditions that always befall those who have lapsed into such misery. For they are carried off into slavery, with no one paying a price for them, but rather as trophies and the fruits of war and barbarian incursion; for by force and necessity they are called to an involuntary servitude. Thus, says the God of all, shall her redemption also come to pass. For Satan seized the earthly race, and having it as a sort of captive, he cruelly oppressed the world under heaven, having bound it to the yokes of his own wickedness. But the Only-Begotten Word of God became man, ^D who conquered on our behalf; and having entered into the house of the strong one, and having bound him, He pillaged his vessels and transferred all those who are upon the earth to Himself. Therefore, as we were seized, so also have we been redeemed. For Christ did not snatch us away from one who was willing, but rather He broke his power, and as God, He put the phalanx of demons to flight. We have not, therefore, been sold for money, nor have we been redeemed in a like manner; but rather by the power of Christ, the Savior of us all. For being a good Shepherd, He laid down His life for His sheep, and saved us with His own blood.

For by His stripe we were healed; and He himself was weakened on account of our sins; but we have been set free, having cast off the yoke of sin and the tyranny of the devil.

^A Ver. 4, 5. *Thus saith the Lord: My people went down beforehand into Egypt to sojourn there, and they were led away to the Assyrians by force. And now what do you here? Thus saith the Lord: Because my people have been taken for nothing, wonder and wail. Thus saith the Lord: Because of you my name is continually blasphemed among the nations.*

Having called Zion a captive, He wishes them to know the cause on account of which this shame and misery has befallen her. For He sometimes leads those who have suffered something unexpected toward better things, provided they are not ignorant of their sins. Therefore, He usefully calls to their memory the things that happened to those before them from time to time. For when famine pressed hard, Jacob ^B went down to Egypt in times past, and he laid upon himself a pilgrimage he did not desire, because he was nowhere able to find the necessities of life. And Israel was also carried away to the Assyrians, when the king of the Chaldeans who ruled at that time had devastated Judea. And what was the cause of this? For having ceased to be legitimate children, and to worship God alone, and having rejected the will of the Law, they foolishly declined toward idols, and worshipped the works of their own hands; this became the cause of their falling into the hands of enemies, and of departing from their fatherland, and serving enemies, and inhabiting the land of the Persians and Medes. Therefore they were led away by force; for they were not willing in these matters. But now, "what do you here?" By "here," He says, instead of: "scattered in the regions of the nations, and dispersed to every wind," according to the voice of the prophet. For the sword of the Romans drove away from all of Judea those who were able to flee at all. Or, "here," in such a state of affairs as you are now in. For they were, as I said, in extreme misery: in part because the Roman army, by the law of war, ^C invaded their territory, and in part because the whole city was sacked, and the temple itself was burned. Why then, He says, have they fallen into these evils? Is it not clearly because they did not accept the justifying faith, but abused in many ways Him who called them to it, and laid unholy hands upon Him, after the righteous ones and prophets who were sent, of whom they murdered some and stoned others?

And the prophetic discourse has indicated these things to us regarding the common multitude. But because it was the custom for the leaders of the Jews, in particular, to lift up a haughty brow against every nation, and to boast that Israel, inasmuch as he was called the portion of God and a holy nation, could never be captured or conquered by enemies—when it happened, as I just said, that Judea was brought down to these evils, they were struck with amazement, and lamented, as if bereft of all hope, when this evil fell upon them. Therefore, God of all says to them: *Because, He says, my people has been taken for nothing, wonder and wail*; thus saith the Lord.

^A For your sake my name is continually blasphemed among the nations. For you, He says, have become the cause for those who are subjugated to suffer, leaving them uninstructed, or rather, not permitting them at all to return to God, and to see with the eyes of the mind Him who has descended from heaven and appeared in human form, the God Word, so that He might proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and might heal those who have a contrite [or shattered] heart, and might call the acceptable year of the Lord. Therefore, on account of you, my name is blasphemed among the nations. For since Israel, He says, has been scattered throughout every land and city, no one among all those on earth has been ignorant that the holy city has been ravaged, and the temple itself has been a work of fire; then they insult my name and disparage my glory. For they perhaps think my hand is weak—that hand which was always a helper to Israel—but they are still ignorant of the true cause, nor has any one among them known that they have paid the penalty for the Lord’s murder and many other transgressions.

VERS. 6, 7. *Therefore my people shall know my name in that day, for I am He who spoke: Behold, I am here; as beauty on the mountains, as the feet of one bringing good tidings of the hearing of peace, as one bringing good tidings of good things.* ^C For because, He says, on account of your sloth I have been ill-spoken of among the nations, I will not endure this calumny, nor will I allow my glory to be assailed by blasphemous voices. But at that time, when I shall shine forth to those on earth in the flesh, whoever becomes my people by accepting the faith—whether they be from the Jews or from the nations—these shall know my name. He says "name" instead of "glory." For it is usual for the divinely inspired Scripture to speak in this way. For it is written: *A good name is more to be desired than many riches.* We who have been called by Him know His glory; and we do not approach the Saviour of all, Christ, as a man and judge of all, but even if the Word has become flesh, we believe that, being God by nature and having been begotten of God the Father in an ineffable manner, He is above every creature, and shines brightly upon the highest thrones, and rules over all, and has a most powerful right hand, and easily saves whomsoever He chooses of those who are placed under Him, and nothing at all surpasses or, so to speak, exceeds His power. ^D Israel, however, was not so disposed. For they dealt with Him as with someone like ourselves, and not as with God made man. Therefore they said at one time: *Who are you, and whom do you make yourself?* And: *For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.* But those who are called to the knowledge of truth, He says, shall know my glory. For He Himself who was speaking in the prophets [says]: "Behold, I am here." For God and Lord has appeared unto us, according to what is written. This also the all-wise Paul

teaches, saying: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds" ^A (Heb. 1, 1). We must observe here that God and Father brought all things into being through the Son, and has spoken to us in these last days, not as though there were another son according to the flesh, born of a woman, as some perverse men have thought, but that the Son is one, the Word who for our sake became man with the flesh, and who is also the creator of the ages.

"I am come, therefore, as beauty upon the mountains," he says—and by "beauty" he means the spring. Let us, therefore, contemplate spiritual things from what is manifest. What does the spring appearing on the mountains effect? It adorns the plants with fresh bloom, and transforms them from barrenness to the budding that is natural to each. We shall find something of this sort written also in the Song of Songs: "Arise, come," he says, "my neighbor, my beautiful one, my dove; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers have appeared on the earth, the time of pruning has arrived" ^B (Cant. 2, 10-12). For when winter has passed, a bright spring rises upon the earth, and renders it a nurse of flowers and a mother of ripe fruits. Something similar has been accomplished for us in an intellectual sense. For the apostate dragon caused a winter to envelop the world under heaven, and made it dry and barren. For there was absolutely no one doing good, not even one; "But all have gone aside, they have together become unprofitable" (Ps. 13, 3; Rom. 3, 12). But when the Only-begotten appeared in the flesh, He became for us as beauty upon the mountains. For having withered away, like those who have cast off the elegance of every virtue from their own souls, we blossomed again in Him and were filled with spiritual fruitfulness, so that we might even be able to say what is in the Song of Songs: "My kinsman shall go down into his garden, and shall eat the fruit of his nut-trees" ^C (Cant. 6, 11).

He became, therefore, as beauty on the mountains, and as the feet of one bringing glad tidings of the hearing of peace, and bringing glad tidings of good things. For since sin lay between us and God, we were separated from Him, and removed from the Master, and opposing His divine laws, and resisting the Master's will, we lay in the rank of enemies. But Christ appeared, our peace, who removed the sin that lay between, and prepared us to be reconciled ^D into friendship with the Father, and united us through Himself; for through Him we have had our access. Just as, therefore, if someone, he says, were to come, swift and quick, saying that the enemies were captured, and announcing peace, and bringing glad tidings of good things: so the Savior of all came into the world with flesh, and became for us a mediator of peace toward God and the Father, when Satan had been brought to naught and his whole phalanx had been removed from the way; and because the time is at hand, in which it is permitted to those who wish to become participants of every good thing; for it will follow all those who have believed in Him, and who think and do what is His, so that abundantly in the hea-

- ^A venly goods they may have participation, and be filled with every good hope; for the Savior is rich in gifts.

Vers. 8. *Quia auditam faciam salutem tuam, dicens: Sion, regnabit Deus tuus, quia vox custodientium te intenta est, et voce simul lætabuntur. Quia oculi ad oculos videbunt, quando misertus fuerit Dominus Sion.*

By "Sion" here He again calls not some earthly city, but rather His own holy Church, which He constituted from two peoples. For it is written: "Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people" (Rom. xv. 10). And Christ is said to have made both one, and to have broken down the middle wall of partition, and to have abolished the law of commandments in decrees. But when the evangelical preaching was revealed, which is full of true doctrines, the power of the shadow in the law ceased—that is, the worship and approach through blood. Sion, therefore, is to be understood as the Church, as I said, which Christ presented to Himself, not having spot or wrinkle, but rather holy and without blemish. Of this, He made the salvation "heard," which is to say, celebrated abroad. For the power of the evangelical preaching escaped absolutely no one living upon the earth, nor has anyone remained ignorant of the salvation through Christ. For He said also through the lyre of the Psalmist: ^B "Hear this, all ye nations; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world" (Ps. xlviii, 2). And just as the memory of the demons perished with a sound—that is, conspicuously and famously, for no one was ignorant of the destruction of the tyranny of the demons—so also the divine and heavenly preaching has been made heard to those everywhere, bringing salvation to those who have acknowledged the manifestation of Christ.

But what is the power of this preaching? "Sion, thy God shall reign." For of old, that is, before the coming of our Savior, Satan reigned over us through sin, and a yoke of tyrannical cruelty was cast upon the inhabitants of the whole earth. But when the King and Lord of all shone upon us, having broken their bonds, and cast off the yoke of him who formerly oppressed us, we submitted our necks to the scepters of God, and God and Father has reigned over us through the Son, and the matter has become for us a cause of celebration and festivity. David, indeed, chants and says: "The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice" (Ps. xcvi, 1), and again: "Sing ye wisely. God hath reigned over all the nations" (Ps. xlvii, 9). ^C The Savior Himself also called us to this, as I said, saying: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take my yoke upon you" (Matt. xi, 28, 29). We lived, therefore, miserably, and were involved in the direst evils, subjugated to a savage tyrant, and having submitted to the yoke of sin. But the power of the holy preaching announced the happy and auspicious kingdom of Christ, and we have become subject to Him. For He promised, saying: "Sion, thy God shall reign." But who it is, and how He is to reign, He Himself immediately declared, saying: "The voice of thy watchmen..." ^D

^A lifted up." And watchmen might be the divine disciples, or indeed anyone at all who knows how and is able to provide schooling in the mysteries, and to walk in the right path; persuading those who have been called, if indeed they are able to perform the good exceedingly well, and to hold fast to the love for Christ, and to make their confession of faith regarding Him right and blameless. These are good shepherds, guarding the rational sheep for the Chief Shepherd of all, and warding off the assaults of untamed beasts. He says the voice of these is lifted up, that is, it is to be heard by those everywhere. For it has been said to them by the voice of Isaiah: "Get thee up to a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion, lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem. Lift up, fear not." For the apostolic ^B proclamation is clear and hidden from no one at all. And that all things will run with prosperity for them, and those to whom their address is directed will be called readily, and they themselves will rejoice greatly upon seeing the fruits of their own instruction in the mysteries, He makes manifest, saying: "With the voice they shall rejoice together." For as soon as they speak, He says, the multitude of those being instructed in the mysteries will follow, and those being schooled will run speedily to the faith. And this is a joy to those who have been appointed to teach. Paul, therefore, writes to those who believed through him, that "my joy and crown." That the obedience of those being instructed in the mysteries followed upon the holy instructions in the mysteries in most places, one might ^C see through many examples, having traversed the holy and divinely inspired Scripture. For the divine disciples were speaking to the ranks of the Jews in Jerusalem; but as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles: "There were added in one day three thousand men." Nay, even the divine Paul together with the blessed Silas, while being prisoners, were singing hymns to God at midnight. But when a holy angel, standing by the prison, had loosed the bonds of all, the jailer, having become greatly afraid, wished to kill himself; but upon Paul crying out: "Do thyself no harm; for we are all here," having marveled at the wonder, he was baptized with all his house. And that the event was a cause of ^D joy for him, how is it possible to doubt? Therefore, He says, immediately after the instruction in the mysteries, those who are called run obediently. "And thine eyes shall see *eye to eye*, when the Lord shall have mercy on Sion." But whom shall they see, if not the Superintendent and Procurator of salvation, that is, Christ? For the Word became flesh, and the Psalmist is a witness of this, saying: "God shall come manifestly, our God, and shall not keep silence." Or, as I said, that "with the voice they shall rejoice together," this too, He says, thou shalt behold with thine eyes, at that time when the Lord shall have mercy on Sion, adding to all the grace through faith, and the most abundant enjoyment of heavenly blessings.

^A VERSES 9, 10. *Let the deserts of Jerusalem break forth into joy, for the Lord hath had mercy upon her, and hath delivered Jerusalem. And the Lord shall reveal his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation which is from God.*

To "break forth into joy" may signify the raising of the voice, the resounding of hymns of thanksgiving, and taking pains to meditate upon doxologies, by which God is gladdened. For it is written in the book of Psalms: *And my tongue shall meditate upon thy righteousness, all the day thy praise* (Ps. xxxiv, 28). To those who desire to do this, the matter will bring joy. But since it says that the "deserts of Jerusalem" must do this, it is necessary to say something to clarify the meaning of these words. Those who inhabit a wide and long city, if they are so many in number as to be able to fill it, leave no part of it empty; but if they are easily numbered because many have died, or because a war has assailed them, or some other cause has led to this, the most part of the places and dwellings within it remain bare. Such is what the Israelites have suffered. For having become slayers of the Lord and having hands full of blood, they were consumed by the war with the Romans, to such a degree that very few survived, and the holy city was left destitute of men. ^B But, he says, her deserts shall be glad. For houses mourn and are, as it were, full of sadness when they do not have inhabitants; but they are cheerful and, as it were, laughing if there are many who inhabit them. Come, let us say something spiritual from this history. The Church of the Gentiles, that is, the nations that have believed, who are also named Sion and Jerusalem, were at first few, and the holy and divine city—that is, the Church—was in truth as a desert. But nothing has remained empty in her; for she has been filled through Christ. It was said, namely: *Lift up thine eyes round about, and see thy children gathered together* (Isa. xlix, 18). *Behold, these come from afar; these from the north and from the sea, and others from the land of the Persians. And thou shalt say, he says, in thy heart: Who hath begotten these for me? I am bereft and a widow, and these, whence were they?* And again: *Enlarge the place of thy tabernacle, and set up thy curtains; spare not, extend yet to the right and to the left* (Isa. liv, 2). For from every nation, city, and region, ^C a concourse of the Gentiles has been made, called through faith unto Christ, so that from the east, and south, and west, and north, those who are converted have been called, being far more numerous than those of the blood of Israel. And the prophet Isaiah has signified this very thing, speaking of the Church and the synagogue of the Jews: *Rejoice, O barren one that dost not bear; break forth and cry, thou that dost not travail, for the children of the desolate are more than her that hath* (Isa. liv, 1). For he calls the Church of the Gentiles "barren," and "not bearing," and furthermore "desolate." For she was void of children, and deserted—that is, widowed—not having the sower of every good word. But the synagogue of the Jews, [having] the husband... ^D

he says, because it was yoked to the law given through Moses, and became pregnant with the sacred oracles, through which it was able to bear fruit to God in that worship which was still, as it were, in shadows and types. But there are more children of the desolate one, that is, of the widow, than of her who has a husband. And how this will come to pass, he has clarified by adding: "The Lord shall reveal his holy arm in the sight of all nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation from God." For when the arm of God and the Father—that is, the Son—had become manifest to those throughout the whole earth, when he was known to all the nations, and the ends of the earth—that is, those from boundary to boundary—beheld his salvation (by faith, clearly), then the desolate Jerusalem, ^B the intelligible one, was filled, and the multitude of the called was beyond counting. It is the custom of divinely inspired Scripture to call the Son the arm of God and the Father. For he is his power and all-powerful right hand, through whom he works all things, and regarding it the inspired David says: "Let thy hand be strengthened, let thy right hand be exalted." And again regarding God the Father: "Sing to the Lord a new song, for the Lord has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have saved him."

"Depart, depart, go out from thence, and touch no unclean thing. Go out from the midst of her; be separated, you who carry the vessels of the Lord; for you shall not go out with tumult, nor with flight. For the Lord shall go before you, and the God of Israel shall gather you."

^C This speech appears to be addressed by God either to those who have been gathered together through faith and have been named children of the Church, or perhaps to the holy mystagogues, namely the apostles and evangelists, who became the light under heaven, bringing the word of evangelical preaching as ambassadors to all the inhabitants of the earth. He commands them, then, to depart and to withdraw from the infidels as from those who are defiled, because they chose not to believe in Christ, and indeed also involved their own heads in the crime of the Lord’s slaughter. "Go out, therefore, and touch no unclean thing"—that is, be separated from communion with them, so that you may not touch even anything of theirs. "For he who touches pitch," he says, "shall be defiled." ^D For it is necessary that those who have believed in Christ, and who have been called through him to the cleansing of sin and to the participation of sanctification, should love to live apart from the Jewish ignorance, and be altogether of a different mind from them, and be separated once for all; for there is no communion of light with darkness, nor any part for the believer with the infidel. And indeed, the all-wise Paul writes to those in Galatia who, after their justification in Christ, dared to revert again to the worship under the Law: "O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been clearly portrayed, crucified among you?"

This alone I desire to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? For they were circumcised imprudently, even though they had received circumcision in the Spirit, or through Christ. ^A Therefore, the God of all things necessarily says here, "Depart, and go out from there, and be separated, you who carry the vessels of the Lord." For those who have honored Emmanuel with a solid faith and have become partakers of his divine nature, in that they are sharers in the Holy Spirit and have been filled with his holy gifts, carry vessels for God. And in what manner, the all-wise Paul will teach, saying: "Put on the armor of God; this is the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." For having this intelligible armor, they oppose Satan and war against his powers, and in a certain manner they leap forward and shield their own souls and the peoples under their hand; for this is the duty and position of leaders. Moreover, when he commands them to go out from the midst of her, he says: "You shall not go out with tumult; neither shall you go by flight." For he does not command them to withdraw from the Jewish ranks as those fleeing or as those afraid, but rather calmly and as if endowed with authority, as though declining to desire to live with those who are so defiled, and to be numbered among the profane and wicked. Therefore, he says, "You shall not go by flight." And that their affairs will proceed with an easy course, and that nothing at all will occur to them that is difficult, or steep, or rough, he provided assurance by saying: "The Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will gather you." If God is with us and goes before us, what is there that might hinder the heralds of sacred preaching; or rather, why should not everything turn out for them according to their wish, and the heralds run as if on a level road? ^{B C}

VERS. 13-15. Behold, my servant shall understand, and he shall be exalted, and shall be glorified exceedingly. As many shall be astonished at you, so shall your form be despised by men, and your glory from the eyes of men. So shall many nations marvel at him, and kings shall shut their mouth; for they shall see that which was not announced to them concerning him, and they shall understand that which they have not heard.

Clearly, in these words, God and Father speaks concerning Christ, the Savior of us all. "Behold, my servant shall understand," he says; and by "servant" you will understand the Son, or rather the servant. For the Word, being God and Lord of all, took the form of a servant and descended to the measure and standard of humanity. "For he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in habit as a man, he humbled himself." Therefore, when he became man, subjecting himself to this humiliation, ^D then he was also called a servant, having taken the form of servitude. But, "He shall understand," he says, instead of, "He shall do all things with understanding and divine wisdom, and shall speak..."

^A of that which is god-befitting." For the work of god-befitting wisdom—and, above all other things, that the only-begotten Word of God should become flesh, that is to say, man, and should become poor with those upon the earth, that we might be enriched by his poverty, that believing in him we might wash away the defilements of sin, since the law given through Moses was not powerful enough to remove sins—was that by the death of his own flesh he might abolish death and overturn corruption, and might refashion unto incorruptibility those held by death, and make the man who was upon the earth a citizen of heaven, and join to God and the Father him who was the long-lost runaway, ^B and might proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and heal the broken-hearted, and empty out Hades, and deprive Satan of his rule and tyranny over all. "My servant shall understand," he says. For there is nothing at all in what has been done for our sake that is without understanding, or, in other words, without wisdom. For "in wisdom has he made all things," according to the voice of the Psalmist. For this reason, he says, "he shall be exalted and shall be glorified exceedingly." For God is glorified by us as Lord, and we call him Savior and Redeemer. And we have believed this to be true in reality. But in order that the word from God ^C and the Father might be entirely true and beyond reproach, he necessarily added: "As many shall be astonished at thee, so shall thy form be dishonored from among men, and thy glory from among men." For those who recognized his manifestation, and were able to behold with the eyes of the mind the magnitude of the god-befitting power that was in him, are astonished at the plan of salvation; just as the prophet Habakkuk was, saying: "O Lord, I have heard thy report, and was afraid; I considered thy works, and was amazed." But those who did not understand his glory, but remained faithless and without understanding, unholily passed judgment upon him for his dishonor and reproach, calling him a Samaritan, and a glutton, and a drunkard, and one born of fornication, and besides these, even a sinner. Therefore, as many shall be astonished at thee, so also shall thy form be dishonored by men, and thy glory by men. ^D But just as this will come to pass, so also shall "many nations marvel at thee, and kings shall shut their mouths." For the Jews, those most daring men—although they are deemed of no account—dared to revile him, and having often let loose an unbridled tongue against him, lashed out with blasphemous voices. But most kings, fearing him as God, and offering up glory to him as King of all, shall shut their mouths, that is to say, they shall say nothing discordant, nor shall they utter anything of those things which injure the glory of Christ. And that the divine and sacred and saving proclamation, that is to say, the evangelical [message], will not be from those by whom his form was dishonored, but rather from those who did shut their mouth [and] whose glory he magnified, he shows when he says: "Because they to whom it was not announced concerning him shall see; and they who have not heard shall understand." For these things were announced concerning Christ to the Israelites, both by the law and by the prophets, but not to the Gentiles. They, however, he says, shall see his salvation more [clearly]; and they who have not heard these mysteries at all, these shall understand them, that is to say, they shall have believed. For the root and nurse of knowledge is faith, and as it were an entrance to piety, and to

a life bringing those who receive it into it. For indeed the prophet Isaiah says, "Unless you believe, you shall not understand." ^C CAP. LIII. VERS. 1. *Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have proclaimed before him as a tender plant, as a root in a thirsty land.*

There has always been a frequent word among the holy prophets concerning our Savior of all, and they have not ceased to admonish, and to announce most clearly, that being God the Word, He would come in due time in human form, and that He would work miracles in a way worthy of God. And this He does, calling those who are wandering into the straight path, and justifying the ungodly by faith. Yet these things profited those who were of the blood of Israel but little at all, who looked much toward disobedience; so that, although they ought to have seized the prediction, and gathered life-giving knowledge, and stored it up in their own hearts, they conversely behaved insolently toward the mystagogues, and assailed them very bitterly, saying: "Speak other things to us, and announce to us another delusion." ^D For indeed the prophet Jeremiah, as if overcome by weariness from the measureless cruelty of the Jews, says: "Woe is me, mother, as what a man have you borne me, a man of litigation and contention in all the earth? Neither have I profited, nor has anyone profited me. My strength has failed because of those who curse me." In summary, the whole choir of the saints, making their words as if concerning Jerusalem, says: "We have cured Babylon, and she was not healed. Let us leave her, and let us go each to his own land; because her judgment has approached unto heaven, and has been lifted up to the stars." For by Babylon he names Jerusalem here, as one that strives to imitate her, and differs in nothing from the land of the Gentiles, in what pertains to a dissolute life, and because she would not have the law in honor and value, nor embrace the benefit of prophetic pedagogy. These verses have this meaning. For he accuses Israel, as one that has turned entirely toward disobedience, and says: "Who has believed our report?" For we, O Lord, he says, have been initiated by Thee in the mysteries, and have been instructed, and have learned the discourse concerning the incarnation, and have received this report; but no one has believed, and to no one has Thy arm been made manifest, the arm, I say, of the Lord and God of all. Now the divinely inspired Scripture is accustomed to call the Son the arm of God and the Father, as has been shown many times. But as if someone should chance to meet them and say: "You, O prophets, have received the report through the Spirit, and have been enriched with the knowledge of the mystery; did you, therefore, preach the mystery to others?" "Indeed," they say, "we have announced it, and we have all but testified, saying: We shall be before him as...

a field, that is to say, as a flourishing and fruit-bearing territory, or even as a root in a thirsty land, for he clearly irrigates us with the divine and ineffable words of the Only-begotten, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. For of old, the whole earth was like something dry and barren, and like a thirsty land, and it had no cultivated fruits. But since it has been enriched by the rain from Christ—that is, the spiritual rain and the supply of the Holy Spirit—we have sprouted again like a root, that is, like a fair and flowering plant. ^A And, in fact, one of the holy prophets said to us: "And all nations shall call you blessed; for you shall be a delightful land, says the Lord Almighty." He calls the fruit-bearing and most fertile land "delightful," for it is pleasing to the cultivators. And that the land which once produced thorns, being dry and waterless, has changed into a most fertile one and into the ability to abound in spiritual fruits, the God of all things will clarify, saying through the voice of Isaiah: "And instead of the broom, the cypress shall come up, and instead of the fleabane, the myrtle shall come up." For the broom and the fleabane are types of thorns, and the uncultivated and thirsty land always nourishes them; but the myrtle and the cypress flourish in gardens. When the thorn is removed, therefore, he says, the most fragrant of plants will finally burst forth, when the thirsty land becomes well-watered, as God says: "I will turn the desert into marshes, and the thirsty land into conduits of water. I will place in the waterless land the cedar, and the box, and the myrtle, and the cypress, and the poplar." We have therefore announced that by believing in him, Christ, we shall be before him—that is to say, we shall be like a plant in a land that was once thirsty, but which has been made well-watered by him. ^B

"He has no form nor glory; and we looked upon him, and he had no form nor beauty. But his form was dishonored, failing beyond all men."

What then does the prophet say in these words, or what meaning might one apply to these stated things? Come, let us consider it again, as best we can. For he has confessed, "And we have announced," that is, we have fully and plainly predicted that he would come at his proper time. But perhaps someone, in response to this, might say: "What then? Did God the Word come down from heaven, adorned with divine glory? And did he appear to the inhabitants of the earth shining with unapproachable light? Was his countenance unable to be looked upon because of the exceeding glory?" For indeed, when he descended upon Mount Sinai in the likeness of fire, there was darkness and gloom and a storm, and fire flashing from on high, and smoke, and many other things besides these, productive of fear and extreme trembling, so that the sight was unbearable to those looking. ^C And indeed, the Israelites asked to act as a mediator, saying to the most excellent Moses: "Speak you to us, and let not God speak to us, lest we die." It is no wonder, then, he says, if you predicted it, and that he appeared to the inhabitants of the earth not ^D fit to be gazed upon...

^A having glory that it was impossible to look upon, and he became unbearable to no one. What, then, do the prophets say? They meet the situation warmly, saying: "Unwarranted is the disbelief! Not without cause is the falling away! He has no form, nor glory." For he was not, he says, in a form and glory befitting God. For he emptied himself, being born in the likeness of men; and having been found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself. And we say this, not having the tradition from hearing alone, but having gazed with our very eyes upon him who is proclaimed. "We saw him, and he had no form, nor beauty"—beauty, I say, that is godlike—but his form was dishonored. For human things are small, and cheap, and altogether dishonored, when compared to the divine and supreme excellence and the super-brilliant beauty of the nature that transcends all things. It has been said, indeed: "Fair in beauty beyond the sons of men." And he says something even greater: "Failing beyond all men." It is clear that this refers to his form, ^B as if they had said: "It is indeed possible to see some among men who are distinguished by the splendor of their honors, lifted up and expanded by the retinue and company of wealth, or in some other way established in earthly dignities; but Emmanuel was not among these, but in a small and lowly order, so that he seemed to be inferior to other men." And truly the saying is correct. For he was not born of a wealthy mother, the holy Virgin, but he passed through every humble state, that he might lift up what is lowly and make what is dishonored desirable. And another point: being God and Lord and King of all, of what human splendor could he have had need?

Verse 3. A man in a plague, and knowing how to bear infirmity, because his face is turned away, he was dishonored and not esteemed.

Having said that "We saw him, and he had no form nor beauty," they explain clearly in what state and habit and face they saw him whom they proclaim. For he is like a man, they say, who is affected by a plague, but who bears infirmity—that is, affliction, or what he was suffering—nobly. For perhaps they gazed upon the Savior’s face, saddened as one who was troubled and dismayed, as he was about to suffer death on the wood, when he even said, at one time: "Now my soul is troubled," ^C and at another time, again: "My soul is very sorrowful, even unto death." And what shall I say? "Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour." And one of the holy evangelists also said that when the time was near in which he was about to suffer, he began to be sorrowful and to be in distress. And although by nature he was God, the only-begotten Word of the Father, into whom neither perturbation, nor sorrow, nor absolutely anything of that kind could fall, yet he accommodated himself to our nature, and showed himself to be not empty of every anguish when temptation pressed in, declaring that in all things he was like us—not, as it pleases some, a shadow and a phantom seen upon the earth, but he truly became ^D a man. And "his face is turned away,"

away," he says, with respect to his face. And "It is turned away" stands for, "It was put to shame, it was despised, and it was not reckoned." For while Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, he, as it is said, treated him with disdain and sent him back. He did not reckon Jesus as being of any account, and his face also was despised, as the spittle was clearly sent upon him, and the soldiers of Pilate were raining blows upon him, and saying: "Prophesy to us, Christ, who is he that struck thee?" ^B He was despised in another way as well, as he bore the afflictions from the scourges, and the blows from the servants. He says, therefore, through the voice of Isaiah: "I have given my back to the scourges, and my cheeks to blows, and I have not turned away my face from the shame of spittle." Therefore, as I said, the divine prophets seem to see the Son, or his face, through a vision—that is to say, through the Holy Spirit—and it is not at all free from human sadness, as the time was indeed pressing in which it was necessary for him to suffer, so that by the death of his own flesh he might abolish death, having taken away the sin of the world.

"This man bears our sins, and suffers pain for us; and we reckoned him to be in labor, and in a blow, and in affliction. But he was wounded for our sins, and has been weakened for our iniquities. The instruction of our peace was upon him; by his stripe we were healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; a man has strayed in his own path, and the Lord delivered him for our sins."

^C He endured the cross, having despised the shame, our Lord Jesus Christ, and became obedient to the Father even unto death, and he endured the impiety of the Jews, so that, as I said just now, he might take away the sin of the world, since the legal letter, or rather the cult according to the law, held no power to succeed in this. For it was impossible for the blood of goats and bulls to take away sins. He suffered outside the gate, so that, as Paul says, he might sanctify the people through his own blood; for he suffered, not indeed for himself—for that is far from the truth—but for the whole earth under the heavens. And the most wise Paul will also testify, writing about God and the Father, that "He did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, that he might also grant us all things with him." And he himself also says somewhere, through the lyre of the Psalmist, to the Father and God in the heavens: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. Whole burnt offerings and those for sin you did not approve; then I said: Behold, I come. In the scroll of the book it is written concerning me, to do, O God, your will; I desired it." For since the cult according to the law was of no profit to those on earth for the taking away of sins, seeing that the sacrifices and the slaughters of sheep were not desired by God, the true Lamb has offered himself as an odor of fragrance for us, he who takes away the sin of the world; then, having endured ^D the death of the flesh, he freed the whole world under the heavens from both death and sin. For one is worth everyone

he suffered for all, that he might rule and reign over all. Paul will confirm this again, writing: “To this end Christ both died and lived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” And again: “One died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” Fittingly, therefore, the prophet says: “This One, being in a plague, known to bear infirmities, having his face turned away, despised and unconsidered, bears our sins and suffers on our account; and we considered him to be in labor, and in a plague, and in affliction.” ^B Observe with me again with what skill the prophetic discourse proceeds in these words. For he feigns the person of those who were ignorant of the mystery of Christ, and who thought that He had suffered because He was about to pay for His own sins. “We considered him to be in labor, and in a plague, and in affliction,” he says, that is, we thought that this passion had come upon Him by divine judgment, as if for certain sins, and that for this cause He was in labor, and in a plague, and in affliction. But the matter does not at all stand thus; rather, “He was wounded for our transgressions, and He became infirm for our iniquities.” ^C Then he gives other reasons, by which it is possible to see that He who knew no sin suffered for the sake of our salvation and life. For formerly we were estranged from God in hatred, resisting His holy laws, and not subject to the yoke of obedience, and refusing to serve Him. But it was necessary, he says, that we who had fallen into such audacity should be disciplined with stripes, so that, departing from vices, we might dissolve the enmity and enter into peace with God, by bowing our necks to Him and striving to accomplish what is pleasing to Him. But this discipline, he says, which ought rather to have been brought upon those who had sinned, so that they might be reconciled—as they were warring against God—came upon Him. And this, I think, is: “The discipline of our peace was upon Him.” ^D He makes the meaning of the matter at hand clearer, immediately adding: “By His wound we were healed.” For He suffered, as I said, for our sake. “For all we like sheep have gone astray; every man has gone astray in his own way, and the Lord delivered Him for our sins.” We therefore strayed and departed from the living God, following our own pleasures. But the Lord of all, that is, God and Father, delivered Him up for our sins, in order to release us from punishment and preserve those who believe. And knowing this, Christ Himself said: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Comments on “We considered”

^A And He, because of His affliction, opens not His mouth. As a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; and who shall declare His generation? Because His life is taken from the earth; for the iniquities of my people He was led to death.

The meaning of these words is very clear; yet we shall speak of each point in order, lest perhaps anything should seem obscure to some. Our Lord Jesus Christ was judged by the leaders of the Jews. Then some came forward to slander Him, asserting that certain things had been said by Him against the divine majesty. But Christ answered nothing to these charges, knowing that a defense would be of no avail whatsoever. For He had been summoned to judgment by His enemies. He was not ignorant that they would use the most violent anger against Him if He were to say that He was the Son of God, and the Savior and Redeemer of the world. Therefore, He kept silent both before them and when He was being judged by Pilate, saying only a few words, and those with difficulty, to ^B make their sin inexcusable. For the cruel and ungodly Caiaphas asked Him, saying: "I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us if Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." To which He replied immediately: "Henceforth ye shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." Pilate also asked if He were the King of Israel, and to this Christ said: "Thou hast said it." From this point, Pilate went along with the madness of the Jews; and having scourged Jesus, he ordered his soldiers to lead Him away together with the thieves to suffer the death on the cross. It is true, therefore, as the prophet says, "Because of His affliction He opens not His mouth." For after having suffered countless things at the time of His capture, enduring insults, and spittings, and the blows of unholy servants, and other things besides these by which it is likely ^C that one who has suffered might be distressed, He was brought to Pilate. But, because of *affliction*, he says, *He opens not his mouth*; but was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer, mute. For sheep are led away at their proper time to be shorn, and shepherds apply razors to them. And although they suffer, and sometimes the blade even touches their skin, they grieve and endure, and are softened because of our iniquities. And the prophet makes this clearer in what follows. For he says, "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed." For being enemies of God, as having offended Him, we owed chastisement and punishment; but we did not experience this, for our Savior endured it for us.

"He was led to death." Scholion: It was fitting for Him, being Himself the likeness, to heal the likeness, and through a sheep to recall the wandering of the sheep. He becomes a sheep, not by being transformed into a sheep, nor by undergoing change, nor by departing from His own substance, but by wisely putting on the nature of the sheep. As a sheep, therefore, and a victim He was made, and was offered as a sacrifice on behalf of every race.

[D ] The prophet mentioned both slaughter and shearing not without reason; but because He was both God and man, and the divine nature remained impassible while the body was being slaughtered, the inspired Isaiah necessarily pointed out to us both the slaughter of the sheep and the shearing of the lamb. For he says He was not only slaughtered, but also shorn. For the human nature endured death; but as God, living and remaining impassible, He gave the wool of the body to those who were shearing Him.

Interpretation. The meaning is manifest. And then, there is added under these words which are read shortly after, the following title: *Subest inscriptio. Deinde, etc.* These scholia are missing in the translation of Hunfredus. But whether they crept into the text from elsewhere, I do not know, since such scholia are nowhere to be seen in these commentaries. Lest anyone demand them as having been wrongly omitted, we present them here in their entirety.

^A For sheep indeed are led away to be cleansed at suitable times, and the shepherds apply to them the shearing blades. Yet they, even though they suffer (for the blade, grazing them, sometimes wounds the skin), endure and are silent, and do not attack those who do this. So too did Christ; when reviled, He did not revile in return; when suffering, He did not threaten, but handed them over to Him who judges justly. It is true, therefore, that "In humiliation his judgment was taken away." For since He appeared to them as someone of no account, and among the most lowly, they brought forth a most ready vote, or judgment, against Him. And some of those who judge act in this way, for whom the concern for accuracy, that is, for the truth, is very slight, but who rather respect persons than the facts of those being judged. For if the person brought to judgment is one of the illustrious of the world, they are found to be exact and keen investigators—perhaps even then fighting against the truth and attempting to find ways of assistance—but when some person of no reputation is brought in, then, indeed, they become hot, and bold, and extremely unhesitating, and they deliver the final sentence against them. His judgment, therefore, was taken away in His humiliation, he says.

But since He appeared as someone altogether lowly to some among the Jews, that is, to the judges, the prophet, contemplating in his mind the greatness of the nobility that was in Him, and that He was God appearing in our likeness to the inhabitants of the earth, as it were shakes his head and laments over those who decreed the judgment against Him, and says: "Who shall declare his generation?" For it is not against an ordinary person, he says, as you thought, that you have become hard and unjust judges; but rather against Him whose generation, or birth, no speech can explain to us. And you will understand this in a twofold way. For the Word, being God, was begotten of God the Father, but the manner of this generation is altogether unspeakable and beyond understanding. For it did not happen corporally, but as would befit a spiritual and incorporeal nature. For Light shone forth from Light, and Life sprang from Life; and that He was truly begotten of the substance of God and the Father, we believe without hesitation; but the "how," it is not within our ability to express or to conceive. Being God by nature, He humbled Himself to choose to suffer the emptying for our sake, and He took the form of a servant, and endured to be born of a woman according to the flesh, not however following the laws of human birth. For the coming forth was not from man and woman; but it was rather mystical and strange, and above us, and nearly ineffable. For it was said to the holy Virgin: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. Therefore also the holy thing which is born shall be called the Son of God." ^D Since, therefore, the mystery of His birth according to the flesh is believed to have been accomplished in a way above our nature, for this reason the prophet says: "Who shall declare his generation? Because his life is taken from the earth." "Is taken," he says, meaning "is lifted up," and His life is more exalted than those upon the earth—that is, His conversation and His life in the flesh. For He alone out of all, even though He appeared as a man of our condition, did not commit sin, nor was guile found in His mouth, since among mortals on earth no one has achieved this. For there is not among us anyone

^A entirely free from reproach. It is also removed in another way, and is above all mortals, that is to say, the essence of the Only-Begotten, when it is understood apart from the flesh and before He became a man like us. Therefore, since His generation according to the flesh surpasses all opinion and nature, so too His life, way of living, and manner of existence exceed and far surpass the measure of mortal men. Yet, as though someone were to say against this: How is it that He who knew no sin has been subjected to the sentence of death, and was reckoned with the lawless? For He was condemned as a sinner. God and the Father almost comes to meet this and says: "For the iniquities of My people He was led to death." For He means either this, that He willingly underwent the sentence of death for the sin of My people, or perhaps that: because, He says, those who were set over My people proved to be most wicked, therefore the snares of their cruelty and slaughter fell upon Him, and thus He was led to death. But in truth, both are absolutely correct. For He died so that He might abolish the sin of those on earth, and together with it destroy the death that sprouted from it. He died also in another way, with the Jews acting unjustly against Him. For even though they recognized that He is the heir, they said among themselves: "Come, let us kill Him, and seize His inheritance for ourselves." ^B

And I will give the wicked for His burial, and the rich for His death. Because He did not commit sin, nor was guile found in His mouth.

It seems that by these words He wishes to make clear, and to show to be true, what we just said: that because those who were set over the people of God were exceedingly impious and most wicked, therefore Christ was snatched away to death. For, He says, since they acted impiously against Him, and killed the Author of life, practicing impiety unreservedly even against Him who saves, for this very reason, He says, most deservedly will I give the wicked and the rich into the hands of enemies, for His burial, and for His death. For the Jews have transgressed in two ways, both by having killed the Lord and by having slandered His burial. And we shall say in what manner. For He was buried after He underwent death according to the flesh, yet He rose again on the third day, a great earthquake having occurred at the tomb, so that even the soldiers who were keeping watch became aware of the event, and went to the leaders of the Jews, and reported this, and the resurrection itself. But they, as the Evangelist relates, gave enough silver to the soldiers, so that they might say that His disciples came by night and stole Him. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this very day. Therefore, because of these two crimes, God and the Father accuses those who have sinned impiously; and He calls them wicked and rich: wicked, as those who slandered ^{C D}

^A and killed Jesus on baseless charges; and rich, because they used money to persuade the soldiers of Pilate to slander the venerable and great mystery of the resurrection. It is also probable that they are called rich in another sense, for the discourse hints and silently suggests that they plotted against Christ for this very reason: that they might possess riches gathered unjustly, by not judging rightly and by avariciously plundering those whom they could. Indeed, He said of them through the voice of Isaiah: "Your princes are disobedient, partners of thieves, loving bribes, pursuing rewards, not judging for the orphans, and paying no heed to the judgment of the widow." They also intended that the message of faith should not be received, thinking that if the worship ^B under the Law were to cease, they would lose the gains and emoluments of the priesthood. For they used to receive first-fruits and tithes, and they exacted even the most trivial things accurately and precisely. Indeed, Christ reproached them for this, saying: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith." They are convicted as avaricious also under another name; for, as I said above, in transferring to themselves the Lord's portion, they plotted against the Lord of the vineyard. But that God, by a just judgment, gave over the wicked and the rich for the death and burial of Christ is clearly demonstrated, as He adds immediately: "Because he did not commit iniquity, neither was guile found in his mouth." What defense, then, will avail the Jews on the day of judgment? For God and the Father has borne clear witness to the sinlessness of the Son. For there was found no guile—that is, falsehood—in His mouth, nor did He commit iniquity. Therefore, ^C He was blameless in both deed and word, and had arrived at the pinnacle of all purity. But they lied and bore witness against Him, saying to Pilate, sometimes: "This man stirs up the people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar," and at other times: "If this man were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him to you." They therefore oppose the testimonies of the Father, bringing accusations against the blameless and just One that are not true; and for this reason, they were delivered to their enemies. "Because the Lord wills to cleanse him from the stroke." For if those who acted insolently toward Him had not suffered penalties, it is likely that some would have suspected and said that Christ had been condemned by a holy judgment and verdict, as though He were guilty of the crime that was laid upon Him. But with the punishment ^D inflicted and the due penalty imposed upon those who were impious toward Him, He is cleansed from the stroke. For God would not have been angered, nor would He have despised His own people, nor would He have brought upon them the ultimate calamities, had they not denied the Holy and Just One, pursuing Him with slanders, nailing Him to the wood, and proceeding beyond all inhumanity.

^A If you give for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. And the Lord wills to take away from the pain of His soul, to show Him light and to form Him in understanding, to justify the just one who serves many well, and He Himself will remit their sins. For this reason He shall possess many, and He shall divide the spoils of the strong, because His soul was delivered unto death, and He was reckoned among the wicked, and He Himself bore the sins of many, and for the sins of many He was delivered.

Having accused those from Israel, as having unjustly killed the Giver and Bestower of life and the steward of the salvation of all, He transfers His discourse to the flocks of the Gentiles, and indeed He speaks to them: "If you give for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed." It is as if He were saying clearly: Christ has laid down His own soul for you; He redeemed you with His own blood, He endured the cross, despising the shame, so that He might procure salvation for you. If, therefore, you yourselves also wish to make a return, and if you lay down your obedience as if in place of a debt, and submit your neck to His yokes, then your soul shall see a long-lived seed; that is to say, you shall be partners of those who are reserved for a long life, namely, the saints who have been enriched by the hope of eternal life. For among the Greeks there was no reasoned account of the resurrection of the dead, nor any concern for it; indeed, even to this day, faith in the mystery is not granted to them. On the contrary, they almost say that this breath in our nostrils is smoke, and when it is extinguished, everything falls back into ashes, and this spirit will be scattered like empty air. ^B But for the nurslings of the Church, the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep is an unshakable hope, and God promises it to the Gentiles, if they are willing to offer the recompense of their own souls to Christ, who chose to suffer for their sin. And what kind of debt this is from our side, Paul will clarify, saying: "For one died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised" (2 Cor. v, 15). We have therefore owed Him our own life. For this reason He says: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matth. xvi, 24). He who denies himself will no longer live a life of pleasure, but rather that which is understood to be Christ's, that is, a holy and blameless one, just, indeed, as the divine Paul, who also has written clearly: "For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God; I have been crucified with Christ. ^C It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God" (Gal. ii, 19-21). See, therefore, how he has given himself for sin, consecrating his own life as if to Him who suffered for his sake. For we have heard Christ saying to His own acquaintances: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son ^D or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matth. x, 37). For truly man's mother and father, the princip-

principle and cause, have been to him for the progress of corporality; but the God and Father of all, those who were held by death and were withering even as grass, he has regenerated into immortality through Christ in the Spirit, and has rendered them superior to corruption, crowning them with a long and unending life. ^A Therefore, the reverence towards parents is justly surpassed by the love toward Him; but to love Christ with all one’s soul and heart, and to follow his beckonings—that is, his holy decrees—is to give for sin, choosing also to keep the faith in him rightly and blamelessly. "Your soul shall see," he says, "a long-lived seed." For the Lord wishes to take away from the toil of his soul, and to show him light, and to form him in understanding. For he had become sorrowful even unto death before the precious cross; for it is written thus by the holy evangelists. But since, having trampled upon Hades, he rose again on the third day, and then beheld human nature transformed in himself unto immortality, and the good pleasure of God and the Father now already being spread over the entire earth, and the multitude of the nations being about to be illuminated, and to be drawn away from their ancient and innate ^B error, and to be called to the knowledge of himself and of the Father; he cast off the toil of suffering, and has given victory to those who think rightly. For as soon as he was raised from the dead, and because he is good, rejoicing greatly in the salvation and life of the world, he said to the holy disciples: "All power is given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matth. xxviii, 18, 19). If, therefore, you give for sin, you yourselves shall also be participants in this long-lived seed, that is, the seed of the saints. For God and the Father wishes to take away from the toil of his soul—it is clear that this is Christ’s—that is, to change the sorrow on the cross into joy, by showing him those translated into light who were once darkness, that is, those who once wandered; to whom ^C the all-wise Paul also writes, saying: "You were once darkness, but now are light in the Lord" (Eph. v, 8). "To form in understanding." And what this is exactly, the all-wise Paul will teach, saying: "But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. iii, 18). For those who are in sins, and who worship the creature rather than the Creator, have in some way an ugly heart, and a most foul mind. It was said therefore to a certain person through the voice of Jeremiah: "Behold, your eyes are not, nor is your heart beautiful" (Jer. xxii, 17). But when they embrace faith in Christ, they are transformed intelligibly unto his divine and excellent beauty. For the all-wise Paul writes to certain people: ^D "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Gal. iv, 19). Therefore God and the Father wishes through understanding—that is, through his own wisdom, divine wisdom—to form those who believe in him, and to render them conformed to himself through sanctification in the spirit. "For," he says, "whom he did foreknow, he also..."

predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son," and those he also called. And God is said to have created the two peoples into one new man. Then, I think, God and Father wishes to justify the righteous one who serves many well, and he himself will remit their sins. Now, the righteous one serving many well can be understood as none other, I suppose, than our Lord Jesus Christ. For he came not to be served, as he himself says, but rather to serve, according to the dispensation of the incarnation. Hence it seemed good to the blessed Paul to call him a minister. For he says concerning the law and the New Testament: "For if the ministration of condemnation be glory (for the person of Moses was glorified), much more does the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." Therefore, Christ is righteous and blameless, serving many well. For the Word, being God, received the form of a servant, not in order to benefit his own nature, but bestowing this upon us, and discharging as it were a certain ministry toward us, by which we also have been saved. He is justified, moreover, while he wards off the suspicion that he was evil, or that he suffered the death on the wood justly; this he does by both the punishment rendered by the Israelites for their impiety toward him, and by his reigning over the nations of the whole world under heaven that have run to him. For that the account of the incarnation has the power of a ministry, he showed when he said: "And he himself will remit their sins." For in order to remove sin from the world, he himself took it upon himself, and the one worth all died for all; on account of this he has served many. ^B By saying "many," he signifies the nations. For Israel was one nation. But since he himself "bore their sins," he says, "therefore he shall have many for his portion, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong." Again, here you will understand by "many" those from the nations: for they are ten thousand times more numerous than those from Israel; and by "the strong," either the holy apostles, or even everyone simply who is powerful in Christ and possesses spiritual valor, to whom, as those having conquered Satan, he distributes the spoils. For he distributes with a rich hand the supplies of spiritual gifts to the holy ones. "For to one," he says, "is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge, and prophecies, and the discerning of spirits, and the gifts of healings." And having brought the power of the discourse to the holy apostles, we say this: all the nations were, as it were, a possession of Satan, but he who inherited many divided them among the holy mystagogues. For some were called to the knowledge of our common Savior Christ through the divine Peter; others were brought to the light of truth through the mystagogy of the divine Paul, or of some other of the holy apostles. Therefore, the Savior distributed to them as it were spoils, that is, the plunder of war—the conversion and calling of those who once erred. And that it behooved him who died for all to be seen as the Lord of all, he asserts, saying: "For that his soul was delivered unto death, and he ^C numbered with the transgressors."

and was reckoned among the wicked. And he himself bore the sins of many, and for their iniquities was delivered up.

TOMUS II

^A CAP. LIV. VERS. 1-3. Rejoice, thou barren that dost not bear; break forth and cry, thou that dost not travail, for many are the children of the desolate more than of her that hath a husband. For the Lord said: Enlarge the place of thy tent and of thy curtains, fix, do not spare; lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes, further still to the right and to the left extend. And thy seed shall possess the nations, and thou shalt make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

Having explained most beautifully how the true Lamb, that is to say Christ, endured the precious cross for us and the slaughter for the world; and having also predicted long before that He would possess many, the prophecy turns its speech now toward those who have been given to Him by God as a lot, that is to say, the nations. For this is what the Son Himself proclaimed in advance through the lyre of the Psalmist, saying: "The Lord said to me: Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thy inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." He says that they are many; for indeed the ^B ones from the nations must be understood to be much more frequent and greater in number by comparison with those who are of the blood of Israel, who are considered as one single nation. Moreover, He deigns to compare the multitude of the nations to a barren and cast-off woman, in other words, a desolate one, and addresses her: "Rejoice, thou barren, that dost not bear." But someone might perhaps say this: Why does He call the multitude of the nations, or the Church gathered from the nations, barren? Even though the discourse has previously indicated that there were far more who were straying and worshipping the creature rather than the Creator, than there were of those who were redeemed by Moses, and for that reason were numbered in the divine lot? "For when," it says, "the Most High divided the nations, when He dispersed the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and the portion of the Lord was His people Jacob, the cord of His inheritance Israel." How then is she barren, being so fruitful in ^C children and, as it were, most fertile? For there was no one among them, who were ignorant of the God of the universe, who deserved to be numbered among the sons of God by reason of knowledge and virtue. Furthermore, there was not among them the regeneration through water and spirit; but they were from corrupt seed, corrupt and earthly; and as the Psalmist says: "They have been alienated from the womb, from union with God, and have strayed from the womb itself"; inasmuch as they were sinners from sinners, and idolaters, and having no hope, as the all-wise Paul says. Erat ergo in Deo, therefore, she was barren, ^D bearing no one who should or could be reckoned and counted among the sons of God because

of her faith and her virtue. But behold, she is commanded to break forth and cry out. ^A It is the custom for women who are now upon the birth-stool and are giving birth to do this; they are said to urge the midwives to shout something intense and sharp, so that the infant may be forced out of the womb, the vitals being dilated by the shouting. This, I imagine, is what is meant by, "Break forth and cry out." ^B Begin, therefore, to give birth, he says, and as one laboring with many, give frequently the shout that is always appropriate to those giving birth; and as one who is to be a mother of innumerable peoples, receive spiritual joy. Explaining the meaning of the passage before us, God of all adds, saying: "For more are the sons of the desolate one than of her who has a husband." It is customary for the divinely-inspired Scripture to call the widow "desolate." Now the multitude of the nations was a widow. For it had no commerce with the Word; with the Word, I say, the sower of all true knowledge and of studies pertaining to piety — whom if one were to call the husbandman of every rational creature, one would not stray from the truth. For by him is every spiritual fruitage implanted both in the holy angels and in us ourselves. ^C Therefore, before the advent of the Savior, it was a widow and for this reason barren and childless. But since it received through faith the bridegroom from heaven, it has produced many more children than she who had a husband, that is, the Synagogue of the Jews, which God had brought through the most wise Moses into spiritual intimacy, and had made her, as it were, a wife dwelling with him, and a mother and nurse of many. But she was made childless because of Christ, even though, as the prophet Jeremiah says, she was one with many children. For more, as I said, are the sons of the once barren one, to whom it is also said, "Enlarge the place of thy tent and thy curtains." For since she became a mother of many unexpectedly, having received the Word, or Bridegroom, from heaven, she is necessarily commanded to extend her courts in breadth and in length, and to drive in the pegs, so that you may understand from this the unshakable foundation of the Church of the Gentiles; and the lengthening of the cords indicates the incomparably rich spaciousness of the holy Churches, even though the ancient tent was altogether small and had most narrow courts. ^D Nevertheless, even in that workmanship one might see, as in a figure and type, the abundance in breadth and length of the Church of the Gentiles. For around the ten curtains made of goat-hair skins, there were arranged four courts in a circle, running as it were into each part of the inhabited world, one hundred in length and fifty in breadth. For this reason he says: "Further to the right and left expand," that is, let your cords be spread out everywhere. For the world under heaven is full of holy Churches, and they are also great, wide, and long everywhere, and...

go to the perfection of beauty. For so says the God of all regarding the temple built in Jerusalem, after the first had been burned down by the hand of the Assyrians: "Who among you is there that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now, he says, as if it were not before your eyes? As I live, says the Lord, for the glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord Almighty." For far greater and wealthier temples, that is, Churches, have been raised up throughout the whole world under heaven, having the holy altar to the glory of Christ. "Enlarge therefore," he says, "the place of thy tent and of thy curtains." For thy seed shall inherit ^A nations, and thou shalt inhabit desolate cities. For the Church of the Gentiles has been the mother and nurse of a great many holy and good men, and has brought forth many princes and leaders of peoples, so that she also leads many nations, because she is able to deliver the pure word of mystagogy and is not lacking in the craft of shepherding. To these the Savior himself, inasmuch as they have led an approved and praiseworthy life, promises a lot and rule over peoples for all time to come. For in the distribution of the talents, to those who brought double what had been given, he says, "Be thou over ten cities"; and to another, "Be thou over five cities." Therefore, "thy seed shall inherit nations." This could appropriately be applied, as I have just said, to the leaders of the ^B Churches, if they also say out of exceeding joy, "He has subjected peoples to us, and nations under our feet. He has chosen for us his inheritance." For the lot that belongs to Christ alone and truly, most especially, is to preside over all. Therefore he enjoined that no one be called Rabbi: "For one," he says, "is your instructor, Christ." But just as, being himself the true light, he called the holy apostles light, and just as, being by nature the only and truly Son, he has given us who believe in him the power to call God Father, inasmuch as we are enriched by the dignity of sonship; so also, he himself being the instructor of all and possessing the world under heaven as his lot, has given this dignity to the holy ones, crowning them with his own glory, ^C because they have been his fellow-workers and noble and genuine moderators of the peoples, and have gained many, having led them by faith, those who worshipped the creature above him, and who were not ignorant of the way of the excellent life. But as for the words, "Thou shalt inhabit desolate cities," you will understand it as follows: For so great, he says, will be the multitude of thy seed that cities full of inhabitants will not suffice them, but they will be able to fill even the deserts.

^D Vers. 4, 5. Fear not, because thou wast put to shame: nor be ashamed, because thou wast upbraided: for thou shalt forget thine everlasting confusion, and thou shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood: for the Lord who made thee, the Lord of Sabaoth

^A is his name, and he who delivered thee, the same shall be called the God of Israel, the God of all the earth.

We have been justified in Christ, and not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his abundant mercy. For the all-wise Paul writes thus. For we have been delivered from darkness, and from error, and from the impiety handed down by our fathers, inasmuch as we worshipped the creature rather than the Creator, and the flock of the nations was wallowed in every kind of vice; as the Psalmist also says: "All have turned aside; they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Now, this thing has become a reproach to the nations—I mean this very state of being in error, and the evils which result from being in error. For what would make the soul of man so unseemly, and so very ugly, and so liable to countless accusations, as to depart from the living God ^B and choose instead to worship unclean spirits, and to cast itself down into the filth of sin as into some mire and slough and pit? But what does the lover of mankind say to those who have been called to the remission of sin through faith—it is clear, that which is in him? "Fear not, because thou hast been shamed." For since He has altogether, as a father pities his sons, had compassion on those who fear him, and as far as the east is distant from the west, has removed from us our iniquities; why should it not be fitting for us, who once fell, to cast away all fear, God justifying us by a grace of oblivion, and not exacting penalties from the wicked? And indeed Christ spoke, showing that the time of his sojourn was for clemency: "For God," he says, "sent not his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved." ^C Therefore, as those exempt from punishment, and not expecting the penalty for our transgressions, we have had a mind free and void of terrors, nor do we remember the reproach of our past. For grace prevails, which justifies the ungodly, and frees those who have obtained mercy from every stain. For as the all-wise Paul says, "It is God that justifieth: who is he that condemneth?" And since the Lord of all forgets, who shall cast in our teeth the filth of the transgressions committed in ignorance? "Thou shalt forget, therefore," he says, "everlasting shame (that is, long-standing), and thou shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood." And the reproach of widowhood is that the nations were unable in any way to bear fruit for God at any time, during the age in which they were wandering. For there was not among them, as I said, the bridegroom from heaven, the giver of spiritual fertility, who implants the ^D occasions of good seeds in each soul. And indeed in the evangelical parables he shows himself to be such, saying, "A sower went forth to sow his seed." And in what manner the reproach of her widowhood shall be done away, he makes clear, saying, "Because the Lord who made thee, the Lord of Sabaoth is his name." And "Making thee," he says, instead of "Creating thee," and transforming thee to a manner of life of another sort, and to a different, virtuous life; trans-

^A for we are schooled in Christ unto a newness of holy and evangelical life, growing up toward the beauty of His form through the Spirit, so that we may henceforth be seen as others sprung from others.

Thus, He spoke concerning the nations through the voice of Ezekiel, that, "And I will take away their heart of stone out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh, that they may know Me, that I am the Lord." He very frequently refers to the coming generation and the people being created as the nations who are turning back. And the inspired Paul says, "But we all," says he, "with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit."

Christ, therefore, created us—that is, the two peoples—into one new man, making peace and reconciling both in one body to the Father. We are indeed commanded to put off the old man, who is being destroyed according to the desires of deceit, and to put on the new man who is being renewed unto the image of Him who created him—and it is evident that this is Christ. "I, therefore, am the Lord Sabaoth who makes thee," He says—that is, the one creating and refashioning. ^B And that one might not disbelieve because of the magnificence of the deed, He names Himself "Lord of Hosts" again, both usefully and necessarily.

And what is the time of this transformation, or rather, of this re-creation? He clarified it by saying, "He who delivers thee, He Himself shall be called God of Israel in all the earth." And when once and for all has this also been accomplished? At the time of the coming, clearly. For Christ has reigned over all the nations, and the Prophet teaches this, saying, "And the Lord shall be one, and His name one, encircling all the earth." For of old, God was known only in Judea alone. ^C But since the multitude of the nations has been called through faith to the knowledge of Him, henceforth every knee shall bow to Him, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God, therefore, shall be called in all the earth He who delivers us, and who has rescued us from the malignity of the devil, and has brought us under His own scepters. And the blessed David teaches this, saying at one time, "Oh all you nations, clap your hands, shout to the God of Jacob, for the Lord is most high, terrible, a great king over all the earth," and at another time, "The Lord has reigned, let the earth exult."

^D VERS. 6-8. "The Lord has not called thee as a woman abandoned and faint-hearted, nor as a woman hated from her youth," said thy God. "For a little time I left thee, and with great mercy I will have mercy on thee. In a little wrath I turned my face from thee, and with eternal mercy I will have mercy on thee," said the Lord who delivers thee.

It is customary for divinely inspired Scripture to call a "derelict woman" one who, for certain reasons, has been cast away—one to whom, according to the Law of Moses, a scroll of divorce was given by her husband—and again, one "hated" who is accused of baseness and lightness of life. To whom also applies the charge of faint-heartedness, as one who could not endure, and

refuses to embrace the nuptial yoke, but turns toward things that are not lawful, and makes light of the performance of those duties which pertain to dignity and honor. Such was this Synagogue of the Jews toward the God who is Lord of all. For indeed, through the all-wise Moses, He brought her into a spiritual union; and although she had played the harlot as a woman in Egypt, in that she shared their sentiments and served their gods there, He nevertheless all but took her into His house. Afterward, when she had leaped back into her former mire and wished to run back again into apostasy—for she had worshiped the works of her own hands—He drove her away and rendered her a stranger to the intimacy she had with Him, and cast her out as a woman who was odious and faint-hearted. Indeed, through one of the holy prophets He said to those who were of the blood of Israel, ^A "Contend with your mother, contend, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. I will remove her whoredom from before my face, and her adultery from between her breasts; and I will slay her with thirst, and I will not have mercy on her children, for they are children of whoredom; for their mother has played the whore, the one who bore them has been put to shame." And what the manner of her whoredom was, He made clear, speaking through the voice of Ezekiel: "Son of man, will you not judge Oola and Ooliba (that is, Jerusalem and Samaria), and declare to them their iniquities? For they have committed adultery, and there is blood on their hands; and they have committed adultery with their thoughts; and their children, whom they bore to me, they themselves led through the fire. ^B And they did these things to me: they defiled my holy things, and profaned my Sabbaths, and when they slaughtered their children to their idols, they would go into my holy places to defile them." For there were ten tribes in Samaria, and half the tribe of Ephraim; while in Jerusalem were the tribe of Judah and half the tribe of Benjamin. But both these and those practiced impiety, not moderately, but rather, having rushed with unbridled impulses to the pinnacle of every folly, they committed "adultery with their thoughts"—that is, they turned the idols which they themselves had devised into an occasion for a certain intelligible adultery and whoredom, failing in their hearts from God, who had taken them as a wife. And indeed, the God of all said to the Synagogue of the Jews through the voice of Jeremiah: ^C "A harlot’s face has become yours; you have lost all shame before everyone. Have you not called me up to this time, ‘My father’ and ‘the leader of your virginity’?" Therefore, he deservedly calls the mother of the Jews, who has played the harlot, a "forsaken woman" and one "faint-hearted," and "hated from her youth." But He disputes with the Gentiles, and says that they were not called to the knowledge of Christ in the same way as this woman—namely, who is called "forsaken," and "possessing a faint spirit," and "hated from her youth." For there is the greatest difference in the calling. For a partial blindness has come upon the Synagogue of the Jews, ^D as the most wise Paul says. And it has been darkened

^A in its eyes so that it could not see, and its back has been bent—that is, it has had its mind always looking downward and contemplating earthly things. But to those from the Gentiles, nothing of the sort happened. For their eyes were not darkened, but were rather illuminated; and the back was not bent, but was set upright intellectually; nor was there only a remnant saved among them, as also in Israel, but rather their whole multitude was caught by Christ and brought to salvation, and it was delivered from the causes of error, and escaped the violence of the snares of sin. It is called therefore not as a cast-off and hated woman; but, “For a small moment,” he says, “I have forsaken thee, but with great mercy will I have mercy on thee.” For in past generations, as the disciple of Christ says, God allowed the ^B nations to walk in their own ways; and this, I think, is the forsaking for a small moment. For even if it seems to have happened for long periods of time, yet it is thus contracted into a brief and small moment. Much longer, therefore, is the time of His mercy, and it runs on into infinite ages. Thus you will understand also what follows, namely, “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, but with everlasting mercy will I have mercy on thee.” For brief and contracted is the time of wrath, if compared to the length of the endless philanthropy given to us by God, who also “delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love” in light. Great mercy through Christ may rightly be understood, which delivers from every defilement, brings forth from punishment and penalty, leads back to intimacy with Him through sanctification, crowns with the ornaments of the adoption of sons, and makes them heirs of the kingdom of heaven.

“From the water that was under Noe, this is for me: that I swore to him at that time to the earth, that I would not be angry with thee anymore, nor would thy mountains be removed with threats, nor the hills be moved. So neither shall my mercy fail thee, nor shall the covenant of my peace be removed.” ^C

It is written clearly in the books of Moses, that when the whole earth had turned away into apostasy from God, and had fallen unrestrainedly into manifold sin, and had plunged into the pleasures of caring for the flesh, God, who is over all, being rightly offended by these matters, said: “My spirit shall not remain in these men, for they are flesh,” that is, they mind only those things which are carnal. But this is abominable and hateful to Him, and full of all impurity. Hence, as the disciple of the Savior also says: “He did not spare the ancient world, but destroyed them all utterly, and brought / a flood upon the world of the ungodly.” But Noe alone with the whole

^A family was preserved, obtaining a gift of obedience and subjection. But when the flood had ceased and the abundance of waters had subsided, he went out and sacrificed, and, as the sacred Scriptures relate, the Lord smelled an odor of sweetness. Then He promises to this righteous man that He would no longer bring a flood upon the whole earth. Therefore, He says, “This is to me from the water which was in the time of Noe,” that is to say, this has been determined and stands fast with me, that I will no longer be angry with the whole earth, nor be indignant at human transgressions, nor decree one punishment for all. By these words, He signifies that at the time when Christ shone upon the world—while the whole earth was in a manner caught in the snares of deception, and all had turned aside, and not knowing God by nature, were serving the works of their own hands and were subjected to the herds of demons—it was necessary by divine decree that all should undergo that ancient and original punishment. For where transgressions are altogether equal, it is surely fitting that the condemned should be punished with an equal penalty. “But,” He says, “I pass over this, and the promise made by me remains firm,” and He says in a certain way: “I will not in fury remove the mountains, nor will I shake the hills,” that is, I will not change the earth into another form, nor will I bring an untimely renewal upon it. So too, “My mercy shall not fail thee, nor shall the covenant of my peace be removed.” And ^B there can be no other administrator of peace and the covenant than our Lord Jesus Christ. For He himself is our peace, according to the Scriptures, and with Him we possess spiritual union in abundance, and are filled and heaped up with every good thing. And this is what was clearly said by Isaiah to the Father and God in heaven: “O Lord our God, give us peace, for Thou hast rendered all things to us.” Therefore, in Christ we have won the covenant of peace from God and the Father; for we have been joined and united to Him through the medium of Christ, and He has removed from the midst the sin that separated us, so that nothing might lie as an obstacle to those going to God. It is written, therefore, that “The way of the godly has become straight, and the way of the godly is prepared,” of those running, that is, toward this union which is with God, with the peace of all—which is, clearly, Christ—interceding for this. For the Lord said: “I will be propitious to thee. O thou humble and unsettled one, thou hast not received consolation.” ^C Being good by nature and incomparably humane, the God of all always seeks pretexts, as it were, to justify by grace those who have sinned, for one must be unmindful of wrongs. For He does not desire the death of the sinner, but rather that he should turn from his evil way and live. Therefore, the God of all Himself will be propitious to thee, He says. And for what reason? First, because Christ is gentle, and good, and very merciful; then, because thou hast become humble and unsettled. And it is possible to see these things ^D [the minds of those who have wandered, as if a disease had beset them.]

^A For they are very humble, that is, low and trodden down, and, as it were, cast to the ground, and exposed to those who wish to trample upon them, whereas the heart of the saints is not so disposed. For their minds are not open to the incursions of demons, nor are they lifted up by pride, nor subjected to foul desires. ^B But the heart of those who wander is, as I have said, base; and moreover, it is unstable, because they are in a certain way intoxicated and waver, and are carried headlong into desires that are marked out and condemned by the divine law and reproved as vices. For they are swept along as by every wind, and, as the writer of Proverbs says, they endure the agitation of desires. The God of all, accusing Jerusalem of having suffered this because it had yielded to the deceits of demons, said, "In the desires of her soul she was carried away by the wind." A soul carried by the wind is, surely, also unsettled. But those who cling to God flee this disease, as it brings ruin, and they offer up songs of thanksgiving as if they had been delivered from the evil; for they say, "He set my feet upon the rock, and directed my steps." It has also been said by God to the mother of the Jews, "Set thyself up, O Zion." And the all-wise Paul writes to some in his Epistle: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." ^C Therefore, the soul of those who wander lacks sacred ornaments. For indeed, it is not constant. But, as I have said, since the Creator of all is merciful, he in a certain way defends the one to whom this has happened, and says, "Thou hast been left without consolation." For the Israelites had a great deal of consolation from God, which strengthened them with spiritual vigor and brought them to the knowledge of what is useful and necessary for salvation. For the law was given to them through Moses, and the chorus of holy prophets was revealed, irrigating and flooding them with heavenly streams, with God pouring out upon them a most abundant consolation like rain. But no one of the saints ever addressed the Gentiles at all, nor were they instructed by the pedagogy of the Mosaic law, but remained entirely devoid of prophetic utterances. Therefore, they were left without consolation. And this has been clearly demonstrated by the evangelical parable used by Christ, as he who hires laborers for his vineyard did so at the first, and third, and sixth, and ninth hours. ^D But at the eleventh hour, when he found others standing idle, he said to them, "Why do you stand here all the day idle?" They replied, "No one has hired us." For no one called the multitude of the Gentiles, except the Lord of the vineyard alone in the last times.

VERS. 11-13. Behold, I prepare for thee the carbuncle stone, and thy foundations sapphire, and I will place thy bulwarks of jasper, and thy gates of crystal stones, and thy circuit of elect stones, and all thy sons taught of God, and in great peace shall thy sons be.

^A Behold again the artifice of the discourse and the clever structure of the thoughts. He speaks as if the city, that is, the Church of the Gentiles—which shall appear magnificent and most beautiful—is about to be revealed, and he says that it will be adorned with most distinguished stones. For, he says, "I will place your stone as a carbuncle." By these words, he seems to wish to signify Jesus, whom Holy Scripture says has been laid as a foundation for Sion, and in whom if any one believes, he shall not be put to shame. He calls Him a carbuncle here. There is also mention of Him in another way in the holy prophets. For He said by the voice of Amos: "Behold, I place an adamant in the midst of my people Israel." And by the voice of Zechariah: "Behold, I bring forth my servant the East; for the stone which I have set before the face of Jesus, upon the one stone are seven eyes." For it is possible for Christ, who is the inspector of all, to see everywhere. The carbuncle, therefore, is placed as a stone and an unshakable foundation of the holy city. And upon it are sapphire stones, perhaps denoting the company of the holy apostles. For they are nearer to Christ, and have become, as it were, certain foundations after Him for the whole world. Thus David says in the seventeenth Psalm, that "the fountains of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were discovered, at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy wrath." ^B For when the Israelites were rebuked and subjected to the spirit of divine wrath, since they had raged against Christ, the fountains of waters appeared, that is, the purification through holy baptism; and the foundations of the world were made visible, that is, again, the divine disciples, the apostles and evangelists.

"And I will place," he says, "your bulwarks of jasper, and your gates of crystal stones, and your circuit of elect stones." By naming bulwarks, and gates, and a circuit, he denotes the God-beloved and most wise assembly of the holy mystagogues, who are also the battlements and gates of the holy city, and the circuit and wall. For they fight against those who wish to war against it, that is, against those in it—namely, the multitude of those saved through faith—wisely opposing the inventors of unholy heresies and resisting the depravities of the devil. And they ^C do not permit any of the saved to fall into malice, but, as it were, introduce those who were in the error of Hellenism into the knowledge of God, hedging them about and surrounding them with counsels and mystagogies, so that they may be unassailable by wicked powers and by the buffoonery of false teachers, who pour the poison of falsely-named knowledge into the souls of the more simple.

It is also the custom of divinely-inspired Scripture to liken at times those who lead a holy life and shine with various virtues to most precious stones. Indeed, it said somewhere concerning the holy apostles that "holy stones are rolled over the earth." For the divine disciples traveled over the whole world, preaching and evangelizing the grace of salvation everywhere to the nations. ^D

And the prophet Isaiah says again, as from the person of God: "And I will destroy the insolence of the wicked, and the insolence of the proud I will humble; and those who are left behind shall be more precious than fine gold, and a man shall be more precious than the stone of sapphire." For the leaders of the Jews, who acted lawlessly against Christ, have perished; but those who have been saved through faith might justly be counted as more precious than any gold or stone. And indeed the all-wise Paul, calling Jesus Christ the foundation, says that those who believe in him are built up like precious stones into a holy temple, into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Therefore, he compares the holy mystagogues, who are resplendent with the variety and intelligible beauty of virtues, to most precious stones; and he says that some are placed as foundations for the holy city, others as ramparts, and others fulfill the need for gates and enclosures. And these things, indeed, refer to the leaders of the city which the discourse now describes for us. But what, then, does it say about those who inhabit it? "And all your sons shall be taught by God." For formerly, through the all-wise Moses and the holy prophets, he had instructed Israel. But in the final times of the age, we have been taught by God. And of this, Paul is a witness, saying: "God, having spoken of old in many portions and in many ways to the fathers in the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us in his Son." For we have obtained an instructor—not some prophet as a mediator and minister of divine words, as of old, but rather the Word himself, begotten of God and the Father, who was made in our likeness and appeared in the flesh. Therefore, there is great peace for the children of the Church, our mother being built up in justice. For those who are entirely taught by God cannot be harmed by any of those who are accustomed to using empty words; but they have peace with God, being bound to him by love, and cultivating the ways of justice. This builds up the Church and preserves it sound and secure, so that it may not totter, with Christ protecting and granting that it be unshaken and immovable. For against it, he says, the gates of hell shall not prevail. For it is written also in the book of Psalms concerning it: "And he built his sanctuary like a unicorn, he founded it on the earth forever." We say that his sanctuary is the Church, which raises a horn that is terrible to its enemies, just as indeed the unicorn does to the other animals. For it has been founded forever by Christ.

VERS. 14. Recede from the wicked, and you shall not fear, and trembling shall not approach you. Behold, proselytes shall come to you through me, and shall take refuge with you.

^A When He says that He places her bulwark as precious stones, and all her sons as taught of God, He shows immediately that what was promised has reached its end. For He initiates and teaches by His mysteries, not as if through some medium, as of old through Moses or another of the holy prophets, but rather by Himself, that is, by His own voice. For this was what it meant: "They shall all be taught of God." ^B And the wisest Paul also wrote that "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." Therefore, the Creator of the ages weaves the mysteries Himself for those who have been called by Him to this grace through faith. For this reason, the bride who is written of in the Song of Songs says of Him: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." For He used to embrace, as it were, through the mouth of His holy prophets, calling them to kinship with Himself through sanctification and righteousness. But since He has come forth as man from a woman, we have been kissed by the kisses of His mouth. For He has spoken to us mouth to mouth. "When, therefore," He says, "you withdraw from every unjust and evil thing, then you shall not fear, and trembling shall not approach you; for you shall be invulnerable to enemies, and beyond all fear, even if some in the world should arm themselves against you, wishing to ravage you, having obtained very great power"—that is, the opposing and wicked powers, ^C or perhaps even the waves of strange and filthy pleasure, which bear those addicted to sin into the depths of Hades and into the very abyss of destruction. Therefore, the rewards of righteousness are worthy to be laid hold of, and the crowns are most illustrious; and the possession of spiritual gifts is to be admired by those of sound mind.

He adds also another thing: "Behold, proselytes shall come to you through me, and shall take refuge with you." By proselytes, He means either those at any given time coming to the faith and called from the Gentiles, or perhaps even the Israelites themselves, who have been placed behind the Gentiles, even though they held the first rank; and those who received proselytes who had turned from Gentile error to God, have themselves become proselytes of the Gentiles; yet even this they have attained through Christ. For this is what the words "through me" signify. For through Him is the return and calling of all, and the access to God and the Father. "For no one," He says, "comes to the Father except through me"; and, "I am the way"; and, "I am the door." ^D

VERS. 16, 17. Behold, I create you, and not as a smith blowing the coals and bringing forth vessels for works. But I have created you, not to destroy you in ruin. Every corrupt vessel in you I will not prosper, and every voice shall rise against you in judgment; you shall overcome them all, and they shall be liable to you in it. There is an inheritance for those who worship

^A the Lord, and you shall be righteous to me, says the Lord.

We say that being "created," in these words, does not signify a transition from non-existence into existence. For he is arguing with those who already exist and subsist; rather, it signifies a renewal, which through the Holy Spirit reforms certain persons into a holy and unblamable manner of life and existence. For so Christ is said to create the two peoples into one new man, making peace and reconciling both in one body to the Father. The all-wise Paul also encourages us, writing thus: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable will of God." We are also commanded to put off the old man and put on the new, which is being renewed after the image of him who created him. I create you, therefore, he says, not as a human metalworker making vessels out of matter by means of tools ^B and fire, but rather by a certain ineffable and intelligible transformation and reformation, and as it were a spiritual regeneration, which the Savior himself once explained to Nicodemus, saying: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." For we have been born not of corruptible seed, but through the living and abiding Word of God. Thus Christ creates, refashioning through sanctification those who believe in him, and leading them back to salvation. For he creates us not for destruction—that is, not for corruption and death—but for long-lived and endless life.

That to those who have once been raised to this splendor and have obtained this renewal through Christ there shall be given by him also an invincible grace of spiritual fortitude, and knowledge which the enemies ^C of the truth cannot resist, he shows by saying: "Every corrupt vessel that I shall not prosper against you, and every voice that shall rise against you in judgment, you shall overcome them all." One might call the workers of diabolical wickedness "corruptible vessels," they who are also children of corruption and destruction. These set upon the saints, sometimes shooting ^D in many ways the arrows of their own perversity, inflicting persecutions and afflictions and various ingenious temptations. But they shall not prosper by Christ, so as to be able to corrupt the souls of the saints; and likewise the inventors of impious heresies, casting blasphemous voices against the ineffable majesty, all but summon to trial the saints who fight for the truth and defend the pure rectitude of ecclesiastical dogmas with youthful spirit and courage. Nevertheless, they are defeated, Christ granting this also to the saints. For from him proceeds the power to overcome and refute every assault of the enemies and every opposition of an impious voice; as the Psalter says: "In God we shall do valiantly, and he himself shall bring to nothing those who afflict us." But those liable to you

^A, he says, shall be in it. And while none of the other interpreters mentions the verse set before us, I think that what it perhaps signifies is this: Those who have obtained the innovation through Christ, who have truly been transformed unto holiness in the Spirit and are leaping over the pits of sin, shall indeed be stronger than their enemies and any impious voice. But those liable to you, he says—that is, those who are liable to sins, even after the calling and justification in Christ—they shall be in it. In what, then? Surely in corruption; for this is why he immediately subjoined, "It is an inheritance for those who worship the Lord." For the portion from God will not be given to those who are accustomed to transgress by looking around and gazing at the yoke-strap, but to those who delight in, or rather, who worship—that is, who serve—Him. You shall therefore be righteous before me, he says, so that you may be partakers of the portion which has been promised to those who worship, and which will indeed be given in its own time ^B.

CHAPTER LV. VERS. 1, 2.

The inspired David, illuminated by the torch of the Spirit, composed melodies to God regarding the Savior of us all, Christ, saying: "How you have multiplied your mercy, O God! But the sons of men shall hope in the shelter of your wings. They shall be inebriated from the fatness of your house, and you will give them to drink of the torrent of your delight, for with you is the fountain of life." And elsewhere again: "The streams of the river gladden the city of God." Moreover, the Son himself, who is the fountain of every good thing and the stream flowing from the essence of the Father, and who brings life, says by the voice of the prophets: "Behold, I am inclining toward them as a river of peace, and as a torrent overflowing with the glory of the nations." And the prophet Zechariah also said that "A fountain shall go forth from the house of the Lord, and shall water the torrent of rushes." And in many places of the divinely inspired Scripture we shall find the Word of God named both a fountain and a river. For this reason He also spoke to the Jews and indeed called them to Himself, saying: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me, and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." And while addressing these words to the woman in Samaria, He says again: "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water which I shall give him, it shall become in him a fountain of water leaping up unto eternal life." Therefore, he says, if anyone thirsts, let him approach Christ and drink, and receive the abundant [grace] through the Holy Spirit

^A He shall receive it, however, not by purchasing it with money, but by being delighted with the most generous and most prompt munificence of the Caller. "Approaching," he says—that is, walking, and having leapt from one place to another, that is, from error back to the recognition of the truth—"buy and drink without silver and without price." How then do they buy, and receive freely, and without silver? For as a reward for faith we receive grace from Christ, but for things momentary and perishing we pay back nothing. "For I have said to my Lord," he says, "You are my Lord, for You have no need of my goods." ^B But in place of gifts and payments we offer to Christ the confession of faith in Him. Therefore, this drink and the most abundant gift of His charisms is without silver and price. And what do we purchase? What kind of drink do we buy? "Of wine," he says, "and food, moreover, of fat and wheat." And indeed, it is acknowledged that the abundant addition of Christ’s charisms exhilarates the soul, and becomes for it an intelligible wine; and indeed also fat, that is, food. For it strengthens it and, most of all, invigorates it. It is also credible that these verses hint at the mystery of Christ. For those who drink the living water—that is, those who have been enriched by grace through the Spirit, and who possess and partake of Him, and buy Him through faith—will also become partakers of wine and fat, that is, of the most holy body and blood of Christ. Then he adds to these: ^C "Why do you expend silver, and your labor not unto fullness?" For the leaders of the Greeks, according to their own judgment, and having received the spirit of the world, and speaking in Beelzebul, have deceived the world, and have written down expositions—not of true dogmas, but of uncertain and reprehensible ones—speaking from their own heart, and not from the mouth of the Lord, as it is written. But since those who are wandering had not the knowledge of the truth, nor the divine and heavenly light, they embraced the discipline and doctrine of pernicious opinions, bringing a great amount of money to those who professed them. But these things, he says, why do you purchase with silver? For what utility is there in wishing to know the eloquence of certain ones, a falsehood as it were anointed with honey, and to learn doctrine adorned with the splendor of language, which is joined with ruin, and to recognize vanity like mud deposited in a golden vessel? For we possess the treasure of Christ in earthen vessels. ^D What then, he says, do you purchase these things with silver? And your labor which is consumed in learning will not be unto fullness, that is, it does not suffice to nourish and vivify the soul. For the collection of pernicious dogmas harms it more than it profits. Rightly, therefore, says the most wise Paul: "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the searcher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" And again: "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." The common and vulgar mode of speaking in Scripture divinely

^A inspired, he calls the foolishness of preaching. Cease, therefore, from laboring in vain, and gathering fruitless crops, and enduring pains upon unprofitable things; but rather listen to me, and you shall eat good things—those, clearly, which come through the evangelical preaching, in which indeed, he says, your soul shall abundantly rest and delight. There is true knowledge of God according to nature, and the exercise and understanding of all virtue and holiness, which wonderfully discerns aright each of the things to be done, and makes the mind the producer of good works; so that those who adhere to all that is perceived by the intellect, and withdraw from every reproach, are [restored], even those who were previously attached to grievous crimes. Attend, therefore, with your ears—that is, follow my ways rightly and obediently. For Christ also said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." It behooves, therefore, those who are His to hasten to follow in His footsteps. And what shall be for those who are willing to do this? Your soul, he says, shall live in good things. By these words he appears to me to indicate ^B the unending hope destined for the saints. For as Paul says, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

^C VERS. 3–5. "And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, nations that thou knewest not shall call upon thee; and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee."

Having promised that you shall eat good things, and that your soul shall delight in good things, he immediately shows in what manner that which is promised shall be fulfilled for them. For he promises to give an everlasting covenant—most excellent, he says. For the law did not possess the quality of being continuous and unshaken, but was laid down until the time of reformation, as the all-wise Paul ^D says; and, the ancient commandment having been made old as not possessing the quality of blamelessness, a place was sought for a second—manifestly for the new one, which in Christ had much that was distinct from the first. For the former was in shadows, whereas this one shines forth spiritually with the beauty of truth. Therefore, the God of all said through one of the holy prophets: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Jacob, and with the house of Israel, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt."

^A because they did not remain in my covenant, and I neglected them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will strike with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will give my laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will write them."

The wise John also shows us the difference between the Old and New Testaments, saying: "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." By grace and truth he calls the instruction of true and spiritual worship through evangelical oracles, which is joined with virtue and power. For it was fitting that Moses, being a servant, should be the minister of a shadow that does not remain, but that the announcer of the perpetual and abiding worship should be the Eternal One—I mean Christ.

What, therefore, is this eternal covenant, which he will certainly bring to fulfilment for those who approach him through faith? He makes this clear by adding immediately: "The holy things of David are faithful." For he either speaks of the promise made to the divine David concerning the Saviour of us all, Christ, which was to be provided to the Gentiles as they returned, or he calls the sacred prophecies concerning Christ, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, "divine." He ^B calls them "holy" because they render holy those in whom they reside, just as, for example, he called the fear of God "pure," because it purifies, and he called the evangelical word "life," as it is life-giving. For Christ once said: "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life"—that is, spiritual and life-giving. Holy, then, are those things that sanctify and render those who receive them righteous and blameless; and they are faithful because they produce faith, and generate the stability of faith and a life of piety in those who have apprehended them. For this is the virtue and efficacy of the prophecies of Christ.

Having thus named David, he immediately says of Christ, who is from the seed of David according to the flesh: "Behold, I have given him as a testimony to the nations, a prince and a commander among the nations." Our Lord Jesus Christ calls upon the flocks of the nations, as it were, testifying that they have become acceptable, and that it is permitted to those who wish—with no one hindering them—to be enriched by the light of the true knowledge of God. He says, therefore, through the lyre of the Psalmist: "Hear these things, all you nations; give ear, all you who inhabit the world, both earth-born and sons of men, the rich and the poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart ^C understanding."

For there was need, great need, of wisdom and understanding for those who were led astray, who through great stupidity worshipped the creature instead of the Creator, and called wood and stones gods. But the Word became incarnate, for which reason he also beckons to them, saying: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore he has anointed me. He has sent me to evangelize the poor, to preach liberation to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to heal those who are broken in heart." For these were the sicknesses of the nations, but they have been redeemed through him. For they have been enriched with wisdom by him, and have become understanding. ^D

^Ausam, no longer having a weak and broken mind, but one that is sound and robust, and suited for the reception and accomplishment of every good and saving thing. But observe the careful disposition of this discourse. For he said: "I have given him as a testimony to the nations," so that no one might suspect him to be one of the holy prophets, but rather that all might understand that he excels in a certain majesty of dominion. For God has appeared to us. And he says that he was not only given as a testimony, but also as a prince and commander to the nations. For the blessed prophets, and before them Moses, holding the measure of servants, were always proclaiming to their hearers: "Thus says the Lord," not as those who give commands, but as those who minister divine voices. But our Lord Jesus Christ spoke words most worthy of God. Indeed, he was a source of wonder even to the Jews themselves, because his speech was joined with authority, and he taught them as one having authority, and not as their Scribes. For his speech was not of the shadow of the law; but as he himself was the Lawgiver, he transferred the letter to the truth, and the types to spiritual manifestation. For he was a Prince, and had the authority to command. That the prophecy’s discourse is woven together concerning the nations, one may learn—and very easily—since ^B God and the Father makes these words as though to his own Son. "For nations," he says, "that did not know you will invoke you, and peoples who did not understand you will flee to you." For those who formerly did not know Christ, because they lived in mist and darkness, invoked—that is, they inscribed as God—Jesus, and fled to him, naming him hope and protector and bringer of salvation, and invoking him as God. And for what cause? "Because of the Lord your God," he says, "the holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you." For they approach the Son, glorifying him as one born of God the Father according to nature, and as having the glory of him who begat him. For he who glorifies the Father glorifies him who is from him; and he who glorifies the Son also necessarily glorifies with him the one from whom he was born according to nature. Or, if you wish, you may apply the things said in another way: "For being in the form of God and the Father, the Son did not deem it robbery to be equal to God, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, having been born in the likeness of men, and being found in shape as a man, he humbled ^C himself, having become obedient even unto death, and the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and granted him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bend, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen." For since Christ was thought to be some undistinguished person on account of the measure of his humanity, he returns again to the God-befitting and most supreme excellence and glory that is in him, even in the flesh. And this, I think, is the meaning of it being said to the Son by the ^D

^A Father: "The name which is above every name." And indeed he said to him: "Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."

VERS. 6, 7. "Seek God, and in your finding him, call upon him." When he draws near to you, let the wicked man leave his way, and the lawless man his counsel, and let him turn to the Lord, and he shall find mercy, because he will abundantly pardon your sins.

Having made clear the way of faith in him, our Lord Jesus Christ said to the Jews: "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him." And the person of the Father himself is also introduced, thus speaking to the Son: "Sit at my right hand, until I make thine ^B enemies the footstool of thy feet." For those who had once wandered and worshipped the elements of the world and were inescapably ensnared in the traps of sin, the Father has subjected to the Son. Nor let anyone say that he has ascribed this to him as though he were weak and lacking in power; for he operates all things, and he is the Father’s almighty and most strong right hand. But because, by a singular dispensation, he has called him to take on the measure of humanity, for this reason the Father is said to subject all things to the Son, as if to his own power and wisdom. For he makes weak things powerful through him, and imparts wisdom to that which is foolish. And let no one endowed with a mind ever think that the Son was unable to subject anyone to himself; but let him consider rather, as ^C I have already said, that God and Father does all things through him. What then does the speech of the prophecy signify here? It introduces the person of the Father, speaking to and calling upon the flock of the Gentiles: Seek God, whom he just said was given as a testimony to the nations, and as their leader and teacher; this one he immediately calls God, and commands that he be sought. Now the search is not localized; for the Godhead is incorporeal, and is not conceived of as being in a place. For he fills all things and is absent from nothing that exists, but is, as it were, established in the eagerness of a soul that thirsts for communion with him through the pursuits of piety and the true knowledge of God. Such searching is appropriate for those who are still far off and separated from him, with sin, naturally, ^D standing in the way, and the ignorance working in them: when these are removed from the midst, they shall be near to God. For so also the most wise Paul writes to those who are from the Gentiles, saying: "But now you who once were far off have been made near." Thus is the God of all sought by you. But, he says, "in your finding him, call upon him." And "call upon him" signifies nothing else than: Worship him as God, and seek from him the strength and eagerness sufficient for you for conversion. Ask from him redemption, and the ability to escape the bonds of sin and the hand of him who has occupied you, that is, of Satan. For it is written: "I will call upon the Lord with praise, and I shall be saved from my enemies." And while you are finding and

are close, let the ungodly forsake his way, and the lawless man his counsel, and let him ^A turn back to the Lord, and he shall find mercy. For those who are deemed worthy of both calling and conversion, and who look forward to partaking of His gifts, ought to depart from their former practices, and from the way that leads to evil, and from the impulse toward sin, and from carnal pleasure. For he who has made his conversion from a true heart shall find mercy, because He will forgive your sins to a great extent. But "to a great extent," he says, means completely and for all time. "For where sin increased, grace abounded all the more," according to that which is written; for no guilt among you is difficult to wash away when God wills to cleanse it. For it is written concerning our Savior of all, Jesus Christ, that "Behold, He Himself comes forth like the fire of a refiner, and like the herb of launderers. And He shall sit, refining and ^B purifying as silver and gold." For He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. We call this fire the power of the Holy Spirit, which acts like fire to melt away the filth of our offenses within us.

"For My thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, but as heaven is distant from the earth, so is My way distant from your ways, and your thoughts from My thought."

Do not, therefore, disbelieve through the grace of Christ those who are called to conversion, and redemption, and cleansing from sin. Those of the blood of Israel have suffered this; for while God was calling them to conversion and repentance, they, being pricked by the reproaches of conscience, and considering the filth of their own ^C vileness to be utterly difficult to wash away, used to say, "Our errors are in us, and we were born in them. And how shall we live?" And what does God say to these things? "By turning back, turn from your way, O house of Israel, and they shall not be for you unto the punishment of unrighteousness." When, therefore, you also disbelieve, He Himself says, while I, who am powerful in all things, am affirming and saying that "I will deliver you from every stain, and I will show you to be free from the things formerly stumbled into," then consider within yourselves who I am and who you are, and that My ways and My thoughts are so far removed from your ways and your thoughts ^D as is the difference of natures. For you are men, but I am God. Thus, the interval is immeasurable, and the things of God are completely incomparable. For He excels in strength, and in glory, and in gentleness; and there is nothing at all among created things that can be seen to be equal to, or even to approach, His excellence. For men are not free from anger; but this is inherent in the supreme nature of all, that it is not held by anger. Man is bitter and prone to wickedness; but God is good by nature, or rather, He is goodness itself. Therefore, He will forgive as God, and He will justify the ungodly, burying the lapses of ignorance in oblivion, and the filth of error

^A wiped away. You may also apply to this consideration of these words another mode. For formerly, the multitude of the nations was senseless, and easily carried away into every filth, and were as if borne along with full sails transversely towards doing things which it is not right to speak of. But after they sought God through faith, and called upon Him, and abandoned their former ways and wicked counsels, they obtained mercy from Him, and were as it were transformed into another life; they became wise, as partakers of wisdom, and ^B cognizant of all good things; they shook off the yoke of ancient error, they conquered sin, possessing minds no longer slippery and unstable, but firm and strong, and ready to perform those things in which God delights. "But when I promise these things," He says, "do not disbelieve, nor suspect that the change of their mind will be unaccomplished. For my counsels are not as your counsels, nor my ways as your ways." To you, indeed, being men by nature, there are very many things which are difficult to acquire and to bring to completion. For not everything that you wish to do will always run toward its end. But to Me, being God, all things are easy and ^C readily accomplished, and there is nothing at all difficult. For my ways are as far from your ways as the distance is understood to be between the earth and the heaven. But this is incomprehensible and immense, nor can the human mind grasp it. Therefore, the divine prophet Isaiah said: "Who has measured the water with his hand, and the heaven with a span, and all the earth with a fist? Who has weighed the mountains with a balance, and the forests with a scale? Or who has known the mind of the Lord?"

VERS. 10, 11.—For even as when rain or snow descends from heaven, and does not return until it has drenched the earth, and it brings forth and buds, and gives seed to the sower, and bread for food: so shall the word be that which shall go forth from my mouth; it shall not return until it has fulfilled all that I have willed.

As if by a clear and to all most well-known example, He seeks to convince them how great is the power of His purposes. ^D For rain or snow falls from heaven, and once it has been let down by God, no one can hinder it; but rather, the purpose of Him who sends it down runs toward its end. For it renders the whole earth fruitful, so that the husbandmen have a great store of both seed and food. For when the time is present in which the ear is rendered full by the earth, the husbandmen seek not only those things which provide for their living, but also whatever things might suffice for them as the time calls them to labor. Thus, He says, no one shall prohibit my word, nor shall it be turned back, that is, it shall not cease until what has seemed good to me attains its end. And this statement is true. For, as the prophet Isaiah says: "What God">

^A God the holy one has decreed, who shall scatter it, and whose hand shall turn back the high arm?" For who will be so great as to withstand divine decrees, and rise up against the will of the Lord? No one at all. Therefore, whatever shall proceed from the mouth of Him who is God in truth, this will in every way and altogether run to its end; for it is within His power to accomplish all things, and besides this, to be truthful. Indeed, God and Father has sent down to us who are upon earth a rain, as it were, a certain divine and intelligible consolation through Christ, or rather the ministration of evangelical preaching, through which the whole earth has become fruitful and most productive. The divine David, therefore, sings and says: "You have visited the earth and intoxicated it; you have multiplied to enrich it. Intoxicate its furrows, multiply its produce; in its drops it shall rejoice as it springs up." Moreover, even through the voice of Moses: "May my utterance descend like rain, and let my words descend like dew." And the all-wise Paul also writes to some: "And may the God of peace increase your seed, and multiply the fruits of your righteousness." We have therefore possessed spiritual fruitfulness, having received the dispensation through Christ into our mind, so that we not only gather sacred nourishment—that is, we have the life-giving bread—but also [provide] seed to the sower. For those who are heads of the people, and learned in sacred doctrines, and able to school others, and who weave the word of the mystery for the people subject to them, sow in their hearts the seed which they have stored away, having previously gathered it in their own souls. As the all-wise Paul says: "We are God’s tillage; for we are laborers together with God," who implants in us an exact knowledge of dogmatic skill, and the understanding of a holy way of life, and the desire for every ^B good thing; and this is Christ, who also says concerning Himself: "The sower went out to sow his seed."

And I will make my ways and my commandments prosperous. For you shall go forth with exultation, and with joy you shall be instructed.

Having promised that those who have washed away the stains of sin will in every way and altogether be shown mercy, and then, having become pure, will be united to Him spiritually, and that those who were far off shall be near, and shall be fattened by the honors that come from Him; and having inserted in the midst those things by which it was possible for them to believe that He is also truthful, being God by nature, and Lord of Hosts, He returns again to what follows—that is, to the enumeration of the spiritual gifts that are to be given to them. "I will make prosperous," He says, "my ways and my commandments." This is a great and highly desirable good, and a gift from heaven; and we shall say in what manner. For to those who wish to move from worldly love of pleasure to a respectable life, the task is not smooth, nor is it easy or accessible at the beginning. For ^C there rises up against them...

^A the sweetness of accustomary indulgence, and it intoxicates with griefs the mind that is within them. For the passions of the flesh are not easily avoided, nor is it an easy matter for those who desire it to run toward virtue. But when God prospers them and, by smoothing and leveling the pathless and craggy places, makes them easy to traverse, one might flee the assaults of the passions quite readily, and leap most strongly toward the summits of virtue. For it is written: “The high mountains are for the hinds.” 63 What, then, has God promised to those who believe in Him? “I will prosper my ways, and my commandments, and you shall not go forth with grief, but with joy shall you be taught.” This, I think, is what the prophetic writing said again elsewhere: “The way of the pious has been made straight, and the way of the pious has been prepared.” 64 For the judgment of the Lord is a way. Another of the holy prophets says: “The ways of the Lord are straight, and the just shall walk in them, but the ungodly shall be enfeebled in them.” 65 For if God does not make the ways smooth for them, they will not be able to be borne along them. For that it is a heavenly gift, as I have said, to be able to walk in the divine ways and to fulfill the commandments by which one is led toward God, He taught when speaking as if concerning the Synagogue of the Jews: “Therefore behold, I will hedge up her ways with thorns, and she shall seek her ways, and shall not find them.” Therefore, He says, when I prosper the commandments, “you shall go forth with joy,” that is, you shall not succumb to pain, nor shall you be pricked in heart; you shall be empty of passions, and you shall cross over to a better and admirable life. For you shall be taught while rejoicing, and you shall delight yourselves in the holy words. The inspired David surely says: “How sweet are thy oracles to my throat! More than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth.” 66 And he most prudently affirmed that one should rejoice in them more than in all riches. But running with joy can be understood in another way as well: for those delivered from their ancient error rejoice as they seize the calling from God. And that this is true, it is possible to see from the facts themselves.

^C VERS. 11. “For the mountains and the hills shall leap, awaiting you with joy, and all the trees of the field shall applaud with their branches. And instead of the briar shall come up the cypress, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle. And the Lord shall be for a name, and for an eternal sign, and shall not fail.”

By “mountains” he here means the higher and heavenly powers, which have been appointed by God for the assistance of mortals. For they are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for the sake of those who shall inherit salvation, and they rejoice over one sinner who repents. [66*] Indeed, they may deservedly be compared to mountains, inasmuch as they possess a high dignity, in proportion to the magnitude of their own virtue. Or, you may take “mountains” to mean those who have the duty of teaching in the Churches, who savor nothing lowly, but seek the things that are above, and have leapt beyond earthly things. But you shall take “hills” to mean those who are inferior to them in authority, and as it were ^D below their glory, settle and are subjected. For they are

their glory. For there are measures and ranks of honor and ministry in the Churches. ^A These, he says, are the intellectual mountains, and with them the hills will exult, that is, they will leap for joy, manifestly rejoicing because of your conversion and calling, and they will receive you with joy. For we are moved with no small joy when some of those who have wandered, having left behind the fog and darkness, flash forth toward the light of true vision of God. Thus also the all-wise Paul addressed them, saying: “My joy and crown.” ^B But also “all the trees of the field,” he says, “will clap their branches.” By the trees of the field you shall understand those who are reckoned among the people. For the Savior’s garden is flowering. And indeed, the Bride, who is described in the Song of Songs, says that it is lush and fruitful: “Let my kinsman descend into his garden, and let him eat the fruit of his nuts.” Therefore, the intellectual trees will clap their branches, he says. For believers rejoice, just as surely as the mountains and hills, that is, those who have been allotted the duty of leading the people, rejoice over the salvation of those called to life and to the completion of the immaculate mystagogy, through which the divine light is instilled in them. Furthermore, that there will be a very great change in those who have been called toward that which is incomparably better, he shows immediately by saying that instead of the plantain there will be a cypress, and instead of the fleabane a myrtle will spring up. They say that the plantain, the fleabane, and the rejected thorns are bitter, ^C and they grow in places noways suitable for farming, but rather rejoice in uncultivated and salt-marsh soil. Such were those who were wandering, and who worshipped the creature instead of the Creator. But since they have been called to the knowledge of the truth, having abandoned being plantain and fleabane, they have migrated intellectually into the tall and most fragrant of plants. For they are now called cypress and myrtle. Great, therefore, is the miracle of Him who cultivates the Church, that is, of Christ. For He transforms thorns into noble and outstanding plants, and spiritually makes one thing out of another. We shall find this to have happened also among those of the blood of Israel. For Matthew and Paul, who were once plantain and fleabane—the one being a tax collector, the other a persecutor and insolent—have become beacons for the inhabited world, and they emit the fragrance of Christ in every place, both in those who are being saved and in those who are perishing, ^D as the most holy Paul says. And that the provider and governor of all these things will be established in glory and permanence that has no end, he teaches by saying: “The Lord will be for a name and for an eternal sign, and He will not fail.” By “name” in this context he speaks of glory; by “sign,” as I myself suppose, he means the splendor of the cross, through which we have been saved, and in which we shall dwell forever. For His grace will never fail us at any time or in any way.

TOMUS III

CAP. LVI. VERS. 1. Thus saith the Lord: Keep judgment, and do justice. For my salvation is near

and my mercy to be revealed.

Concerning the calling of the Gentiles through faith, that is to say, faith in Christ, he has spoken at some length in what preceded; having finished this, he passes on again to the task of admonishing those who are of the blood of Israel. For God, being by nature good, wills that all men should be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. But since it was their custom, on account of the nobility of their fathers, to lift up their eyebrows and pride themselves ^A on this very thing alone, and to imagine that this was sufficient for them even if no praise of an upright life shone forth, he endeavors to demonstrate that their puffing up in these matters will be entirely vain. Rather, he shows that those who carry out what is commanded and strive for splendor in their deeds obtain excellent glory. "Keep therefore," he says, "judgment," that is, upright judgment, or divine judgments, namely the commandments. "Do justice." For it is not enough merely to desire to adhere to divine laws while withdrawing from the duty of performing and accomplishing them; rather, one must appear as a guardian of the sacred ^B judgments and, in addition to this, excel in every kind of good work.

Lest anyone among us should think that by these words the Israelites are being incited to the observance of the Law, which is surely situated in shadows and in types—for "no one is justified by the law before God," as the most excellent Paul wrote to some—he says that his "salvation is near, and my mercy to be revealed." He calls Christ both "mercy" and "salvation," for through Him we have obtained mercy and have gained remission and salvation through faith. We say that this is similar to that which was said by God to the blessed Habakkuk: "Yet a little while, he that cometh shall come, and will not tarry." He says ^C "to be revealed" instead of "to be manifested." For the blessed prophets announced the coming of the Savior, and He was made manifest to mortals when it seemed good to the powerful Lord. This the divine David will also teach, saying: "The Lord hath made known his salvation: in the sight of the Gentiles he hath revealed his justice." For Christ has been manifested to the Gentiles, who is salvation and justice, since in Him, as I have just said, God the Father has saved and justified us.

VERS. 2. Blessed is the man that doth these things, and the man that holdeth fast to them, and keepeth the Sabbath that he profane it not, and that keepeth his hands from doing any evil.

These things are related to what has just been said, and tend toward the same ^D end, but the discourse contains something worth observing. Consider how he declares him blessed, not simply because he is of the seed of Abraham, nor because he is puffed up with carnal nobility and becomes insolent with empty pride on that account, but rather [he calls him blessed] in whom there is seen to shine forth, as a brilliant and illustrious dignity, a good and unblemished life. Something of this kind the blessed John the Baptist

^A appears to have proclaimed to the crowds of the Jews. For they approached, honoring the baptism that came from him—though it was one of repentance—and he rebuked them, being very sharp, saying: "Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'" And he says: "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham." Blessed, therefore, he says, is not anyone who is a son of Abraham, but he who keeps these things. And what are these? Judgment and justice; and furthermore, keeping and achieving them, and holding fast to them—that is to say, not approaching them in a secondary or negligent manner, but as if with all diligence and youthful vigor, so as even to cling to them greatly and to keep the Sabbaths so as not to profane them. So that you may again understand it thus: it was not permitted on the Sabbath to take care of any of the labors or tasks pertaining to the flesh. But one ought rather to be idle, the divine law so ordaining; yet even while being idle, they offered the prescribed sacrifices to God, the legal letter enigmatically suggesting that, abstaining from fleshly care, it is appropriate to minister to God with spiritual sacrifices, and those which are for an odor of intelligible fragrance. The power of the Sabbath rest, therefore, fulfilled a type of rest from sins and carnal desires; thus it is appropriate for us also to take care not to profane the Sabbaths. For having ceased, as I said, from every earthly and carnal care, we sabbatize in an intelligible manner, not celebrating sacrifices through blood and smoke, but gladdening Him with holy pursuits and offering ourselves in an odor of sweetness. For God is well-pleased with such sacrifices, as it is written. Therefore, we must not profane the Sabbaths, but in addition to this, we must keep our hands pure. And in what way, He himself taught, saying: "From doing injustice." For it is not possible to keep judgment nor to practice justice if one wishes to inflict injury and defile the hand with the filth of sin. And by "hand," you should understand not simply that which is of the body, but instead ^D of the hand, the active energy, by which we approach the doing of each thing.

"Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from His people.' And let not the eunuch say, 'I am a dry tree.' Thus says the Lord to the eunuchs: Whoever keeps My Sabbaths, and chooses what I will, and holds fast to My covenant, I will give them in My house and within My walls a notable place, better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, and it shall not fail."

Another haughty look of the Israelites, and [their] arrogance

God refutes as rotten and stale. They used to think highly of themselves, as I said, saying: "We have Abraham as our father," and also that "We are a holy people, chosen, and enrolled into the lot of God." ^A They also fled from childlessness, inasmuch as their first father, Abraham, had received from God, in the order of a blessing, that his seed would be extended into an immense multitude; for God promised to show it to be equal in number to the stars. And it was said to them through the all-wise Moses: "There shall not be among you one who is childless or barren." That fruitfulness of offspring was considered by them as something great and excellent, one of the holy prophets will affirm, saying: "Their glory is from births, and labors, and conceptions." The prophet Isaiah also says that seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: "We will eat our own bread, and wear our own garments, only let thy name be called upon us; take away our reproach." For they did not want, as I said, to be stigmatized as childless and barren. Since, therefore, the Israelites seemed to be puffed up in their minds because of their carnal nobility and the fruitfulness of their offspring, God necessarily leads them away from this ignorance, saying: "Let not the foreigner who has attached himself to the Lord say: 'The Lord will surely separate me from his people.'" ^B For it is not because he is a foreigner—that is, not of the blood of Israel—that he will therefore not be a participant in His gifts, or in his communion with Him, namely the spiritual one; but if he clings to the Lord, he will be placed entirely among His household and acquaintances, and will be co-opted into the holy nation, into the royal priesthood, and into the lot of God, and will be numbered among the children of Abraham. For not all who are of Israel are Israel, as the all-wise Paul says, nor because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but it is the children of the promise who are reckoned as seed. For the promise was given to Abraham by God, not only for those who are of him according to the flesh, but indeed for all who are begotten through faith; for so was Abraham justified. Therefore, to those who follow in the footsteps of the faith of Abraham, it will certainly be granted to be reckoned as children. God will not, therefore, separate the proselyte from his people, but once he has been added and called through faith, He will receive him and call him a holy people. ^C But if anyone is a eunuch, He says—that is, childless or barren—let him not say within himself: "I am a dry tree," that is, let him not be grieved because of childlessness. For this is nothing before God, nor does He declare it to be something rejectable. For what kind of virtue, or what splendor of glorious deeds, is the fruitfulness of offspring? These are works of the flesh, worthy of neither blame nor praise. For even if to some it is given in the order of a blessing, when the time calls for it, it would not do any harm to those who have not obtained it. For what can be said against those who have died before their time, or have departed from human affairs before marriage and cohabitation, and did not produce children? How, moreover, will it help those addicted to sins in this life that they exist as fathers of many sons and daughters? Nor let him who has no children say: "I am a dry tree."^D

^A There is no harm in this; rather, I say it is necessary to make mention even now of those who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, according to the voice of the Savior, to whom one might, and very aptly, apply the word of God here. "For I will give them," it says, "in my house and within my wall a famous place." By "house and wall," or rather, by perimeter and security, he seems to call the Church, perhaps the one above and in the heavens, or that which dwells upon earth, in which men shine who are nurtured in holiness and gravity, and are crowned with the garland of continence, and who consider the glory of this more excellent than having many children, and who, in so far as it pertains to the gravity of their manner of life, do not differ at all from eunuchs. These receive from God an eternal glory; for this is what that famous name signifies, and the grace from Him will not fail in them. For the rewards of continence are exceptional. But he does not promise the provision of such brilliant honors to eunuchs simply, but to those who keep his Sabbaths—Christ’s, that is to say. For his Sabbaths are other, as I have said, than those of the law; for the former were situated in types, while the latter are brightened with the beauty of truth. He adds, "who have chosen the things that please me, and have held fast to my testament." Now Christ desires not the things that consist in shadows and legal letters, but those which pertain to his own testament, namely, the new and evangelical one.

^B And to the foreigners who have joined themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be to him as menservants and maidservants, and all who observe my Sabbaths so as not to profane them, and who hold fast to my covenant, I will bring them into my holy mountain, and I will make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon my altar. For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations, saith the Lord, who gathers the dispersed of Israel.

We must connect these things to what came before, so that it may be understood as follows: "Thus says the Lord to the eunuchs, and to the foreigners who have joined themselves to the Lord to serve him." Therefore, he speaks to those from the nations, and not just to those who were of the blood of Israel, who ^C used to lift their brows high and look down upon the foreigners, calling themselves the portion and inheritance of God and a holy people; saying, "Blessed are we, Israel, because the things that are acceptable to the Lord are known to us." It is clear, therefore, that the power of carnal nobility does not unite one to God; for it is not because they were born of Abraham that they remained the inheritance of God. But those who draw near to Him ^D may be reckoned among His people through spiritual union, even if they are foreigners, provided that they are joined to Him through faith, and consider the service under Him to be a glory, and love His name; and to love, that by submission in all things, the yoke of His kingdom is always

^A borne, not departing toward things which are forbidden, nor indeed being easily led away to choose to turn back toward needing to adhere to other gods, but rather having a firm and unshaken mind, and in such a way keeping His Sabbaths as not to profane them, those of Christ, of course. For the Jews keep the Sabbath according to the law, keeping the flesh free from all labor and practicing rest as if in bodily activities. But such a sabbatizing was rejected by God; but he who has entered into the rest of Christ, and spiritually sabbatizes, has ceased from his own works. For so the all-wise Paul writes. He promises to bring in the foreigners now into His ^B holy mountain, and to gladden them in the house of His prayer. See here for me the shadow of the law overturned, and the oldness of the letter already in some way rendered ineffective. For all things have become new in Christ, the old things have passed away. For the law forbade foreigners from needing to go into the house of God; for it said: "An Ammonite and a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord." But the Savior and Lord of all, changing our affairs into a spiritual newness, promises to bring foreigners into His holy house. For He says that the holy mountain is nothing other than His Church, into which they having entered are gladdened, flowing with His gifts, and enriched by ^C the hope of the holy ones. And that they will live purely and integrally, and will have the God of all as placable and propitious, He signified, saying: "Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon my altar." And this speech is taken as if from the example and type of the worship according to the law. For of old it was the custom for those from Israel to burn rams and goats, and to offer sacrifices. But since, as I said, the shadow has passed, those called from the nations do not make their approach through blood, but as it were sacrifice themselves to God, dying to the world, but living in justice, as it is written. They shall be acceptable, and for a fragrance of sweetness, both these who render their whole life as if it were ^D sacred, so as to be understood in the order of burnt offerings; and those who offer a partial sacrifice, such as is the life of those who have married in the Lord, divided in a certain way between God and the world. For the animals offered for sacrifice or as a victim were not laid upon the altars entire, but by half, or in part. Therefore the foreigners are acceptable, offering themselves into a spiritual sweet fragrance. And that the divine temple, or house of prayer of God who is above all, is not assigned only to those from Israel, but is opened to all throughout the world who are called by conversion and faith to the knowledge of Him, He makes clear by saying: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." Who then is it who promised these things? Perhaps the divine prophet Isaiah as if from his own opinion? By no means. For the Lord said, He says, who gathers the dispersed of Israel. These therefore are these prayers, these voices of Him who has compassion. For being good by nature, He wants all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. But that the greatness of the clemency has not appeared only toward the nations

^A after Christ had shone upon the world, but also to those originating from the blood of Israel, it can be made clear by His saying: "The Lord said, who gathers the dispersed of Israel." Therefore, these were also dispersed, not only in terms of their bodies being led away outside Judea and wandering to other cities or regions, but as those who had departed from a righteous life and had recoiled from love toward God. For they did not keep the commandment given to them; rather, we will find them having frequently lapsed into the worship of idols, and honoring God with their lips, while having a mind alienated from Him, and worshiping Him in vain, teaching doctrines and commandments of men. Let not, therefore, the refractory Israel boast against the aliens. For they also have obtained equal mercy from God; and they were found not sufficiently noble or stable, nor blameless in every kind of obedience, but dissipated and scattered, as I said just now. ^B

"For I will gather a congregation against him. All the wild beasts, come, eat; all the beasts of the forest. See that all have been blinded, and have not known to understand. All are mute dogs, not able to bark, dreaming in their bed, loving slumber, and as dogs shameless in soul, not knowing satiety: and they are evil, not knowing understanding: all have followed their ways, each to the same end."

You may interpret what is written in two ways; for it calls the nations unruly and fierce beasts, inasmuch as they have been raised under such a tyrant, I mean the devil, and are as if brutalized, and living not in a human manner; or it seems to speak of beasts as those who have devastated Israel, ^C and have devoured him with their whole mouth because of their impiety toward Christ. And if He makes mention of the nations as wild beasts, we say that it has been proclaimed to them by God: "Come, eat." And this signifies that the whole abundance of the holy gifts has been given to them by Him, and a life-giving table has been set before them. For they too have eaten the bread of life, for they have become partakers of Christ and fellow-members of the body with the saints, so that they might even joyfully say: "The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall lack nothing; He has made me dwell in a place of pasture, He has nurtured me beside the water of rest, He has restored my soul. You have prepared a table before me." And He said also through one of the holy prophets: "Eat, drink, and be inebriated, neighbors." For those who were far from God have become near through faith, and those who once wandered have been filled with holy food; for it is written that "Bread strengthens a man's heart." But if by beasts we are to understand ^D those who devour Israel, the saying "Come, eat" is as much as to say that He is casting before them those who have acted impiously, and to whom

it is fitting to suffer this—and quite rightly so. For they have killed the Author of life, having not embraced the faith; and they who were near have become far off, no longer the people of God, but rather held in hatred as slayers of the Lord. But lest God appear to be punishing without cause and exacting satisfaction for nothing, He immediately sets forth the crimes by which they were entangled, and for which they ^A were given over to destruction by their enemies, that is, as food for the beasts. "See," He says, "for all have been blinded, they have not known how to be wise." For truly the Israelites were blind, and above all others the Scribes and the Pharisees, and those who obtained the lot of leading the Synagogue. For they neither admitted the true light, nor desired to know Christ, although He shouted clearly, now saying: "I am the light of the world," and at another time, "I have come as a light into this world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Since, therefore, it was possible to be enriched with light by embracing the faith, this they did not do; but as the prophet says: "Those who waited for light, it became darkness to them; and waiting for brightness, they walked in gloom." And the Savior Himself also said concerning them and the people committed to their hand: "They are blind, and leaders of the blind." All, therefore, He says, have been blinded, and have not known how to be wise. For it was truly the mark of prudent and intelligent men to grasp quickly the season of salvation that was present. The divine David also exhorted them to this, saying: ^B "Lay hold of discipline, lest the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way, when His wrath is quickly kindled against you." But because they did not lay hold of the discipline through Christ, the wrath was kindled against them, and they perished from the just way—that is, they became strangers to the evangelical conversation, through which alone the mode of justice pleasing to God shines forth. Beyond the fact, He says, that they are blind, they were also "dumb dogs," not able to bark, dreaming in bed, given over to sleep. He speaks words about them as if from a manifest example. For dogs that follow the flocks, always going about on all sides, are not overcome by sleep or slumber. For if any wild beast is seen, they bark vigorously, and strive with all their strength to keep it away from the sheep; and this is their duty. It is necessary for those who have been ^C entrusted with the direction of the rational flocks—that is, the leaders and teachers—to imitate these, so that they might care for their subjects and drive away by all means those who prepare to do injury, and those who lead them away from the love of God, persuading them to make light of the reverence that should be had toward Him, and drawing them to what pleases themselves. But the leaders of the Jewish Synagogue were unwilling to be such; nay, they were rather "dumb dogs," loving slumber, and dreaming on their beds. For although they ought to have prescribed useful things to their people, and to repel the onslaughts of those who lead them astray, they did not indeed perform this, but rather they themselves precipitated them into the abyss of destruction. This the God of all will teach, saying: "Your priests did not say: Where is the Lord? And they who hold my law did not know me, and the pastors acted impiously against me, and the prophets..." ^D

prophesied to Baal." Therefore, just as they were unwilling to bark like dogs at those who were harassing the flocks, they imitated the shamelessness of dogs, and their ignorance of being satisfied. For being lovers of money, and overcome by shameful gain, and delighted by the receipt of bribes, they transgressed the law; and sometimes, even without shame, they would bring an unjust verdict against those who had done no harm, while justifying the wicked—for they did not know satisfaction, that is, they could not be satisfied, clearly, with shameful gain. And the Savior Himself rebuked them for these things, saying: "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith." ^B And the divine prophet Isaiah also said concerning them: "How has the faithful city Sion, full of judgment, in which justice lodged, become a harlot? Now, however, they are murderers! Your silver is adulterated, your vintners mix wine with water, your princes are disobedient, partners of thieves, loving gifts, pursuing rewards, not judging for the orphan, and not attending to the judgment of the widow." Moreover, the divine Habakkuk, on this very matter, almost in tears, cried out to God: "How long, O Lord, O Lord, shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? Shall I cry out to Thee wronged, and Thou wilt not save? Why hast Thou shown me troubles and labors, to look upon misery and impiety? Judgment is against me, and the judge takes ^C [bribes]. Therefore the law is destroyed, and judgment does not go forth to the end, because the wicked oppresses the righteous. For this reason, judgment shall come forth perverted."

Therefore, they were unwilling to emulate the watchfulness that is in the dogs of the flock, but they only imitated them in their being contemptuous of all modesty, and in applying themselves insatiably to the gathering of gains. And in addition to this, he says they are evil and do not know understanding. Thus, the wicked man is foolish; for understanding would especially befit those accustomed to doing good, but wickedness of mind should be far removed from a good mind. For it is the same to see scab and an ulcer in the body, as to see wickedness in the mind; for it renders the man himself foolish, leading him to a rustic coarseness and making him ferocious. But because they were evil and foolish, for this reason, he says, "All have gone out of their way, ^D everyone together." For, having ceased to be carried on the straight path toward every good, and to follow the things declared by the oracles, they cast off the reins entirely, so to speak, to their own wills, and acted according to their pleasure—and not just one by one, but "towards one and the same," that is, together and in a throng. For we shall find the teachers of the Jews discussing and doing things foul and at odds with divine laws in their colleges and assemblies. For thus they fell into the crime of deicide, and in various ways each was turned aside to his own path. For they were more lovers of pleasures than of God, and were more delighted by the occupations of this life, while a life of honor and nobility was entirely neglected. We shall find the teachers of the Jews [performing] extraordinary

and discordant acts against the divine laws, and in their assemblies and councils deliberating and carrying them out. For they fell thus into the crimes of Christ-killing, and each turned in his own way into his own path. For they were lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, and they delighted more in the distractions of the present life, having entirely neglected the life that is according to the law and of the highest excellence.

CHAPTER LVII. VERSES 1, 2. See how the righteous man has perished, and no one receives it in his heart, and righteous men are taken away, and no one considers. For because of the face of iniquity the righteous man has been taken away; his burial shall be in peace, he has been taken from the midst.

Having shown them to have been "mute dogs" and possessed of an insatiable avarice, he further demonstrates by these words that they were slothful and contemptuous, to such a degree that they grew hardened in the most extreme outrages and were not even prepared to let the thought of repentance enter their minds. "For the righteous man has perished," he says, "and no one receives it in his heart; and righteous men are taken away, and no one considers." ^B By these words he seems to signify the impious daring of the Jewish herd against Christ, and whatever they did against the holy apostles. For they killed Jesus, all but crying out that prophetic word and saying: "Let us bind the righteous man, because he is troublesome to us." And as far as their mind and intent were concerned, that righteous man perished—that is, he who knew no sin. For it was not for just causes that they killed him; and they showed no mercy in bringing into danger those righteous men who were bestowing upon them the divine and evangelical word, and calling them to a recognition of their own cruelty and to repentance. By them, the divine Stephen was taken away after he had delivered a long discourse to them; and the very things by which it was fitting they should have been snared into repentance, by these same things they were sharpened into hostility. "Righteous men are taken away, therefore," he says, "and no one receives it in his heart"—that is to say, no one deigns to take into his mind the magnitude of their impiety. They have fought down the righteous, and the wicked have prevailed against him who knew not how to do wrong. "His burial shall be in peace; he has been taken from the midst." Observe for me again the figure of the speech. For it does not reveal the outcome and purpose of those who took him away as the reality of the matter ^C as if things stood exactly as mentioned. For Christ has not been "taken from the midst," nor, I dare say, have those who functioned as his envoys, who are themselves righteous, as they have been justified by him; they have merely been, in a certain way, "exterminated from the midst" as far, I say, as the attempt and resolve of those who killed them is concerned. But that this accusation falls upon all the killers, and that no one among the Jews is exempt from the blame, he suggests when he says: "His burial shall be in peace." He calls death "burial." That addition, "in peace," suggests that there was absolutely no one among the Jewish tribes who had resisted their impious designs, or opposed them, or rebuked those who wished to act impiously, but that all with one consent and united hearts ^D had dared to commit this bold crime against Christ, and having made peace among themselves, had killed him.

^A *But draw near here, you lawless children, offspring of adulterers and of a harlot. In what have you taken your pleasure? And against whom have you opened your mouth? And against whom have you loosened your tongue? Are you not children of perdition, a lawless offspring?*

Out of a great and intense love for God, the divine prophet leaps upon the unbridled insolence of the Jews, and is deeply pained by their unholy cries which they uttered against Christ. For they had continued right up to the end, as it were, loosening their tongues against him, and having attacked his long-suffering as if with full sails. For what absurdities did they not utter against him? They called him a Samaritan, a wine-bibber, and one born of fornication; and they said that he who rebuked demons was possessed by a demon, and that he who crushed Beelzebub worked his signs in Beelzebub. Finally, at the last, they brought him to Pilate and accused him, bringing forward nothing true, but rather using lies and false accusations. For they said: “This man stirs up the crowds, and forbids paying taxes to Caesar,” and other things besides these, which would pour out an inextinguishable flame upon their own heads. Regarding these, the Savior himself also reproached them, saying through the voice of Osee: ^B *“Woe to them, for they have departed from me; they are wretched, for they have acted impiously against me. I redeemed them, but they have spoken lies against me.”* And through the voice of Jeremias: *“I have forsaken my house; I have abandoned my inheritance; I have given my beloved soul into the hands of her enemies. My inheritance has become to me as a lion in a forest; it has uttered its voice against me; therefore I have hated it.”* For besides the other false accusations which they contrived against him, often when going to Pilate they dared to say: “Take him away, take him away, crucify him.” The leaders of the Jewish Synagogue did this most of all the others. For though they knew that he himself was the heir, they said among themselves: ^C *“Come, let us kill him and we shall have his inheritance for ourselves.”* But they were disappointed in their hope. For they killed him, but he did not remain held by death; for he rose again, and gave the vineyard to other husbandmen, having miserably destroyed those wicked ones and killers of the Lord.

“Therefore, then,” he says, “you lawless children, offspring of adulterers and of a harlot.” By “adulterers” in these words he designates those who had obtained the leadership, the Scribes and teachers of the law, who all but committed adultery with the Synagogue, and while speaking to it the precepts of the divine law, rather twisted them toward what was not permitted, and taught as doctrines the commandments of men. And the Synagogue of the Jews is deservedly a harlot, as one that accepted the seeds of adulterers and set aside the law of the all-wise Moses. ^D Hence he most deservedly calls them children of iniquity. “Tell me, therefore,” he says, “in what have you taken your pleasure, and against whom have you opened your mouth, and against whom have you loosened your tongue?” Often, he says, you have held in mockery the holy prophets; yet they were the genuine children of the most high God, but were also servants and subjects, and of human condition, and the crimes were committed by them against their fellow-servants. But now, against whom

^A have you loosed your tongue? For you did not wish to receive the Savior; and you are a wicked seed: for you have not endured Him who instructs you in piety through the evangelical oracles.

VERS. 5, 7. *You who call to idols under leafy trees, sacrificing your children in the valleys amid the rocks. This is your portion, this is your lot, and to them you have poured out libations, and to them you have offered sacrifices. Shall I not be angry for these things? On a high and lofty mountain is your bed, and there you have sent up your sacrifices, and behind the doorposts of your door you have placed your memorial.*

Having shown them to be murderers of the Lord, He reveals another malady, namely, that they are haters of God and quick to commit slaughter, and that this was not something new or recent among them, but had been rooted in them long since and from ages past. For you are the ones, He says, who in former times called upon idols under leafy trees. For although the Mosaic Law prescribed things useful to them and explicitly said: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve," yet they slipped into such folly, or rather into such intolerable and immoderate impiety, that they became ^B architects of idols, and performed sacred rites to them, and exhorted and taught others to worship under leafy trees and to honor them with divine honors. This the God of all makes clear through the voice of Jeremiah, saying: "Have you seen what the habitation of Israel did to me? They went to every high mountain and under every leafy tree, and committed adultery there." For they took possession of the mountain tops and the most flourishing groves, and building altars and shrines there, they brought sacrifices and libations to the unclean demons; and there were even some who spared not their own children. Jechonias, for example, slaughtered his own son, not to gods. This also God Himself said somewhere through one of the holy ^C prophets, demonstrating the cruelty of those who were accustomed to do such things: "Sacrifice men, for calves have failed." You, therefore, He says, are the ones calling to idols under dense trees, sacrificing your children in the valleys amid the rocks. What then follows? "This is your portion, this is your lot." For you have worshipped vanities, He says, and you shall have such a portion, and the lot shall be empty for you. Or perhaps He wishes to say this: "You slaughtered your children," He says, "in the valleys. That, therefore, is your portion, that is your lot": that is, you shall be drawn into the same evils, and your portion and lot shall be slaughter. For what reason? First, because you have become a child-slayer: then, because to ^D unclean demons and inanimate idols you have poured out libations, and to them you have offered sacrifices. Therefore, He says, shall I not be angry for this?

Is my wrath against you without a cause, and does the justification for vengeance lack a reasonable basis? ^A On a high and lofty mountain, there is your bed; thither you have carried up sacrifices, and behind the doorposts of your door you have placed your memorial. That they used to sleep on the mountains for the sake of dreams, the prophetic word has declared to us in many places. They say that Israel slipped into this delusion to such a degree that even upon their doors and doorposts they carved the forms of idols, so that those entering the house and those departing might see them and hold them in everlasting memory. And this matter might justly be counted as a clear proof of complete godlessness toward God, and very rightly so; for they used to call these carved forms of the idols "saviors" and "guardians of the house."

^B "You thought that if you were to depart from me, you would have something more." You loved those who slept with you, and you multiplied your fornication with them, and you made many of those who were far from you, and you sent messengers beyond your borders.

Every base pleasure and every vice, bewitching the human mind, promises almost a show of some good thing, and that one will possess things not hitherto known, and will be in a better situation than one was before. For having thus taken captive a soul, it carries it off wherever it eventually wishes. But the foolish, having learned by experience where the evils reside, scarcely relapse to their former state. But those who with the eyes of the mind scrutinize most diligently the end of each matter, do not allow themselves to be cast down headlong, but keep their mind invulnerable, seeing before the temptation what is about to follow. ^C But the Synagogue of the Jews was not such; for it was subject to the hand of the almighty God, and clothed in the glory from Him, it was terrible and unbearable to its neighbors, and it possessed a most desirable hope, and was full of every prosperity. For, following the law given through Moses, it worshipped God by nature and in truth; and it continued for a long time not bearing to call another god over Him, or to know how to worship one. But after it was invited by certain false teachers and impious shepherds, it fell into apostasy from God, and worshipped the works of its own hands; thinking perhaps that it would be in a better state, having slipped from the love toward God. Concerning these things He accuses it, saying: "You thought that if you were to depart from me, you would have something more." But the things expected from such a cold and vain hope did not issue in an outcome; for they fared worse in every evil. They had, therefore, nothing of exceptional prosperity, having cast away the genuine and established nature, and counting the firmness and constancy in these things as having almost no value at all. ^D And what is even more absurd than this: "You loved," He says, "those sleeping with you, and you multiplied your fornication with them." And He argues with it as with a harlot. Who then were those sleeping with her? They are perhaps the false shepherds, men who have their mind seared and branded, as blessed Paul says, and with diabolical

^A darkness. They became for her both a path and a pretext for ruin, drawing her away from the genuineness which she had with God and introducing, as it were, the seeds of impiety, and persuading her to bear fruits for Satan, the charges of his drunken insolence against God. We say that the fornication—that is, the apostasy from God—of some is multiplied when the force of their accusations is seen to be not single-sided or uniform, but—finished as it were from many and most perverse evils, and bringing forth many charges over which one might very justly blame those who see them—what do I mean? It follows absolutely for those who choose to serve Satan that they refuse to see anything healthy, but are cast about, as it were, into every path of profane and abominable pleasure. And accompanying such accusations would be other such evils: sorceries, necromancy, the useless fables of those who interpret portents, false prophecies, enchantments, and the calumnies of astrologers, and the observation of days and, in addition to these, of hours, seasons, and years. “So,” He says, “multiplying your fornication, you have made many who are far from you.” And who these might be, it is necessary to see again. For He speaks either of the holy prophets who, seeing her advancing beyond all boldness and rushing into the extremity of all godlessness, departed from her as though she were defiled, almost shouting and saying, “We have cured ^B Babylon, and she was not healed; let us leave her, and let us go each to his own land; because her judgment has approached up to heaven, and has been lifted up to the stars.” For since Babylon was named the land of graven images, and Jerusalem had fallen ill with this in a strange way, the divine prophets therefore speak of her as Babylon quite reasonably; or perhaps in some way she has made many who are far from herself. For they were investigating the rituals of neighboring nations and the false-named gods of each one, and were sending for them, and were adhering to them, and they served them, some these, others those. And indeed, God said somewhere through the voice of Jeremiah, “According to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah, and according to the number of the ways of Jerusalem you set up altars to burn incense to Baal.” And I think this also denotes the verse, “You sent messengers beyond your borders.” For they were not content with the gods present among them, but, as I said, they were sending for many others, as each person supposed it to be well for himself. Or perhaps the phrase, “You sent messengers beyond your borders,” might signify that their fornication was practiced by them beyond measure and limit, so that the saying might be as in the manner of a parable, and a common exclamation used for those who are beyond what is reasonable in each of their affairs.

VERS. 10. And you turned and were humbled ^C as far as the depths. In your many ways you became weary, and you did not say, “I will cease gaining strength.” Because you did this, therefore you ^D did not beg for your mercy from Me; for He accepts those who wish to repent, being good by nature, and knowing our frame, as is written. He said, then, one of the holy prophets: “Repent, O children, and I will heal your bruises.” So, a proof of the ultimate and returning apostasy, to have been in such evils and not to endure to seek from God even the confession of sins! For it is written that He says: “Speak of your iniquities first, that you may be justified.” And another chants and says: “I confessed, I declared my iniquity against me to the Lord; and You forgave the ungodliness of my heart.” But there were those among the Jews, a foolish and ignorant mob—for they persisted in turning away from the living God and in inclining toward other gods—since they were reported to be following those who were not gods. But, O madman, He says, whom did you fear and whom did you dread, and lie to Me? You, a human being, a tyrant of the Babylonians, when compared to the divine power, are absolutely nothing, nor is your army. For it is written of God: “He who holds the circle of the earth and the inhabitants in it, as locusts.” The prophet Isaiah said again: “If all the nations are as a drop from a bucket and as a particle of saliva counted, and are reckoned as the moment of a scale, to whom did you liken the Lord, and to what likeness did you liken Him?” Therefore, those who are most senseless, in thinking that humans from the earth are stronger than God, and in lying about their piety toward Him, while thinking that they will be saved by those who are not gods—what benefit could there be from stone and wood? For it is said concerning them: “And in the time of their evils they will say, ‘Rise up and save us.’ And where are your gods whom you made for yourself? If they rise, let them save you in the time of your affliction.” And they lied to God, not only by words in doing this, but also by deeds, such as the statement made concerning them as in the way of a parable: “And I waited for it to make grapes, but it made thorns, and not justice, but judgment.” And the marvelous sweet singer also said concerning them: “Alien children lied to Me, alien children grew old, and they limped from their paths.”

^A What is the end of such apostasy from God, of such immeasurable fornication, and of such impious deeds, or rather, such an aversion from better things to worse? It is, he says, the ultimate humiliation, and the descent into the lowest abyss of destruction. For because you did not wish to remain high and to possess an unshaken prosperity, for that reason you have become lowly. That certain of the Israelites were indeed high, as far as concerns the glory that comes from God, can be made manifest by His saying through the voice of Isaiah concerning them: “I have begotten and exalted sons.” Therefore, the humiliation is self-invited; for they have acted impiously against God who exalts them. And he immediately shows in what manner she has been humbled; for he said: “You have labored in your many ways.” For they, as if entering every path of destruction, have consumed the vigor of the soul—that is, the rational faculties—on nothing useful, and they have labored not moderately, but in ruinous things they have set their efforts.

^B Or perhaps he means by “many ways” in this context the constant turning toward other gods, and disregarding those already obtained, seeking those that are with others, and being intoxicated, as it were, and tossed about everywhere, and the mind that is in them having no firm foundation or stability. It happens that we suffer this even in the strange ways of pleasures. For the mind is sometimes carried away toward every kind of impurity, at one time praising wealth, at another time lusting for the flesh, being conquered by empty glory, and being carried about by every wind, according to that which was spoken by the voice of Jeremiah concerning someone: “By the desires of her soul she was carried away by the wind; she was delivered; who will turn her back?” For the soul that has suffered this will certainly be delivered to the assaults of the passions; and the Preacher teaches this, saying: “For crooked thoughts separate from God, and the restlessness of desire perverts an innocent mind.” We must, therefore, restrain our mind if it should wish to go headlong upon cliffs and to exult in and keep company with the strange ways of pleasures, so that, having grown weary from many paths, it may not become a prey for the devil.

^C Having done these things, then, he says, O Jerusalem, you did not say: “I will cease being strengthened,” that is, you did not interrupt with second thoughts the advancement toward worse things, you did not measure the apostasy, you did not extinguish the pursuit of evil, but rather, you engaged with more intensity in wishing to do those things which ought not to have been done in the first place. For it is the duty of a soul, even if it possesses only moderate understanding, not to be willing to be caught by charges that lead to sin; but if indeed it should happen that it suffers this, then at least to choose to repent, and through a return to what is better, to get rid of the charges. But if it should be carried away uncontrollably toward what is worse, and should even refuse the necessity of repenting, it has added sin to sin, and one may see it suffering disease upon disease. He therefore accuses those who ^D are involved in these crimes, the God of all, and says: “Does he who falls not rise again? Or does he who turns away not return? Why is this people turned away with an impudent turning, and they have been confirmed in their will, and refused to return?” But because you have done these things, he says, for this reason you did not inquire of Me.

^A Yet how was it not much more necessary, since you have dared to do such shameful and detestable things, to lift up your petitions, and to ask for mercy from God? For He receives those who desire to repent, being good by nature, and knowing our frame, according to what is written. He says, therefore, through one of the holy prophets: “Return, sons, returning, and I will heal your bruises.” It is an indication of the utmost madness and total abandonment, therefore, that those who have fallen into such great evils do not endure to seek to be shown mercy by God, together with a confession of their faults. For it is written: “Say you your sins first, that you may be justified.” And someone psalms, saying: “I said, I will declare against myself my iniquity to the Lord; and you forgave the ungodliness of my heart.” ^B But the Jews had a kind of reasoning, fragile and weak, and full of ignorance; for they were bent on turning away from the living God, and inclining toward other gods, because the multitude of the Babylonians was reported to be as good as present, and about to arrive. But, O senseless woman, he says, whom fearing did you stand in awe, and lie to me? The tyrant of the Babylonians is a man, and as compared to the divine power, his army is absolutely nothing. For it is written concerning God: “He who holds the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants are as locusts.” The prophet Isaiah says again: “If all the nations shall be reckoned as a drop from a vessel, and as saliva, and are reckoned as the turn of a balance, to whom have you likened the Lord, and to what likeness have you likened him?” Most senseless, therefore, are they who thought a man from the earth to be stronger than God, and lied regarding their piety towards Him, thinking they would be saved by those who are not gods. For what benefit could there be from stone and wood? It is said, therefore, concerning them: “And in the time of their evils they will say, Arise and save us. And where are your gods, which you made for yourself? If they will rise up, and save you in the time of your affliction.” And they lied to God, not only doing this in word, but in fact itself; of such a nature is that which is said about them by way of example: “And I waited for it to produce a grape, but it produced thorns, and not righteousness, but judgment.” And the divine Melodist says somewhere, as if from the person of Christ concerning them: “Strange children lied to me; strange children grew old, and they limped from their paths.” ^C Vers. 11-13. ^D “And you did not remember me, nor did you take me into your mind, nor into your heart. And I, seeing, overlook, and you did not fear me. And I will declare my righteousness, and your evils, which will not profit you. When you cry out, let them deliver you in your affliction. For the wind shall take all these, and a storm shall carry them away.” God says through the voice of Ezekiel to the mother of the

of the Jewish mother, by which I mean the Synagogue. “As you have done, so shall it be to you; your retribution shall be returned upon your own head.” Yes, and the prophet Isaiah also says: “Woe to the wicked,” he says, “evil shall befall him according to the works of his hands.” Something of this sort is signified even now through the things set before us. For ^B since you have rejected the knowledge of me, he says, you will be despised by me, and you will undergo punishment equal to your transgressions. Someone forgets God, who is God by nature and in truth, and the master of all things, not because he has altogether arrived at a state of forgetting that He is God (for even the demons believe and shudder, according to the voice of the apostle), but because he has thought nothing of wanting to be subject to Him, and has cared little for the things commanded by Him; so that he appears licentious and disobedient, and has turned in every way toward the very opposite of what he ought to fulfill. And God "forgets," or rather, overlooks those who have forgotten Him, not only withdrawing His helping hand, and stripping them of all mercy; which is what happened to Israel. For they did not fear the Lord of heaven and earth, the creator and artisan of all things; but having as it were withdrawn their neck from His scepters, they served gods that were not gods. For this reason He says: “You did not fear me; and I will announce my righteousness, and your wickedness,” speaking of their apostasy from Him, clearly, and their inclination toward the gods they had fashioned for themselves. God, who is the God of all, declares His righteousness against those who are accustomed to doing such things, passing a divine sentence upon them and imposing a balanced punishment. For the daring deeds done by us are not against just any one of our own condition, but against that nature which is on high and above, and which rules over all things. And that the discovery of falsely-named gods is useless to them, He demonstrates by saying: “They shall not profit you,” and that this matter is true, He confirms further saying: “When you cry out, let them deliver you in your affliction.” Therefore, as the prophet says: ^C “What does a graven image profit, because they have graven it? They have molded a molten image, a false imagination, which the sculptor has fashioned, and it is not God.” Then how could an image made of wood and stone, and creations of human craft rather than God, bring aid to those who have been led astray? For this reason He says that “the wind shall take them all, and the storm shall carry them away.” Which ones? Either the gods conceived by them, or perhaps those who worship them, who, like dust and ashes, are scattered by the blasts of the winds. And this, I think, is what is said in the book of Psalms: “Let them become as dust before the face of the wind,” that is, they shall walk toward nothingness. It is customary for divinely inspired Scripture to compare the onset of trials, or rather of punishments, to a squall and a storm. ^D

VERS. 14. *But they who rely on me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain; and they shall say: Clear the ways from before it, and remove the stumbling blocks from the way of my people.*

^A Necessarily these things have been subjoined to the foregoing. For it was necessary, indeed it was necessary, that there should be a manifest punishment for the flagitious and for the apostates, and evident rewards for those who love Him. And in general the promise is true; for whoever clings to God, and deems nothing more precious or excellent than the love for Him, and excels in all good works, he shall be an heir of the land which is destined for the saints, which the Savior Himself also pointed out to us, saying: “Blessed are the meek, for they themselves shall inherit the earth.” ^B By the holy mountain in these passages, I mean perhaps the city above, the heavenly Jerusalem, the beautiful city of the saints. For the divine David psalms and speaks concerning it: “Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that is innocent of hands and pure in heart.” Therefore, for all who cling to God, there shall be the inheritance of the land of the saints, and the venerable and most celebrated mountain. And it seems that He is now speaking of those who, from the Jewish ordinations, have believed in Him, of whom the divine disciples have become the first-fruits and the first, holding fast to the love of Christ, possessing firm faith in Him, and irreprehensible obedience, and inseparable love. They say, therefore: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution?” or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? These have become heirs of the kingdom of heaven; and they shall possess the land above, which is prepared for the meek. ^C The name of meekness would befit those who live the evangelical life, to whom Christ has also commanded that they ought not to be angry, nor indeed to avenge themselves on any of those who have offended them, but rather to hasten to show kindness even to those who have become their enemies. “Do good,” he says, “to your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you; and to him who strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” The proof of ultimate patience and meekness would be to excel in these things. To those who possess the land and the holy mountain, as if in promise and hope, it shall be said: “Clear the ways from before His face;” this is clearly, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths.” And how this preparation is carried out, He has explained, saying: “Remove the stumbling blocks from the way of my people,” that is to say, make the way of salvation through faith smooth and unimpeded for all the inhabitants of the earth; let there be nothing rough or steep. ^D For the Mosaic law knew not mercy, and was difficult; for we all offend in many things, and it was hard to find one who was entirely free, and able to fulfill it blamelessly. And thus the divine disciples said to those who, after the faith, wished to return to the shadows of the law: “And now why do you tempt God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear?” Paul also said that the law was added because of transgressions: for the law convicts of sin; and those who stumbled against it

were liable to blame and writing. ^A It was a hindrance, then, to a life governed by law, because it was difficult to fulfill. “But let it be removed,” he says, “from the midst; and let the path that is easy to travel and accessible without sweat be revealed,” that is, the power of the evangelical way of life, which brings in the true worship. God said something similar elsewhere to the holy mystagogues: “Go through my gates, and cast the stones out of the way,” that is, relieve the road of every difficulty—the road, that is, which leads to God through spiritual and true worship and the brightness that comes from faith.

^B “Thus says the Lord the Most High, who dwells in the heights for eternity, the Holy One resting in the holy, and giving patience to the fainthearted, and giving life to the contrite in heart: I will not take vengeance on you forever, nor will I be angry with you always. For a spirit shall go forth from me, and I have made every breath.”

The blessed prophets, whenever the Lord of all promises something great and worthy of God to anyone, are filled with great admiration for His glory and kindness, and as though exulting with joy, they turn to singing praises. We shall find that the prophet is experiencing something like this now; for he did not say simply, “Thus says the Lord,” but necessarily adds, “the Most High,” which is to say, He who is above all things and by nature more sublime than everything that has been brought into existence. ^C When he says, “who dwells in the heights,” he implies again that the divine and most exalted nature is established in unshakable dignities and ineffable heights. And this, I think, is what it means for it to dwell in the heights for eternity: for it exists unchangeably in what it is in itself, and it could not in any way become better, or be anything other than what it is; rather, it remains perpetually and unchangeably in the state in which it is. He says that the Holy One rests and dwells in the holy, implying that He rejects those born of Israelite blood as having been defiled by many sins, but dwells with kindness among those who have been purified by faith and sanctified in spirit. He also gives patience to the fainthearted. He calls “fainthearted” those who are sometimes accustomed to fail in a small way concerning the goal of life set before them. ^D He gives them patience, that is, endurance and perseverance, almost shouting and saying: “Be of good courage, and let your heart be comforted, all you who hope in the Lord.” He also gives life to the contrite in heart, that is, to the poor in spirit; and such are all those who render obedience to God and possess a submissive mind. These are they who have been called through faith to the acknowledgment of Christ; and they are named poor in spirit, following a path opposite to those of Israel. For the former were arrogant, disobedient, and unyielding;

^A but these are the good, and the pure of heart, who assign to the laws of God the right to rule and to take the superior position, and who submit the neck of their minds to the yoke of Christ. And these are the works of Christians.

But what does the Most High say to those who, through disobedience, have slipped into the crimes of impiety against Him? "I will not take vengeance on you forever, nor will I be angry with you always." He does not cut off the hope of salvation for those from Israel; for the remnant has been saved, ^B and the greatest part of their multitude has been called. They shall be called even in the last times, as God restrains His anger toward them and draws back the punishment, so that it might not be extended against them forever. For being good, He has kept the promise given to their fathers, and He has not failed. He also gives another reason, as a merciful God: "For a spirit will go forth from me." And in what manner will it go forth? He has clarified this by saying: "I have made every breath [or: blast]." For He is the Father of spirits. Yet it is understood not as having begotten them from His own nature, just as He begot His own Son, nor do we say that they have had a progression or procession from His substance equal to the Holy Spirit; rather, we affirm that they came forth into existence from God by way of creation, as we judge rightly; for He Himself made every breath. ^C But where "making" is stated altogether, there surely must be the "going forth" or "exit," not in terms of substance, but as a term denoting creation in a figurative sense.

VERS. 17-21. *For sin I grieved him for a little while, and I struck him, and I turned my face away from him, and he was grieved, and walked sorrowfully in his ways. I have seen his ways, and I healed him, and I consoled him, and I gave him true consolation, peace upon peace to those who are far and to those who are near.* The Lord says: *I will heal them; but the unjust shall be tossed so, and they shall not be able to find rest. There is no joy for the impious, says the Lord God.*

The Jews have truly paid the penalty for their raging against Christ—penalties indeed intolerable to all men, ^D yet moderate if compared with their errors. For they were wicked beyond all measure; they killed the just, and rendered themselves guilty of the blood of the holy prophets. Finally, they even laid hands on Christ Himself, whom, though He was His Son, the Father had sent after the servants. But they—even though they said among themselves, "This is the heir"—still acted insolently against Him. Therefore, on account of this sin, He says, "I grieved him, and I struck him, and I turned my face away from him." For He said: "When you stretch forth your hands to me, I will turn my eyes away from you; and if you multiply prayer, I will not hear you; for your hands are full of blood." But in the last times, as Israel repents (for he shall walk sorrowfully), he will cease from this turning away, and through faith he will be received, and from his former sins, by God’s favor...

he shall be absolved, and shall take hold of true consolation. But what do we say this is? Is it not, clearly, the grace through Christ which justifies by faith, delivers from sins, procures sanctification through the Spirit, the glory of adoption, and the hope of the rewards destined for the saints? This consolation, therefore, is true; for besides all other good things, it brings to those endued with it peace upon peace; that is, the perpetual and constant serenity of peace which the Savior has given both to those far off and to those near, that is, both to those from the nations and to those from the kindred of Israel. For the blessed Paul has addressed the nations, saying: "But now, you who were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ." For inasmuch as Israel was brought under the law and served the living and true God, as it is pleasing to sacred preaching (for it has been said to them: "The Lord thy God is one Lord"), they seemed to be, in a certain way, near; but the nations seemed to be far off, in that they were utterly alien to the holy teachings and to the knowledge of the Creator and Lord of all. But peace has been given to both these and those by God and the Father, through Christ, clearly, who has made both one, and has created the two peoples into one new man, and has loosed the partition of the wall, and has abolished the Law of commandments in decrees. Therefore, through Him we have had reconciliation and peace with God, and also [peace] between ourselves, never to be broken. For Christ somewhere said to the Father and God in heaven: "I desire that, just as I and You are one, so they also may be one in us." The prophet subjoins to these words: "And the ^C Lord said: I will heal them," introducing, as it were, a summary and gathering together of the whole discourse, and thereby declaring the promise of the God who is Lord of all to be true. For He promised, he says, declaring that He would heal them; but the unjust shall fluctuate thus, and shall not be able to rest. For since he has run through the rewards of those who are to be called, hereupon, and very fittingly, he also foretells the punishments of the disbelievers, and the surging in them, and the infinite afflictions. For there is no rejoicing for them, he says, the Lord God has said. But when the Lord and God of all deprives them of His joy, what pleasure can there be for them? That, moreover, at the time of the calling of those from Israel, some will remain in unbelief, cleaving to the son of iniquity, the most wise Paul clearly shows, saying: "For this reason, because they did not receive the knowledge of the truth, God will send them an operation of error." And the Savior Himself said: "I have come in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name," that is, the son of iniquity, as I said, "him you will receive." Therefore, Israel will indeed be called ^D to the knowledge of Christ, and will be enriched by grace through faith in Him; but some impious and unjust ones will remain; then, however, tossed as if by unstable waves, and with all joy lost, they shall not be able to rest. For they shall be crushed, afflicted by a lasting and infinite punishment.

Chapter 58. Verse 1. Cry aloud, do not spare, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities.

VERS. 2. Me de die in diem quærunt, et scire vias meas cupiunt, quasi populus qui justitiam fecerit, et judicium Dei sui non dereliquerit.

^A will learn, and towards what end the matter will come. This, I suppose, is what [is meant by], "They desire to know my ways." They desire, as a people that has performed righteousness, and has not forsaken the judgment of its God; that is, as those who have lived according to the law, and have become excellent keepers of the ordinances given to them, and have led a blameless life, and are clothed in the glory of an upright manner of living. For to such as these it would indeed be fitting to seek God, that is, to wish to be near Him, and to enjoy mercy from above, and in addition to this, to know His ways. It has been said, then, by one of the holy prophets: "Seek the Lord, and while you find Him, call upon Him. And when He shall draw near to you, let the wicked man leave his way, and the lawless man his counsel, and let him turn back to the Lord, and he shall find mercy; for He will abundantly forgive their sins."

^B They now ask of me a just judgment, and they desire to draw near to God, saying: "Why have we fasted, and You did not see? We have humbled our souls, and You did not know it?" "For in the days of your fasts you find your own preferences, and you oppress all who are subject to you; for judgments and strifes you fast, and you strike the lowly with your fists." He says that they are lodging a complaint against me as not rendering just things, because I have been unwilling to show compassion to the lowly through fasting and prayer; they then wish also to be near to God, while boasting of none of the good deeds that pertain to piety, nor being clothed in the brightness that comes from virtues, but [relying] on bare and mere abstinence alone. And they say, "We have fasted, and You did not see; we have humbled our ^C souls, and You did not know it." And they do not speak these things as if God had been ignorant of their humiliation through fasting; but since they have not attained to the perception of the causes, they say "You did not see" and "You did not know." For we say that the God of all then "sees" the labors of some—I mean, by prayer and exercise—when He grants their requests. Why then did He not accept those who were fasting, and [why] did He make the prayers of those who had humbled themselves unreceived? He defends Himself, saying: "For in the days of your fasts you find your own preferences." For fasting is indeed an excellent thing, and prayer is profitable; and to humble oneself in the eyes of God possesses the greatest possible utility. For it is written: "I humbled my soul in fasting, and my prayer shall return into my bosom." And the divine ^D David also said: "My knees were weakened from fasting, and my flesh was changed because of oil." Yea, and the God of all Himself says: "Turn to me in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning." For He willingly has mercy on those who make their own humble state through toil. But it is among the most absurd things for those who wish to obtain mercy to urge the Lawgiver in a different way, and to call Him to anger by doing nothing of what is well-pleasing. For it is absolutely necessary that those who draw near to God should be holy, and excel in good works, and be free from all filth.

For this reason He says: ^A *You have fasted, but I did not see*, that is, I did not attend; *you have humbled your souls, and I did not acknowledge it*, that is, I did not deign to reward your humiliation; *for in the days of your fasts you find your own wills.* Therefore, it is necessary for those who wish to fast purely and holily to depart from their own wills, and to embrace what seems good to God, and to bend the neck to His wills. But the Israelites did not perform this at all; rather, they followed their own wills, neglecting what is pleasing to the Lawgiver. They even subjected those under them to judgment and strife, when they ought to have brought those who disagreed with one another to concord and established peace between them. But they transferred their efforts into everything that was contrary to this. They struck the humble, not necessarily with their hands, but with insults, ^B force, or other unjust means. Therefore, to those who possessed such and so great impurity, how could He give praise for fasting? Or how could He accept the prayers of those who were so wicked?

*“Why do you fast for me, so that today your voice may be heard in clamor? Not such is the fast I chose, and the day for a man to humble his soul. And if you bend your neck as a hoop, and spread sackcloth and ashes, not even so shall you call it an acceptable fast.”*

The power of a true fast has extraordinary praise ^C and approval before God, the ruler of all; for He gladly receives the prayers of those who worship Him, and if He sees them humbled through labors and exercises, He grants their requests without any hesitation. That which is done sluggishly and negligently, however, He repudiates and rejects. We call that fast holy which is done from a pure conscience—which he performs who has first cast out from his mind all wicked habits and every stain, has wiped away the filth of carnal pleasure, and has washed his hands among the innocent, according to that which is written, and in sum, has become a zealous cultivator of all uprightness. But a fast that is not in this manner is deceptive and has only the appearance of a fast; and since it has nothing at all that is becoming or fitting, it is ridiculed and held to be shameful. For those ^D who care nothing for being upright and good, and who show no sign of excellent virtue, yet practice abstinence from food and an unfruitful and useless starvation as if it were a distinguished thing and precious before God—these indeed act as empty boxers and beat the air. For their labor is not rewarded, because it is not even acceptable to God. Why therefore do you now fast for me, He says, so that in one day the clamor of your voice may be heard? By "clamor" He refers either to the prayer conjoined with the useless fast, or to the very work itself. For the things that are done by us are said to have a certain voice to God, according to that which was said to Cain by Him: “The voice of your brother’s blood, [cries out]”

to me from the earth.” ^A But I have not chosen this fast, He says. And what is this fast? He previously declared by saying: “In the days of your fasts you find your own wills, and you urge on all those who are subject to you to judgment and fighting. You fast, and you strike with fists the humble.” Therefore, not even if you bow your neck like a ring, and spread out sackcloth and ashes—that is, even if you practice the utmost humiliation and tread the path of unbearable toil—not even so, with such shameful accusations, will you call it an acceptable fast. For if you wish, He says, to tell the truth, not even you yourselves would call this an acceptable fast.

“Is this the fast I have chosen?” says the Lord, “but loose every bond of unrighteousness, dissolve the strangulations of violent contracts; send away the crushed in remission, and tear up every unjust document. Break your bread to the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house. If you see the naked, clothe him, and from your own seed you shall not hide.” ^B

VERS. 6, 7. “Such is not the fast I have chosen,” says the Lord; “but loose every bond of unrighteousness, dissolve the obligations of violent contracts; send away the crushed in remission, and tear up every unjust syngraph. Break your bread for the hungry, and lead the poor who lack shelter into your house. If you see the naked, clothe him, and do not despise the domestics of your own seed.”

Those who do not know the way of the true fast must have it shown to them by God. For from Him all wisdom and understanding and the way to all that is best are revealed. Therefore, the divine David also sings and says: “Lead me, O Lord, in your way, and I will walk in your truth.” ^C Accordingly, He has deemed the most unrefined and in no way beneficial fast of the Jews to be rejectable, but He reveals the power of the true [fast]. For, “Loose,” He says, “every bond of unrighteousness,” that is, refrain from wishing to overreach anyone. For overreaching is the bond of unrighteousness, as is the clinging to some of the weaker ones, and binding them, as it were, with inescapable entanglements of accusations, in order to make them fearful, and thus to seek what one wishes to receive from them. “Dissolve the strangulations of violent contracts.” We say that violent contracts, and those from [the] strangulation or perversity [of usury], are full of commercial dealings. And besides these, the other things called givings and takings, which have certain overreachings, and show those who are accustomed to doing them to be lovers of shameful gain. ^D And “the crushed,” He says, “send away in remission,” that is, those who are enduring crushing or toil, either from the bond of unrighteousness, or from violent contracts. “Release in remission,” that is, free them from the straits that have been imposed; allow those who have been suffering to rest at last. And “tear up every unjust document”; as I think, He speaks of the ledgers of the usurers, often drawn up not even by the advancement of such monies as the scale of the document brings forth. When, however, one abstains from these, He says, then add what is lacking. And this is to bear fruit for the

to let those who lack shelter enter their home, and to clothe the naked, and to show as much mercy to the domestics of one's seed—that is, those related by blood—as is sufficient, and to share with them the abundance of the wealth given by God. Observe, moreover, that it is not the same thing to abstain from evils and to do good. Nor will it suffice for one to boast before God that he has not committed evil, but it follows ^A entirely that one must perform good works and embrace the pursuits of piety. For to dissolve the knots of violent contracts, and every bond of injustice, and to tear up every unjust document, is nothing other than merely to depart from vice. But to fulfill the duties of charity, by breaking bread for the hungry, by bringing the poor who lack shelter into one’s house, by clothing the naked, and by not disregarding the domestics of one’s seed, these have a manifest demonstration of the highest virtues. Therefore, the old law, being a pedagogue unto Christ, did not bring the fulfillment of good to those living at that time, but taught them instead to retreat from vices. For that saying 39, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not swear falsely," has the same force. But what is perfect, and the fulfillment of every good, is reserved for the oracles of Christ, from which we have learned to perform the duties of charity toward God and our brothers.

TOMUS IV

Vers. 8. *Then shall thy morning light break forth, and thy healings shall quickly arise; and thy righteousness shall go before thy face, and the glory of God shall encompass thee. Then shalt thou cry, and God shall hear thee. While thou art yet speaking, he shall say, Behold, I am here.*

^C If, he says, you have fasted purely, and shown your hands to God cleansed and purified, and a mind freed from all stains—that is, when you cease from striking the humble with your fists, and from afflicting ^D your subordinates with judgment and blows, and from yielding to your own will and lusts; when you have broken bread for the hungry, covered the naked, and brought the poor who lack shelter into your home—then shall your morning light break forth. This statement has the greatest emphasis. For he did not say simply, "Light shall be given to you by God," but rather, "it shall break forth," like some lightning flash, sent down from God with force and speed, by which is clearly shown the promptness and eager zeal of the Giver. And by saying "morning," he teaches that it shall arrive before the appointed time. For God, the keeper of our affairs and the bestower of spiritual goods, knows well—He understands—how to adapt the opportunity of His munificence to each individual. But if anyone is honest and good, and furthermore merciful and submissive to the rein, to him even morning rewards shall be given by Him, so that his healings, that is, the expulsion of all infirmity, may sprout up in him like ears of corn, and the

^A return of better things. For when anyone is freed from the infirmities of the soul, he will certainly bring forth fruit: his desire and zeal for every good thing. When, therefore, the divine and intelligible light has shone within us, our healings also will rise together with it, in every way and altogether, as God treats us and strengthens our nerves, so to speak, by eliminating our passions and, in return, planting in us the will to do good and to excel in righteousness. For this reason He says: «Your righteousness shall go before you.» It goes before, clearly smoothing the way to piety, rendering the rough level and passable, removing what is precipitous, and as it were opening the course toward all that is best. He adds another thing as well: «For the glory of God,» He says, «shall wrap you around,» ^B that is, it shall encircle you, make you a sight to be admired, and cause you to be a common benefit to many. For the splendor of the holy ones benefits those who gaze upon them in no small measure. Indeed, Christ said to the holy apostles: «Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.» We shall therefore be illustrious, as the glory from God surrounds and, as it were, clothes us, which He will grant to those who are diligent in righteousness. When these things have come to pass for you, He says, you shall then cry out, and God will answer you; still as you are speaking, He will say: «Behold, I am here.» For He «gives ear to the prayers of the righteous,» according to what is written. And as the Psalmist says: «The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their supplication.» ^C For being good, He inclines to those who ask, but not to all immediately. Yet to those who have excelled in righteousness, He grants their requests without any delay, and keeps His hearing most ready for them, so that even in every one of their petitions they may joyfully say: «He heard my voice from His holy temple, and my cry will enter before Him into His ears.» Thus, the promptness of His generosity is unsurpassable, and His readiness to hear is extreme, while the righteous man is still speaking and stretching forth his prayers.

«If you take away from you the bond, and the pointing of the finger, and the word of murmuring, and give to the hungry your bread, and satisfy the humbled soul, then shall your light rise in the darkness, and your darkness be as the noonday, and your God shall be with you always.» ^D

Excellent precepts and teachings, even if they are spoken to some people many times, nevertheless possess their own utility. For the all-wise Paul writes to those who believed through him: «To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe.» Therefore, by many ways He comes to us through the same things, saying and making clear the paths of approval, and describing the splendor of the rewards to be given to the holy ones, so that He may render them even more eager to choose to do those things by which they might become venerable, and He clearly sets forth that «Behold, I am here,» given by God from above and from Himself.

^A Therefore, He says: «If you remove from yourself the yoke, and the reaching out of the hand.» By «yoke,» I suppose, He refers to the wickedness of the Gentiles, their perverseness and love of contention, and the way they weave, as it were, bonds of troubles against others, and search out crooked inventions so as to bind some people and cast them into unavoidable snares of difficulties. For a man ought to be simple and accessible, if indeed he has the goal of being looked upon by God and of desiring the gifts that come from Him. By «reaching out of the hand,» He perhaps refers to bribery and the desire for shameful profits. For we say at times of some people that they have their hand extended to receive, and of those who refuse for the sake of integrity, that they have a contracted hand. It was said concerning those who were leaders of the Jewish Synagogue: «Her leaders judged for bribes, and her priests prophesied for silver,» and that they became companions of thieves, loving gifts, and pursuing rewards. The divine Habbacum also said: «Judgment has been made against me, and the judge takes.» Therefore, the name will be of significant import regarding the taking of bribes—that is, the reaching out of the hand, which He indeed orders one to remove, or to put away. Or, in another way, it signifies retaliation, and the repaying of evil for evil. The Psalmist indeed said concerning some, that «He stretched out his hand in repaying.» He adds, moreover, that «They profaned His covenant.» ^B Therefore, the stretching out of the hand would characterize, as I said, the retaliation which one might make, avenging himself upon those who have caused him grief, and bringing down the consequences of his anger upon those who have offended him. We recall also our Savior Himself saying: «If anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.» For the supreme proof of gentleness and freedom from anger would be the ability to endure violence with a calm mind, and not to take revenge upon those by whom we have been harmed, but rather to forget their injuries.

He wishes, in addition to this, that we remove the word of murmuring. For it is our duty with a cheerful and eager spirit to submit to the divine laws, and not to raise any outcry against the excellent way of life, as if shaking off the yoke, when the mind drifts toward a desire for baser things, and praises pleasure more than temperance, and prefers the delights of the world to living a venerable life. This is precisely what the Israelites did as they were crossing that deep desert. ^C For when God sent down the manna to them, they turned their inclination toward baser things, saying: «Would that we had died, struck by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread to our fill!» But this murmuring against God created their destruction. For they perished by serpents. Hence the most wise Paul says: «Do not murmur as some of them murmured, and perished by the serpents.» Therefore, it is fitting for one who is studious of every adornment and elegance to be of a cheerful spirit, and to seek after excellent deeds. After you have removed the word of murmuring, if you give bread to the hungry, and satisfy the soul

^A that is famished, that is, if you are merciful, a lover of good, and inclined to brotherly love, ready to be swayed, and sociable, and loving your neighbor as yourself, then shall your light rise in darkness. And how shall this be? As from night follows day, so in us, the intellectual darkness being dispelled, the divine light takes its place, so that we appear to be in the zenith of splendor. When the solar cycle is at its highest, then is the light upon the earth most intense. And so also is God with you, always. And what is there besides this that is greatest? For what good thing is lacking, or of what is a man not in abundance, if God is with him, who is able to do all things and distributes them with a bountiful hand ^B, whose impulse he provides and bestows; and he makes him so strong that he might resist the onsets of temptations, and in general resist even Satan himself and the vexations from his passions?

And you shall be satisfied, just as your soul desires, and your bones shall grow fat, as a garden drunken, and as a fountain that water has not forsaken, and your bones shall spring up as an herb and shall grow fat, and they shall inherit generations of generations.

And of what, then, shall you be satisfied? He says. Of divine gifts, clearly, and of food befitting the holy. For Christ himself said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds forth through the mouth of God,” which even of old was written ^C in a figure for Israel, when God sent down manna from heaven. For in some way the bread of angels was conceived, and it is the bread of heaven. And if there are some for whom the divine light has abundantly illuminated the mind and who have acquired an exact and blameless knowledge of the holy Scriptures, we say that these also have been satisfied and satiated by the divine food. But Israel has fallen away from this; for the nations, through faith, have possessed and kept it, and whoever admits the evangelical and saving word. For truly our Lord Jesus Christ said to his holy apostles that, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given,” to those who have ^D disbelieved, clearly, to whom the divine word has proclaimed, “My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry. Behold those who serve me shall drink, but you shall be thirsty.” For they hungered and thirsted, having been denied the good things through Christ’s gifts, that is, the divine and evangelical instruction. For he said through one of the holy prophets, “Behold, the days come, says the Lord, and I will send a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord, and they shall run from east to west, seeking the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” For the life-giving and nutritious word for the Jewish flock has departed, and it has been given, as I said, to those who love ^A the life-giving and most nourishing Word of God. And it is given, as I said, to those who love Christ, whom also he addressed, saying, “Eat and be drunken, O neighbors.” The inspired David also chants, as one who has had a share in such a venerable and lavish generosity: “You have prepared a table before me in the presence of those who afflict me; you have anointed my head with oil, and your cup, which makes me drunk, is excellent.” Therefore, as many as have had knowledge of his divine mysteries, or have been satisfied with them, their bones have been made fat. The account is set forth as if from those who are accustomed to live in luxury after a fleshly manner; the soul of such as these would be as a garden “drunken,” that is, flourishing and very full of trees, and adorned with various types of flowers, and producing all kinds of fruit. For gardens that are without water have a great ^B deformity; for they are dry and destitute of every fruit, or perhaps even lacking of the plants themselves. But those that are drenched by the unrestrained flow of waters are, as I said, crowned with all kinds of fruits. The Church has become the garden of Christ, whose persona the bride written of in the Song of Songs has assumed: “Let my kinsman,” she says, “come down into his garden, and eat the fruit of his orchard.” For what the choice fruit is among plants, or rather, the ripe fruit, this also is in the souls of the saints: a virtue beautiful and most pleasing to God. Therefore, as a garden drunken, he says, shall your soul be, and as a fountain that water has not forsaken. Such have the inspired mystagogues become, sending forth the streams of pious instruction from their own heart as from an everlasting fountain, and ^C richly irrigating the souls of those being taught. And he who distributes such excellent gifts will himself confirm it, saying, “He who believes in me, as the Scripture said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” And again, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, there shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.” We say that the holy apostles and evangelists are of such a kind, and all who preach the divine word, having attained it in a good way through dogmatic skill, and at the same time revealing the way of brightness in their works. And your bones, he says, shall spring up as an herb, and shall grow fat, and they shall inherit generations of generations. In these things he seems to declare the mystery of the resurrection; for the body shall then rise again, just ^D as some plant in a field, having withered and closed up during the winter season, but with the spring serenity laughing upon it, it blossoms again, and as it were returns to the beauty that is in it by nature. And the bones, having sprung up as an herb, shall grow fat, clearly by the life-giving grace that is from God. For the inspired David chants somewhere and says, “You shall send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth,” that is, of the inhabitants of the earth. Then we shall inherit generations of generations, that is, into the length of days, with death abolished and corruption taken away entirely. The divinely inspired, the bones of the intellect, are often called in Scripture the active certain

attendant of all seemliness, and one who pursues excellent virtues, even if he should remove the word of murmuring, if you give bread to the hungry, and satisfy the humbled soul—that is, if you become compassionate, and a lover of goodness, and one who loves his brother, and is ready to share, and communitarian, and loves his neighbor as yourself—then your light shall rise in darkness. But how ever is this so? Even as day is made out of night, so in us, when the intelligible darkness is driven out, the divine light enters in its place, so that we seem to be in the noon-day, that is, at the peak of brightness. For when the cycle of the sun is at the meridian, it sends the light most intensely to those upon the earth at that time. Thus your God will be with you throughout. And this too is a very great thing beside the others. For what good is lacking to those who have obtained this? Or of what gifts will a person not be full if God, who is all-powerful and distributes with a rich hand the things of which He is the provider and giver, is with him, and who also beats back the onsets of temptations, and makes him so strong that he might even resist generally against Satan himself and the vexations of the passions? ^B "And you shall be filled, as your soul desires, and your bones shall be made fat, as a drunken garden, and as a fountain that water has not failed, and your bones shall rise like herb and be made fat, and they shall inherit generations of generations." And with what, then, shall you be filled? He says. With divine gifts, clearly, and food worthy of saints. For as Christ Himself once said: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds through the mouth of God." This also was recorded of old for those of the blood of Israel by way of a type, when God sent down the manna from heaven; since in some way it might be understood as bread of angels, and bread of heaven. And if there were some whose minds the divine light illuminated richly, and who produced an accurate and blameless knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, we say that these too are filled and attain to satiation with the food from above and from God. But Israel has fallen from this. Yet the nations have come into possession and keeping [of it] through faith, and all who approach the evangelical and saving word. And certainly our Lord Jesus Christ said to the holy apostles that "to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given," that is, to the unbelievers, to whom also the divine word cried out: "They that serve me shall eat, but you shall hunger. Behold, they that serve me shall drink, but you shall thirst." For they hungered and thirsted, having become destitute of the blessings through the Spirit, and having tasted nothing at all of the gifts through Christ, or of the divine and evangelical instruction. For He said through one of the holy prophets: "Behold, I am bringing a famine upon the earth, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord; and they shall run to and fro from the rising to the setting, seeking the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." For the vivifying and most nourishing word has been removed from the flock of the Jews, and has been given, as I said, to those who love

^A His faculties and energies, as when it is said: "God hath scattered the bones of those who please men" (Ps. LII, 6). For God does not dissipate the bones of the body, but rather He breaks and crushes the powers and faculties of the soul, so that they can accomplish nothing that relates to virtue. "For no one is crowned, unless he has struggled lawfully" (II Tim. II, 5), according to that which is written. But the aim and end of those who please and flatter men looks toward praises which redound to the men themselves: nor is anything usually done by them for the glory of God or for the benefit of their own souls. Again, the divine Psalmist also said: "Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old, through my crying all the day long" (Ps. XXXI, 3), that is, [while] I was glorifying and praying; thereupon I kept silence, having fallen into human faint-heartedness. "My bones waxed old," that is, the faculties of the soul have become rotten. These, therefore, are sometimes relaxed and torpid from sloth, but again, like grass, they flourish anew, when God makes them fruitful with spiritual consolations and strengthens them, so that He may thereby appoint us heirs into long-living ^B time; for that expression, "unto generations and generations," signifies nothing other than this, that He appoints us heirs into a life of long duration.

Vers. 12. And thy deserts shall be built in eternity, and thy foundations shall be for generations of generations: and thou shalt be called the builder of walls, and thou shalt cause the paths which are in the midst to cease.

By two other examples the prophetic speech is illustrated for us, and the beauty of its recondite thoughts is made manifest. For the form of the speech is framed as though addressed to a city that had once been laid waste and totally destroyed, so that it remained bare, without walls. "For thy deserts," he says, "shall be built in eternity," that is, thou shalt not be naked of the good thoughts that inhabit thy heart, nor shalt thou remain destitute of walls ^C or unguarded, and lacking a firm foundation. For Christ shall become thy foundation and perpetual safety, and thou shalt be as a city furnished with many men, having numberless inhabitants. For the souls of the saints are full of words and thoughts—of those regarding God, of course. For these [thoughts] are very numerous, and come even to the height of precision, running hither and thither about it [the soul], and rendering it full of every good thing. And besides this, "Thou shalt be called the builder of walls, and thou shalt cause the paths which are in the midst to cease." For many are those who pass through the gardens that are desolate; for since there is absolutely no one standing guard, or fencing them in tightly, there would be nothing to hinder those who wish to walk through the midst. But if they happen in some way to be entrusted to a safe tiller, ^D then they also lose the fate of being subjected to the feet of the many, for a fence of course has been raised. For thus the paths that are in the midst shall cease. Thou shalt therefore be, he says, as a diligent tiller, blocking up the fences and the intermediate paths. For as long as the soul is unguarded, snoring in sloth, and consequently exposed to foul pleasures: it is similar to

^A a garden traversed by anyone and everyone. But when it shakes itself awake and leaps out of the snares of vices, and adopts the will to do good, and has, as it were, walled off its mind with a certain safeguard—I mean, with the fear of God—and has driven away from its consciousness the thoughts that once dominated it, which used to walk through the midst of it as if they had it under foot, and regarded it as a thing to be trampled upon because they held sway over it, then it shall be called a builder of fences.

It must be known, however, that wicked and opposing powers do sometimes ^B invade the miserable soul, giving birth to disgusting pleasures and leading it away tyrannically wherever they will, like walking through an uncultivated garden. But they will cease to trample upon it once the fence is raised which the divine fear within us erects. You will apply this teaching also to each of the holy mystagogues; for they have become builders of fences, securing the souls of those being instructed with exhortations to virtue, so that they might render the mind, in a way, inaccessible to the onslaughts of pleasures and to the idle chatter of those accustomed to babbling, who sell off the right word of faith, knowing neither what they say nor of what they confidently affirm.

Vers. 13, 14. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbaths, so as not to do your own pleasures on the holy day, and shall call the Sabbaths delicate, holy to your God, you shall not lift your foot to any work, nor speak a word in anger from your mouth, and you shall be trusting in the Lord; and he will lift you up upon the good things of the earth, and will feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.

The divine Paul, rejecting the shadow of the Law as ineffective, transfers it to its spiritual consideration. For you will not see him having accepted either the circumcision of the flesh or the rest of the Sabbath: but he is seen rather to preach both circumcision and sabbatizing in a spiritual sense. He says, in fact: « For he is not a Jew who is one in the manifest, nor is that which is in the manifest in the flesh circumcision; but he who is a Jew in the hidden, and circumcision of the heart in spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God » [C║D].

So far as the Sabbath is concerned, therefore, a sabbatizing is left for the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest, he himself also has rested from his works, just as God did from his own. If, therefore, anyone ceases from his own works, or rather, if he yields the command of his own will to the holy laws, then he sabbatizes spiritually and truly celebrates a holy day. This is also what the prophecy that lies in our hands shows forth to us. For, “If,” it says, “you turn away your foot from the Sabbaths, so as not to do your own pleasures on the holy day.” And the phrase, “turn away your foot from the Sabbaths,” is nothing else, as I judge, than that one should not do what he himself wants, nor

^A follow the paths of his own desires. For that the aim of human wills looks toward pleasure, the all-wise Paul will confirm, writing: “For the good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” It is necessary, therefore, that those who wish to be well-pleasing to God should struggle very youthfully against their own will, and, following His divine laws everywhere, should run the admirable path of righteousness. He calls Sabbaths "tender" which have nothing of self-will in them. ^B But a hard and stubborn mind is one that is unwilling to be subject to things that God wills; Israel, being such, He reproved, saying: “I know that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow is brass.” Therefore, a tractable, compliant, and yielding disposition makes the rest on the Sabbath tender to God—that is, the spiritual Sabbath-keeping, which they who wish to perform blamelessly do not lift their foot to work, that is to say, they do not walk in practical (worldly) activity, but rather celebrate a holy and useful rest, from—I say—most base, detestable, and God-hated deeds. He also wishes such men to be seen overcoming wrath and anger, and to have a door and a bolt upon their tongue. For, He says, you shall not speak a word in wrath from your mouth. He thus circumcises two grave and most troublesome things here, from which if anyone departs, he will be perfect before God. For one of the holy apostles said: “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” He who is superior to anger is surely also seemly, if it is true, as the contrary is also written: “A wrathful man is not seemly.” ^C God wishes those who keep the Sabbath intellectually, and holily, and tenderly, to be meek and possessed of every virtue, and commands them to trust not in wealth or worldly power, nor in the strength of bodies, nor in any other such things, which are like the grass of the field—fleeting and withering—but rather to lean upon the Lord, who is the giver and dispenser of all gladness. He shows that He will crown those who are accustomed to live in this way, whoever they may be, saying: “He will lift thee up on the good things of the earth, and will feed thee on the inheritance of Jacob thy father.” For the God of all promised the land of promise to the fathers of the Jews, and they were indeed introduced into it under the leadership of Jesus, the successor of Moses, the high priest of sacred rites. How then, through the verses set before us, does He promise that He will give it to them, as if they had not yet received the lot promised to the patriarch Jacob? Therefore, you should not understand this to refer to the inheritance perceived by the senses, or that which was given to them in times past by God to divine Jacob, Abraham, and Isaac, but rather to that which the Savior Himself designates for us, saying: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” ^D That these things refer to the end of what has been promised, He proves when He says: “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.” For indeed, since these things are so, the fulfillment of these promises is expected.

^A It is not, then, concerning the sensible earth, or the one that was promised to them by God to be inherited by the blessed Jacob—or, rather, by Abraham and Isaac—but rather concerning that earth which the Savior Himself signified to us, saying: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” And that the things promised will be brought to pass entirely and in every way, He confirms by saying: “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.” And it is impossible for the divine words to fall short; for God is truth.

Cap. LIX. Vers. 1-4. *Is not my hand strong enough to save? Or has His ear become heavy so that it cannot hear? But your sins create a separation between you and God. Because of your sins He has turned His face from you, so that He might not show mercy. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins. Your lips have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates upon injustice. No one speaks what is just, neither is there true judgment. They trust in vain things, and speak empty words.*

^B A little earlier, the person of God was introduced, saying to the divine prophet: “Cry out with strength, do not spare, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and announce to my people their iniquities, and to the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, as a people that has performed righteousness, and has not forsaken the judgment of its God. They ask of me now a just judgment, and desire to approach God, saying: Why have we fasted, and you have not seen? We have humbled our souls, and you have not recognized it? For in the days of your fasts you find your own wills, and you oppress all who are subject to you; for judgments and quarrels you fast, and you strike the lowly with fists. Do you fast for Me? I have not chosen this fast, says the Lord.” ^C We said, interpreting the sense of the prophecy as best we could, that they had resisted those things which were handed down by the oracles of the most wise Moses, and had held uprightness of life in no place or estimation, but had practiced customary things, and had followed a way of life perverse and hateful to God. If at any time a war was announced, they would deliberate about abstinence from food, thinking that by this naked and solitary fasting—or abstinence—they would render the Judge propitious to themselves. Then, frustrated in their hope, they would grumble and say: “Why have we fasted, and you have not seen? We have humbled our souls, and you have not recognized it?” Observe, then, observe the divine prophet, how out of a most intense love for God he censures them and says: “Is not the hand of the Lord strong enough to save? Or has His ear become heavy so that it cannot hear?” For He says, the all-powerful right hand of the Lord has not grown weak, nor does He have an ear that is heavy and turned away, so as not to listen. “But your sins create a separation between you and Him.” Therefore, if anyone should remove the division, and take away that which acts as a wall separating one from the knowledge of God—that is to say, sin—the One who saves is not far off; rather, He will surely receive the supplications.

What sins, then, cause a division between God and those from the blood of Israel? He introduces them, saying: ^A “For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sins. Your lips have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates injustice.” For they killed the holy prophets who were sent by God, and they even spoke against Him. Jeremiah accordingly said: “My strength has failed from those who curse me.” By adding these words, he now seems to cast reproach upon their impiety against Christ, when he says that their hands were polluted with blood. They were, in fact, killers of the Lord, and their lips spoke iniquity, and their tongue meditated injustice; for they did not cease to fight, to utter insults, to speak against Christ, and at one time to mock divine signs and lie about the divine magnificence, and at another time to accuse Him and say: “Take Him away, take Him away, crucify Him.” For this very reason, just as if Christ had suffered an unjust sentence, the prophet cries out with holy boldness: ^B “No one has spoken what is just, nor is there any true judgment. They trust in vain things, and speak empty words.” But what is this vain trust of theirs? For they thought that, having removed the heir from their midst, they would seize his inheritance. And while these wretched men were pouring out these empty words among themselves, they were being impious toward Him. Thus, the prophetic discourse brings an accusation of impiety toward Christ against those from the blood of Israel, or rather, [points out] that in no way could they be found to be upright, since they possess hands defiled with blood, and lips and a tongue that know how to meditate on nothing else but matters that look toward impiety, iniquity, and injustice, and that they have also turned out to be unjust judges, obviously taking bribes and being overcome by sordid gain. For it is said elsewhere: “How has the faithful city, Zion, full of judgment, become a harlot, in which justice lodged, but now murderers? Your silver is reprobate; your tavern-keepers mix wine with water; your princes are disobedient, companions of thieves, loving gifts, pursuing rewards, not judging for the orphans, and not attending to the judgment of the widow.” ^C

VERS. 4, 5. “For they labor, and bring forth iniquity. They have broken the eggs of asps, and weave a spider's web; And he who would eat of their eggs, breaking the putrid one, finds therein a basilisk. Their web shall not become a garment, nor shall they be clothed from the works of their hands.”

It is customary for divinely inspired Scripture to almost always call envy “labor.” This manner of speaking also possesses a degree of probability. For it wears down and consumes their hearts, and causes them to wither, as it were. The Psalmist says something similar about someone, or rather about the people of the Jews: “He has conceived labor, and has brought forth iniquity.” For having previously travailed with envy against Christ, they brought forth impiety toward Him, that is to say, iniquity; ^D for they might have been convicted, if not by anything else, by those very schemes—for they were not judging for the orphans, and they were pursuing the payback, and they were [index: entries preserved]

^A convicted by their own words, that "Let us bind the just one, because he is useless to us." We shall find, moreover, that in their assemblies they took counsel that was most absurd. For they were saying concerning the Savior of us all, Christ: "What are we doing, since this man performs many signs? If we let him alone, the Romans will come and take away our nation and our land." And one of them, Caiaphas—this man was the inventor of the impiety against Christ—said again: "You know nothing at all; it is profitable for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." It is possible, therefore, to see most clearly from what has been said that having conceived trouble—that is, having suffered labor pangs in laboring for the evil against him—they brought forth iniquity. What then does the prophetic word signal to us in these things? "They broke the eggs of asps, and he who was about to eat of their eggs, upon breaking one, found a basilisk." For the Jews were thinking that these deliberations against Christ would turn out to a favorable end for them, and would be for the benefit of the whole nation. But they deviated from the goal, and something of the sort happened to them as is wont to happen to those who, out of great ^B senselessness, break the eggs of asps. For having broken them, they will find nothing else but a basilisk—and this is a brood of a serpent that is altogether baneful, and, in addition to this, a pestilence. Therefore, the conclusion of the daring deeds against Christ was unavailing to the Jews, or rather, it was the cause of their destruction. For the serpent, as it were, has emerged for them, and it is a manifest poisoning that ushers them toward the pit of Hades; and that the conspiracy against Christ became entirely useless, he shows immediately by another example. "For they weave a spider's web," he says. For ^C the spider—and by this I mean the small and most contemptible animal—weaves webs in the more obscure parts of houses, skillfully woven with thin filaments. But those [webs], though they are completed with the greatest labor, benefit them not at all; for they will not be a garment to the one who made them, but they are easily torn when it comes to being a covering, and they are inferior even to the art itself. Thus, he says, are also the fabrications of the Jews—clearly, those against Christ. For by weaving snares and stitching together false accusations, they were thinking, as I said, that by delivering him to the death of the flesh, they would achieve something of those things that are profitable to them, and would acquire rich protection and shield from their own attempts. But the end of what they hoped for fell to nothing ^D for them. For they have been stripped of the goodwill from above, and have cast away the protector—that is, Christ. For that protection will result from good works for those who wish to perform these things rightly, with God also granting this to them. But for the workers of evil, the things that come from them will not clothe them; but rather, they will be destitute of protection and covering, especially the divine one.

VERS. 6-8. For their works are works of iniquity, and their feet run to wickedness, swift to shed blood; their thoughts are thoughts of murder. Destruction and misery are in their ways.

^A And the way of peace they have not known. There shall be no judgment in their ways. For their paths are perverse, as they traverse them, and they have not known peace. Therefore judgment has departed from them.

He enumerates the individual faults of the Jews in detail, so that since they have been cast out from intimacy with Him, they may be convicted through a just judgment of having suffered this. "For the works of iniquity," he says, are "all their works," and in these words there is a summary and true refutation of their entire life. He runs through each of the charges in this way, stating that their feet run to evil, and are swift to shed blood, and that they have conceived thoughts of murder. Observe again with me, that although their transgressions are very many, he first mentions their readiness for the choice, I mean, the choice to commit murder. For he said that their feet run toward this, and are sharp, that is to say, swift, to receive thoughts concerning blood and murder. He also insists that there is destruction and misery in their ways, and that they do not know peace, that is, the way of peace. For the things they did impiously, and with excessive audacity, became causes of destruction and misery to them, or rather, to others at their hands. They were, moreover, ^B meddlesome in all things, and litigious, and suffered much from a spirit of contention; and the cause of this was their greed for gain and the taking of bribes. Hence, and quite justly, he says, "There is no judgment in their ways." By judgment, he means justice here, or that most lawful and blameless manner of life. For so did the divine David say concerning the precepts given through Moses: "Judgment and justice in Jacob Thou hast wrought" (Ps. CXVII, 121). Therefore, there is no rectitude, or justice, in their ways. For they are perverse, and they flee from peace, either by refusing to be at peace with others—or he calls "peace" here our Lord Jesus Christ, whom they did not want to know, digging for themselves the pit of destruction. For this reason, he says, "judgment has departed from them," that is, for this very cause justice has departed from them, that is, the knowledge of doing those things that procure the crown of justice for those who desire to perform them. But the Jews are devoid of all spiritual knowledge, and in a way it has ^C departed from their mind, [the ability] to know how to perform aright what is pleasing to God.

VERS. 9-11

After he has shown their detestable and most iniquitous life—for he said, "Their works are works of iniquity"—and has enumerated these in minute detail, ^D and what they are, and

^A in and of itself, it brings with it, of necessity, that punishment for them, and the retribution for their intolerable depravity, and the fruits of their inherent impiety. For the Jews were expecting illumination from Christ, hearing the holy prophets crying out manifestly: "Shine, shine, Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." And then the eyes of the blind shall be opened; and as far as the prediction of the holy prophets is concerned, they were not destitute of hope. For they would speak among themselves, the presidents of the Jewish Synagogue: "Does the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that he comes from the seed of David, and from the village of Bethlehem?" And that Samaritan woman also openly confessed, addressing Christ ^B himself, the power of his advent. For she said: "We know that Messiah comes, who is called Christ. When he comes, he will announce everything to us." They were expecting, therefore, as I said, illumination from Christ: instead, all things turned out contrary to their hope. They did not accept the true light, but rather welcomed darkness into the habitations of their souls, becoming blind, and leaders of the blind, according to the voice of the Savior. Since, therefore, they were awaiting light, and expecting it, darkness befell them. For, expecting splendor, they dwelt in gloom. Again, he presents the meaning of the words in yet another way. For he who expects light, and walks in deep darkness—for this the expression "the noon," that is, darkness, signifies. Next, expressing the magnitude of the blindness which was in them: ^C They shall grope, he says, as blind men along a wall. For if we are accustomed to walk at times when the blindness of the eyes causes an affliction. And he says that even at noon, they fall as if at midnight. Commonly, he names the "noon" the midday part, when the circle of the sun occupies the middle of the heavens and sends down rays of most intense heat to the earth, and as if a great abundance of splendor collects everything; and "midnight," that is, the middle of the night, when deep darkness is poured out for all under heaven. At noon, therefore, he says, that is, in the most abundant light, divine—let it be understood—and of the mind, which illuminates the circle of the earth, by the benefit of Christ, the Savior of us all, they fall, being blind; for the Jews do not know where they are going. For they did not wish to ^D obey Christ, saying: "While you have the light, walk in the light, lest darkness seize you." They were seized, therefore, by darkness, since they could not endure to walk in the light. Moreover, they suffer another thing as well. For they go, he says, as if crushed by a heavy and intolerable disease. And they went as if a bear at once and a dove: nor is it possible that two distinct things be understood, of which the one might be called a bear, and the other a dove; but each one of them is in himself, according to

Commentary on Isaiah, Book V

^A "And instead of brass I will bring you gold, and instead of iron I will bring you silver, and instead of wood, I will bring you brass, and instead of stones, iron. And I will give your princes in peace, and your bishops in righteousness." He takes the materials as an example, of the sort that differ greatly among themselves. He ^B signifies, however, obliquely something spiritual and deep. For he wishes to say that all things will be converted to the better, and that the second things will surpass the first. For the instruction in the law will yield entirely to that through Christ—that is, to the evangelical decrees—and the interval between them will be as great as that which is between brass and gold. For brass has the appearance of gold, yet it is not gold; and iron is similar to silver, for it possesses something bright, yet it is not silver, but yields much to that which is superior. Therefore, one might be able to liken the instruction in the law to brass, and that through Christ to gold; and again, one might liken the power of the civic life in the law to iron, which possesses a moderate brightness, but that in Christ and the evangelical a life to silver; for it has the most perfect brightness, intelligibly. Hence, the all-wise Paul, even while he spoke of having possessed ^C a very great boast through the life in the law, and the knowledge of it, considered all things to be refuse, and wished to gain Christ, and the transcendence of his knowledge. Wood and stones indeed contribute to building; yet we will find the all-wise Paul likening the power of the initiation from certain people to these materials. "If any one," he says, "builds upon the foundation, wood, hay, stones, stubble." Since this is the case, we say that the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees, or rather the instruction of the faithless Jews altogether, who do not understand at all the mystery of Christ, because they have not believed in him, might be likened perhaps to wood and stones, whereas that in Christ, and the evangelical, holds as much advantage as brass has over wood, and iron over stone. For the teachings and thoughts that were with them were easily broken, ^D but those of the people in Christ are solid, and as it were unbroken, together with being bright and precious. For the Jews fall into genealogies, and endless fables, expounding to the people under their hand, interweaving certain trifles and old-womanly chatter. But those who bear Christ in their mind teach those under their hand every way of holy artifice, and make those who approach them lovers of dogmatic accuracy, and workers of every virtue; for what is brought forward shows somehow immediately that the mind of the prophecy has this purpose. "For I will give," he says, "your princes in peace, and your bishops in righteousness." For as those first ones, he says, were cast out, the Savior of all raises up others, princes and bishops of the people, excelling in peace and righteousness. For they are at peace with God, those who maintain the things which please him, and who are crowned with the ornaments of righteousness.

^A For since he had said that they groan, he shows most beautifully what kind and how great their groaning will be. 834 They say that bears, if they are bereaved of their cubs by someone who has snatched them away, grieve heavily and are driven into a state of wild frenzy, roaming the mountains and glens, and leaping with unbridled fury upon those they happen to meet. And indeed, God, the Lord of all, signifies something of this kind through one of the holy prophets, saying concerning those who are of the blood of Israel: "I will meet them as a bear bereaved of her whelps," that is, cruelly and savagely. But doves, settling in their nests, murmur repeatedly and emit a sort of mournful voice. Such have the Jews become. For with their entire region devastated, along with the holy city, I mean Jerusalem, and the temple itself burned down, they are affected with a wild and beast-like mind against those who destroyed it; yet they mourn what has happened to them ^B like doves. For it is written: "And they shall be on the mountains like mourning doves." Or perhaps the prophetic word seems to signify something else here as well. For they will go, he says, like a bear and a dove, that is, they will live in a savagery of mind conjoined with folly. For the bear is an image or example of savagery, but the dove of simplicity and folly. For it was said concerning Israel by one of the holy prophets: "And Ephraim was a foolish dove, having no heart." And we shall find that the Jews are truly cruelly senseless. For the Christian prudence and gentleness is not in them; for they denied him who is the provider of wisdom and prudence, and who renders those who love him mild and gentle. Therefore, the prophet Jeremiah said concerning them, in one place: "Every man is senseless from knowledge," ^C and in another place again: "There is no wisdom in them, because they have rejected the word of the Lord."

"We have waited for judgment, and there is no salvation; it is far removed from us. For our iniquity is great before you, and our sins have stood against us; for our iniquities are in us, and we have known our unrighteousnesses. We have acted impiously, and have lied, and have departed from following our God. We have spoken unrighteous things, and have disobeyed; we have conceived, and have meditated from our heart words of unrighteousness, and we have turned back judgment, and justice has stood far ^D from us."

The speech of the holy prophets is always a lover of truth. For the Spirit of truth, which is Christ, speaks in them. For this reason, when they make mention of the rejection of the Jewish nation, and the wrath brought upon them because of their impiety toward Christ, they usefully call to mind also their future conversion in the last times of the age, and their calling in Christ through faith. Consequently, most appropriately, lest anyone should think that the Truth speaks falsely, he brings them in repenting, and having assumed their persona, he presents them as if...

^A saying to God: "We have waited for judgment, and there is none." By judgment they mean righteousness, namely, that which is through Christ, which they expected to receive; but it is not among them, for they have become hard and disobedient. Therefore he says that salvation has far departed from us. For our iniquity is great before you, and our sins are in us. For since they have fallen away entirely from Him who justifies through faith, they have also become far from the salvation that is from Him, not having cast off the defilements of sin, and not having blotted out the charges of iniquity, but having the stains from these things infused and instilled in them, as it were. For this reason, Christ addressed them, saying, "Amen, I say to you, if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." Thus, because they did not believe, they died in their sins. And because they were in many ways impious against Christ, they also offer a confession of these very things. For they say: "We have known our injustices, we have acted impiously, and we have lied, and we have departed from behind our God." For they acted impiously, not tolerably, by bearing false witness against the glory of the Savior of us all, Christ, and by departing from the desire to follow Him. They confess, moreover, that "we have spoken unjustly, and we have disobeyed; we have conceived and pondered from our heart unjust words." For they have spoken unjustly against Christ; sometimes by disparaging His glory and slandering His divine signs, they said that He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of the demons; ^B at other times, indeed, by giving birth from their own hearts to unjust words; for they accused Him, daring to call Him a Samaritan and possessed by a demon, a glutton and a wine-bibber. They also slandered Him before Pilate, saying, "He stirs up the crowds and forbids giving tribute to Caesar." Therefore they say: "We have departed from behind our God, we have spoken unjustly, and we have disobeyed; we have conceived and pondered from our heart words of injustice, and we have thrust judgment back, and righteousness has stood far off"—that is, we have cast righteousness behind us, and we have turned our backs on it, as it were, having turned away from it. For this reason, it has stood far off from us. ^C These, then, are the voices of those doing penance and seeking mercy from Christ. For it is a salutary thing to repent and to offer confessions of one's misdemeanors openly. For it is written, "Speak you your iniquities first, that you may be justified." And the divine Psalmist also said: "I have said, I will declare my iniquity against myself to the Lord; and You have forgiven the impiety of my heart."

Vers. 15-19. For truth has been consumed, and they could not walk in ways of uprightness. And truth has been taken away, and they have changed their mind, so as not to understand; and the Lord saw, and it did not please Him, because there was no judgment. And He saw, and there was no man, and He considered, and there was none who would support them. And He avenged them with His arm, and... ^D

established them with His mercy; for He did not utterly destroy Israel, but being a lover of humanity, He saved a remnant, and kept the promise made to their holy fathers true. And then the prophet says that He put on a breastplate, and put on a helmet and a garment of vengeance, as one who would render recompense, a reproach to the adversaries. And they who are from the west shall fear the name of the Lord, and they who are from the east, the glorious name. For the wrath of the Lord shall come like a violent river; it shall come with fury.

Having recorded what the Israelites will say at the time of their calling, asking from God the Father the grace of salvation through Christ, ^B the prophet again turns his speech to his own person and indicts the Israelites, or rather, he agrees and confirms and establishes that they have become wicked, and apostates, and enemies of the truth, saying: "Truth has been consumed in their ways," that is, it has all but been spent and utterly perished. For there was no truth whatsoever in their works, that is, the law of truth. For this reason they could not pass through by the straight path; for those who have altogether slipped from knowing how to conduct themselves in accordance with the law, and indeed according to that which seems to be the truth—and truth is called the law of God everywhere—how could they have come to the straight path of what is proper? Or how is it that they have not held paths that are crooked and distorted? By adding and saying: "Truth has been taken away, and they have changed their mind so as not to understand," he demonstrates that the truth has departed from them entirely, and they have altogether changed their mind so as not to understand those things which lead to salvation. These things, he says, the Lord saw, and it did not please Him. For there was no judgment among them, that is, righteous judgment and law. Then, "He looked," he says, "and there was no man; He considered, and there was no one who would support them." For since He is a lover of mercy, as God, He sometimes remits the sins for a whole city on account of one single person who is found to be righteous within it; and so He said through the voice of Jeremiah: "Run to and fro through the ways of Jerusalem, and seek in its squares, and see if you can find a man who practices faithfulness and loves mercy, and I will be propitious to it, says the Lord." ^C He also promised the Sodomites that He would remit the punishment by fire for them if they had five righteous men among them, that is, one righteous man in each city. "He considered, therefore," he says, "and there was no man; there was no one who would support them." For a righteous man, having calmed the divine anger and being alone sufficient to be able to appease God, ^D always supports those on whose behalf he offers his prayers. But since there was no one of such a kind, He avenged them, he says, with His arm, that is, with His power, and established them with His mercy; for He did not utterly destroy Israel, but being a lover of humanity, He saved a remnant, and kept the promise made to their holy fathers true. And then the prophet says that He put on a breastplate, and put on a helmet and a garment of vengeance, as one who would render recompense, a reproach to the adversaries, as if saying that the God of all has become like a commander against them, equipped with armor and skilled in the art of war. By these words he declares the onset of His wrath against them. For the Omnipotent opposed them, to whom it is justly due

^A “You are terrible, and who shall withstand You from Your wrath?” (Ps. LXXV, 8). When the punishments have been brought upon the Jews, those from the West and the East shall fear the glorious name. For He says, “It shall come, it shall come” against the unbelievers—the wrath—like a most violent river, sweeping away all things and having a rush of waters that cannot be withstood.

Vers. 20, 21. *And the deliverer shall come for the sake of Sion, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is the covenant to them from me, says the Lord. My Spirit is upon you, and my words, which I have put in your mouth, shall not fail from your mouth and from the mouth of your seed.* For the Lord said, from now and unto the age. ^B

As in the preceding passages he had clearly made mention of the wrath to be brought upon the Jews—for they have put to death the Author of life and have acted impiously against the Savior and Redeemer of all—and then predicted that mercy and kindness would be given to them in later times (for he said, “And He avenged them with His arm, and established them by his mercy”), so here, too, he says that the fury of the Lord shall descend upon them like an unbearable and most rapid torrent. And he speaks words concerning the blessing to be given to them in the last times of the age: “And the deliverer shall come for the sake of Sion.” For the only-begotten Word of God has descended from the heavens ^C and humbled Himself unto emptiness, having become man, that He might call Israel before all others, and also save the multitude of the nations. The all-wise Paul will be a witness, saying, “For I say that Christ has been a minister of the circumcision, for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers, and that the nations might glorify God for His mercy” (Rom. XV, 8, 9). We remember also that Christ Himself says, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. XV, 24). The deliverer shall come, therefore, namely from sins, from death and corruption, from diabolical cruelty, from the deception and tyranny of the demons. “And this is the covenant to them from me, says the Lord.” Now that which is once decreed and promised by the will of God shall be absolutely and entirely firm, and shall not be denied. What therefore, he says, shall be the covenant from me? “My Spirit, and my words, which I have put in your mouth, shall not fail from now and unto the age.” ^D For it is the clearest demonstration that the human race has been redeemed, and indeed, before all others, those of Israel who have believed, having become participants of the Holy Spirit, through whom also the honor of adoption has been bestowed, and the tongue for speaking the word of faith, just as the all-wise Paul wrote: “For do not say,” he says, “in your heart, ‘Who shall ascend into heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down; or, ‘Who shall descend into the abyss?’”

^A to bring Christ back from the dead. But what does Scripture say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, for if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” We have therefore received from God the word of faith, that is, the confession; it is a saving thing, and the cause of righteousness. For Christ justifies the ungodly in this way, He who also cried out long ago: “Behold, I have blotted out your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like darkness.” Let this word of faith be in us continuously, and it shall not cease from our mouth; rather, we shall transmit it even to generations of generations. For in this way those who come after us will also be justified. For if Christ is always both God and Lord, the confession of faith in Him will never cease among those who have recognized His appearing.

Chapter 60. Verses 1-3. Arise, shine, Jerusalem: for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth over the nations. But the Lord shall appear upon you, and his glory shall be seen in you. And kings shall walk in your light, and nations in your splendor.

As if the promise concerning the salvation of Israel at the appointed times had been given, the prophetic word here leaps for joy in a certain manner, as it were, and resounding with a great cry lifted up on high, it exclaims: “Shine, shine,” it says, “for your light has come.” Observe, however, how the prophet says that the divine light—that is, through Christ—is given by God to the Israelites before all others; that is, the light comes to you, as if showing as present Him who was long ago announced through the Law and the holy prophets, and who in the flesh shone upon mortals in the last times of the age. And he calls Him who has appeared the “glory of the Lord,” for Christ has risen like a certain sun, illuminating all things with divine and intelligible light, and casting the splendor of the true knowledge of God upon those who are more ready to embrace the faith. He is also the glory of God and Father, for in Him, and through Him, and with Him, He is glorified. For He depicts, as it were, in His own nature Him who begat Him. And inasmuch as we have known the Son, we contemplate also through Him and in Him the magnificence of the Father, and His incomparable glory, and the preeminence of His godlike dignities. Indeed, Christ said somewhere: “Father, glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify You.” The glory of God and Father has therefore been seen in us. Then, having set Israel apart from all other nations, as being held in special honor and esteem by God and being His ^D portion and inheritance, he adds and says: “Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth over the nations; but upon you the Lord shall appear.” He says this, as if Chri-

Christ having shone upon the world, the darkness of the nations was to be dispersed; for they were enlightened rather, and cast off the darkness of ancient error. But those who translated the divine Scripture often differ regarding the delivery of the times. Therefore, instead of “covers,” they have placed “shall cover.” For it is true that even when Christ had shone forth, and indeed before others upon those of Israel, the multitude of the nations was still held by darkness, ^A grace not yet having been transferred to them. Behold, therefore, he says, the whole earth of the nations is covered with darkness and gloom, that is, of ignorance and error. “But upon you the Lord shall appear”; for He shone, as I said, upon them, and first His glory was seen by them, through the exceptional magnitude of His works, signs, and wonders. For He performed miracles among them as God, at one time raising the dead from their tombs, at another time infusing light into the eyes of the blind, cleansing lepers with a word, rebuking demons with authority, and leaving out no method at all which was capable of providing assurance that He is truly God, and by nature the Son of God. “And kings,” he says, “shall walk in your light, and nations in your brightness.” The prophet ^B again connects the calling of the nations to the visitation of the Israelites, so that they might see that even if they themselves should dishonor the Redeemer by their disobedience, and spring away from the love for Him, to the destruction of their own head, He would not be destitute of worshippers, but rather would bring nations and kings through faith. For in the brightness given to you, he says, that is, in the enlightenment through Christ, kings and nations shall walk. But where shall they walk? Obviously to salvation through faith, to a glorious and blameless life, to knowing and confessing who is by nature and truly the Creator and Artificer of all. For they worshipped the creature instead of the Creator, and offered reverence to woods and stones. But after they were enlightened by the light ^C given to you, they too, he says, shall walk the straight and royal road, striking against none of the obstacles lying in their path, but as if in clear light and day, even though they were children of night and darkness, passing by all stumbling blocks.

VERS. 4-7. Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered. Lo, your sons have come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on shoulders. Then you shall see, and fear, and be amazed in your heart, because the wealth of the sea and of the nations and of the peoples shall be transferred to you, and flocks of camels shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover you. All who come from Sheba ^D shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and they shall bring a precious stone, and shall announce the salvation of the Lord. And all the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered to you, and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you, and they shall be offered as acceptable on my altar, and the house of my prayer shall be glorified. The word has a most bountiful and wise administration

^A It brings the gospel message of the calling of the Gentiles, and the union of the two peoples in Christ, and the transformation of the shadow of the law into spiritual worship. For all things are new in Christ, and the old things have passed away; and He Himself created the two peoples into one new man, making peace and reconciling both in one body to the Father. He makes the prediction of all these things, and he addresses the intelligible Jerusalem, that is to say, the Church, which was established from the beginning out of the Jews, for they were the first to believe: "Lift up your eyes round about, and see thy children gathered together. For behold, all thy sons come from afar, and thy daughters shall be carried on their shoulders." For as if the divine and evangelical proclamation were netting the world beneath the heavens, gathering those who believe from every nation and country, and inviting them as to a certain most fortified city unto the grace of faith, that is to say, unto the food of the saints—I mean the Church—he says such things, just as he also says elsewhere: "For it shall be," he says, "in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, prepared on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills, and many nations shall come to it, and they shall say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will declare to us His way. And we will walk in it."

The children of Jerusalem, therefore, should not be called only those who are of the blood of Israel, but also all those who, from every nation and land, have been called through faith to the light of the truth. For as the all-wise Paul writes: "Not all they that are of Israel are Israel; nor because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but ^B the children of the promise are accounted for a seed." And it was said by God to the divinely inspired Abraham: "I have made thee a father of many nations." Therefore, as if a multitude were already gathered from the nations and worshiping Christ, he says, "Lift up thy eyes round about," that is, gaze upon the whole world, and from every part of it you will see your children running toward you; and they shall come, even if they were once far away. "Far" is spoken not in terms of place, but pertains to the soul and the disposition of the mind. Indeed, one of the holy prophets said concerning those who had fled from the knowledge of Him who is by nature and truly God: "Remember, you who are far from the Lord, and let Jerusalem come into your mind." And the all-wise Paul also wrote concerning Christ that "He came and preached peace to them that were far off, and to them that were near." And he writes to the Gentiles: "Be mindful that you, the Gentiles, who were called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision in the flesh, made by hand, that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the hope of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now you who were once far off, are made near in the blood of Christ." For those who do not know God at all, who is by nature and truly God, are said to be far off, and they are so, according ^C to [the] disposition and mind, as I said. But behold, he says, they are coming.

venient ^A, that is, their calling will not be long delayed, nor will it be put off, but they will immediately follow this evangelical preaching, and will approach God through faith, without any labor, and without any difficulty or sweat. For they shall be carried upon the shoulders. The form of the expression is figurative, taken as if from examples in our own life. For little infants are wont to be nurtured, and desire to rest in their mother's bosom and arms. Something of this kind happens to those who are called from the Greek error. For they are soothed by the mystagogues, and are not treated harshly, nor do they immediately walk along a rough path; but they are suckled as if by delicate instruction, and they gradually grow up into a perfect man, into the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ. For indeed he instructed the holy apostles to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them. And they, wishing to do this, using a method and the art of teaching, at first imposed nothing burdensome upon the believers. For they wrote to the nations: "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden, except that you should abstain from fornication, and things strangled, and blood." ^B And the most excellent Paul writes to some, that: "I gave you milk to drink, not meat. For you were not yet able, but neither are you able even now." But solid food is for the perfect, for those, I say, who by reason of habit have their senses of the heart trained to the discernment of good and evil. "Therefore, on the shoulders," he says, "shall thy sons and thy daughters be carried. Then shalt thou see and fear, and be amazed," that is, thou shalt marvel. For so, in a way, does the divine Habakkuk also say: "O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and I feared. I considered thy works, and was amazed." We ourselves are also, in a way, accustomed to say "I was amazed" when something happens contrary to expectation through someone. Therefore, he says, you will marvel; and what shall be the reason for this? "For the wealth of the sea, and of the nations and peoples, shall be turned to thee." He makes the prophecy clearer in these words, that the multitude of the nations shall be called in due time to the knowledge of the truth. For the region of the Jews was situated toward the clime that inclines to the southern part. But the areas that look to the north, and the sea, and the cities and regions situated therein, the flock of the nations had occupied. But since those who had departed from their pristine error achieved a turn for the better, having been called to the knowledge of the God who is by nature, through those who minister the Gospel of Christ: hence he says the wealth of the sea is to be transferred to the Church. But the wealth, as I said, of the cities and regions situated by the sea, consists of those who dwell in them. "And there shall come to thee," he says, "also flocks of camels, and the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover thee." For ^C the Midianites and Ephah are nations bordering on Jerusalem, possessing contiguous regions. For they were abominable, and uncircumcised, and idolaters. But he indicates by these words that they also were to be called, and would bring forth fruit to God. ^D

For they were riders of camels, and procured their sustenance from fighting and from cattle-raising; and they were most especially hostile to those from Israel. But, he says, those who once wandered, profane and having no communion with the sanctified, will come—not indeed one by one, but as it were in flocks, and in great numbers, either riding on camels or bringing whatever they have, and honoring God with what is at hand. ^A *“And all they from Sheba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and shall bring a precious stone, and they shall preach the gospel of the salvation of the Lord.”* Sheba, again, is a region beyond the land of the Arabs, and closer to the Red Sea, from which the Queen of the Ethiopians, in the times of Solomon, came to Jerusalem. The region is very fertile in frankincense, gold, and Indian stones. They will come, therefore, he says, bringing forth fruit to the glory of God, and offering frankincense, gold, and stones—that is, the sweet fragrance of good works, intellectual splendor, and spiritual riches. *“And they shall preach the gospel of the salvation of the Lord.”* For very many of those who have been called from the nations, having become wise in heart and having received an understanding of the divine dogmas, have obtained the dignity of the authority to teach, and by preaching to others the salvation and grace from Christ, the Savior of us all, they have been crowned with the crown of nobility. ^B *“And the sheep of Kedar shall come to you, and the rams of Nebaioth, and they shall be brought as acceptable offerings upon my altar.”* Kedar and Nebaioth are once again other regions, fertile and rich in pasture, and having very many inhabitants, yet idolaters and wandering. But he says that even these shall bring rams and sheep, and all shall be acceptable upon my altar; even though, according to the law of Moses, it was not permitted for aliens to offer sacrifices to God; nor, if they had offered them, would He have held them as acceptable. But behold, God commands that these be acceptable upon the holy altars. For in Christ Jesus there is neither bond nor free, barbarian, Scythian, Greek, nor Jew, but all things and in all, Christ. For the two peoples have become one, He having broken down the middle wall of the partition and having abolished the law of commandments in dogmas. ^C Their sacrifices are therefore acceptable, as they approach God through faith in Christ. And the house of the prayer of God has been glorified. Consider again for me the profundity of the expression: for He no longer wants the Church to be called a house of sacrifices and smoke, as indeed the temple in Jerusalem was, but rather of prayer—that is, of spiritual worship. The divine David also chants somewhere and says: *“Let my prayer be directed as incense before you, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.”* ^D It should also be noted that the Savior Himself made mention of this verse when He rebuked the commerce of the Jews and said: *“It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves.”* When, therefore, it was made a house of prayer, then it was also glorified.

^A

Verses 8, 9. Who are these who fly as clouds, and as doves with their young? The islands waited for me, and the ships of Tharsis in the beginning, to bring thy children from afar, and their silver and their gold with them, for the name of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.

One may see here again the figure of the Church, or of the intelligible Jerusalem, introduced, lifting up her eyes round about, as she was commanded by God; then she marvels at the multitude ^B of those running to her, and the people gathered by faith, a multitude beyond all numbering. "Who are these," he says, "who fly as clouds, and as doves with their young?" For they are caught by the net of faith—not only the aged, but young people with them, and fathers with their sons, and mothers with their daughters. Therefore, the net of the evangelical preaching is spread out against every age. And this, I think, is what is written in the book of Psalms: "Young men and maidens, old men with the younger, let them praise the name of the Lord." 3 He says they fly, either because they do not go to her sluggishly or remissly, but as birds and racers; or because, having laid aside the earthly and lowly affection, they strain upward in a certain way, and as clouds from the sea, leaping up and emerging from the tumult and worldly delights, they fly on high and swim upward towards the city that is above, hurrying along.

The Church, therefore, marvelling at the concourse from every region by faith, ^C reveals the cause of the matter, enticing and netting them again, and says: "The islands waited for me, and the ships of Tharsis, to bring thy children from afar, and their silver and gold with them." You will understand "islands" here not simply as the islands alone—for this is silly—nor the ships of Tharsis themselves, but rather those who dwell in them, or those who embark on the islands. Divine Scripture often calls the Indies "Tharsis"; they say also that there is a famous city in Cyprus named Tharsis. Since, therefore, the islands, he says, and those who come from the region of the Indians waited for me—that is, submitted to the yoke I placed upon them—for this reason the multitude of believers flows together from everywhere. For ^D men come even from the barbarian land itself, not a few, bearing the name of Christ, and bringing forth fruit for his glory, which that region is able to produce. And they say that it is fertile in gold and silver. But they do not offer these according to the ancient custom to certain lifeless idols and herds of demons, but because the name of the Lord had become holy among them, and the Holy One of Israel glorious. And the Lord is not one, and the Holy One of Israel another in return, but the Lord is one and the same, and holy, and glorified. It must be known, however, that those cities which are round about, desolate and vast for the most part and uninhabited, are also called islands. And if they be called

to sustain the Lord, that is, to serve Him, you will understand them to be those who inhabit inaccessible and desolate regions and cities in great solitude, who will come through faith and bear fruit for Christ in gold and silver—not simply that material, but as it were those things which in us are precious and illustrious and worthy of being highly esteemed, namely the splendor of all the virtues. For these are gifts for God, these are the bright and admirable votive offerings of spiritual worship. It is also written in the book of Psalms concerning Christ, the Saviour of us all, that "the kings of Tharsis and the islands shall bring presents: the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts: and all the kings of the earth shall adore him, all nations shall serve him." ^A

Vers. 10. And aliens shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall assist thee.

This too is an extraordinary work of divine power. For the walls and defenses that preserve the children of the Church may be understood as the right and irreprehensible faith, and the splendor of works adorned with the beauty of all the virtues. Moreover, the instructors of dogmatic and moral knowledge, and thus the teachers of the divine proclamations, can be all those ministers who are called to this by divine decree. And the first fruits of this sacred preaching were the divine disciples for us, and many after them, who followed in their footsteps by preaching the word, not only from the Jews, but also from the ranks of the Greeks, who, having been well instructed in secular wisdom and endowed with the faculty of speech, have turned out to be excellent instructors, elegantly building up the firm word of faith in the souls of the initiated, and planting in them an admirable conscience for living well. ^B Therefore, they were aliens, because they were not of the blood of Israel according to the flesh, but wise architects, as the divine Paul speaks, who knew well how to lay the foundation of Christ in us, namely through faith and the instruction of good things. This, I think, is the meaning of: "And aliens shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall assist thee." And whose kings? Without doubt, the kings of the aliens. By "kings" he means either the princes and leaders of the peoples who assist the Church of Christ, guarding her as with a bodyguard, and protecting her children like a shield, and repelling every onslaught of enemies, both visible and invisible; or, certainly, those adorned with supreme honors and holding the royal scepter, who also have assisted the Church. "Assist" in this place signifies obedience. For they yield to the divine and sacrosanct prophecies, and hold the preaching of the Church in the highest esteem. ^{C D}

Vers. 11, 12. For because of my wrath I struck thee, and because of mercy I have loved thee. And thy gates shall be opened continually; day and night they shall not be shut, that

^A they may bring to thee the power of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the Gentiles and the kings that will not serve thee shall perish, and the Gentiles shall be laid waste. For since, he says, you were found to be entangled in very many and intolerable vices, you have undergone a proportionate punishment. For it was necessary that, being such as you were, you should endure this wrath and penalty. But since mercy was again to be imparted to you, as by a good and merciful Lord and God, it has been imparted, and I shall drive away all wrath. What then will follow? What shall be given, after these harsh things have ceased? "Thy gates," he says, "shall be opened continually; day and night, and they shall not be shut." ^B By these words he seems to promise them peace and the tranquility that flows from it. For cities that suspect some incursion of enemies do not always have their gates wide open, but only when time and necessity so require, and even during the day this is done with difficulty and not without fear. But those which are delivered from all such fear, and do not expect to suffer anything of the sort, throw them open to those who enter, and some even do this at night. If, therefore, God promises them peace and an abundance of prosperity, there will surely be a continuous throng of those arriving, and, as it were, a perpetual entry of those who are drawn in a manner through faith to the knowledge of Christ, so that the gates appear to be thrown open, and there is no time at which it is appropriate for them to be closed, not only for those of lowly and humble fortune who yield to the yoke of a kingdom, but also for those who hold sway over all.

Moreover, it is possible from the very events to see the power of this prophecy extending even to the present day. For the Church receives at all times those who desire to believe, ^C and she closes the way toward this for no one who hastens to it; but it is free and permitted for those who wish, at any time they may choose, with no one to hinder them, to be led to the light of truth. And God and the Father leads all to the knowledge of the Son, through whom, and in whom, and with whom He is glorified. And this He Himself has made known to us, saying: "No one can come to me, unless my Father who sent me shall draw him." He mentions that the power of the Gentiles is to be brought in, so that you might not understand it, as I said, to mean only those who are in a state of meanness and subjection, but also those who are in power and are conspicuous for the glory of this life. He adds furthermore: "And the Gentiles and the kings who will not serve thee shall perish, and they shall be laid waste." ^D For those who are unbelieving, and strangers to the mysteries, and partakers not of the salvation which is through Christ, whether they be among the illustrious or the more obscure, will fall into the pit of Hades and into the snare of death. For they will die in their own sins and will undergo the most extreme punishment of all.

Vers. 13. And the glory of Libanus shall come to thee; in the cypress, and in the pine, and in the cedar, to glorify my holy place. Libanus is a mountain of Phoenicia, thick with cedars, cypresses, and pines, and even with the trees of frankincense. Admirable...

^A for this reason is the aforementioned mountain, as it possesses the greatest abundance of wood, and abounds in trees that are most tall and most fragrant. This glory, therefore, he says, shall be given to thee, understood clearly and spiritually. For the Church of Christ nurtures very many and illustrious heads of saints, who are both lofty in virtue and most fragrant, for they breathe sweetly of Christ. There is present in them also this, that they are subject to no corruption of carnal affection, just as the pine and the cedar are not corrupted. It is the custom of divinely inspired Scripture to sometimes liken the multitude of the saints to trees of this kind. Since God again said through the voice of Isaiah: “And I will produce water in the wilderness, and rivers in a land without water. I will place in the waterless land the cedar, and the box tree, and the myrtle, and the cypress, and the poplar.” By the dry and waterless land he compares the nations. For there was not among them the divine Word capable of giving life and bringing about growth and increase in piety and in the knowledge of God; but there have come to be among them cedar and box and myrtle and cypress and poplar, that is, trees that are tall and worthy of admiration, of which even the divine Psalmist makes mention, saying: “Bread strengthens the heart of man; the trees of the field shall be satisfied, and the cedars of Libanus which thou hast planted.” For, as the all-wise Paul writes: “We are God's tillage.” This glory of Libanus, therefore, he says, shall be given to thee, that is, thou shalt be seen to be ornamented with many and admirable heads of saints. And this will be, in order that my holy place may be glorified. For the boast of the Churches ^C indeed consists of those who have attained to the heights of the virtues, and have nothing lowly, that is, earthly, nor cast down to the ground in their mind by thinking the things of the flesh, but rather striving on high and minding the things above, and as it were departing from the earth, and walking upon it, yet having their citizenship in the heavens.

VERS. 14. And they shall come to thee trembling, the sons of them that humbled thee, and provoked thee; and thou shalt be called the city of the Lord, Sion of the Holy One of Israel.

The outcome of events itself clearly displays the power of the prophecy, not deviating from the truth. For Jerusalem, having raged furiously against the Savior of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, became humbled, cast out from His fellowship, having fallen from the hope in Him, and abandoned by mercy from above; it fell into the hands of enemies who, having laid waste the whole of Judæa, even burned that divine and celebrated temple. But after the remnant was saved through God having had compassion (for countless Israelites believed in Christ), it was named the Church of Christ, and became as it were a mother of the nations. For the sons of those who once humbled her, that is, those who rule over earthly matters and who come into the successions of sceptres thereby, hold the Church in veneration, and trembling—that is, solicitously and with the fear of God—they approach her. And she has been called

^A the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel. For the Church is the city of God, and the inspired David teaches this when addressing her: "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God!" And the Lord of all says somewhere through the lyre of the Psalmist: "Here will I dwell, because I have chosen it; I will surely bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread, and I will clothe her priests with salvation." And if someone should wish to say that the sons of the kings who once persecuted the Church now approach her with honor and fear, and receive her as a divine city, he does not wander from the point. For we see the matter brought to this outcome by actual examples.

^B VERSE 15, 16. In that thou hast been forsaken and hated, and there was no one to help thee. And I will make thee an eternal exultation, a joy to generations of generations. And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt eat the wealth of kings. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord who saves thee, and the Redeemer, the God of Israel.

"For thou wast," he says, "forsaken, and hated, and there was no one to help." This was the cause of your humiliation. For you had raged against him who is able to exalt and to preserve your prosperity unshaken; but there was no one to reach out an auxiliary hand, because you were hateful to God. For you did not rage against one placed in a servile condition or performing the task of a minister, but against the King and Lord of all himself. But since, once having endured this humiliation, these vexations will pass away, ^C and he will restore you to your former state by a later benefit. For just as it was right for you as an inobedient one to be punished by the just sentence of God, so it is fitting that you should find mercy upon converting. "I will make you, therefore," he says, "an eternal exultation." For there is nothing sad in the Church of Christ. For where there is altogether hope of incorruption, and eternal life, and everlasting glory, and the kingdom of heaven, how could there be a place for sadness? "And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt eat the wealth of kings." To some, the prophetic meaning seems to teach such a thing: that many from the flock and number of the Greeks, ^D learned in the divinely inspired Scriptures and endowed with understanding of dogmatic expertise, will be teachers of the Jewish Synagogue. But this speech appears to tend elsewhere, and not to go this way and progress of meaning, but rather to wish to signify that they are to be enriched by fruit offerings and royal gifts of the Gentiles. And the experience of events itself shows this to be true. Having finished these things thus, he says, "I, the Lord, am he who saves you." For as the prophet Isaiah says: "Unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been as Sodom, and we would have been likened to Gomorrah." For by the grace and philanthropy of God, the remnant of Israel has been saved, so that the nation born of the holy fathers might not perish entirely.

ON ISAIAH BOOK V. VOLUME IV.

"And for bronze I will bring you gold, and for iron I will bring you silver, and for wood I will bring you bronze, and for stones iron. And I will give your rulers in peace, and your bishops in justice."

^A He takes these materials by way of examples, which differ greatly from one another. He signifies in an oblique way something spiritual and profound. For he wishes to say that all things shall be changed for the better, and that the second things will surpass the first. For the instruction in the law will certainly yield to that which is through Christ, that is, to the evangelical decrees, and the interval will be as great as that which exists between bronze and gold. For bronze has the appearance of gold, but it is not gold; and iron has the appearance of silver, for it possesses a certain brightness, but it is not silver, but rather yields much to that which is superior. Therefore, one could compare the instruction in the law to bronze, but that which is through Christ to gold; and again one could compare the power of the civic life under the law to iron, which possesses a certain moderate splendor, but the life in Christ and the evangelical life to silver rather, for it possesses a most perfect splendor, intellectually. ^B Thus, the all-wise Paul, even though he said that he had much in which to boast on account of the life he had lived under the law and the knowledge thereof, nevertheless counted all things as refuse, and wished to gain Christ and the surpassing knowledge of him. Wood and stones are indeed useful for building; and we shall find the all-wise Paul comparing the power of the mystical initiation of certain people to these materials. "For if anyone," he says, "builds upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw" (1 Cor. 3:12).

Since this is the case, we assert that the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees, or rather the interpretation of the unbelieving Jews as a whole, who do not understand the mystery of Christ at all, as they have not even believed in him, might be compared to wood and stones, whereas that which is in Christ and evangelical is as much better as bronze is to wood, and iron to stone. For the doctrines and inventions of the former were fragile; but those which are in Christ are solid and unbreakable, illustrious also and magnificent. ^C For the Jews fall into genealogies and infinite fables, explaining them to the people under their charge, weaving in certain trifles and old wives' tales. But those who bear Christ in their mind teach those under their charge every path of holy skill, and make them students of dogmatic precision, and workers of every virtue, whoever approaches them. The text which follows immediately demonstrates that this is the goal of the prophecy's intent. "For I will give," he says, "your rulers in peace, and your bishops in justice." For as though the first ones had been cast out, the Savior of all raises up other rulers and bishops of the peoples, distinguished in peace and justice. For they have peace with God, those who study to understand the things that are pleasing to Him, and who have been crowned with the ornaments of justice. The prophet Isaiah said something of this kind elsewhere, or rather God said it through the prophet, to the mother of ^D Judea...

of the nations, I say Jerusalem: “And I will turn my hand upon thee, and I will purge thee to be pure; and I will destroy the unfaithful, and I will remove all the wicked from thee, and I will humble all the proud; and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as from the beginning. And after these things thou shalt be called the city of justice, the faithful metropolis, Sion.” ^A Indeed, even the Savior himself rebukes the leaders of the Jews, saying: “Amen, amen I say to you, the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you, and it will be given to a nation producing its fruits.”

TOMUS V.

VERS. 18. *And injustice shall no longer be heard in thy land, nor bruising, nor misery in thy borders; but thy walls shall be called salvation, and thy gates, sculpture.*

The discourse carries great probability. For if its princes excel in peace, and its bishops in the praises of justice, it will always be of avail also among those who are subject to them, so that they may strive to pass their life in every justice and Christian piety. “There shall not be,” he says, “bruising in thy borders.” He calls “bruising” the violence against the submissive and the infirm. For such men are easily exposed to incursions, and they lie ready most promptly to those who wish to plunder them, as if they were prey. ^B But the leaders of the Jewish Synagogue were of old unjust and violent; and resisting the divine laws, they issued perverse judgments in every matter. Therefore, the sacred Scriptures frequently accuse them, as those who stumbled against this stone with the greatest impiety, so that they were seen to be hindered by intolerable crimes. For somewhere it says: “Its leaders judged for gifts, and its prophets prophesied for money.” The divine David also chants: “Bruising and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes.” ^C The God of all also rebuked those who fasted, saying thus: “For in the days of your fasts, you find your own wills, and you afflict all your subjects with judgment and fightings; you fast and you strike the humble with fists.” Furthermore, by the voice of Isaiah: “They coveted fields, and plundered orphans, and occupied houses, and plundered a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.” But after these ceased to be, and the choir of the holy apostles was raised up in their place; and those who, following after them, are eager to follow in their footsteps, rightly handle the word of truth, and become the best instructors of the subject people: hence, not without cause does it say that injustice shall no longer be heard in their land, nor yet bruising nor misery; but that its walls shall be called salvation, and its gates sculpture. By walls, I think, it means the holy ^D

^A pedagogues, who fortify the Church with the doctrines of dogmatic and moral precepts, so that it might be impregnable to enemies, whether they be visible or invisible. The same could also be the gates, as they employ introductory discourse and, through faith, bring into the knowledge of the truth those who were until then outside it. As for the sculpture, it is because their discourse is exceedingly beautiful and elegant, and as if turned on a lathe for truth; for everything that is sculpted is comely. The Seventy have given this interpretation, but other translators have placed "Jesus" instead of "sculpture." This is also true. For He is indeed "fairer in beauty than the children of men," and is so named and exists, and we possess Him as walls and gates. He fortifies us with ^B ineffable power and with the assistance of the holy angels. "For He shall give charge," He says, "to His angels concerning you, to keep you in all your ways," and, "The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them." We come through Him to the knowledge of the Father, and He has become for this purpose both door, and gate, and way. He said, therefore, "I am the door, and the way, and no one comes to the Father except through Me." He is also the sculpture, that is, the form and image of the One who begat Him, and the character of His substance, and the image and radiance of His glory.

VERSES 19, 20.

Some, according to the sense of these words, wish to lead us to understand something of this kind. For in the last times of the age, when those who lie in the earth have been raised, and our Savior Christ has descended from heaven with the holy angels in the glory of the Father, ^C the splendor of the elements shall be rendered void, and we look for new heavens and a new earth and His promises, according to that which is written. Our Savior also said something to this effect, that "In those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." For the glory of the Savior itself shall suffice for the illumination of the saints. But so that the words set forth may appear to harmonize with the meaning of the preceding verses, while we indeed praise this interpretation, we say that something else is signified by the verses set forth. For the solar light, and furthermore the lunar, is a very useful and necessary thing for the eyes of the body; but by night the light of the sun is withdrawn, and by day that of the moon. For they shine by alternating turns. But the divine and intelligible light, which the Savior of all sends into the hearts of ^D those who believe through the Holy Spirit,

will be inextinguishable, incomprehensible, and ever-shining, so that there is no need for sun or moon for the illumination of each person's mind or restoration of sight. For the mind is not illuminated by sensible light, but is content rather with the illumination and brightness of the Holy Spirit so that it may be able to behold the glory of Christ, and the degree of likeness it possesses to Him who begot it—by nature, obviously—and, quite certainly, that it may know the way of the best life. Therefore, the Savior has become for us an eternal light, and He makes this clear to us, saying: "I am the light of the world," and again: "When I am in the world, I am the light of the world." "He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

^B VERSE 21, 22. *And the days of your mourning will be fulfilled, and your people shall all be righteous, and they shall inherit the land for eternity, guarding the planting, the work of his hands for glory. The little one shall become thousands, and the least one a great nation. I, the Lord, will gather them in time.*

Those who say that the time of the consummation is indicated by the fact that the solar, or rather the lunar, light will no longer perform its function but will be drawn back, so that our Lord may become the eternal light, say that for those who mourn now—whom the Savior says will also be comforted—there will be an end of mourning at that time. For they will cease to labor and to be worn down by cares, and they will obtain eternal rewards. For this, I think, is what it means to be filled with consolation. But because the sequence of this treatise and these contemplations must follow from what has preceded, we say that for those who persist and lie in sins, sadness is appropriate and most fitting. For they expect not honors and crowns and consolation from God, but rather punishment, and fire, and darkness. But those who do good rejoice in hope, as the all-wise Paul says; for their goodness is succeeded by glory and delight for infinite ages. ^C But when someone who has been occupied with very many sins has turned to the Lord, and then has been justified through faith, and has obtained forgiveness for his transgressions, and has expected to receive the honors destined for the saints, then indeed the days of his mourning shall cease, and he shall desist from sweat and sadness. And as if to confirm this meaning, the passage that follows says: "And your people shall all be righteous," that is, all the people who follow you shall be justified; and the discourse is as though directed to the Church. But Christ justifies the ungodly by grace and his love for mankind, and He releases those who are convicted of every transgression. For he has indicated who is the provider of these things when he says: "Guarding the planting, the works of his hands for glory." For we are a planting of the tree of the Savior of us all, Christ, and his work; for we who were wild olives have been grafted into the good olive tree, with the Savior ^D himself, so to speak, working upon us.

^A For not a messenger, nor an angel, but the Lord himself has saved us. He says, therefore: "I who speak, am here." ^B "And it shall be," he says, "that the small one will become thousands, and the puny one a great nation." For now—that is, in this age—the glory of the saints is hidden, and if one looks at the pride of the world, they seem to be the least of all, having no manifest glory. But when Christ shines forth again from the heavens, then even he who was considered least and small will become a great nation. For he will lead peoples, and he will rule over many, inasmuch as he has finished a praiseworthy course in this life. And this can be seen from what Christ said; for, speaking to the apostles, he says, "When the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, then you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Moreover, in the distribution of the talents, we find him saying: "Be over ten cities," and to others he gives a smaller portion, "Be, indeed," he says, "over five cities," offering them a reward that is in every way equal to their rectitude and distributing to each the honor of the talents that is appropriate. ^C Therefore, the saints, rejoicing in this very thing, say: "He has subjected peoples under us, and nations under our feet." Having been considered the least in this life, they were then amplified into thousands, and into a great nation. "I," he says, "the Lord of all, will gather them in due time," namely, at the coming from the heavens. For then the saints will enjoy every good thing, who, as the all-wise Paul says, will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord, ^D enjoying endless honors.

CHAP. LXI. VERS. 1-3.

He who in what went before said concerning those who are to be called by faith: “I, the Lord, will gather them in due time,” as though the time were already present in which he promised to gather them, and as one who had already become man, and had assumed our likeness, and had lowered himself to emptiness, says: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." Although, existing by nature as God, the Only-Begotten is the Saint of saints and he himself sanctifies all creation, inasmuch as he is begotten of the holy Father, and [his] Spirit proceeds from him and he infuses it into the powers above as his own, and furthermore into those who have acknowledged his manifestation. How, then, was he sanctified? For since he is the same God and man, on the one hand he gives the Spirit to creation according to his Divinity, but on the other hand he receives it from God and

the Father, according to his humanity. We call this the anointing ^A. He makes the cause of the Incarnation clear. For having said that it was from the Father, he added necessarily: "On account of which he has anointed me, he has sent me to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and moreover to grant the blind recovery of sight, and at the same time to call the day of recompense," many manifest proofs of the Only-Begotten’s humanity appeared at once. For in order that he might win over everything under heaven, and bring those who were in all the world to God and the Father, having transformed all things for the better, and having as it were renewed the face of the earth, he took the form of a servant, even though he was the Lord of all. He brought glad tidings to the poor, and therefore he says he was sent. The poor may be, or may be understood as, those who suffer from the need of every good thing, and have no hope, and are atheists in the world, according to what is written. These would be those from the Gentiles, who, having been enriched by faith in him, have gained the divine and heavenly treasure, namely, the evangelical and saving preaching, through which they have become both participants of the kingdom of heaven, and partakers of the saints, and heirs of those things which neither mind nor speech can grasp. "For the eye," he says, "did not see, and the ear did not hear, and it did not ascend into the heart of man, those things which God has prepared for those who love him." Or perhaps the discourse here also says that ^B to the poor in spirit has been given the abundant supply of gifts through the ministry of Christ. He calls those "broken-hearted" who have a weak and easily shattered mind, and who are unable to withstand the incursions of the passions, but have succumbed to them in such a way that they seem to be captives. To these he promises healing and medicine, and to those who are blind he also gives recovery of sight. For those who worship creation, and say to the wood, "You are my father," and to the stone, "You begat me," and then did not know him who is by nature and truly God, how would they not be blind, and have a heart stripped of divine and intelligible light? Into them the Father sends the light of the true knowledge of God. For they were called through faith, and knew him, or rather were known by him; and being children of night and darkness, they have become children of light; for the day has shone upon them, and the Sun of righteousness has risen, and the bright Morning Star has appeared. It is no detriments at all to apply all these things spoken to those who are sprung from the blood of Israel. For they too were poor, and broken-hearted, and as it were captives, and darkened. "For there was no one on earth who did good, there was not even one, but all turned aside, together they became corrupt." But Christ came, and before others announced to the Israelites the glad and noble deeds of his presence: furthermore, that he might also call the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompense.

^A And again: «When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.» For he rose again on the third day, having trampled down the power of death. Then he addressed his holy disciples, saying: «All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth; go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.» That year is, therefore, beyond any doubt acceptable, in which we were admitted and obtained kinship with him, having washed away sin through holy baptism, and having become partakers of his divine nature through the participation of the Holy Spirit. Or rather, the acceptable year is that in which he manifested his glory by an ineffable miracle; for we gladly grasped the time of salvation from him, which the all-wise Paul also indicated, saying: «Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.» And we say that the time of his sojourn is none the less the day of recompense, in which recompense is given by him to those who believe in him through the promise that hope embraces.

What I mean is this: the conduct of life according to the Mosaic law was, for those willing to practice it correctly and blamelessly, a procurer of happiness in this present life; but it did not have the promise of future goods attached to it, but ^B preached only the prosperity of this life; for it commanded one to abstain from offenses, exclaiming: «Do not die before your time.» And to children it said: «Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you, and that you may live long upon the earth.» Sometimes, indeed, it also promised an abundance of fruits, rest from war, the breadth of peace, and the tranquility of soul following therefrom. For it said through the voice of Zechariah: «Jerusalem shall be inhabited fruitfully by the multitude of men and beasts that are in it, and I will be to it, says the Lord, a wall of fire round about, and I will be glory in its midst.» And again: «There shall yet sit old men in the streets of Jerusalem, each man having his staff in his hand for the multitude of days, and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.» ^C The Mosaic law, therefore, promised to the ancients the enjoyment of temporal rewards, but the divine and saving proclamation promises rewards in the future time. «For blessed,» he says, «are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.» And if anyone should wish to investigate diligently the beatitudes that follow, he will find the promised rewards to be bright and great with God. ^D But if it should seem otherwise to someone to interpret the recompense made by Christ as referring to the time of his advent, he will not wander from the mark. For in times past, the most profane Satan acted insolently against mortals and occupied the world, separated and torn away, I say, from the true knowledge of God—cast as it were into a pit of sin—and made it a worshiper of himself and the powers of evil with him. Therefore he said: «I will take hold of the whole world with my hand like a nest, and I will gather up the abandoned eggs; and there is none who can escape me or speak against me.»

But he was caught having conceived vain hopes concerning this matter. For Christ was raised up against him and wrestled on our behalf, and He exacted from him the punishments for his impiety against us. For He demolished all of his strength, and cast him out from his tyranny over us, and having dragged him down into Tartarus with the chains of darkness, as it is written, ^A He delivered him to be kept in judgment for the great day, both him and the others who became apostates with him. The divine David therefore chants as if in the person of the redeemed, and says: «I will confess to thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will recount all thy wondrous works. I will be glad and exult in thee; I will sing to thy name, O Most High, because thou hast executed my judgment and my cause. Thou hast sat upon the throne, O thou who judgest righteousness; thou hast rebuked the nations, and the ungodly man has perished; thou hast blotted out his name for ever and ever.» ^B Elsewhere, too, he speaks again of him in this way: «His sin shall be sought, and it shall not be found.» The Savior himself also says: «Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world shall be cast out.» The time of retribution, therefore, is also in this way, in that Christ has shone upon the world. He says that He came to comfort all that mourn in Sion, to give them glory for ashes, the oil of gladness, and a garment of glory for a spirit of heaviness. For there were in former times among the Jews men who were holy, learned in the law, and explorers and experts in the prophetic proclamations. ^C When they saw that those of Israelite blood had made light of the Mosaic precepts and had turned to their own desires, and were teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, and were living a life most contrary to the law and shameful, they were affected with that sadness which is fitting for saints, and they were awaiting the redemption through Christ. For they were not ignorant, being inspired by the Spirit, of Him who justifies the ungodly by faith, and who, by a grace that forgets injuries, cleanses those who are defiled. For the just Simeon, when he had taken the infant Christ into his arms, prayed, saying: «Now lettest thou thy servant depart, O Lord, according to thy word, in peace; for my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all ^D peoples; a light for the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.» We also find the divine Zacharias, John’s father, saying: «Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and wrought redemption for his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us.» Philip also brought the good news to Nathanael, saying: «Him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph, of Nazareth.» The most wise Paul also writes: «Great is my sadness, and continuous is the pain of my heart for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh.» Therefore, comfort was given to those who mourn in Sion through Christ, and glory in place of ashes. For they ceased to mourn and weep for her, and began to have joy through Christ, preaching and

announcing the Gospel. ^A “Anointing of gladness was given to them in place of mourning, and a garment of glory in place of a spirit of heaviness.” By anointing here he means that which is cheerful, that is, hilarity and joy in place of mourning and weeping; and by a garment, that is, a stole and robe, in place of a spirit of heaviness, that is, in place of that ancient dejection and contraction of soul. For they were glorified who formerly lamented her, and who were affected with sadness on her behalf. But how were they glorified? Because they were appointed her preceptors and teachers. And this is that which was said to her through the lyre of the Psalmist: “In place of thy fathers, sons were born to thee.” For the most wise disciples, though they were children of the Jewish Synagogue, became fathers. The most wise Paul surely writes: “For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.” They were indeed appointed in the place of fathers, being her children. Now that the divine disciples had a garment of glory from God can be clear, as Christ says to them in one place: “Heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead;” and in another place: “You are the light of the world.”

^B Vers. 4. And they shall be called generations of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for glory. And they shall build up eternal wastes; they shall raise up those formerly laid waste, and shall renew desolate cities, laid waste for generations.

For they who are in Christ are termed “a chosen race, a holy nation, a peculiar people,” because of the beauty of the righteousness that is in them. I do not mean legal righteousness, but rather that which they have obtained from the oracles of the Savior. That which is in Christ is incomparably better than legal righteousness. For He addressed the holy apostles: “Amen I say to you, unless your righteousness shall abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” “They shall be called, therefore,” he says, “generations of righteousness, and furthermore, a planting of the Lord.” For we are truly God’s husbandry, and the divine David says concerning us: “Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God.” ^C And indeed the most wise Paul calls those who have been called through faith in Christ the husbandry of God. He said again: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” For the Savior cultivates us as a husbandman, through the holy mystagogues. Whence they also most justly say that they are God’s fellow-workers. The most wise David also sings: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree,”

and shall be multiplied like the cedar in Lebanon.” We are therefore truly a planting of the Lord, unto His glory. ^A “And they shall build,” he says, “the ancient desolate cities, and they shall renew the desolate cities.” By this he seems to mean either that the multitude of those to be called will be so great that they will seek out other cities besides those that exist, and renew those that were once laid waste; or perhaps this: being brought into straits, he says, on account of the multitude, they will do with the churches, though they were once bare and desolate, something like what those are accustomed to do who desire to build up devastated cities, and who strive to raise up those that, as it were, lie on the ground. For it has been said to the Church: “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and thy curtains: fasten them, spare not; extend further to the right and left.” ^B And the event of things itself would show, and very easily, that the prediction concerning this matter is true.

VERS. 5-7. *And aliens shall come, feeding thy sheep, and the people of a strange land shall be thy plowmen and vine-dressers. But ye shall be called the priests of the Lord, the ministers of God. Ye shall eat the strength of the nations, and in their riches shall ye be admired. For your shame doubled, and for your reproach, their portion shall rejoice, and thus they shall inherit the land a second time. And eternal joy shall be upon their head.*

Here he speaks clearly of a change of the Law and of the priesthood according to it. For the priestly service will no longer fit those of the blood of Levi, nor will the name and function of the ministry; but these have been cast out, and this glory has been given to those who have been called from the nations through faith. For they are crowned by the vote of God, and they themselves have been appointed ministers and priests. ^C “For they shall come,” he says, “aliens, feeding thy sheep.” The discourse is addressed, as it were, to the Church, by whose sheep may be understood the holy multitude of those saved through faith. These are fed by aliens. For the Scribes and Pharisees of old, who received the task of teaching among the Israelites, were slothful and idle, and became most unskilled shepherds. The multitude subject to them therefore perished, since they possessed rejected silver, and were teaching as doctrines the commandments of men, and were leading those subject to them away from the knowledge of Christ, at one time saying: “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we know not whence he is”; ^D at another time again: “He has a demon and is mad, why do you listen to him?” The Lord of all bore witness, therefore, through the voice of the prophets, saying thus: “The shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord. Therefore the whole flock did not understand, and they were scattered.” And indeed through the voice of Ezekiel: “O shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds not feed themselves? Do the shepherds not feed the sheep?”

^A And “by the trampling of your feet they were fed, and they drank water muddied by your feet.” By “water collected” he signifies the doctrine of the Law and the best pasture. But those who corrupted and defiled it, because they did not rightly teach their own people, offered water that was not pure to drink, nor did they provide lush pasture. Therefore, they were cast out from the office of feeding the Lord's people from then on, and rightly so. For foreigners have been called to this; and indeed teachers of the Churches are ordained by Christ, wise and prudent men, having a mind filled with dogmatic skill, men who are from the Greek flock and not from the blood of Israel; these have become both plowmen and vinedressers. For since those who believe are called in many places of the divinely inspired Scripture “choice land,” and “vineyard,” and “garden,” therefore the word says that those who would at times be priests of the Lord and ministers of God, rightly dividing the word of truth ^B and ministering the Gospel of Christ, as it is written, would be plowmen and vinedressers. Therefore, they do not usurp the honor for themselves, but have been called by God, just as the all-wise Paul says. Although he was of the tribe of Benjamin, he everywhere calls himself a minister and an apostle called by Jesus Christ. “You, therefore, all who have obtained the dignity of ministry, you shall eat the strength of the nations, and in their riches you shall be admired.” He calls the “strength of the nations” either the honors of the most powerful men who have been called from the nations, or you may understand it in another way. “For none of you,” he says, “shall escape the mouth,” that is to say, the word; for Scripture everywhere puts “mouth” for word, as for instance: “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “You shall be distributed, therefore,” he says, “the strength of the nations.” And the word ^C seems in these things to call “strength of the nations” either those among them who are illustrious, that is, most renowned and possessing worldly wisdom. But we shall find that the word of the holy mystagogues themselves has prevailed, and those who were enriched by their vocation were glorified. For the pride of teachers, and their crown and glory, are those who have been saved through their illumination. For this reason he says, “In their riches you shall be admired.” And that the divine preaching will reach the regions and every nation, and that those presiding over the holy Churches who attribute glory to Christ will be, as it were, heirs of the world under heaven at the appointed times, he intimates, saying: “Thus they shall possess the earth a second time.” For in times past, Jesus the son of Nave divided by lot to those from Israel the regions of the nations; for they received the land of the Amorites, and of the Idumaeans, and of the Evaeans, and ^D of others. But when Christ had shone upon the world—of whom that ancient Jesus was a figure—he distributed to his ministers not only Judea, but the entire earth. And this was the second division of the inheritance after the first. For the mystagogues and teachers were divided by his own reckoning and judgment into regions and cities; and even now they rejoice in Christ, and with a certain spiritual joy.

They are as if crowned with a garland upon their heads. And the joy is eternal; for we do not expect the recompense to be in temporal things, but in a long-standing hope and eternal life, and in blessings that surpass mind and speech. ^A

VERS. 8, 9. *For I am the Lord who loves justice, and hates robberies from injustice; and I will give their labor to the just, and I will establish an eternal covenant for them. And their seed shall be known among all nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; every one that sees them shall recognize them, that they are a seed blessed by God, and they shall rejoice with joy in the Lord.*

Having said that “Aliens shall come to be the shepherds of thy sheep, and foreigners shall be the plowmen and vine-dressers,” implying that the former had been cast out, and had been forced out of the lordship which they held over the peoples, he shows the causes on account of which they have suffered this, by the holy reckoning of Him who judges justly. For since I love justice, he says, and hate robberies from injustice, and those who were the leaders of the Jewish Synagogue have become such, I have dismissed and cast them out. ^B For I give the labor of those who seize things through unjust robbery to others. For those who grow rich unjustly, and, as the prophet says, gather and accumulate for themselves impiety and misery, transmit these things to others. Hence Solomon says: “Riches unjustly gathered shall be disgorged, and an angel shall drag them from his house.” And again: “He who gathers his wealth by usury and greed, shall leave it for him who pities the poor,” not indeed for good and merciful men, but rather for wasters. For he wittily said that they pity the poor. For to those who live in dissipation adhere very many, and together with them consume what was accumulated by many labors and through wickedness. Of such men the divine David also sings, and says: “But in vain he is troubled; he gathers, and knows not for whom he shall gather.” ^C Furthermore, in another way, the labor, that is, the concern of the Scribes and Pharisees, was given to others, namely to the teachers of the nations. Therefore Christ says: “I say to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation producing its fruits.” Therefore, he says, they were cast out. But for you, who have been called from the nations to the sacred ministry, “I will establish an eternal covenant,” understanding by this either the evangelical preaching or the eternal hope. “And in the nations,” he says, “their seed shall be known, and their progeny. Whom whoever shall see shall recognize, that they are a seed blessed by God.” For those who, through instruction and doctrine, have become the sons of the holy mystagogues, are very well known to all on account of their distinguished probity and piety of life, because ^D

^A they have become the offspring of the saints according to instruction, as I said, "And that they are a seed blessed by God," such as the company of holy monks, concerning whom Paul says: "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the passions and desires," who lead a probity-filled and industrious life; and the cohorts of those living in virginity and the choirs abounding in the blessing of God, these are a seed blessed by God, these rejoice and are gladdened in the Lord; for they do not delight in worldly matters, but rather fill their own hearts with love for Christ, and this is a saving thing and the producer of all joy.

VERS. 10, 11. Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for He has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and with a tunic of joy; as a bridegroom He has put a turban upon me, and as a bride He has adorned me with an ornament, and as the earth brings forth its flower, and as a garden its seeds, so shall the Lord make righteousness and exultation spring forth before all nations.

He extended a bountiful hand toward them, and said that He would crown them with very many and highly desirable gifts: "For everyone," he says, "who sees them will recognize that these are a seed blessed by God," then adding moreover that "And they shall rejoice in the Lord," ^B he immediately grants them joy. Hence, not without cause, the person of the Church is introduced, crying out from excessive joy: "Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for He has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and with a tunic of joy." He calls our Lord Jesus Christ the tunic of joy. Therefore the most wise Paul also writes to those who believe in Him: "Put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh in its desires." Yet those who have taken Him as a garment, besides salvation, gain prosperity, and thus they enjoy long-lasting joy. The Savior Himself therefore says: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I came that they might have life, and might have it more abundantly." For He does not save merely, as I said, but He also gladdens with unending joy; and this is that abundance which will be added to the life of the holy ones. Christ, therefore, is that heavenly and supernal garment, that tunic of incorruption, which if anyone receives, he will be crowned with every ^C ornament, that is to say, which falls under the intellect, and will be adorned with the insignia of virtue. For he will be as a bridegroom girded with a turban, and as a bride excelling in every ornament. For there are, there are Christians powerful and very strong, and endowed with intelligible strength, and they are enriched with every kind of beauty and virtue. Moreover, they are like brides also on account of their fruitfulness, in that they are adorned with the varied splendor of virtues. Therefore one of the holy prophets said, when he was hinting that those who institute a holy life are fruitful and productive: "Therefore, O Lord, we have conceived in our womb by the fear of Thee, and we have been in labor, and we have brought forth the spirit ^D

^A of salvation, which Thou hast wrought upon the earth." Therefore, the saints are to be compared to a bridegroom and a bride, on account of their strength, and furthermore, their fruitfulness; but observe this always, that there is present in them a certain grace and beauty that shines forth. And this is preserved by them, both in the performing of noble deeds, and also in the courageous subduing of passions. But that Christ, by shining upon the nations, causes justice and exultation to bloom throughout the world like a flowering plant, He shows, saying: "As the earth brings forth its flower, and as a garden its seeds, so will the Lord cause justice and exultation to sprout before all the nations." Now, by this germinating or rising seed and flower before the nations, He seems to signify our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For He says in the Song of Songs: "I am the flower of the plain, the lily of the valleys"; or it refers to the evangelical and saving preaching, and its justification, which is superior to that of the Law, and which is always accompanied by joy, that is, exultation. For to those who rightly administer it, it is granted by God to be filled with lasting delight. For they shall hear our Savior Christ, who is the Savior of all, saying: "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." But exultation, or the saving preaching, can also be understood in another way. For the Law was an avenger and very severe. For if anyone violated the Mosaic Law, he died without mercy under two or three witnesses. But the evangelical oracle brings us life, and the promise of rewards, and a true ^B hope of goods which surpass the capacity and understanding of the mind.

CAP. LXII. VERS. 1. For Sion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until my justice goes forth as light, and my salvation burns as a lamp. And the nations shall see thy justice, and kings thy glory; and thy name shall be called by the new name which the Lord shall name it; and thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

By Sion, He calls the Church, whose first fruits and first-born children were the divinely inspired disciples, and those who through them were called to the knowledge of Christ, and before others, those who sprang from the blood of Israel. For a remnant has been saved, and very many of them have believed. "Therefore I will not rest," He says—that is, I will not cease from ^C bringing to an end the things which I have promised to Sion. For God and the Father promised salvation through Christ to Jews and Greeks. For if "One is God," as the most wise Paul says, "Who will justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. For He is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the nations." Therefore, "I will not rest," He says, "until my justice goes forth as light." For justice and salvation appeared and was

^A wrought by Christ, for He justifies and saves; being Himself the true light, and as it were a lamp in the darkness. He says, then, concerning Himself, "When I am in the world, I am the light of the world." For all things had been held fast by mist and darkness, as the devil darkened the hearts of all, and there was no one who did good, and knew justice, or the path which leads to salvation. Nor was there anyone possessing the divine light in his mind, and able to see with the eyes of the intellect who He is who is by nature and truly God, and the Creator of all and Lord. But after the Savior arose as light, and shone as a lamp, the world under heaven was enlightened, and we have seen the path of salvation through Him. ^B Then He speaks to the Church from the flock of the Jews, as if the multitude of the nations had not yet been gathered in, saying, "The nations will see your justice, and kings your glory." By "justice" again in these passages, and indeed by "glory" as well, He says there is nothing else than our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have been justified in Him, and we have been enriched with glory from Him. For we have become His, and we are called His portion. We have also been ordered under His yoke and scepters, having washed off the rapacity of him who tyrannized over us. That, departing from the worship according to the Law, and as it were being transformed to the newness of the evangelical life, she will at the same time cast off the old vocation and will thereafter be called by a new name, according to the will of God who is above all, he shows by saying, ^C "And your name will be called new, which the Lord shall name." For she is no longer called a synagogue, but rather the Church of the living God, His city and His house. For the divine David also remembers it, saying thus, "Glorious things have been spoken of you, O city of God." He teaches, moreover, that she will be exceedingly comely and crowned with incomparable beauty, saying, "You will be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God." For every holy soul, and the Church universally, that is, the assemblages of the saints, may be compared to a crown composed of many flowers, or to a kingly diadem shining with Indian stones, and possessing a multi-faceted elegance. For very many are also the splendid virtues of the saints, and the manner of these adornments is not one, but varied and manifold. ^D And indeed the divine David introduces the Church of Christ clothed and adorned in golden raiment. "In the hand of the Lord," he says, that is, under the protection of my hand will I shield you. And Christ Himself also says of His own sheep, or of the flock of those who believe in Him, "No one shall snatch them out of the hand of my Father."

VER. 4. And you shall no more be called forsaken, and your land shall no more be called desert; for my will shall be called in you, and your land inhabited.

^A He teaches again that He will lay aside the old hatred with which He has often pursued the Jewish Synagogue, that He will cease from His anger, and will make it willing and fruitful, and adorn it with a multitude of believers. For Sion, having rejected our Lord Jesus Christ, was given over to desolation, and the multitude of those who disbelieved perished. But after the remnant received the faith, and then the multitude of the Gentiles was called, and those two were built up into one people, and at last one Church was named from both, God grants to it that it should in no way be entangled in its former evils, nor be called forsaken or desert, but rather that it should become willing to Him, and shall no longer be called desert, but shall rather be called inhabited. We see this having come to pass through the events themselves; for we see the Churches everywhere placed in tranquility and serenity, and the believers multiplied to an immense multitude, and God glorified because of them. For persecutions were indeed stirred up long ago, but not for long; they were brief, and exercised the saints rather than oppressed them. For they were proved because of their patience, and because of their tolerance they bear away the crown of genuine faith in Christ, and possess the most abundant glory of martyrdom. ^B

VER. 5. *As a young man dwells with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell with you; and as a bridegroom shall rejoice over a bride, so shall the Lord rejoice over you.*

He then addresses the Church, inasmuch as it was formed at the beginning from the Jewish tribes, whose children according to the flesh were indeed the divine disciples; yet they excelled in it and took precedence over the rest, as being endowed with apostolic authority. But they retained supreme love and affection for it, so much so that the piety toward it appeared to be such as behooves a young man living with a virgin, that is, one who was joined to him from her virginity. They say that those who are all but bound by such a tie reach the highest degree of piety. Indeed, the all-wise Paul also says: *“I have great sorrow,”* he says, *“and unceasing pain in my heart for my brethren, my kinsmen by the flesh, who are Israelites”* (Rom. IX, 3, 4). And he even prayed to become an anathema for them. ^C But a great renewal of things and a wonderful change is signified to us by the prophecy proposed. For the ancient Synagogue, and one might say, grown grey with time, is compared to a maiden. *“Your sons,”* he says, *“shall dwell as with a virgin.”* And this, I think, is what is sung in the Psalms: *“Your youth shall be renewed as the eagle’s”* (Ps. CII, 5). They dwelt with her, guiding her as a nurse, consoling her as a mother, and wisely leading her away from the things in shadows and types, so that she might choose the truth instead of the useless shadow. ^D Of this kind is that which the divine David also said to her: *“Instead of your fathers, sons are born to you”* (Ps. XLIV, 17). For these, although they existed as her children according to the flesh,

have become her fathers, being the beginning of her new children, those who have been called—obviously through faith—to the knowledge of Christ, the Savior of us all. With these things being so, he says: *“So shall the Lord rejoice over you, just as, indeed, a bridegroom rejoices over a bride.”* For the only-begotten Word of God came down from heaven so that he might make fruitful the Church, which he presented to himself as a pure virgin, not having a spot or a wrinkle, but being rather holy and blameless. Having therefore received from him the seeds of the evangelical way of life, she has conceived and brought forth—no longer the worship through blood and smoke, but rather that one by which the beauty of truth is most especially adorned. Hence she rejoices, and indeed deservedly so, when she sees the types of the Law transformed into evangelical truth, and the bride shining forth with spiritual sacrifices and with deeds that are truly holy and becoming.

*“And upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen all the day, and all the night, who shall never be silent, remembering the Lord. For there is none like to you.”* ^B He addresses her as a brilliant and inhabited city. For very many alert watchmen always look over the more prominent cities, so that no enemy might attack unexpectedly; thus, the Savior and Lord of all, having fortified the Church with ineffable power and with the assistance of angels, has appointed for her wise and ever-wakeful guards, and those having sleepless care over her—namely, the holy mystagogues, who in no way cease to commemorate his glory and his wonders, as it is written. For we are accustomed in the churches to proclaim to the peoples under our care always the magnanimities of the Savior, and the evidence of his God-befitting supremacy, so that they may from there have a secure and unshakable faith concerning him. ^C Or, perhaps, he says that the watchmen will remember the Lord, proclaiming and saying: *“For there is none like to you.”* For he is not according to us, but by as much as he surpasses human things in the excellence of glory and in the splendor of his divinity, by that much he conquers also in being kind and philanthropic. For as the Psalmist says: *“He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor has he rewarded us according to our sins”* (Ps. CII, 10). For he has saved us while we were sinners, and he has drawn us in his philanthropy, though we were not worthy of being saved. He said something like this also through another prophet: *“What shall I do for you, Ephraim? What shall I do for you, Judah? I will set you as a diamond, ^D and as Seboim—my heart has been turned within me, I will not act according to the wrath of my fury; I will not abandon you so that you would be blotted out.”* For, he says, because I am not man, but rather holy God in you, therefore I will not abandon Ephraim so that he would be blotted out.

for Ephraim, because I am God and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee.” Since I am not man, He says, but rather the Holy One, God in the midst of thee, for this reason I shall not abandon Ephraim so that he should be blotted out. ^B

VERS. 7-9. If thou shalt correct, and shalt make, Jerusalem, a glory upon the earth. The Lord swore by his glory, and by the strength of his arm, If I shall give anymore thy corn, and thy food to thy enemies, and if the strangers shall drink anymore thy wine, in which thou hast labored, but they that gather it shall eat it, and they shall praise the Lord, and they that gather it shall drink it in my holy courts.

As if by a comparison of things, or of the calamities which were often inflicted upon those of Israel, He weaves a narrative of considerations most useful to us. For we sinned in many ways, abandoning the God who is such by nature and in truth, and cleaving to the cults of idols; for they worshipped the works of their own hands, and kicking against the life according to the law, they were snatched toward that which seemed good to themselves. For this cause they were smitten by God with barrenness, sometimes with the destruction of bodies, and with the incursions of enemies, who, devastating their whole region, even made plunder in the fields. For it was said to them: “Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt press the olives, but thou shalt not be anointed with oil; and thou shalt not drink wine.” If, therefore, He says, O Jerusalem, thou shalt correct, that is, if thou shalt transfer thyself to spiritual worship, if thou shalt escape from the shadows, and shalt acknowledge that Moses wrote concerning me, if thou shalt receive grace through faith; “and shalt make for thyself a glory upon the earth,” that is, a bright boast, in Christ evidently; “the Lord swore by his glory” — for He has no one greater by whom to swear — “and by his arm,” that none of those things which formerly happened to thee by reason of great disobedience will happen to thee anymore. For thou shalt not endure this sweat of agriculture without reward (understand this, however, spiritually), but as the divine David says: “Thou shalt eat the fruits of thy labors,” and as Paul says: “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap; and he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting.” That, therefore, he will gather to himself abundantly the fruits of spiritual fruitfulness, He indicates by these words. “But those who have attained this,” He says, “will glorify the Lord, and they that gather it shall drink it in my holy courts.” For they shall delight in the highest dwelling-place, who have plucked the ornaments of an excellent life, and are gathering the fruits of a right and blameless faith. ^C

VERS. 10. Go through my gates, and make a way for my people, and cast out the stones from the way, lift up a standard to the nations. For behold, the Lord hath made it to be heard unto the end of the earth.

He now addresses the watchmen themselves, that is to say, the teachers. For He commands that the entrances of the holy city be opened, and that the access be made plain and unobstructed, and indeed ^D

^A by the stones He signifies scandals. For if someone happens to be called from the congregation of the Jews, he frequently stumbles at the legal precepts, for he dwells long upon the types and, as it were, sitting among the shadows, he does not admit the truth. But if anyone be from the multitude of the Greeks, he too stumbles at the strangeness of the teaching, and the unfamiliarity of the worship greatly disturbs him, and perhaps he even remembers the words which their own leaders utter regarding their gods. For they have written down old and aged myths, deceiving and being deceived, and filling the earth with diabolical darkness. But the vigilant and sober watchmen and mystagogues cut away the occasions of stumbling and scandal, skillfully dissolving everything which seems to stand against the tradition of the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. They do this rightly, destroying reasonings and every height that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to His obedience. We shall find the most holy Paul correcting the Jews who had been scandalized, and rebuking the Gentiles who had suffered such a thing. For he said to those of the blood of Israel: “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.” And again: “For I say to you, that if you be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. You are alienated from Christ, you who are justified by the law; you have fallen from grace.” For we through the faith wait for the hope of righteousness. But as for those from the multitude of the Greeks: “You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored in vain among you.” You see how they are always casting away the stones, and removing from the midst the scandals of both parties. By stones we also speak in another way of those things at which some might sometimes stumble: the profane and detestable trifles of the impious heretics. For the wretched men prattle in vain, preparing traps for those who walk with a straight foot, and leading astray some who can easily be turned aside from the dogmas of the truth. But the watchmen of the walls of the Church also remove these from the midst. And we say that its walls are the stability of the dogmas of the truth, against which ^B the gates of Hades shall not prevail. “For lift up a standard,” He says, “to the nations. For behold, the Lord has made it heard to the end of the earth.” And what then is this standard that is heard, and which He said must be lifted up to the nations and to the end of the earth—that is, must be exalted and become most well-known—namely, the word of the faith which we preach, or perhaps also the symbol of the saving passion? And this also is a confession of faith. For it is necessary to say that Jesus is Lord, and to believe that God raised Him from the dead. This saves both from death and from sin. Therefore not of the Jews only, but also of the gentiles. For the standard is lifted up, not to those believing only from the blood of Israel, but to all everywhere among the nations. For the whole world, under the embrace of the heavens, has been ^C captured by the evangelical preaching, like a net.

^A Ver. 11, 12. *Say to the daughter of Sion: Behold, thy Savior comes, having his reward, and his work before his face. And he shall call it a holy people, redeemed by the Lord. But thou shalt be called a sought-out city, and not forsaken.*

He foretells the advent of the Savior, and whatever things we have gained through it, and the wealth to be given to those who believe in him. He calls Sion "daughter." And if anyone wishes to understand the ancient one, as though she had already attained mercy and been justified by faith; or, if he wishes to understand the new one, that is, the Church, one would not be speaking absurdly that this also is the daughter of Sion. For those who first derived from the blood of Israel believed; and the Church of the nations is called, as it were, a daughter of that which was established by them in the beginning. But to whom does he command to preach the Gospel to Sion? Is it not surely to the holy mystagogues who have been allotted the guidance of the Churches, to whom also he commanded to open the gates and diligently to cast the stones out of the way? What then is that which is proclaimed? "Behold, thy Savior comes, having his reward, and his work before his face." He sets forward two things together, divine and excellent, by which the glory of the Savior might be made manifest. For the holy prophets used to exhort her to uprightness of life, and to a way of living harmonious and honorable to the Law. Then they would make mention of the rewards which they were to receive from God in their own times, those who were concerned with the glory of right actions; but they themselves were not the givers of spiritual gifts, but, as I said, they foretold the promises of God. But the Savior of all, inasmuch as he is God, has the power to give the reward, and furthermore to discern what manner [of reward] and what work is to be assigned to each one; for this is indeed divine. For it is written: "The ways of a man are before the eyes of God, and he considers all his paths." Therefore, he says, "He shall come, having his reward," that is, he himself gives the prizes to those to whom it is fitting to receive them. And indeed, to blessed Peter, who confessed the faith rightly, he says, "I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." He granted also, in general, to all the holy apostles power over unclean spirits, and to be able to cure every disease and every infirmity among the people. Yea, and to the thief hanging together with him, having confessed faith, he declared he would not be without his reward: "Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." Now, he says, having arrived, "he shall call those who believe in him a holy people, and redeemed by the Lord." For not a messenger, nor an angel, but the Lord himself saved us, as it is written. "But thou, O Sion," that is, the Church, "shalt be called a sought-out city, and not forsaken."

^A For "sought-out," he says, instead of "worthy of remembrance." For that which is sought is remembered; and not "forsaken," as was the former one, that is, the multitude of those who were faithless. It has been spoken indeed by Christ through the voice of Jeremiah: "I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage," and through Christ himself, the Savior of us all: "Behold your house is left unto you."

CHAPTER LXIII. VERSES 1-7.

Wisely and skillfully the prophetic word ^C almost paints the ascent into the heavens of Christ, the Savior of all of us; for to bring to an end the power of the dispensation in the flesh, he ascended unto the Father and God in the heavens. Yet he was seen by the powers above, not only in our form, that is, as a man, but also showing the marks of his passion. And we do not say that after his resurrection from the dead the piercings of the nails and the other stigmata remained still in his holy flesh, but rather this: just as he showed the impressions of the nails and his side to Thomas, who believed little the holy apostles saying that they had seen the Lord risen from the dead; so we understand that, in order that the manifold wisdom of God, which he wrought in Christ for the sake of the Church, might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, he returned with the signs of his passion, having exhibited a strange and utterly unusual spectacle to the powers above. They were astonished, therefore, when they saw him approaching, and they were saying: "Who is this that cometh from Edom?" ^D Edom is interpreted in the Greek tongue as "fiery" or "earthly," and Bosor as "fleshy" or "fleshly." Who, then, he says, is this one from the earth, or earthly, with "red garments from Bosor," that is, stained the garment as if from flesh, or rather, blood? "This one is beautiful in a robe." For just as the powers are subtle and wise and full of divine glory, they saw Christ, however much he was in the flesh, surely in the strength of

unconquerable power; for this, I think, indicated his divinity. Since, therefore, the angels were asking, or perhaps even saying to one another, "Who is this?", he answers and says: "I declare justice, and the judgment of salvation." By "justice" he means either the evangelical and divine preaching, or that every word of God is just; and he calls it the "judgment of salvation" because the judgment concerns us, for he has judged the world ^B and saved those oppressed by the intolerable tyranny of the Satan who had injured it, having subjected them to his own mastery, and he has cast out the apostate and alien from the rule over them. He said therefore now, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself." When Christ said these things, they ask again and say: "Why is your garment red, and your clothes as if from a full winepress, having been trodden upon?" Here remember for me what the patriarch Jacob said ^C: "He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape." For the garments appeared stained with blood, and, as it were, colored with the redness of wine. Then again, the Savior immediately says: "And of the nations there is no man with me." These things cohere with the speech and are connected with the preceding. "For I," he says, "declare justice and the judgment of salvation, and of the nations there is no man with me." For no one, he says, was present with me when I was suffering; from no nation was there anyone sympathizing, and as far as it concerned men, he was entirely destitute of all support, with the cohort of soldiers and the savagery of the ministers insulting him ^D; who also, as the evangelist narrates, led him away to Caiaphas. "Then all the disciples," he says, "having left him, fled." But Christ foretold even this; for he said: "Behold, the hour comes and is present, that you shall each be scattered to your own places, and leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." And he said also through the lyre of the Psalmist: "My soul waited for reproach and misery; and I waited for one to grieve together with me, and there was none, and for one to console me, and I found none; and they gave gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Therefore, "There was no one with me," he says, "from all the nations." Was you therefore, since you were alone and destitute of helpers, overcome by the hostile hand? Have they prevailed, and having conquered your virtues, do they rejoice as if they were victors? By no means, he says. For although I had no one as a partner and helper, yet I trampled them underfoot in wrath, and crushed them as dust, and brought their blood down to the earth; for after the return of Christ to the heavens, every kind of intolerable calamity was inflicted upon the Jewish people from divine

^A wrath. “For the day of retribution,” he says, “has come upon them.” For since they had the opportunity to seize the faith and to be enriched by the grace that comes through it, but then became slothful, or rather arrogant, and insolent, and fighters against God to the very end, how is it then not very reasonably consequent that they have fallen into every kind of evil? Yet the time of His retribution was a time of redemption for those who acknowledged His manifestation. For at the same time, the one who was unbridled was punished, while the one who was obedient and submissive was redeemed by Christ. “For I looked,” He says, “and there was no helper; I considered, and there was no one to reach out,” and “My arm brought them salvation, and My wrath stood by. And ^B I trampled them in My anger.” It seems that by these words He is denouncing the sloth of the Scribes and Pharisees, who had been appointed to rule the people, and to guide them toward righteousness, and to instruct them well according to what is pleasing to God. But they were so slothful and listless that they offered no aid to any of those subject to them, nor did they correct them with exhortations, but on the contrary, they even led them away into infidelity. For they dared to say concerning the Savior of us all, Christ: “We know that God has spoken to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is.” And again: “He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to Him?” Therefore, since there was no one, He says, who was helping or reaching out, My arm saved them—that is, My power—for many, as I have said, from among the Jews have believed. But upon those who were unwilling to help, My wrath came to rest, and they have become a trampling underfoot of My anger. For the evil have perished evilly, and have paid penalties commensurate with their crimes.

“I have called to mind the mercy of the Lord, the virtues of the Lord in all things for which the Lord renders back to us. The Lord is a good judge to the house of Israel; He deals with us both according to His mercy and according to the multitude of His righteousness.”

Since God says that His wrath had descended upon the disobedient and that His anger had trampled them down, and that their blood had been brought down to the earth, the prophet intervenes and does not allow those against whom these words were spoken to despair; and he undertakes the matter very skillfully. For, he says, ^C “I called to mind within myself that the Judge of all is not unmerciful. For I know His mercy and His virtues”—that is, His powers—“in all things for which He renders back to us. For even if He has turned away,” he says, “from Israel, which had behaved with insults and had chosen to be disobedient, and is, as it were, rendering back to us the things of wrath, not so much in an unmixed way, but rather tempered with gentleness—yet I know well His virtues,” that is, the acts of power that have occurred throughout the times for the redemption of Israel. “Therefore,” he says, “the Lord shall be a good judge to the house of Israel,” not so much a strict one, but kindly, that is, good. For it would be the work of a strict judge to seek penalties for those who have sinned, commensurate with their transgressions; but it is the work of a good one to show mercy as to those who are weak. Therefore, since He is a good judge, He deals with us according to His mercy—that is, He will measure out the things of wrath, and will mingle His indignation with mercy. A multitude

has been saved indeed. ^A

Vers. 8-10. *And the Lord said: Is this not my people? My sons will not disown me.* And He became their salvation from all their affliction; not an ambassador, not an angel, but the Lord Himself saved them, because He loved them and spared them. He redeemed them, took them up, and exalted them all the days of the age. But they disobeyed and provoked His Holy Spirit; and He turned to be their enemy, and the Lord Himself fought against them.

^B See, I pray, the person of God immediately introduced, all but crying out against the disobedience of Israel. For He says, the Lord—that is, the God of all—said: "Did I not reckon the people in the order of sons?" Since this is true—for He said, "Israel is my firstborn son"—no one could doubt that they would be stubborn and disobedient. But they would rather receive the Son who was sent. But this did not come to pass, and He who knows all things was not frustrated in His hope; for He understood the things that were to come. Nothing at all escapes Him. Yet the form of the discourse is fashioned in a human manner. By taking up these words of God, the prophet accuses Israel of both stupidity and ingratitude at once, and shows that they were entirely unmindful of the good things bestowed upon them. "For He became," he says, "for them a salvation from all their affliction." And no one else beside Him saved them, not an ambassador, not an angel, but the Lord Himself through Himself. For He performed wonders in Egypt, with Moses acting as mediator, yet He Himself was the one who performed those things that surpass human thought and understanding. Whence, when Israel had manufactured the calf, ^C and God was offended and had announced that He would send an angel with them, Moses was troubled, saying: "If You do not go with me Yourself, do not lead me up from here." Therefore, He saved them by Himself, having received nothing at all from them, but only because He loved them and cared for them. And this is a manifest proof of His incomparable humanity and divine gentleness. Therefore, He delivered them from the house of bondage, took them up, and exalted them; and this, I think, is what He said in the beginning: "I have begotten and exalted sons," that is, I have reared, or rather, I have rendered them distinguished, "but they have rejected me." And "all the days of the age" can signify, unceasingly and perpetually. So good was the God of all toward them, but they proved disobedient, and ceased not to provoke His Holy Spirit. And the divine David will teach this, saying: "How often did they provoke Him in the wilderness? Did they anger Him in a thirsty land?" Or perhaps they provoked the Spirit of Christ, stubborn and ungentle, unbridled and disobedient. For they did not obey Him calling them to salvation. "He turned, therefore," [the text says], "to be their enemy, and He fought..." ^D

^A against them." For it was necessary—it was necessary that those who were unmindful of such prodigious works, and who had in no way profited from those things by which it was fitting that they be led to all virtue, should fall away from the mercy and love of Him who wishes to save, and that He should henceforth resist them as enemies.

^B 882 VERS. 11-14. *And He remembered the days of old. Where is He who brought up from the earth the shepherd of the sheep? Where is He who put the Holy Spirit among them? Who brought Moses up by His right hand? The arm of His glory prevailed over the water before His face, to make for Himself a name eternal. He led them through the deep, like a horse through the wilderness, and they did not weary; and like cattle through the plain. A spirit came down from the Lord, and it guided them. So Thou didst lead Thy people, to make for Thyself a name of glory.*

Since he said that He had turned into enmity toward those whom He had previously assisted and gladdened with mercy and love, he now fittingly explains the causes of this matter. He remembered, he says—that is, he called to mind—the days of old, that is, the days worthy of eternal remembrance, because in them very many and extraordinary miracles took place. And who is it that remembered? "Who is he that brought up from the earth the shepherd of the sheep?" He seems in these words to make mention of the resurrection of our Savior Christ, who is the Savior of all; for the one who brought [him] up, he says—that is, He who raised up from ^C the earth the chief shepherd of all—and He raised [Him] up, not necessarily from the dead, but as it were pointing Him out, having brought Him forth from among men. For the only-begotten Word of the Father became as one of us, having endured birth according to the flesh from a woman. But because, as I have said, the prophet observed that Israel had utterly forgotten the divine magnificence, he is almost overcome by shock, and he laments that they had fallen into such stupidity, saying: "Where is He who put the Holy Spirit among them?"—that is, who placed His divine and saving Spirit within them? "For the Spirit came down from the Lord, and it guided them," he says. The divine David also said: "He sent His Word and healed them." And the Lord is the Spirit, for He works through the Spirit who is of the same substance. "Where, then, is He?"—that is, [they have] forgotten, and have not sought Him, by ^D remembering, that is, and loving Him. "Where is He who brought up Moses by His right hand?" Great was Moses, both renowned and exalted in excellence; and "He who brought [him] up" signifies this, as the right hand of God was working through him. "The arm of His glory prevailed"—that is, He overcame and vanquished the nature of the waters by constricting them. For he adds, "He set the waters as a wall," he says, that is, He prevailed over the waters themselves, so that they endured solidification, although they possess a fluid nature. He accomplished this, he says, so that he might acquire for himself an eternal name. For whether this was done, or even...

^A performed through the all-wise Moses, this was done for the glory of God. By solidifying the waters, he says, as a horse or as beasts of burden, he led them through the sea as if through a plain. The Psalmist also teaches this, saying: “And he brought out his people like sheep, and led them as a flock in the desert.” And the Spirit of the Lord led them, as I said. Thus you led your people, to gain for yourself a name of glory. For two things were accomplished at the same time. For not only was Israel saved and delivered from the hand of those who oppressed them, but the result of these things, so miraculously brought to pass, yielded the glory befitting Him who rules over all things for God. ^B

VERS. 15-17. *Look down from heaven, and see from your holy house, and of your glory. Where is your zeal, and your strength? Where is the multitude of your mercy, and of your compassions, for you have endured us? For you are our Father, for Abraham has not known us, and Israel has not acknowledged us. From the beginning your name is upon us. Why have you caused us to err, O Lord, from your way; have you hardened our hearts, that we should not fear you?*

Here, then, the prophet pours out prayers on behalf of the entire nation, and under the persona of the Israelites he asks and supplicates. For he prays that God might desist from ^C His anger against them, and cease His hatred, and as it were return to them, having departed from them; as one who is not some earthly being, but the true God, and who has heaven as his glorious house. Yet even though God is said to dwell in heaven, nothing corporeal is to be understood in this. For we do not say that the Divinity is in a place or a circumscription, because He is simple and incorporeal, and fills all things. But because He rests in the supreme spirits as in holy [places], for this reason we say that heaven is His throne and house. Return, therefore, they say: “For where is your zeal, and your strength?” And I do not think anyone would claim that the God of all lacked these things; rather, they speak in this way because they were no longer enjoying them. For He saved Israel, making use of zeal and ^D God-befitting strength. What I mean is: they were in servitude to the Egyptians, who afflicted their lives with clay and brick and vexed them with the cruelty of taskmasters; but the God of all was inflamed with zeal. He said, therefore: “I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Sion with a great zeal, and with a great anger I am indignant against the nations that conspire together.” *Because I was angry a little, but they conspired together against me for evil.* Then again He wrought miracles. For He delivered the region of the Babylonians, although it was unconquered and possessed of insuperable power, to desolation. For He sent against them Cyrus, the son of Cambyses. Desiring to enjoy this mercy, they say: “Where is your zeal, and your anger? Where is the multitude of your mercy, and of your compassions, for you have endured us?” They thirst

again for mercy, and for the gentleness and philanthropy granted to them in their many transgressions. For ^A he endured them, even when at times they provoked him intolerably. They murmured in the wilderness, and tempted him in their hearts, saying: “Will God be able to prepare a table in the wilderness?” for he struck the rock, and waters flowed, and torrents flooded. And “Will he be able to provide bread?” Moreover, while Moses was absent, they had fashioned a calf; nevertheless, at his intercession, they obtained mercy. “Endure us, therefore,” they say, “even though we have stumbled many times. For you are our Father; for Abraham did not know us, and Israel did not recognize us.” They do not deny the fathers. For that is of no benefit to them for repentance. For they have not been cast off because of them, but rather they ascribe to the good-loving God that he surpasses even carnal fathers in piety and indulgence. For he is the Father of fathers. “We have been born of them,” they say, “but they have not looked upon us. You, however, have not ceased to preserve toward us the mercy, compassion, and love befitting a child-loving Father. ^B Deliver us, therefore; for your name has been called upon us, and we are named your portion and your people.”

But since, because of great disobedience and a perversity of ways, they have behaved insolently toward Christ, they have fallen from the intimacy that is with him—that is, the spiritual intimacy—and have become devoid of the gifts from him, and have not known the way of the evangelical life. Hence, weeping most deservedly, they say: “Why did you lead us astray, O Lord, from your way? Why did you harden our hearts so that we would not fear you?” For they hardened their own hearts. Thus it was said to them through the voice of the prophet: “Rend your hearts, and not your garments” (Joel II, 13). But although the God of all was able to soften them, he allowed them to have an obstinate and contumacious mind. For this reason, because he did not render them tender and soft, he is said to harden them. But for those to whom this happens, it is entirely necessary that the other result also follow: I mean, that they be devoid of the fear of God. ^C This also looks toward destruction, and casts souls down into the depths of hell.

VERS. 18, 19. "Return for the sake of your servants, for the sake of the tribes of your inheritance, that we may inherit for a small time your holy mountain. We have become as in the beginning, when you did not rule over us, and your name was not called upon us."

They ask again for his return to them, by means of his—I say—serenity and philanthropy. They call themselves servants and an inheritance; not as if they had done something worthy of a slave, or had submitted their necks to his yokes, nor as if they had rendered obedience by being possessed of that inheritance, but because they have once been called his, and from the beginning ^D have had an intimate connection with him.

for this reason alone they seek to be saved: "Turn back," he says, "that we may possess for a little while your holy mountain." ^A Now, the sacred Scripture very frequently calls the Church the "holy mountain," of which the people from Israel have become a small part. For if they had accepted the faith which is in our Lord Jesus Christ, the body from among them would have been gathered into a very large part of the Church, with the multitude of the nations also being added to them. But since, on account of their signal disobedience, they have become behind the nations—and while the multitude of the latter is greater in number, they themselves are but very few—a remnant has indeed been saved; for this reason, they have come to possess a small part in the holy mountain, that is, in the Church.

But if one should say that the "holy mountain" is spoken of by them as that city above, the Church in the heavens, the mother and nurse of the saints, and that they wish to obtain a portion of the inheritance there, you will rightly understand this in this way as well: they say that they have become as they were from the beginning, when he did not rule over them, nor was his name called upon them. And the reasoning is very plausible; for once having fallen away from his mercy and protection, they have reverted to their original state. And what, finally, was that? They served the Egyptians with mud and brick-making, and they continued to be tormented by the labors pertaining to this. But now they have fallen under devilish feet, and they are polluted by the passions of the flesh and worldly desires; for this brick-making might be understood as that which is hidden. They served evil spirits in Egypt, ^B and now in them is the unclean spirit. And the Savior himself taught us this, speaking about them: "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it wanders through waterless places, seeking rest and finding none. Then it says: 'I will return to my house from which I came out.' And when it comes, it finds it empty and swept. Then it takes," he says, "seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last things of that man become worse than the first. So it will be," he says, "also for this evil generation."

Chap. LXIV. Vers. 1-3. If you open the heaven, trembling will seize the mountains from you, and they shall melt, as wax melts from the face of the fire: and the fire shall burn up the adversaries, and your name shall be manifest among the adversaries. From your face the nations shall be troubled. When you do glorious things, trembling will seize the mountains from you.

^C It is customary for the holy prophets to pour out prayers on behalf of Israel when it is sinning, and when it is about to pay the penalties for its crimes; and when wrath is present, they used to entreat that it be sent upon others and turned upon the heads of foreigners. And indeed, the inspired Psalmist, in the seventy-eighth psalm, was lamenting over Jerusalem having been laid waste, and was saying: "O God, the nations have come into your inheritance, they have polluted your holy temple." ^D And with other things interposed, he says: "Pour out your wrath upon the nations that have not known you,"

and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your name." The prophet says something like this now as well: "Oh that you would rend the heavens,"—by the descent of wrath, clearly, just as, to be sure, in the time of the flood (for the cataracts of heaven were opened)—"then trembling will seize the mountains from you, and they will melt, as wax melts before the face of fire." By mountains in this passage, he means not by any means the objects of sense, but rather the evil powers, which, because of their exceedingly great arrogance, are well likened to the highest mountains. Therefore, trembling will seize these powers, the nurslings of pride. "For they will melt as if by fire." ^B By being opposed to your decrees, clearly, the wrath, falling like fire upon them, would consume them. "And the name of the Lord will be manifest among those who oppose." And what is this? For the God of all works wonders very often, manifesting the greatness of power and superiority that is in him. By this he used to punish even sinners at times, and by the wrath upon them, he manifests himself—of which sort was what happened when fire was sent down upon the Sodomites, or when he subjected the stupefied Pharaoh to many and intolerable plagues. Therefore, "O Master," they say, "do not manifest your own glory or your name through wrath against us; but rather bring it upon those evil powers that, out of their exceedingly great arrogance, have been led into this. For you will be conspicuous even in this way. For when you perform glorious deeds, trembling will seize the mountains from you." Again he refers to those mountains that we just mentioned—that is, to those who openly war against your glory, and from ^C whose [arrogance], as I said, they were brought to this. "For so will you be manifest. For when you perform those glorious deeds, trembling will seize the mountains from you." And again: "From of old we have not heard, nor have our eyes seen a God besides you, and your works, which you will do for those who wait for mercy; for it will meet those who perform righteousness, and they will remember your ways." The divine nature is invisible. "For no one has seen God at any time," according to what is written. Yet he is perceived by the eyes of the mind from those things which he performs marvelously and beyond speech. "For the invisible things of him," he says, "from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and divinity." ^D He is also known not rarely from the things by which he bestows benefits, and he gives a demonstration of the serenity that is in him, saving incomprehensibly those who have slipped away from all hope, and extending a saving hand to those who are lying low, as it were, upon the ground. Such is the thing they say, those who offer up the present supplication. "For from the foundation of the world we have neither heard nor seen such a God, except you alone. For to those who wait for you"—that is, to those who have placed their hope in you—"you will lavish mercy. For it will always follow those who are workers of righteousness, and it is fitting for those to obtain it who will remember your ways," that is, the executors of your wills; for we call the commandments of his the ways of the Lord. And indeed, the divine David chants

^A at one time, "I will live in your way," ^B and at another time, "I ran the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart."

TOMUS VI

VERS. 6, 7. Behold, you are angry, and we have sinned. Therefore we have erred, and we have all become as unclean, and all our righteousness as the cloth of a menstruous woman; and we have faded away like leaves because of our iniquities; even so, a wind shall take us away like dust, and there is none who calls upon your name, and who remembers to take hold of you, because you have turned your face away from us, and have delivered us up because of our sins.

It has seemed good to certain interpreters to apply another meaning to these words. They invert, in fact, the order of the diction and the power of the sentiments, so that what is said may be in this manner: "Behold, we have sinned, and you are angry with us." For, they say, the divine anger was not the cause ^C for them of transgressing; but because they themselves have acted riotously, God became angry. For they fear, as it seems, lest the divine wrath might be understood as the author of sin. But I think it must be said that the divine anger should not be condemned on this account, if those who are subject to it do not have sufficient strength to escape the insult of sin. For as long as the Savior takes pleasure in us, we conquer sin, and departing from the filth of vices, we are strenuously crowned with the insignia of spiritual fortitude. But when we embitter the provider of our strength and the governor of our virtue, we fall into weakness, and we shall find our own mind to be somehow listless and relaxed. For God is the Lord of hosts. And indeed Christ said, "Without me you can do nothing." The divine David also says somewhere regarding every saint, "You are the boast of their strength." And surely, elsewhere also, when he is able to accomplish some good thing, he attributes it not to himself, but to the powers of God, and chants, saying: "I will not hope in my bow, and my sword shall not save me. For you have saved us from those who afflict us." ^D Therefore, just as the favor of the celestial clemency renders us most strong and makes us sinewy for resisting evil, so, by a parity of reasoning, when one is subjected to the divine anger, it is altogether necessary to succumb servilely to vicious pleasures. You are angry, therefore, because we have clearly acted cruelly and riotously, and have become sinners and impious, to such an extent that all our righteousness, he says, seems like the cloth of a menstruous woman, that is, it is abominable and unclean. For righteousness is not easily seen among the Israelites, especially now after the impiety against Christ, which would not be reprehended and derided. For how could those who have a heart altogether stripped and void of divine and intelligible light see the path that leads straight to the sacred laws? Or how could [they be] just

^A that such are truly those who lack the evangelical preaching, from which it would be possible to learn the way of an excellent life. They are therefore impure, even if they seem to be good and honest. And they have fallen like leaves from a tree; nor is it any wonder if, this having happened to them, these wretches also clearly despair of being cast aside. For they have had a fickle and slippery mind, which is carried about by every wind. Nor is there anyone among them who knows how to call upon God sincerely and genuinely, or who remembers that the fellowship which is with him must be apprehended and embraced promptly and as it were youthfully. "We have fallen," they say, to such misery, "because you have turned your face away from us, and have delivered us up on account of our sins." For it was not possible for those who have endured the turning away of God to fare well, but there was entirely some necessity that those burdened by so many sins should be pierced by every evil.

Vers. 8, 9. And now, Lord, you are our Father; we are clay, and we are all the work of your hands. Do not be angry with us exceedingly, and do not remember our sins in their time. And now look, for we are all your people, the city of your Holy One.

They entreat exceedingly that they might not fall away from his fellowship altogether. But because they have been brought to this state on account of their many sins, they weave their prayers with excellent craft; since they cannot appease the Savior with works and an blameless life, they betake themselves to something else. For they implore him as Creator to have regard for his own fashioning, and to bestow mercy upon those who have been brought into existence and life by him. "For you are called our Father," he says, "and we are the works of your hands. Therefore do not be angry with us exceedingly." They do not forget that they have offended; rather, they confess that they have declared themselves worthy of punishment, having raged savagely against the Son. For this reason they almost hold back their prayer and do not make their approach entirely free, but rather, by contracting their boldness a little, they do not ask God piteously not to be angry at all toward them, but rather to temper his wrath with gentleness. For we are admittedly worthy of wrath, he says, entangled in such heavy evils; but it would be worthy of your gentleness to curtail the anger which is against us, even if it is just. "In the time," therefore, of affliction, he says, "do not remember our sins, but consider that we are all your people, and the city of your Holy One," that is, in which is your sanctuary. By these words they signify the temple.

Vers. 10-12. Sion has become a desert; Jerusalem has become as a wilderness; our holy house, our curse, the glory which our fathers blessed, has been burned with fire, and all our glorious things have fallen. And over

^A his omnibus tu sustinuisti, Domine, et tacuisti, et humiliasti nos valde. Having beforehand signified the evils of the soul, and having predicted that they had become entangled in sins, unstable, and like leaves tossed hither and thither by every wind, they next commemorate the external calamities that have been brought upon them; and they seem to lament the desolation of Jerusalem and the burning of the temple. For after the Savior’s cross, all these things have been accomplished. "And desolate," he says, "has Sion become, which was once so beautiful, famous, and populous." And, "Our holy house has become an execration." By "execration," they mean a contradiction and a reproach to those who know not God; for the worshippers of demons, when the saints, or those who in any way cleave to God, suffer punishment, laugh profusely and become arrogant, and hold in mockery the majesty of Him who saves them. For they think perhaps that His hand is powerless, and that He cannot save them; and they do not understand that they have fallen under judgment because they have committed acts contrary to Him. "Our holy house," therefore, "has become an execration." For the temple was ^B holy among them; and it has been burned with fire, he says, which had been so heralded, celebrated, and proclaimed by the voice of the holy fathers. They say that all glorious things have fallen. For there was no veneration at all for the sacrosanct vessels that were placed in the divine temple, nor any reverence among those who plundered and burned them. "But you kept silent," he says, "in all these things, and you held your peace, and you brought us down even to the ground." For because He could have repelled the hostile incursion, yet He permitted them to grow strong and to rush into the temple itself: they infer from this that they have been despised on account of wrath and their own sins, and they have conceived wrath for these reasons. For He who is able to prevent an injury, yet ignores it, and permits adverse and harsh things to progress and proceed to the very end, it is manifest that He has, without doubt, distilled and poured upon them bitter wrath; so that He has even held His own glory in neglect, and has endured the mockery of enemies. Since it is well that they should pay the penalty, whom it is right to visit with punishment for their many sins.

CHAP. LXV. VERS. 1, 2. I was made manifest to those who did not seek me, I was found by those who did not inquire of me. I said: Behold, I am coming to a nation that called not upon my name. I spread out my hands all the day to a disobedient and gainsaying people, who walked not in a true way, but after their own sins.

Necessarily, these things are added to what has already been said. For since they said: "Why have you led us astray, O Lord, from your way? You have hardened our hearts, so that we might not fear you"; and added, "Sion has become desolate, as Jerusalem has become a desert, our holy house is an execration": from this point on, the person of Christ Himself is necessarily introduced, as if recounting the causes why these things

^A have been justly suffered. They do not ascribe the causes to themselves, but almost call into accusation Him who brings upon them the penalty they deserve. "I have appeared," He says, "to those who did not seek Me, I have been found by those who did not inquire of Me." For the Savior entered the synagogues of His own accord, teaching them, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every infirmity among the people, as it is written. For what has not been done by Him that surpasses all word and wonder? Lepers were cleansed by the touch of His hand and by divine command; the dead were raised from the tombs; the blind received back the light they so desired; the lame leaped like deer. And, in fact, Christ said to those who witnessed these things: "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, even if you do not believe Me, believe My works." ^B Therefore, He says, "I was present to a nation that did not call upon My name." For He is found saying at one time, "I am the light of the world," and at another, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his belly." But they did not wish to call upon His name, even though He explicitly said "I am" in many places. And that they have become uncorrectable and, as it were, like those who have no ears, hard-hearted and disobedient, He shows by saying, "I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and contradicting people." We are indeed accustomed to stretching out our hands with shouting and speaking harshly against those who are refractory and disobedient when we address them. "But they did not walk," He says, "in the true way." For they in no way accepted the saving proclamation, "but followed their own sins," that is, they were carried away with unchecked impulse toward a careless and most lawless life, which brought upon them punishment and ruin. This, again, the Savior is found saying to them: "Amen, I say to you, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." For they resisted when being admonished, and even issued orders to those under their hand, saying, "He has a demon and is mad; why do you listen to Him?" ^C And, moreover, they further cried out: "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, because You, being a man, make Yourself God."

Verses 3-5. This people that provokes Me to anger before Me always. They sacrifice in the gardens, and burn incense upon bricks to demons, which do not exist. And they sleep in tombs and in caves for the sake of dreams, eating swine's flesh, and broth of sacrifices, all their vessels are polluted; who say, "Depart from Me, for I am pure, do not come near me." This is the smoke of My fury, a fire that burns in it all the days.

He convicts the impious ones from Israel, and not only at the time of His advent, but also before, and as if from their very roots and from the patri-

^Aarchs they have pushed aside His divine law, and having nearly reached the point of being farewell to the commandments given through Moses, they have worshipped idols, and have sacrificed to falsely-named gods, and have become attendants of unclean spirits. "This people," He says, "is always provoking me." For they have sacrificed incessantly—that is, over a long period—"in my sight." Yet how could they hope to remain hidden, when God sees all things? For He says somewhere, through one of the holy prophets: "I am a God drawing near, says the Lord, and not a God from afar. Shall anything be hidden from me?" If, then, nothing is hidden from Him, how could any have escaped His notice while making incense offerings in gardens—that is, in thickets, on mountains, and in glens? What then does "in my sight" signify, if not, in addition to that, their conduct within the very temple that was consecrated to me? For He spoke something similar through the voice of Jeremiah regarding Jerusalem: "What has the beloved one done in my house—an abomination?" ^B The Holy Scriptures are accustomed to call an idol an "abomination." Therefore, He says, "They offer incense before my eyes," and in the gardens—that is, on the mountains, as I said, "under an oak, and a poplar, and a shaded tree," according to what is written. They sacrificed, as it seems, following the custom of the Greeks, to certain demons whom they call nymphs, Hamadryads, and Oreads. But they are not, He says—not that those destructive demons do not exist, but that they are not gods, as those who sacrifice to them imagine. They sacrificed also in tombs and in caves, practicing what is called necromancy, as one might expect. They also slept in the tombs, deceived by certain visions and specters, inquiring after the knowledge of things to come. Such, then, are the inventions of Greek impiety. That they have also trampled underfoot the commandment of the law, He demonstrates by saying: "They eat swine's flesh." For such things were forbidden to those from Israel. ^C They also sipped the broths of the sacrifices, being filled with every impurity and possessing stains that could not be washed away; and then they would imagine that they had attained the highest degree of total purity, to the point of saying to those who wished to draw near to them: "Keep far from me, do not draw near to me, for I am pure." For the evil and unclean demons persuade those who worship them that, even if they do all things contrary to what is right and good—nay, even the most defiled things—they will be pure, as a torch is lit before them and fire is passed around them, or even by the sprinkling of water and the old-wives' tales chanted to them. But all these things, He says, done impiously and flagitiously by them, "are the smoke of my fury, and fire burns in it all the days." We know, however, that when fire is about to be kindled, smoke arises first. And so, before the advent of the Savior, while Israel, whom we have just mentioned, was wallowing in filth, certain smokes—as it were, beginnings of the divine wrath—were appearing. But after ^C they added to their former impieties also the orgy of madness against the Savior and Redeemer of all Himself—for they killed the Prince of life—the fury was then kindled, and those smokes were, in a way, converted into flame.

^A

VERS. 6, 7. *Behold it is written before me: I will not be silent, until I repay and render into their bosom their sins, and the sins of their fathers, saith the Lord: who have burned incense upon the mountains, and upon the hills have reproached me. I will render their works into their bosom.*

It is as if He said: Those things which were impiously done against me by their fathers and by themselves, with offense and pain, I contemplate almost as if depicted on a tablet, and they stand before my eyes. How could I endure such grave and inconsolable evils? I will surely repay into their bosom, keeping in memory even their fathers, who burned incense upon the mountains and upon the hills, by which they reproached me. Observe that although He said they burned incense in gardens, here He says on the mountains and the hills; I suspect He calls the woods on the mountains gardens, as we have said before. Sacrificing to unclean demons, and then regarding the glory due to God as of almost no account at all, they almost insulted Him as if He were not God. For to be willing in any way to cleave to gods that are not, is nothing other than to defile the divine and supreme majesty. “I will repay,” therefore, He says, “their works into their bosom; for they have fallen away from every good thing, and having slipped into grave and unavoidable calamities, the evil have perished evilly.” ^B

VERS. 8, 9. *Thus saith the Lord: As if a cluster be found in a grape, and they shall say: Do not destroy it, because there is a blessing in it: so will I do for the sake of him that serveth me. For the sake of this I will not destroy all. And I will cut off a seed from Jacob, and from Juda: and he shall possess my holy mountain, and my elect and my servants shall inherit it, and shall dwell there.*

Divine wrath was inflicted upon the Jews, and they paid penalties commensurate with their transgressions, yet not all perished utterly and without distinction. For the Judge is just, and would not destroy the good together with the impious. He employs a striking image, taking as an example a cluster of grapes, with one grape—or others, more admirable and notable—preserved within it. Then He introduces the husbandman, or the lord of the estate, saying to someone: “Do not destroy it, because there is a blessing in it: so will I do,” He says, “for the sake of him that serveth me.” That is, I will act with such precision that even if in one city all others incline toward depravity, yet if one alone is found faithful and obedient, this one shall obtain mercy, and will not be endangered along with others against whom judgment is justly aimed. “For I will not destroy all,” He says. For the Lord’s fury fell upon the arrogance of the Jews, all but consuming the disobedient and refractory; but by the providence of God, whoever among them was worthy of salvation through Christ was preserved. Verily, the divine Paul, as one among the elect…

^A by the election of grace, says that a remnant of Israel has been captured for faith, just as if it were drawn from the entire region of the Jews by a dragnet. "Therefore," He says, "I will not destroy all, but I will take up the seed from Jacob and from Judah." You should understand the word "take up" here not as "destroy," but as "I will render it exalted and worthy to be looked upon"; for to take up ^B is at times to exalt. Such indeed became the divine disciples, as far as glory is concerned, I say: sublime and visible to all everywhere, and as a city set on a mountain, and a lamp placed upon a lampstand, shining to all who are in the house according to the voice of the Savior Himself. This, then, is the seed from Jacob and from Judah. "It shall inherit," He says, "My holy mountain"—it is clear, of course, that this means the Church. For so also did the all-wise Isaiah designate it elsewhere, speaking of those who were called through faith in Christ to participation, or rather, communion, in His divine nature: "For they shall drink joy, and they shall drink wine, and they shall be anointed with ointment on this mountain." Hand these things all over to the nations. For this decree pertains to all nations. On this mountain, therefore, He says, there shall be an inheritance for My elect, and among them shall dwell all those who submit to the yoke of My kingdom. There will be nothing absurd if one says that the supreme and heavenly city, Jerusalem, is called a mountain, in which is the lot of the saints, ^C with God distributing to them the goods which neither mind nor speech can grasp. "For the eye," He says, "has not seen, and the ear has not heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him."

VER. 10. *And there shall be in the forest folds of flocks, and the valley of Achor for a resting place of herds for My people, who have sought Me.*

It is customary for divinely inspired Scripture to compare populous cities or regions, at times, to very dense forests and thickets ^D. For one of the holy prophets said, as if to the mother of the Jews, I mean Jerusalem: "Open, O Lebanon, thy gates, and let fire devour thy cedars. Howl, O oaks of Bashan, because the planted forest is cut down." And no one, surely, would say that He commands pine trees and oaks to howl; for that is entirely absurd, but, as I said, He deigns to liken to wood the multitude of those who are in cities and regions, which is beyond counting. The Jews howled while they were falling by the swords of their enemies due to their impiety toward Christ. The divine David also sings somewhere, as Christ was about to appear soon in the world: "Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the Lord, because He comes to judge the earth." Therefore, "In the forest," He says—that is, in the multitude of the nations, or in their cities and regions—"there shall be folds of flocks," namely, the Churches of Christ; "and the valley of Achor for a resting place of herds for My people, who have sought Me." This Achor arose from the seed of Israel; but when Jericho had been destroyed, then, by God's command, everything that had been in it

^A was consecrated. He stole from the anathema. And because he was exposed by God, he was demanded to pay bitter penalties; for he perished with his whole house, Jesus the son of Nun having determined his punishment. Thus, the ravine of Achor was indeed for a curse. Such, in a way, are the regions of the nations; for they are cursed and hateful to God, as there is no one in them who knows the God who is by nature. But, he says, this region, once cursed in ancient times, shall be a place of rest for herds, that is, folds for rational sheep, subject to the hand of Christ, the Chief-Shepherd of all, who addressed the Jewish people concerning the nations, saying: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall become one flock, one shepherd." For those who had once wandered sought Him through faith, and having found Him, they became His household, and fellow citizens of the saints, and co-heirs of the good things promised to them.

"But you, who have forsaken Me, and forgot My holy mountain, and prepare a table for the demon, and fill a draught for Fortune; I will deliver you to the sword, and you shall all fall in the slaughter, because I called you, and you did not obey; I spoke, and you disobeyed, and you did the evil in My sight, and chose things I did not desire."

^B Just as it did not go unpunished for those of the blood of Israel to disobey Christ—for they were given over to the slaughter, the remnant being saved by the mercy and philanthropy of God—so also you shall understand concerning the calling of the nations. For those who grasped salvation through Christ have become outside of fire, and judgment, and the things that come from divine wrath; but those who remained in their own ignorance, and have not washed away the pollution of their ancient faults, because they wished to adhere to the worship of idols, shall be given over to the slaughter. For they shall be held in Hades, and shall have the endless punishment through the unquenchable fire.

"You, therefore," He says, "who have forsaken Me," that is, who are apostates to the end, and have as it were brought My holy mountain into complete oblivion. For some of those who have wandered, and who have served the creature, do not even ^C endure, so to speak, to know the name of the Church; those who prepare tables for demons, and fill drafts for Fortune. Such a thing was done by those who had their heart filled with diabolical haze. "You shall be delivered to the slaughter." And if anyone dares to ask the reason, I shall say to him: I called and you did not obey, but you retain a persistent and non-rejectable wickedness, caring only for things that are discordant with My laws, and adulterating every way of goodness, and being eager to practice things to be rejected, those things through which one might become full of every filth.

"Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, they that serve Me shall eat, but you shall starve. Behold, those that ^D serve Me shall drink, but you shall thirst. Behold, they that serve Me shall rejoice...

but you shall be ashamed. Behold, they that serve Me shall exult in gladness, but you shall cry out for the pain of your heart, and shall wail for the contrition of your spirit. For you have left your name for a ^A satiety to My elect; but the Lord shall slay you. Always and necessarily, He sets the hardships alongside the crowns, so that by both He may lead them to choose what is pleasing to Him, and to think and to see. For just as He draws them with the bait of rewards toward the pursuit of virtue, so the bitterness of punishment sometimes start les them away from the manners of wickedness, and turns them toward better things. Most artfully, therefore, He insinuates Himself into the minds of the called, promising rewards to them and threatening punishments: “For they that serve Me shall eat,” He says, “but you shall hunger; and they shall drink, but you shall thirst.” ^B While they rejoice, you shall be covered in ignominy. For those who have known the God who is by nature and in truth, and have recoiled from the falsely named gods, and have admired the beauty of true worship, shall truly take delight in the blessings from above, fattening their hearts and approaching the life-giving table of the Savior of all of us, Christ, eating the bread of life and drinking the divine draught by which they become partakers of the joy from above; for it cleanses away sins, and removes grief, and does not permit the fear of being punished to weigh down our souls. For we rejoice rather in the hope of the good things which the holy Scripture reports are prepared for those who love God. “But you,” He says, “who have remained in error, shall cry out for the pain of your heart, and shall wail for the contrition of ^C your spirit.” For when the Savior of all of us, Christ, descends from the heavens, and then assigns to each according to his works, all shall weep and wail—those who have not known the true God, but have rather died in their own sins. “For you have left,” He says, “your name for a satiety to My elect; but the Lord shall slay you.” Consider, I pray you, the depth of the thought once again. It is the custom of divinely inspired Scripture to sometimes use “satiety” to mean loathing and hatred. For God said somewhere to those who are of the blood of Israel: “I will no longer forgive your sins; you have become to Me a ^D satiety.” You, therefore, He says—you who have not departed from the falsely named gods, but have died in your own sins—you have left your name for a satiety, that is to say, for a hatred, to My elect. For to those who have once been chosen, no one finds the name of the superstitious acceptable. For everyone shuns being called a hater of God, a worshiper of idols, impious, and profane; and one desires rather to be called a holy nation, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, according to the voice of the divine Peter. But if it should seem good to someone to apply what has been said to those of the blood of Israel, in order that it might be said to them, “You have left your name for a satiety to My elect”—we say indeed that Israel was called the children of God, and His people and portion, but after they turned to unbridled insolence

and fell into estrangement, they lost this glory, and those who were called from the nations have inherited it as if by hereditary right. And this, I think, is what God said by the voice of Hosea: “I will call her My people who was not My people, and I will say to the non-people, ‘You are My people.’” ^A

Verses 16–18. *And they who serve Him shall be called by a new name, which shall be blessed upon the earth; for they shall bless the true God. And they who swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God; for they shall forget their former affliction, and it shall not come into their heart. For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and they shall not remember the former things, nor shall they come into their heart, but they shall find joy and exultation therein.*

Everything has become new in Christ—worship, life, and the legislation. For we no longer cling to shadows and unprofitable types, but rather we offer ^B to the God who is over all the worship and service in spirit and truth. We are not named as if arising from the blood of Israel, or from their progenitors—that is, the fathers Ephraim or Manasseh, or any other tribe—nor do we walk the path of the Scribes and Pharisees, esteeming the antiquity of the letter as if it were all of the law; rather, we approach Christ in the newness of evangelical life. Bound as if with a crown by His name, we are called Christians. This is that celebrated name, blessed under the whole heaven. ^C And because we have been blessed by Christ, we also strive to delight Him with blessings and unceasing doxologies. For in the past, that is, before our faith in Him, we were rightly mocked for weaving odes to those who were not gods. But since we have known the God who is by nature, we hymn Him and offer Him the fruit of our lips and tongue, remembering His praises; and if there is any need or necessity for the confirmation of an oath in any matter, they swear by the true God. For it is the custom among the worshippers of idols to swear by heaven ^D or by some other of the elements therein. But those who have received the faith resolutely and vigorously turn away from such errors; for they make the God of the universe their only oath, knowing Him to be by nature and in truth their Master, and no other besides Him at all. This is also what the Law given through Moses commanded: “For you shall worship the Lord your God,” it says, “and Him only shall you serve, and by His name you shall swear.” Then it says: “They shall forget their former affliction, and it shall not come into their heart.” By “affliction” he seems to denote the miseries they suffered when, not knowing the true God, they served the perversity of demons. For they were commanded to sacrifice to them, not only sheep and oxen, but even the fruit of their own womb, just as it is written: “They sacrificed, therefore, some their sons and their daughters.” Tribulation was also in another way, because God

in worshipping such countless gods and hastening to serve those who were unknown. And this is likely, that they were also being plotted against by those who were neglected; for it is not at all unlikely to conceive that, since the loathsome and bloodthirsty demons were in control of them, they were even able to do harm, as they had no protection from God. “Of this,” he says, “they will forget their own affliction. For the heaven shall be new, and the earth new.” How, or in what way? For in the past they used to think that the earth and the heaven were gods; but having received the divine light into their minds through Christ, the Savior of us all, they will have, as it were, new thoughts concerning them. For they will know that they are not gods, but the handiwork of the Artist and Creator of all things. “And being so disposed,” he says, “they will no longer remember former things; for they will cast away at once with Hellenism [paganism] both the opinions they held concerning their elements, and those who had formerly led them astray, whether demons or men ^B who lent their own tongues to assist in the deception. Instead of the former affliction,” he says, “they will find joy and exultation in her.” And in her, in whom? He would surely say, “In the Church of Christ.” It is necessary to remark that some of the interpreters refer these things to times not of the coming, but to those that will be after the present age; for he says that the righteous will be in joy and gladness, and in everlasting delights—spiritual, of course—and with this very work of creation changed into renewal. For one of the holy apostles says: “For the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements, melting with heat, will be dissolved. And the earth and all that is in it shall be burned up. But we expect new heavens and a new earth, and his promises.” ^C It is therefore free and permissible for those who are sensible to choose whichever of these interpretations they wish, this one or that; for one must in no way discard what is useful.

VERS. 19, 20. For behold, I create Jerusalem an exultation, and my people a joy, and I will exult over Jerusalem, and will rejoice over my people. And there shall no longer be heard in her the voice of crying, nor shall there be an untimely one there, nor an old man who does not fulfill his time. For the young man shall be a hundred years old; but the dying sinner shall be a hundred years old, and shall be accursed. ^D

This consideration is profound, and the mind of the prophecy set before us is very obscure. However, as I am able, I shall attempt to explain it. Jerusalem, therefore, as it seems, he designates here not as that ancient one, but rather the Church from Jews and Gentiles; this he promises to show forth as an exultation and a joy, and the thing is true, as it is testified by experience itself. For there is nothing gloomy in the Church of Christ; she is rich in hopes for everlasting life and perennial glory; she also has much of

^A gratification and joy, I shall place in myself,” he says, “Jerusalem. For I shall rejoice over my people.” And he brings forward the causes of the gladness, saying: “No longer shall there be heard in her the voice of weeping, nor the voice of crying.” By an accusation, as it were, of things that preceded, God weaves the praise of the Church. For in former times, those who were leaders of the Jewish Synagogue judged for the sake of gifts; and they knew not how to judge justly for the orphan or the widow, but because they were lovers of base gain, they condemned the innocent and the just. And as for those who suffered these things, it was entirely necessary that they, as oppressed, should weep and wail with a cry, as being wronged. It has therefore been said somewhere ^B about Jerusalem through the voice of Jeremiah: “O lying city, there is nothing but tyranny in her. As a well cools water, so does she cool her wickedness. Impiety and misery shall be heard in her before her face always.” And another of the holy prophets also said: “And they struck at the heads of the poor, and turned aside the way of the humble.” “I shall rejoice, therefore,” he says, “over my people, beholding that it is a laborer of true righteousness. For no one among them shall weep, clearly meaning one suffering injury; and no one again shall cry out as one oppressed. And there shall not be therein,” he says, “an immature person or an old man who shall not fulfill his time. For the young shall be a hundred years old; but he who dies a sinner, being a hundred years old, shall even be accursed.” I believe that ^C the mind of the prophecy wishes to indicate something of this sort. For it seems to consider as “immature” the people from the Gentiles, still young, concerning whom David says: “The people that is being created shall praise the Lord.” And to these also the disciple of Christ addresses himself in the epistle, saying: “As newborn infants, desire the rational and guileless milk.” Accordingly, the “young” is immature, but the “old man” is he who is from the circumcision, that is, from the blood of Israel, inasmuch as he had been called and had advanced to the intelligible Church. But in the calling, he says, through Christ, and in the times of the Advent, neither the immature nor the old man shall have a difference with respect to this very thing among themselves; for all shall be perfect, and all shall fulfill their time, that is, they shall ascend to ^D a perfect man, and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. For the young, that is, the people from the Gentiles, shall be a hundred years old, which is to say, perfect, and gray-headed in their minds, and having arrived at the completion of spiritual maturity. For a hundred years is a sign, or rather a symbol, of perfection. Then he says: “But he who dies a sinner, being a hundred years old, shall also be accursed.” He shows in these things that even the perfection according to the Law is useless to those who possess it, if they have not accepted the faith through Christ, and the redemption through holy baptism, by which alone we rub off the conceptions of sin. Therefore, even if someone exists as a hundred years old, he says, that is, having acquired the perfection according to the Law, then should die a sinner, that is, one not having received the righteousness through faith, he shall even be accursed, being found liable even to the transgressions of the Law. For no one among the Jews existed so great and such that he did not in some way stumble against the Law. “For all have sinned,” he says, “and lack the glory

of God, being justified freely by his grace.” ^A That this zeal for the Law is fruitless and vain for those even who have been perfected according to the Law, if the grace which is through Christ has not been added, the all-wise Paul demonstrates very well, writing to some that he considered all things that were in the Law as dung, that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having his own righteousness, which is that of the Law, but that which is through faith in Jesus Christ. He also accuses the Jews of a kind of stupidity, saying thus: “For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” He said again: “We, by nature Jews, and not sinners from the Gentiles; but knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, unless through faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed in Christ.” Therefore, Christ has become a curse ^B for this reason, that He might deliver from the curse of the Law those who were under it; for it is written: “Cursed is every one who does not abide in all things which are written in the book of the Law, to do them.”

VERS. 21-24. *They shall build houses and themselves inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and they themselves shall eat the fruit of them. And they shall not build, and others inhabit; and they shall not plant, and others eat. For as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people; the works of their hands shall grow old. But my chosen shall not labor in vain, nor beget children for a curse; because they are a seed blessed by the Lord. And it shall come to pass, before they cry, I will hear them. While they are still speaking, I will say, What is it?*

He promises them peace that shall not be shaken, mercy, propitiation, goodness, and love for man. ^C For of old, those who were from the blood of Israel, due to excessive senselessness and manifold wickedness, and because they would not endure to live uprightly, were continually provoking God, the ruler of all; for this cause they were punished in many ways. For, indeed, what was in the fields would be destroyed, and, enduring the toils of husbandry in vain, they were gripped by famine. For it is written: “And I gave their fruits to the rust, and their labors to the locust.” And it has been said to them somewhere even through one of the holy prophets: “You shall sow, and you shall not reap; you shall press the olive, and you shall not be anointed with oil; and you shall not drink wine.” And again: “You shall build well-wrought houses, and you shall not dwell in them; you shall plant desirable vineyards, and you shall not drink their wine.” ^D For sometimes incursions of enemies would fall upon them, so that some were consumed by their swords, and others, fearing to suffer these things, would flee from their own house and fatherland, and take refuge in other regions. But these things those people of old suffered, and not once, because of their many sins. But those who...

in Christ have seized the grace through faith, and have washed away the stains of sin through holy baptism, will not fall into the misfortunes of those others, nor will they endure an unforeseen loss of those things they have labored for spiritually; rather, they will rejoice in their own righteous deeds, according to that which is sung in the Psalms: "You shall eat the fruits of your labors" (Ps. CXXVII, 2), referring to the fruits of the flesh, which are borne below the palm. For no one shall cast them out, nor shall anyone ever drive them from the dwelling to be given to them by God. For "there are many dwelling places with the Father" (John XIV, 2). Nor indeed will they fall from the lot that is to be given, which befits their spiritual fruitfulness; for their life, He says, shall be as the days of the tree of life, that is, holy. For such it was before the transgression in our first parents, when it was even allowed for them to become partakers of the tree of life, the most execrable and God-hated sin having not yet found a place in them. ^B The discourse of prophecy adds another thing not unlike this. "For the works," He says, "of their hands shall grow old," that is, they will have a certain and immutable course in the things they accomplish. What do I mean by this? The law was indeed given to those from Israel through Moses; but there was in it a shadow and a type, possessing an image of the truth, yet not the truth itself. But when Christ shone forth, the types were transformed into the truth, and the shadows, as it were, declined and grew old, meaning that the power of the way of life under the law did not prevail forever. Therefore, those from the blood of Israel did not make their works grow old (for the legal worship was useless, so far as it related to types), but those who are in Christ will endure. For no other law will be given to them, such as to change the power of the evangelical oracles for the better. For it was said somewhere to Christ, the Savior of all, through the voice of the Psalmist: "Your justice is justice unto eternity, and your law is truth" (Ps. CXVIII, 142). ^C "But my elect," He says, "shall not labor in vain, nor shall they beget children for a curse." He teaches again, as if by comparison or rather a counter-position to the things of old that happened to the leaders of the Jews. These, indeed, were the Scribes and Pharisees, who, having abandoned the law and teaching doctrines of the commandments of men, became fathers of children—through instruction, that is—but in vain, and for a curse. The Savior also taught us this, rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees; for He said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you traverse sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him a son of hell twice as much as yourselves" (Matt. XXIII, 15). Therefore, those men begat children for a curse and in vain; but "my elect," He says, that is, the divine disciples, or indeed the ministers of my oracles, will not beget children for a curse, nor

^A in vain, according to them; for their seed shall be a blessed seed, blessed by God." That He will be very close to them, bestowing gifts out of gentleness and philanthropy, and most readily lending an ear to their supplications, He demonstrates by saying, "Before they cry out to them, I will hear them. While they are yet speaking, I will say, What is it?" ^B

VERS. 25. Then wolves and lambs shall feed together, and the lion shall eat chaff like an ox, and the serpent earth as bread. They shall not hurt, nor shall they destroy in my holy mountain, says the Lord. You may take this in two ways: for the power of the prophecy may signify the union of two peoples through faith, or that those who once, like wild beasts, leaped upon the saints and persecuted the Church, differing in nothing from serpents, will join them in one accord and agreement of mind, having been bound together to this end by the bond of peace through Christ, who justifies the ungodly, and gathers what is scattered, and with divine light illumines what is darkened, and transforms all things for the better. For He makes and transforms all things, as it is written. Therefore, kids and lambs were by the law sacred and clean animals, so that they were brought to the divine altar and offered to God for an odor of sweet fragrance; but the wolf and the lion were profane and unclean, and hostile to those we have named; and the serpent, moreover, is most hostile to man, and goaded to this by the laws of nature. But when they coalesce with those who have been purified in Christ and have established a holy and excellent life, through the evangelical preaching into one agreement of minds, which is established in faith, then even these formerly detestable and unclean ones, having a heart stuffed with beastly cruelty, "shall hurt nothing," He says, "nor shall they destroy any one in my holy mountain," that is, the Church. For the wild ones shall eat with the tame. ^C And their delight is Christ (the living bread, having descended from heaven), and He who gives life to the world. He nourishes both with His own flesh, refashioning us unto immortality and life, and with His own preachings, that is, the evangelical ones. "For man shall not live by bread alone," He says, "but by every word proceeding through the mouth of God." But observe that the lambs and kids do not eat the food of the lions and wolves (for He did not say, "They shall eat flesh"), but the wolves and lions shall make use of the food of the tame, which is signified by the name of chaff. Nor shall the pure follow the unclean, nor will they emulate their manner of life and conduct; but rather the profane shall imitate the probity of the gentle and pure.

CAP. LXVI. VERS. 1-3. Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and earth the footstool of my feet. What house will you build for me? or what is the place of my rest? For all these things my hand has made, and all these things are mine, says the Lord. And upon whom shall I look, but upon the humble and quiet, and [him who is] trembling at my words? But the wicked who sacri-

^Afice to me a calf is as he that kills a dog; and he that offers fine flour, as swine’s blood; and he that gives frankincense for a memorial, as a blasphemer.

Having sufficiently woven the discourse directed toward the nations, he now directs the instruction toward Israel itself. For he wishes to make them, too, depart from the iniquity according to the Law, just as he commanded those others to depart from their ancient error, and from a life of defilement in their straying. Since, therefore, he chooses the worship in spirit above all else and accounts that which is in shadows and types as nothing at all, he clearly instructs them. But he wishes them to know something else besides this: that they also raise their eyebrows and pride themselves on nothing necessary, having built the temple in Jerusalem. For they thought that the Divinity was contained in a place, and that it dwelt in temples made by hands in a circumscribed way, just like those falsely called gods—who are in reality nothing but wood and stones. And for this reason he says: "O you who do not know the eminence of the divine glory! O you who do not understand the greatness of the dignities that belong to me! Heaven is my throne, and ^B the earth is the footstool of my feet. What house will you build me? Or what is the place of my rest?" For the Divinity fills all things; and with it are the earth and heaven. Let it be said, then, in a human manner, that he has heaven as his throne, and makes the earth like a certain footstool for himself. For what place will contain him? Or what house will be sufficiently ample to comprehend him? "For all these things," he says, "my hand has made, and all these things are mine." But what are these things? It is manifest that they are both the things which are seen, and those beyond the things which are seen. For the whole creation is his, and by his nods those things which were not at one time were brought forth to generation. What, therefore, shall we offer him that is not his? Something of this sort he says also through the voice of the Psalmist: "If I hunger, I will not tell you; for mine are all the beasts of the field, cattle in the mountains, and oxen. I have known all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the heaven, and the beauty of the field is with me."

Upon whom, therefore, does he say he will look? Is it not surely upon the humble and the quiet, that is to say, the gentle and meek, and the genuine servant of my will, so that he may even tremble at the words that proceed from me? By these things he signifies the evangelical and saving proclamation; these he deigns to behold, and to visit as humble. For the bold and arrogant man is he who stands against his divine laws, and through much disobedience raises up against him the ^C neck of his own mind, proud and stiff as it were. That he does not accept the worship through the Law, and that he holds it in hatred, he makes plain when he says: "He that sacrifices to me a calf is as he that kills a dog; he that offers fine flour, as swine's blood; he that gives frankincense for a memorial, as a blasphemer." Consider, therefore, that he not only does not admit those things which are set in shadows and types, but, as I said, he hates them. For he deems the slaughter of a calf to be the death of a dog, and something impure, [like] fine flour sprinkled with oil. For he signifies this, in my opinion, while he...

with the sow. For the sow is unclean according to the law. And he puts the smoke of incense in the same position as a blasphemous word. He transfers these words, therefore, to them, that they might wish to live not according to the shadow of the law, but evangelically. ^A

VERS. 4. *And they have chosen their own ways, and their abominations, which their soul desired. And I will choose their mockeries, and I will recompense them their sins: because I called them, and they did not obey, and they did evil in my sight. And those things which I would not, they have chosen.*

He again provides an apology, and openly renders the cause why Israel has been rejected, although called the firstborn and declared to be the portion of God. “For they have chosen,” he says, “their own ways, and their abominations, which their soul desired.” When he says, “They have chosen,” he declares them to be not upright judges in necessary matters, ^B but rather [to be those who] “call evil good, and put darkness for light, and light for darkness, and bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” For when it was permitted to them through the evangelical oracles to be brought to all the most excellent virtues, and when it was within their power to abandon vices and embrace what is useful, they, he says, desired their own ways, foreign to the law, which lead them into the net of death and into the depth of hell.

But he calls back to their memory their former sins. For they were at one time idolaters and worshippers of abominations. “Because therefore they were called,” he says, “and did not hear, nor attend to those words which I addressed to them; for I said: ‘I am the light of the world, and he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live;’ and again: ‘Come to me, all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you;’ ^C hence I will bring upon them this holy sentence, and I will choose their mockeries,” that is, those who mock and rage against them. He points out, moreover, those who laid waste Judæa and burned the once holy and famous city, namely, the Roman generals. “For I will recompense them,” he says, “their sins. For those things which I hated and did not desire, they have chosen.”

VERS. 5. *Hear the word of the Lord, you that tremble at his word: Say, brothers of ours, to those who hate you and loathe you, that the name of the Lord may be glorified, and may appear in their joy, and they shall be confounded.*

He transfers his speech to every humble and quiet person, and one who trembles at his words: of whom the first fruits indeed, and the first, and as it were chosen by a certain separation, were the divine disciples. But the force of the precept is extended to all those who hereafter are set over the people, who ^D

^A by divine calculation are chosen as ministers of the holy Churches and of the divine proclamations. To these ^B He gives a command, saying: "Say to those who hate you and abhor you: you are our brothers." For He wills them to be gentle and patient under evils, according to the evangelical traditions, and with the greatest patience to ensnare into spiritual friendship those who refuse and shun their fellowship; or perhaps He commands this, saying, that they should preach to the nations and invite to the true knowledge of God those who have wandered, and even the Jews, who were worshippers of unclean spirits, because they did not accept polytheism as [the nations] did, but confessed one, and by nature, the only God. But even if, He says, "they have hated you" and account you abominable, nevertheless let your discourse to them be set forth in this way, and let them be counted in the rank of brothers, so that the name of the Lord may be glorified. For the multitude of the nations has been ensnared into the glory of Christ and has become manifest in their joy; for as the nations rejoiced in His grace and salvation, the Israelites were confounded, as rejects and hated, and wholly devoid of the hope of the holy ones and of those things which were given ^C by Him to those who believe in Him. It is necessary, however, to know that He has abrogated the legal precept when He commands us to call those from the nations our brothers. For it was forbidden to those from Israel to desire to be joined with those who were in error. "For you shall not speak peace to them," says the law delivered through Moses, "nor shall you make marriage with them; you shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son; lest he turn your son away from me, and he go and serve other gods." But in Christ both have become one, and the wall of the fence has been broken down, and the law of the commandments has been abolished in [His] dogmas. "For He Himself is our peace."

VERS. 6. *The voice of a cry from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord rendering retribution to His adversaries.*

Having said, "And I will choose their mockeries, and I will repay them for their sins," He immediately demonstrates the outcome of the things He threatened, and as if the enemies were already ^D devastating the city itself and the temple, He says that a voice is given from the city and a voice from the temple, as the ministers and the peoples were weeping together and lamenting with one another; for it was to be expected, since the calamity of war was prevailing over them, that they would weep and wail; for there was no escape from the evil. But He says that it is the voice of the Lord "rendering retribution to His adversaries," as if He were commanding and ordering those who were to destroy to spare none of those captured, but to leap even more fiercely upon the adversaries—and not at all merely by the impulse of those waging war, but by the will of the Master; for this was the cause for them of being captured and suffering.

VERS. 7-9. *Before she who is in travail brings forth, before...*

the labor of birth pains comes, she has brought forth a male child. Who has heard such things? And who has seen thus? Has the earth travailed in one day, or has a nation been born at once, because Zion has travailed and brought forth her children?* ^A I, however, have given this expectation, and you have not remembered me, says the Lord. Behold, have I not caused the bearing and the barren woman? says the Lord.

Once again, He teaches that Israel will not be utterly destroyed. For after He predicted the captivity of Jerusalem in general, He makes mention again of the remnant according to the election. For a not insignificant multitude has been saved, clearly through faith in Christ. He wishes to indicate something of this sort: For the Jews raged against Him and killed the Prince of life. But since He rose again, having trodden down death, ^B and has returned to the Father and God in heaven, the divine disciples proclaimed Him, addressing all, even those who had raged, and calling them to repentance and salvation through faith, and to the remission of sins through the holy bath. For Peter said: *And now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. Repent therefore, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promises are to you, and to your children.* As the divine Peter was saying these things, many believed. It is written, indeed, in the Acts of the holy apostles that there were added on that day about three thousand souls. The divine disciples therefore persisted, urging the children of Israel and converting them to the faith. Then, after time had passed, the divine wrath was at last brought upon the region of the Jews and Jerusalem itself, ^C when those who had been called to a more moderate way of life had already entered. And these were the remnant. This is what He teaches, saying: *Before she who is in travail brings forth, before the labor of birth pains comes, she has escaped and brought forth a male child.* For before the hard times were imminent, and before the pains of the war-calamity, as it were, fell upon Jerusalem, she escaped—that is, before the danger she brought forth a male child; which birth is excellent and most desirable. For among those giving birth, the birth of a male is preferred to the other; or perhaps a male has been brought forth, for the Christian people is not effeminated by softness, but is endowed with a manly and youthful spirit. The blessed Paul is witness to this, writing: *Those who are of Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and desires.* ^D Then, as if the divine power had worked this remarkable thing, He extols the miracle, saying: *Who has seen thus? Has the earth travailed in one day, or has a nation been born at once, because Zion has travailed and brought forth her children?* For who, He says, has heard or who has seen the earth, or a whole region, germinating in one day those who are able to fill it? For has a nation ever been born at once, that is, in one moment? But thus, He says, *Zion has brought forth her children.* For that three thousand souls were added in one day, and received spiritual regeneration through faith and the most holy baptism: why should one not

^A manifestly consider this to be the conception and birth of an entire nation? But, "I," He says, "have given this expectation." For this was also foretold by the voice of the holy prophets, and God promised her multiple offspring. "Yet," He says, "it did not remember me, Lord, although I made the barren one begetting." But He who has the power over these things, how would He have permitted her to remain childless, if she had wished to accept the faith in Him, so that she might appear to all those on the earth as one with many children and fair children? But since she became disobedient, hard, and stubborn, she indeed was barren, but the region of the Gentiles bore a people greater in number and beyond counting. And the divine prophet Isaiah teaches precisely this, as if addressing the Church from the Gentiles: ^B "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry, you who are not in labor, for there are many more children of the desolate than of her who has a husband."

Rejoice, Jerusalem, and hold a festival in her, all you who love her. Rejoice with joy, all you who mourn over her, that you may suck and be filled from the breast of her consolation, that having sucked, you may delight from the incoming of her glory. For thus says the Lord: "Behold, I incline toward them like a river of peace, and like a torrential stream overflowing with the glory of the nations."

He commands the new and intelligible Sion to rejoice, that is to say Jerusalem, which is the Church of the living God, which Christ Himself set before Himself as spotless and unblemished, from the Jewish orders and from the flock of the Gentiles. For He ^C joined the two peoples into one new man, making peace, and reconciling both in one body to the Father. And it would be fitting for her to rejoice, for she has been filled with hopes that are beyond mind and speech. "For the eye has not seen," He says, "nor has the ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him." And He commands those who are in her and who love her to be glad; and these would be, again, those who support her as it were, and who establish her in many ways with blameless teachings, and all those who mourn over her, according to the voice of the Savior Himself: "Blessed," He says, "are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." ^D Yet this mourning in them indicates the perfection of holy deeds. For they possess the profitable sweat, and endure labors stoutly and youthfully, not that they may gain anything of earthly things, but that, being filled with the gifts from God, they may become full of all delight. For this is what He promises them, saying: "That you may suck and be filled from the breast of her consolation." But having once attributed the person of a woman to the new Sion, He remains with the trope of speech, and likens the consolation in her—I mean, that of the Holy Spirit—to breasts and milk. For it has been said somewhere

^A to her, and in the Song of Songs, that "Your breasts are better than wine." Now, it is absolutely the case that for those who are first receiving the faith in our God Jesus Christ, a food suitable for infants is brought forward—that is, the tender and simple word of catechesis. For thus did Paul also address some, saying: "I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able, nor are you even now able." But that it is not fitting for those who have once drunk in the word of catechesis to be and to be seen as infants forever, but rather that they ought to advance and reach manhood and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that they may finally be able to understand the exact and examined word concerning Him, he taught by adding: "That you, having sucked, may delight in the entry of His glory."

By saying "having sucked," he means ^B having become past the breasts and the nipple, that is, having been weaned—meaning, not remaining infants any longer, but being reckoned as among the adolescents and men, and desiring the solid food—that you might delight in the entry of His glory. And he calls Christ "glory" (for thus does the Psalmist also say concerning Him: "That glory may dwell in our land"). And by "entry," he means the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh; being God by nature, He became man, and has, as it were, entered into this world through the incarnation. Therefore, those who know the exact word concerning Him are delighted, and, learning in what way the glory, that is, Christ, has entered into the inhabited world, they rejoice. For this reason, the divine prophet also at once and immediately makes His manifestation in the flesh clear and evident; for he sets ^C forth His person, saying: "Behold, I decline towards them as a river of peace, and as a torrent overflowing the glory of the nations."

A river, then, of peace, and a torrent of delight, is Christ (for thus the divine David also designates Him, saying: "How You have multiplied Your mercy, O God! But the sons of men will hope under the shelter of Your wings. They will be inebriated with the abundance of Your house, and You will give them drink from the torrent of Your delights." And again: "The currents of the river gladden the city of God"). He has declined, and He has, as it were, overflowed with most abundant streams the glory of the nations, that is, what is precious among the nations—namely, everything that is glorified. For not all have believed, nor have they indeed been glorified, but as Paul says concerning God and the Father: "Whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also glorified." ^D Yet the word "I decline," as he says, gives one to understand this: that His way and journey was, according to the purpose and good pleasure of the Father, toward those of the blood of Israel; he said indeed that "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But since they rejected the faith, He declined from them, as it is written, and He drenched the flocks of the Gentiles from the sacred streams with consolation—that is, with the evangelical and saving preaching, through which they gained peace with Him, and through Whom they were joined in a spiritual relationship with God and the Father.

^A

*Verses 13, 14. Their little ones shall be carried upon shoulders, and upon knees they shall be comforted. As if a mother should comfort her child, so will I comfort you. And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem, and you shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall spring up like herb. And the earth of the Lord shall be made known to those who worship Him.*

He promises us a most ample consolation, and a heap of all mercy, and that for every labor, so that one might be able to accomplish what is pleasing to Him. For those who are still infants among them, he says, and not yet perfect in their minds, shall be carried upon shoulders as if they were tiny babes, and they shall be comforted upon knees; for it is the custom thus for mothers to take care of infants. I shall yield very little, therefore, he says, to a mother, but I shall comfort those who are thus weak and dejected in spirit, so that nothing is lacking for their rest. Thus nourished, thus treated with all mercy and love, you shall in time see the supreme celestial city, Jerusalem, and you shall be filled with pleasure, and like grass, all your bones shall reflower. For the dead shall be awakened, and those who are in the monuments shall rise again, enriched by the dew from Christ, that is, the life-giving Spirit. For thus does he who sings psalms to God say concerning those who lie in the earth: *Thou shalt send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.* Just as, therefore, things that have blossomed in the fields fall after a little time and wither, but when the spring season has arrived, they rise again and appear: so the remains of the dead in the earth, at the time of regeneration and restoration, shall rise again by the ineffable power of God. For they shall be awakened, as I said. ^B *Then, then shall the hand of the Lord be made known to those who worship Him.* By "hand" here, however, he means either His power, or our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things, and in Whom are all things. For through Him is again the resurrection of the dead. For it would be a result of His power to have been able to bring into existence things that were not once, and to restore things that have suffered corruption, so that they might be as they were from the beginning.

*Verses 15-17. And He shall threaten the contumacious: For behold, the Lord shall come as fire, and His chariots as a tempest, to render His vengeance in fury, and His rebuke in a flame of fire. For by the fire of the Lord shall all the earth be judged, and by His sword all flesh. Many shall be wounded by the Lord. They who purify themselves and are cleansed in the gardens, and upon the thresholds, eating swine's flesh and abominations and the mouse, shall be consumed together, said the Lord. And I know their works and their thought.* ^C

Having sufficiently comforted those in the new Sion, that is, the Church, and promised them the most ample consolation and an abundance of spiritual ^D goods, and beyond—

^A that which is the resurrection from the dead, and the mansions above, and the glory that is there—he says that it will not be without penalty for those who choose to be disobedient to the work assigned regarding these things. For he will come as fire, he says; for he will descend from the heavens in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. For this is his chariot, according to that which is sung in the Psalms: "The chariot of God is ten thousandfold, thousands of exulting ones." And he will come to render vengeance in fury, and rebuke in a flame of fire. And the rebuke signifies rejection; for he will say to those who are dead in sins: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." For all the earth, he says, shall be judged, and as if struck by the sword of divine ^B wrath, many shall be wounded. These then are they who pay the inescapable penalty, and flee into the unquenchable flame, and being bound by the chains of their own transgressions—but especially compared to others they shall be subjected to punishment, he says—are those who are "purified and cleansed in the gardens," that is, those who have thrust away the redemption through Christ, and have dishonored the grace through holy baptism, which justifies the ungodly and cleanses those who are defiled with sins from every error, having loved rather to walk in error and ignorance, and to worship gods which are not, and who also use impure and filthy sprinklings. For they are being purified, as they at least think, deceiving and being deceived among themselves. For they were either sprinkling themselves with waters, or, carrying torches of fire in a circle, they thought to scour their own souls of the stains resulting from wickedness. That they have ^C utterly neglected all purity and probity, and were not even gifted with a human mind, but were rather made like to senseless beasts, he demonstrates by saying that they are purified "in the gardens," that is, in the groves or woods, under an oak and a poplar and a shadowing tree. For altars and shrines to the demons were built there by them, and in the vestibules of the shrines they ate swine's flesh. And this truly is an argument of luxury. And they used to worship abominations and the mouse. For some of the superstitious had fallen into such folly that they even had statues and figures of mice. But all these, he says, shall be consumed at the same time, that is, together with those of Israel who were disobedient. "For I know their works and their thought." And by "thought" he means the reasonings, following which they became the inventors of shameful deeds, through which arose for them the introduction of abominations, ^D although it was necessary to worship the one God who is by nature and truly God. And they shall all be consumed at the same time, that is, together with those of Israel who were disobedient. "For I know their works and their thought." And by "thought" he means the deliberations, after which having followed, they became inventors of shameful schemes, through which also the bringer of abominations occurred to them, although they ought to have worshipped the one God who is by nature and truly God.

VERS. 18, 19. "I come to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come, and see my glory. And I will leave a sign upon them, and I will send forth from them those who have been saved to the nations, and to Tharsis, and to Phud, and Lud, and Mosoch, and Thobel, and to Greece, and to the islands

^A nor have they seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

Christ makes a certain recapitulation ^B of his whole discourse and of the entire prophecy in these words; and briefly, as it were in summary, he declares what has been done from the beginning to the end, and the power of the dispensation in the flesh. For he mentions both the calling of the nations and the manifestation of the holy apostles, and that he shall be worshipped by all the world under heaven. For indeed, the old Law gathered only one nation, clearly that of Israel, and called one language. But our Lord Jesus Christ imparted the power of the dispensation in the flesh not only to those born of the blood of Israel, but to every nation and all languages. He said, therefore, through the lyre of the Psalmist: “Hear these things, all ye nations; give ear, all you who inhabit the world.” Therefore, he says, “I shall gather all; they shall come and see my glory.” For they have been called through faith, and they who were once far off have become near, and have beheld his glory. How, or in what manner? For they have heard through the preaching of the Gospel that he is equal both in works and in power to God the Father, and that he has accomplished things which cannot be explained in words, in such a way that he has raised the dead from the tombs, and has given light to the blind, and has wrought other things besides these, worthy of all admiration and words. ^C Or in another way: they have beheld his glory, having been initiated and taught that the Word was God and became man. For the nations have not said like the Jews: “Why do you, being a man, make yourself God?” But rather, having recognized the mystery concerning him, they cry out those sacred voices: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and moreover, that which was said by the holy apostles: “Truly you are the Son of God.” And a sign has been set upon them also; for as Paul says: “We have been sealed with the Spirit of promise,” and Christ has been formed in all our hearts through the participation of the Holy Spirit. And from those who have been saved, he says, I shall send to the nations, to this one and to that one. For these nations are some to the west, some to the east, ^D some in the regions verging toward the north, that is, toward the land of the Greeks and into the islands beyond. “There,” he says, “they shall announce my glory.” For the disciples have not been silent, but have preached everywhere the Gospel of the kingdom and the power of the sacred preaching.

VERS. 20, 21. And they shall bring your brethren out of all nations as a gift to the Lord with horses, and chariots, and litters of mules, with canopies into the holy city Jerusalem, says the Lord; as the children of Israel brought their sacrifices with psalms into the house of the Lord, and I shall take from them priests and Levites, says the Lord.

^A That the preaching of the holy apostles will be entirely and thoroughly effective and fruitful among the nations we have mentioned, and in their regions, he demonstrates in these words: "For your brothers," he says, so that the discourse may be to those of the blood of Israel who have believed, "they shall bring as an offering to the Lord from the nations." For the multitude of the nations has become like an offering ^B to the glory of God, freed by faith from every charge, and having cast off all filth through holy baptism, and having been brought to God as a gift of apostolic zeal. They boast, therefore, in this very thing, calling them their joy and their crown. And that the conversion of the nations to God will be very effortless, and without any sweat, struggle, or labor, he makes clear, taking an example from us, when he says that they shall be brought with horses, and chariots, and litters, and umbrellas. For as those who complete their journey by these means make their way with no labor, so those who return from the error of the Greeks ^C to God come by a smooth and, as it were, paved way, and are almost carried, with God deeming them worthy of every kind of rest. But where will they come? Into the holy city, that is to say, Jerusalem, which is the Church of the living God. And they shall be so pleasing and acceptable, as they approach God, that it is as if a sacrifice, he says, were being brought with psalms and the celebration of divine things. And besides, "I shall take from them," he says, "priests and Levites." From whom? It is not yet entirely clear whether from those who were sent ^D to call the nations, or from those who were called. However, we shall find that it is both this and that. For the inspired disciples were indeed ministers of the oracles of Christ; yet many from the Greek flock have been called, and are still being called, to the priesthood, with God transforming them into a newness of life and mind. For faith, as it were, refashions the chosen into what it pleases.

VERS. 22, 23. *For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I make, remain before me, says the Lord: so shall your seed and your name stand, and there shall be month after month, and Sabbath after Sabbath. All flesh shall come to worship before me in Jerusalem, says the Lord God.*

He promises the firmness of hope in all good things to those who love him and who have acknowledged his appearing. For, he says, just as when I have fashioned the new heavens and the new earth, so I shall allow them to remain, and no time shall destroy them: so your seed and your name shall stand before me. For we look forward to new heavens and a new earth, and his promises, according to what is written. And that the hope of the holy ones shall stand forever and shall remain, the all-wise Paul will confirm, writing that the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. Therefore, the blessed seed, that brought to God by the holy apostles, shall be preserved perpetually, and shall in no way perish; and as though with...

heaven and earth it shall continue to exist, our Savior Christ holding all things together for this purpose. ^A That the multitude of those who believe shall always proceed to a greater increase, He teaches, saying: "From month to month, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, shall all flesh come to worship before me in Jerusalem." For those who believe in Christ have not ceased, but from that time when the divine disciples preached, and down to this very day, they come: some thirsting for the light of true knowledge of God from the error of many gods, others from the Jewish ranks, though one by one, and not in crowds. Nevertheless, they too shall come; for they shall be called in the last times of the age, when the fullness of the Gentiles shall have come in, as the all-wise Paul says.

"And they shall go forth, and shall see the limbs of the men who have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be for a sight to all flesh."

^B It seems that by these things He wishes to signify the calamities brought upon the Jews, which we say they suffered at the hand of the Romans, when, needless to say, the temple was devastated and they were all carried off by a most cruel slaughter. They have, therefore, suffered these things, and they shall be as a spectacle to all flesh, and they are afflicted with a punishment that is all but eternal. For this perhaps is hinted at when He says that their worm shall not die, nor shall the fire be quenched or allayed. ^C But there are some who wish to refer these words to the time of the consummation of the age, when those who have transgressed shall be cast forth as it were as limbs, relegated to punishment and to the unceasing flame. For there the worm of those who are punished shall live perpetually, and the fire shall not be quenched. But Christ, by whom and with whom is glory to God and the Father with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages, shall deliver us from all these things. Amen.