An exhortation to trust in Christ. He shall protect the children of his church.
God encoregeth Sion to trust in his promised comfort•, by example of Abraham. 3. For the spiritual Sion, the Church of Christ, shal receiue much grace by his Euangelical law: 12. and her children shal not feare persecution, nor be ouercome; 23. but her enemies shal faile.
1Give ear to me, you that follow that which is just, and you that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you are dug out.Udite me voi, che seguite la giustizia, e cercate il Signore: ponete mente alla pietra, donde voi foste tagliati, e alla sorgiva, donde voi foste tratti.HEARE me ye that folow that which is iust, and that seeke our Lord: attend to the rocke whence you are hewen out, & to the caue of the lake from the which you are cut out.Audite me, qui sequimini quod justum est, / et quæritis Dominum; / attendite ad petram unde excisi estis, / et ad cavernam laci de qua præcisi estis. 2Look unto Abraham your father, and to Sara that bore you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and multiplied him.Ponete mente ad Abramo padre vostro, e a Sara, la quale vi partorì: e perocché lui, che era solo chiamai, e lo benedissi, e lo moltiplicai.Attend to Abraham your father, and to Sara that bare you: because I called him alone, and blessed him, & multiplied him.Attendite ad Abraham, patrem vestrum, / et ad Saram, quæ peperit vos: / quia unum vocavi eum, / et benedixi ei, et multiplicavi eum. 3The Lord therefore will comfort Sion, and will comfort all the ruins thereof: and he will make her desert as a place of pleasure, and her wilderness as the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of praise.Il Signore adunque consolerà Sionne, e tutte le sue rovine ristorerà, e i suoi deserti renderà come luoghi di delizia, e la sua solitudine come giardino del Signore. Gaudio, e letizia sarà con lei, rendimento di grazie, e voci di laude.Our Lord therfore wil comfort Sion, and wil comfort al the ruines therof: and he wil make her desert as delicacies, and her wildernes as the garden of our Lord. Ioy and gladnes shal be found in it, geuing of thankes, and voice of prayse.Consolabitur ergo Dominus Sion, / et consolabitur omnes ruinas ejus: / et ponet desertum ejus quasi delicias, / et solitudinem ejus quasi hortum Domini. / Gaudium et lætitia invenietur in ea, / gratiarum actio et vox laudis. 4Hearken unto me, O my people, and give ear to me, O my tribes: for a law shall go forth from me, and my judgment shall rest to be a light of the nations.Badate a me, popol mio, e ascoltami, o mia tribù: perocché da me uscirà la legge, e la mia giustizia ad illuminazione de' popoli poserà sopra di essi.Attend vnto me ô my people, and my tribe heare ye me: because a law shal proceede from me, and my iudgement shal rest to be a light of the peoples.Attendite ad me, popule meus, / et tribus mea, me audite: / quia lex a me exiet, / et judicium meum in lucem populorum requiescet.
5My just one is near at hand, my saviour is gone forth, and my arms shall judge the people: the islands shall look for me, and shall patiently wait for my arm.Sta per venire il mio giusto, il Salvatore, ch'io mando, s'è messo per istrada, e le braccia mie reggeranno i popoli: me aspetteranno le isole, e nel braccio mio spereranno.My iust one is nigh at hand, my sauiour is gone forth, and mine armes shal iudge peoples: the ilands shal expect me, and shal patiently wayte for mine arme.Prope est justus meus, egressus est salvator meus, / et brachia mea populos judicabunt; / me insulæ exspectabunt, / et brachium meum sustinebunt. 6Lift up your eyes to heaven, and look down to the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish like smoke, and the earth shall be worn away like a garment, and the inhabitants thereof shall perish in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my justice shall not fail.Alzate al cielo gli occhi vostri, e mirate giù in terra: perocché i cieli svaniranno come fumo, e la terra si consumerà come una veste, e i suoi abitatori periranno com'ella. Ma la salute ch'io mando, starà in sempiterno, e non verrà meno la mia giustizia.Lift vp your eies into heauen, and looke downe to the earth beneath: because the heauens shal melt as smoke, and the earth shal be worne away as a garment, and like to these thinges shal the inhabitants therof perish: but my saluation shal be for euer, and my iustice shal not faile.Levate in cælum oculos vestros, / et videte sub terra deorsum: / quia cæli sicut fumus liquescent, / et terra sicut vestimentum atteretur, / et habitatores ejus sicut hæc interibunt: / salus autem mea in sempiternum erit, / et justitia mea non deficiet. 7Hearken to me, you that know what is just, my people who have my law in your heart: fear ye not the reproach of men, and be not afraid of their blasphemies.Udite me voi, che sapete quello, che è giusto, popolo mio, nel cuor di cui è la mia legge: Non temete gli obbrobri degli uomini, non temete le loro bestemmie;Heare me ye that know that which is iust, my people which haue my law in their hart: feare ye not the reproch of men, and be not afrayd of their blasphemies.Audite me, qui scitis justum, / populus meus, lex mea in corde eorum: / nolite timere opprobrium hominum, / et blasphemias eorum ne metuatis: 8For the worm shall eat them up as a garment: and the moth shall consume them as wool: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my justice from generation to generation.Imperocché gli consumerà il venne come una veste, e come lana saran divorati dalla tignuola: ma la salute, ch'io mando, starà in sempiterno, e la mia giustizia per tutte le generazioni.For as a garment, so shal the worme eate them: and as wool, so shal the moth deuoure them, but my saluation shal be for euer, and my iustice vnto generations of generations.sicut enim vestimentum, sic comedet eos vermis, / et sicut lanam, sic devorabit eos tinea: / salus autem mea in sempiternum erit, / et justitia mea in generationes generationum.
9Arise, arise, put on strength, O thou arm of the Lord, arise as in the days of old, in the ancient generations. Hast not thou struck the proud one, and wounded the dragon?Alzati, alzati, ammantati di fortezza, o braccio del Signore: alzati come negli antichi giorni, e alle passate etadi. Non se' tu quello, che percuotesti il superbo, feristi il dragone!Arise, arise, put on strength ô arme of our Lord: arise as in the old dayes, in the generations of worldes. Hast not thou striken the proude, wounded the dragon?Consurge, consurge, induere fortitudinem, / brachium Domini ! / consurge sicut in diebus antiquis, / in generationibus sæculorum. / Numquid non tu percussisti superbum, / vulnerasti draconem ? 10Hast not thou dried up the sea, the water of the mighty deep, who madest the depth of the sea a way, that the delivered might pass over?Non se' tu quello, che seccasti il mare, le acque dell'abisso tempestoso, che nel profondo del mare facesti strada, per cui passassero i deliberati?Hast not thou dried the sea, the water of the vehement, which madest the depth of the sea a way, that the deliuered might passe.numquid non tu siccasti mare, / aquam abyssi vehementis; / qui posuisti profundum maris viam, / ut transirent liberati ? 11And now they that are redeemed by the Lord, shall return, and shall come into Sion singing praises, and joy everlasting shall be upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning shall flee away.Adesso pure quei, che il Signore ha redenti ritorneranno, e verranno a Sionne cantando laude, coronati di sempiterna allegrezza, gaudio, e allegrezza avran costante, e fuggirà il dolore, e i gemiti.And now they that are redemed of our Lord, shal returne, and shal come into Sion praysing, and ioy euerlasting vpon their heades, they shal possesse ioy and gladnes, sorrow and mourning shal flee away.Et nunc qui redempti sunt a Domino, revertentur, / et venient in Sion laudantes, / et lætitia sempiterna super capita eorum: / gaudium et lætitiam tenebunt; / fugiet dolor et gemitus. 12I, I myself will comfort you: who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal man, and of the son of man, who shall wither away like grass?Io, io stesso vi consolerò: chi se' tu, che tema un uom mortale, e un figliuolo dell'uomo, che seccherà come l'erba?I, euen I my self wil comfort you: who art thou that thou shouldest be afrayd of a mortal man, and of the sonne of man, which as grasse so shal wither?Ego, ego ipse consolabor vos. / Quis tu, ut timeres ab homine mortali, / et a filio hominis qui quasi fœnum ita arescet ?
13And thou hast forgotten the Lord thy maker, who stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth: and thou hast been afraid continually all the day at the presence of his fury who afflicted thee, and had prepared himself to destroy thee: where is now the fury of the oppressor?E ti se' scordato del Signor, che ti fece, che distese i cieli, e fondò la terra: e tutto di hai avuto paura del furor di colui, che ti affliggeva, e si preparava a sterminarti: dov'è adesso il furor del tiranno?And thou hast forgotten our Lord thy maker, which stretched out the heauens, and founded the earth: and thou hast bene afrayd continually al the day at the face of his furie, which afflicted thee, and had prepared to destroy: where is now the furie of the affliction?Et oblitus es Domini, factoris tui, / qui tetendit cælos et fundavit terram; / et formidasti jugiter tota die / a facie furoris ejus qui te tribulabat, / et paraverat ad perdendum. / Ubi nunc est furor tribulantis ? 14He shall quickly come that is going to open unto you, and he shall not kill unto utter destruction, neither shall his bread fail.Presto verrà colui, che viene ad aprire: egli non farà morire fino allo esterminio, e il pane di lui non verrà meno.He shal quickly come going to open, and he shal not kil vnto vtter destruction, neither shal his bread faile.Cito veniet gradiens ad aperiendum; / et non interficiet usque ad internecionem, / nec deficiet panis ejus. 15But I am the Lord thy God, who trouble the sea, and the waves thereof swell: the Lord of hosts is my name.Ed io sono il Signore Dio tuo che sconvolgo il mare, e gonfiano i suoi flutti. Signor degli eserciti è il nome mio.But I am the Lord thy God which truble the sea, and the waues therof doe swel, the Lord of hostes is my name.Ego autem sum Dominus Deus tuus, / qui conturbo mare, et intumescunt fluctus ejus: / Dominus exercituum nomen meum. 16I have put my words in thy mouth, and have protected thee in the shadow of my hand, that thou mightest plant the heavens, and found the earth: and mightest say to Sion: Thou art my people.A te ho poste in bocca le mie parole, e ti ho custodito all'ombra della mia mano, affinchè tu pianti i cieli, e fondi la terra, e dica a Sionne: Tu se' il mio popolo.I haue put my wordes in thy mouth, and in the shadow of my hand I haue protected thee, that thou mightest plant the heauens, and found the earth: & mightest say to Sion: Thou art my people.Posui verba mea in ore tuo, / et in umbra manus meæ protexi te, / ut plantes cælos, et fundes terram, / et dicas ad Sion: Populus meus es tu.
17Arise, arise, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath; thou hast drunk even to the bottom of the cup of dead sleep, and thou hast drunk even to the dregs.Alzati, alzati, levati su, o Gerusalemme, tu che dalla man del Signore hai bevuto il calice dell'ira sua, hai bevuto il calice sonnifero fino al fondo, lo hai succhiato sino alla feccia.Be lifted vp, be lifted vp, arise Ierusalem, which hast drunken of the hand of our Lord the cuppe of his wrath: euen to the botome of the cuppe of drousines hast thou drunke, euen to the dregges.Elevare, elevare, / consurge, Jerusalem, / quæ bibisti de manu Domini / calicem iræ ejus; / usque ad fundum calicis soporis bibisti, / et potasti usque ad fæces. 18There is none that can uphold her among all the children that she hath brought forth: and there is none that taketh her by the hand among all the children that she hath brought up.Tra tutti i figli, che ella ha generati, non è chi sia a lei di sostegno, e tra tutti i figliuoli, che ella ha allevati, non è chi la prenda per mano.There is none that can vphold her of al the children, that she hath borne: and there is none that taketh her by the hand of al the children, that she hath brought vp.Non est qui sustentet eam, / ex omnibus filiis quos genuit; / et non est qui apprehendat manum ejus, / ex omnibus filiis quos enutrivit. 19There are two things that have happened to thee: who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword, who shall comfort thee?Due son le sciagure, che hai incontrate. Chi si affliggerà per te? Devastazione, e sterminio, e fame, e spada. Chi ti consolerà?There are two thinges which haue happened to thee: who shal be sorie for thee? Spoile, and destruction, and famine, and the sword, who shal comfort thee?Duo sunt quæ occurrerunt tibi; / quis contristabitur super te ? / Vastitas, et contritio, et fames, et gladius; / quis consolabitur te ? 20Thy children are cast forth, they have slept at the head of all the ways, as the wild ox that is snared: full of the indignation of the Lord, of the rebuke of thy God.I tuoi figliuoli giaccion per terra, stanno assopiti a' capi di tutte le strade, come un orige preso alla rete: satolli d'ira del Signore, e di sua vendetta.Thy children are throwen forth, they haue slept in the head of alwayes, as the orix that is snared: ful of the indignation of our Lord, of the rebuke of thy God.Filii tui projecti sunt, dormierunt / in capite omnium viarum / sicut oryx illaqueatus, / pleni indignatione Domini, / increpatione Dei tui.
21Therefore hear this, thou poor little one, and thou that art drunk but not with wine.Per questo ascolta tu poverina, ed ebbra, ma non di vino.Therefore heare this poore little one, and drunken not of wine.Idcirco audi hoc, paupercula, / et ebria non a vino. 22Thus saith thy Sovereign the Lord, and thy God, who will fight for his people: Behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of dead sleep, the dregs of the cup of my indignation, thou shalt not drink it again any more.Queste cose dice il tuo Dominatore, il Signore, e Dio tuo, che combatterà pel suo popolo: Ecco che io ho a te tolto di mano il calice sonnifero, la feccia del calice dell'ira mia, tu nol beverai mai più.Thus sayth thy dominatour our Lord, and thy God, who hath fought for his people: Behold I haue taken out of thy hand the cuppe of drousines, the botome of the cuppe of mine indignation, thou shalt not adde to drinke it any more.Hæc dicit dominator tuus Dominus, / et Deus tuus, qui pugnabit pro populo suo: / Ecce tuli de manu tua / calicem soporis, / fundum calicis indignationis meæ: / non adjicies ut bibas illum ultra. 23And I will put it in the hand of them that have oppressed thee, and have said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as a way to them that went over.E porrollo in mano a quelli, che ti hanno umiliata, e hanno detto a te: prostrati, affinchè noi passiamo; e tu desti il tuo corpo come terra, e come strada a que', che passavano.And I wil put it in their hand, that haue humbled thee, and haue sayd to thy soule: Bow downe, that we may passe ouer: and thou hast layd thy bodie as the ground, and as a way to them that passe ouer?Et ponam illum in manu eorum qui te humiliaverunt, / et dixerunt animæ tuæ: / Incurvare, ut transeamus; / et posuisti ut terram corpus tuum, / et quasi viam transeuntibus.
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Lord. He speaks of the redemption of mankind, under the allegory of the return from captivity.
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Nations. This was verified when the Bible was translated into Greek, and still more by the preaching of the gospel.
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Just. Christ, prefigured by Cyrus, whose empire was very mild, Isaias 44:28.
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Worthington
God drowned in the water, which had retired for Israel. He will thus destroy the devil. (Worthington)
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Oppressor. If thou hadst not abandoned God, thou wouldst have had no reason to fear Nabuchodonosor; and his power is now gone.
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Fail. Cyrus shall quickly restore the Jews to their country. He shall not lay waste the provinces, like many conquerors.
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People. This may refer to Isaias, Cyrus, etc., as figures of Christ, Isaias 49:1. He has bestowed greater favours on Christians than Cyrus did on the Jews, opening the kingdom of heaven to true believers, etc., Ephesians 2:19.
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Calmet
Dregs. Take courage: Babylon's turn is come, ver. 23. (Calmet)
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Worthington
Two. War and famine cause desolation and destruction. (Worthington)
Calmet
Jerusalem was reduced to the greatest misery in the last siege under Nabuchodonosor, Lamentations 4:3. (Calmet)
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Haydock
Ox, oryx. Hebrew Thua, Deuteronomy 14:5. (Haydock)
Many accounts respecting it are fabulous. Some understand a sort of wolf, mentioned by Pliny, [Natural History?] 8:34. Septuagint, "like beet half boiled."
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In the next verse the rock & caue are explicated to signifie Abraham and Sara; who are proposed for examples to be imitated, being so noble progenitors of the Iewes. S. Paul exhorteth his countrie men, and in them al Christians the like in spiritual progenitors, that first plant Catholique Religion in anie place saying: Remember your Prelates vvhich haue spoken the vvord of God to you: Heb. 13.
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Concordance Psal. 36.
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As God destroyed Pharao the proud dragon in the sea, which he dried vp for his people to passe; so he wil ouerthrow the diuel & deliuer captiues from sinne & tyrannie.
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Concordance Exo. 14.
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Concordance Isa. 49.
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Spoile & destruction shal happen by famine & sword.
Concordance Isa. 47.
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 13.35
… Is His tomb made with hands? Is it, like the tombs of kings, raised above the ground? Is the Sepulchre made of stones joined together? And what is laid upon it? Tell us, O Prophets, the exact truth concerning His tomb also, where He is laid, and where we shall seek Him? And they say, Look into the solid rock which ye have hewn
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 14
… who shall rouse Him up ? And the similar passage in Numbers, He couched, He lay down as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp . The Psalm also ye have often heard, which says, And Thou hast brought me down into the dust of death . Moreover we took note of the spot, when we quoted the words, Look unto the rock, which ye have hewn
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 11
This accordingly the prophet also was intimating, when he said, “Look unto the hard rock, whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit, whence ye are digged: look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you.”
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St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 7.10
10. Thus much then at present, in the way of a digression, to put you in remembrance. Let me, however, add yet another testimony in proof that God is called the Father of men in an improper sense. For when in Esaias God is addressed thus, For Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us , and Sarah travailed not with us
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John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 1.13
… “Behold,” says He, “I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former things shall not be remembered nor come into mind. But ye shall be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create.” And again “joy and gladness shall be found therein: thanksgiving and the voice of praise, and there shall be month after month, and Sabbath after Sabbath.”
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St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 11
… Have you not read this which Isaiah says: ‘Hearken unto Me, hearken unto Me, my people; and, ye kings, give ear unto Me: for a law shall go forth from Me, and My judgment shall be for a light to the nations. My righteousness approaches swiftly, and My salvation shall go forth, and nations shall trust in Mine arm?’
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St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 4.3
… And in like manner Esaias says: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heaven has been set together as smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they who dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not pass away.”
St Methodius † AD 311 From the Discourse on the Resurrection, Part I 1
IX. But if our opponents say, How then is it, if the universe be not destroyed, that the Lord says that “heaven and earth shall pass away;” and the prophet, that “the heaven shall perish as smoke, and the earth shall grow old as a garment;”
Aphrahat † AD 346 Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations 22.24
… But, however, we say thus: That which our Redeemer said to us is true:— Heaven and earth shall pass away . And the Apostle said, Hope which is seen is not hope . And the Prophet said, The heavens shall pass away as smoke, and the earth as a garment shall wear away; and its inhabitants shall become like it .
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Hexæmeron 1.8
… To spend time on such points would not prove to be to the edification of the Church. Upon the essence of the heavens we are contented with what Isaiah says, for, in simple language, he gives us sufficient idea of their nature, “The heaven was made like smoke,”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 11.11
… for the sun was created on the fourth day, without knowing what had been made in the three days before him; and he who knows not the things made in the three days before him, cannot tell forth the Maker Himself. Heaven will not declare this: for at the Father’s bidding the heaven also was like smoke established
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Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.14
… Well, what did the Creator say otherwise by Isaiah? “Fear ye not the reproach of men, nor be diminished by their contempt.”
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 3.5
… or size, or quantity (I mean in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), and brings forward to reproach our ignorance that phrase which is continually alleged by the disciples of deceit, “‘Ye worship ye know not what ,’ if ye know not the essence of that which ye worship,” we shall follow the advice of the prophet, and not fear the reproach of fools
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose sermon-against-auxentius-on-th.28
28. But why speak of the Apostle, when the Lord Himself cries through the prophet: “Hearken unto Me, My people, ye who know judgment, in whose heart is My law.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Second Corinthians 12
… ” ( Jer. xx. 9 .) And David too many places complains of reproach. Isaiah also, after many things, exhorteth concerning this, saying, “Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye overcome by their reviling.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.18
… “fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings; for the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool”:
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 78.5
… fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but My righteousness shall be for ever.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 102.36
… For concerning all such Isaiah prophesies, when by him God says to us, “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings: for the moth shall eat them up as a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but my righteousness shall be for ever.”
Early Popes (Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals) The Epistles of Zephyrinus 2.1
… fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings;”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 21.9
… and they contend that fire is therefore not inappropriately used to express this burning torment, as when the apostle exclaims “Who is offended, and I burn not?” The worm, too, they think, is to be similarly understood. For it is written they say, “As the moth consumes the garment, and the worm the wood, so does grief consume the heart of a man.”
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Tertullian † AD 220 On the Resurrection of the Flesh 26
… For “he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, but he who is one inwardly.” In the same way it is that both God’s temple and Jerusalem (must be understood) when it is said by Isaiah: “Awake, awake, O Jerusalem! put on the strength of thine arm; awake, as in thine earliest time,”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Two Homilies on Eutropius 2.9
… Angels beheld Him and trembled, the Cheru bim veiled themselves with their wings, in awe. He looked upon the earth, and caused it to tremble: He threatened the sea and dried it up:
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 6
… xxiii. 2 .), there He maketh me to dwell. I could wish to speak of the place, whence “sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (
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St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 De Decretis. (Defence of the Nicene Definition.) 4
… And we have proof of this, not from external sources, but from the Scriptures; for God Himself says by Isaiah the Prophet; ‘My hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand hath spanned the heavens .’ And again, ‘And I will cover thee in the shadow of My Hand, by which I planted the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth
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Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 10.4.50
50. ‘Awake, awake, thou who hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; for thou hast drunk the cup of ruin, the vessel of my wrath, and hast drained it. And there was none to console thee of all thy sons whom thou didst bring forth, and there was none to take thee by the hand.’
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 16.4
… How again “mercy is put in the balance,” as holy Isaiah declares, for goodness is not without discernment, as the first labourers in the vineyard fancied, because they could not perceive any distinction between those who were paid alike: and how anger, which is called “the cup in the hand of the Lord,” and “the cup of falling which is drained,”
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Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 10.4.50
… And there was none to console thee of all thy sons whom thou didst bring forth, and there was none to take thee by the hand.’ ‘Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of ruin, the vessel of my fury, and thou shalt no longer drink it. And I will put it into the hands of them that have treated thee unjustly and have humbled thee.’
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1. Hear me. — From the unbelieving Jews he returns to the Jews believing in Christ, concerning whom he dealt in chapter XLIX, as I said at the beginning there, and in the preceding chapter, verse 10, saying: "Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant?" For these few mourned the unbelief of their nation. God continues here to console them, and raises them up to hope for better things. Attend to the rock whence you are hewn, and to the cave of the pit, from which you are cut out (that is, as he explains by adding): 2. Attend to Abraham your father, and to Sara, who bore you. — He calls Abraham a rock, both on account of the firmness of his faith, and because the Hebrews call families houses: hence banim, that is sons, they call as it were abanim, that is stones, which are hewn from the father, as from a rock. For the loins, which are the origin of seed and generative power, have the form and hardness of stones, and indeed sometimes generate stones, or calculi. Thus Rachel and Lia are said to have built a house, that is a line and family, Israel, Ruth IV, 11. Some think there is an allusion here to the fountain of water drawn from the rock struck by Moses, Num. XX; for as water flows from a fountain, so children flow from a parent. But the words hewn and cut out stand in the way. For water is drawn from a fountain and rock, but is not hewn out or cut out. More aptly St. Cyril: "As," he says, "it is most difficult to hew stones from a solid and immense rock, and to exhaust a deep well: in the same way it is most difficult, indeed impossible, for a son to be born from an old man and a barren woman (such as Abraham and Sara were). Yet this was accomplished beyond expectation by the will and command of God." Secondly, as innumerable stones are hewn from a quarry, so innumerable Jews were born from Abraham and Sara, and mystically innumerable Christians from Christ and the Church. Whence perhaps Christ looked to this, saying to the Jews, Matt. III, 9: "God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham." Thus Ovid, in the first book of the Metamorphoses, feigned that after the flood Deucalion cast stones behind him, and from them men, a hard race, were born. The Septuagint translates: Look upon the solid rock which you have hewn, and upon the cave of the pit which you have dug. Because I called him one, and blessed him, and multiplied him. — In Hebrew, because I called him one, that is alone and only, without children, I called him, that is I called him to me in Chanaan, and from him alone and single I gave him then both naturally and mystically innumerable descendants. Thus therefore I will do, so that from the few believing in Christ I will generate innumerable Christians. 3. Therefore the Lord will comfort Sion, and will comfort all the ruins thereof: and he will make her desert as a paradise, and her wilderness as the garden of the Lord. — See what is said in chapter XXXV, 1. The Lord will comfort Sion, that is the Church, which at first was small and as it were desert, because scarcely a few Jews and Gentiles would enter it; but soon he gave it an immense multitude and abundance. Joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of praise. 4. Attend to me, O my people, and give ear to me, O my tribes: for a law shall go forth from me, and my judgment shall be a light to the peoples. — The Septuagint translates: For a law shall go forth from me, and my judgment shall be a light to the Gentiles. The new law, that is the Gospel, goes forth and proceeds from Christ. This therefore is the voice of God the Father, or of Christ, as if to say: Attend to me, and see whether I am he whom you ought to despise and reject, I who have established a new law, a new Gospel, and have taught a new judgment, that is a new right and norm of living, which shall rest in the light of the peoples, that is of the Gentiles, that is shall stand and endure; or shall shine like the sun, and shall illuminate the darkness of all the Gentiles. 5. My just one is near, my saviour is gone forth. — Just, that is Christ, who is himself justice, and our justice, I Cor. I, 30. "Near," namely with respect to Isaias and the Jews, to whom he said this even then. My saviour is gone forth, namely Christ, who having gone forth from God and heaven, descended to earth to save mankind. And my arms shall judge the peoples, that is my power shall rule, judge and justify the peoples, both Jews and Gentiles. The islands shall wait for me, namely the Gentiles, and they shall hope in my arm, that is they shall hope in my power. 6. Lift up your eyes to heaven, and look down upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall be dissolved like smoke, and the earth shall be worn away like a garment, and the inhabitants thereof shall perish in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my justice shall not fail. — As if to say: The heavens and earth shall perish, but my salvation and justice, that is my Gospel and my Church, shall endure for ever. Thus St. Cyril and others. To this pertains that saying of Christ: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away," Matt. XXIV, 35. 7. Hearken unto me, you that know justice, my people that have my law in your heart: fear not the reproach of men, and be not afraid of their blasphemies. 8. For the worm shall eat them as wool, and the moth shall consume them as a garment. But my salvation shall be for ever, and my justice unto generation and generation. — As if to say: Fear not the Jews and Gentiles who assail you with reproaches and persecutions on account of your faith in Christ: for they shall be consumed by worms and moths, that is shall perish shortly; but my Gospel and my Church shall endure for ever.
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9. Arise, arise, put on strength, O arm of the Lord: arise as in the days of old, in the generations of the world. Did not thou strike the proud one, and wound the dragon? — This is the voice of the Prophet, or rather of the faithful, beseeching God to stir up his arm, that is his power, to deliver his people, as he did of old in Egypt. The proud one, that is Pharaoh. The dragon, that is the whale or crocodile, which is a symbol of Egypt and Pharaoh. 10. Did not thou dry up the sea, the water of the mighty deep: that madest the depth of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? — He alludes to the passage of the Red Sea, by which God delivered the Hebrews from the Egyptians, Exodus XIV. 11. And now they that are redeemed by the Lord, shall return, and shall come into Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, and they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. — He said the same thing in chapter XXXV, 10. See what is said there. They shall return, namely from the captivity of Babylon to earthly Sion; and mystically from the captivity of sin and the devil to heavenly Sion, that is the Church. 12. I, even I myself will comfort you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a mortal man, and of the son of man, who shall wither away like grass? — As if to say: I, the almighty God, will comfort you and deliver you from evils: why therefore do you fear mortal men, who like grass shall soon wither away and perish? These things are said against the faint-heartedness of the faithful, who feared their persecutors. 13. And thou hast forgotten the Lord thy maker, who stretched out the heavens, and founded the earth: and thou wast afraid all the day long at the presence of his wrath who troubled thee, and had prepared to destroy: where is now the fury of the oppressor? — As if to say: Thou hast forgotten the almighty God, who created the heavens and the earth, and yet thou fearest a mortal tyrant! Where now is the fury of the Babylonians, the Romans, and other persecutors? Have they not all perished? 14. He shall quickly come that is bowed down, to open the way, and he shall not kill unto utter destruction, nor shall his bread fail. — In Hebrew, he shall quickly come bowed down, or bent, to open the way, that is to deliver from prison and captivity. Others translate: The pit shall quickly be opened, namely to deliver the captive, as if to say: God shall quickly loose your captivity. He shall not kill, that is the captive shall not perish unto utter destruction. Nor shall his bread fail, that is God shall feed and sustain him in captivity. 15. But I am the Lord thy God, who trouble the sea, and the waves thereof are tossed: the Lord of hosts is my name. — As if to say: I am that same almighty God, who shake the sea and lift up its waves: how therefore shall I not be able to deliver you from your enemies? 16. I have put my words in thy mouth, and have protected thee in the shadow of my hand, that thou mayest plant the heavens, and found the earth: and mayest say to Sion: Thou art my people. — As if to say: I God have put my words, that is my Gospel, in thy mouth, O Christ, or O Church, O Apostles, and in the shadow of my hand, that is in the protection of my power, I have protected thee, that thou mayest plant new heavens and a new earth, that is a new Church and a new spiritual world. Thus St. Jerome, Cyril and others.
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First therefore, the Prophet consoles the sadness of the faithful Jews and raises up their spirit: first, against pusillanimity, by giving better hope, both from the example of fruitfulness granted to Abraham and Sarah, sterile and worn out, 1, 2; and from the promise made of solace, bringing joy and gladness, 3; secondly, against sloth, by instilling emulation of the Gentiles, who will hear the Gospel preached, 4, and will embrace what they have heard, 5; thirdly, against distrust, by making attestation that the world will sooner perish than the truth of God be changed, 6; fourthly, against reproaches and wounds, by strengthening faith, both concerning the near abolition of all opposition, and on the other hand concerning the perpetuity of the Gospel, 7, 8. Secondly, when the prophet, in the name of the whole people, prays to God that He speedily deliver His people, 9; and provokes Him to examples of divine power, already shown at other times, 10: promising thanks and praises for salvation given, 11; God answers that the time pleasing to God must be awaited, and brings His people to this, and first, He rebukes the anxiety arising from fear of human strength and forgetfulness of divine power, 12, 13; secondly, He promises speedy liberation from the advent of Christ, institution and salvation, 14, 16; thirdly, He raises them to hope from the calamities by which the Synagogue, abandoned hitherto by God the avenger, was exercised, 17–21; fourthly, He decrees the transfer of punishments from the faithful to their persecutors, 22, 23. That is to say: Behold, O Jews! in Christ, whom you pierced with nails in His hands and feet, and with a lance in the side of His heart, say Procopius; St. Jerome and Haymo. This is what St. John says from Zechariah xii, 10, cap. XIX, vers. 37, concerning Christ crucified and pierced: "They shall look on Him whom they pierced," and Zechariah, III, 9, speaking of Jesus the High Priest clothed in filthy garments: "The stone which I have set before Jesus, etc. Behold I will grave the graving thereof, and I will take away the iniquity of that land in one day." AND TO THE CAVE OF THE PIT. — This is Sarah, mother of the Jews, from whom, as from a ditch or pit, the Jews were hewn out and cut forth, and so many thousands of them. The Hebrew מקבה (maccebet), that is, a pit, alludes to נקבה (nekeba), that is, a woman. It is a decent periphrasis of the conjugal act, which parents use when their small children, not knowing and wondering how they came into this world, answer and persuade them and their little brothers, as they are being born, that they themselves dug them out and are digging them out from stems or from pits. Arias and Delrio note, in adage 788, that there is an allusion to architecture; for in this the principal materials are stones and mortar or cement. Stones are obtained from a stone quarry, namely from Abraham, cement from a cave, or, as the Septuagint translates it, a pit or dug-out ditch, namely from Sarah. For she is the mother, he the father. Whence the Syriac and Arabic translate: behold the mountain from which you were hewn, behold the lake (or well) from which you were dug out. Otherwise this phrase is taken somewhat differently by the Latins; for vile and earthly men, or hard and barbarous ones, are said to be born from stone, cave or rock. Thus Homer, Odyssey XVIII: Tell me, he says, your race, whence are you? for you are not from an ancient oak, nor from a stone; which others say: "Neither from clay, nor from the progeny of earth." And Christ: "God is able from these stones (vile and hard Gentiles) to raise up children to Abraham," that is to say: He will raise the needy from the dust, and will lift up the poor from the dunghill. BECAUSE I CALLED HIM ONE, AND BLESSED HIM, — That is to say: Just as God, when Abraham was alone and sterile like a stone and pumice, inasmuch as his body was dead and his generative power, especially from Sarah an old woman, likewise sterile, gave him a son Isaac, and through him blessed and multiplied him so that he became Abraham, that is, father of many nations, and had descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea: so also God will bless and multiply the Church consisting of few Jews converted to Christ, with the supplement of all the Gentiles, so that they will embrace the whole world. Do not therefore fear, O little flock, O few faithful, Jews and Apostles! I will make you Abrahams. That this is the meaning is clear from vers. 4. Thus St. Jerome and Cyril. Of what thing therefore were Sarah and Abraham types, who being old and sterile begot Isaac, that is, laughter and joy, inasmuch as he was the son from whom Christ was to be born, who was to bring the Gospel as a most joyful message to the whole world, and was to propagate his offspring of the faithful throughout the whole world. 3. THE LORD THEREFORE SHALL COMFORT SION, — both the earthly, by leading back its citizens from the Babylonian captivity, and multiplying them in Judea, as the Hebrews, St. Thomas and Hugo explain; and more especially the spiritual, namely the Church born from the Jews in Sion: for in the time of Christ the Church consisted in them alone. Therefore God repaired the ruins of Sion, by which indeed the greater part of the Jews fell away from the faith, when they rejected Christ, through the calling of the Gentiles, and thus comforted her in her sorrow. For its ruins in Hebrew חרבתיה charboteha, which the Septuagint properly translate, τὰ ἔρημα αὐτῆς, that is her deserts: Vatablus, her desolations; Forerius, her droughts. "For just as," he says, "when enemies rage, trees are set on fire, and some stumps and dry trunks remain, and when fire rages and roofs collapse, some burnt walls survive: so when impiety devastates all things, and because of impiety the Roman soldier tears apart and tramples all things in Jerusalem, some pious Jews remain, as it were the burnt walls of that noble building, or half-burnt stumps. The Lord comforts these droughts, these remnants, because from those few, as from a kind of seed-bed, they will see an infinite multitude of the faithful come forth, and increase immensely like a harvest of the Lord."
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1. HEAR ME. — From the unbelieving Jews he returns to the Jews believing in Christ, concerning whom he dealt in chapter xxx, as I said at the beginning there, and in the preceding chapter, verse 10, saying: "Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant?" For these few mourned the unbelief of their nation. God continues here to comfort them, and raises them up to hope for better things. ATTEND TO THE ROCK WHENCE YOU WERE HEWN, AND TO THE CAVE OF THE PIT FROM WHICH YOU WERE CUT OUT (that is, as he explains by adding): 2. ATTEND TO ABRAHAM YOUR FATHER, AND TO SARA WHO BORE YOU. — He calls Abraham therefore a rock, both on account of the firmness of his faith, and because the Hebrews call families houses: hence בנים banim, that is sons, they call as it were אבנים abanim, that is stones, who are hewn from the father as from a rock. For the loins, which are the origin of seed and generative power, have the form and hardness of stones, and indeed sometimes generate stones or calculi. Thus Rachel and Lia are said to have built a house, that is a line and family, Israel, Ruth IV, 11. Some think there is an allusion here to the fountain of water drawn from the rock struck by Moses, Num. xx; for just as water flows from a fountain, so children flow from a parent. But the words "hewn and cut out" stand in the way. For water is drawn from a fountain and rock, but is not cut out or hewn out.
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AND HE SHALL MAKE HER DESERT AS DELIGHTS — In Hebrew כעדן keeden, that is as Eden; the Septuagint, as a paradise; for this was in the region of Eden. Genesis II, 8, in the Hebrew. For Eden or paradise was a place of delights most pleasant. Whence it is soon called "the garden of the Lord," which the Lord had cultivated and adorned, as it were his own garden, and is contrasted with the uncultivated and sterile desert. Thus the delights of the world were the Apostles, and the primitive Church itself, before uncultivated and desert. Furthermore, the "desert" of Sion, he either calls the deserted ruins of the Jews, of which I have already spoken; or, as Procopius and Haymo, the Gentiles deserted and forsaken by God up to this point. But the meaning comes down to the same thing. For it is certain that this desert has been changed into a paradise through the conversion of the Gentiles.
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JOY AND GLADNESS SHALL BE FOUND IN IT, — in the solitude of the Gentiles now converted to Christ, in which before there were nothing but darkness, hardships and sadness; now there shall be found nothing but joy, gladness, "thanksgiving, and the voice of praise," as if to say: The Gentiles, who before swore falsely, quarreled, blasphemed, and devoted themselves and others to dire curses, now receiving through Christ a fiery mind and fiery tongues; they will resound with nothing but hymns and praises of God. For they will see the Apostles continually rejoicing and praising God on account of so many and such great benefits which Christ has bestowed upon the world, especially by sending and giving to the faithful the Holy Spirit, and so many and such great charisms of his; whence the faithful themselves will acknowledge this, and congratulate themselves, and give thanks to God, that he has called and adopted them to so illustrious a lot of saints, and will say continually:
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I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall always be in my mouth. We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord, who hast called and transferred us from darkness and the shadow of death to light and life, from the power of the devil to the fellowship of Thy Son, from hell to the heavenly kingdoms: "Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ; as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in His sight in charity. Who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the purpose of His will, unto the praise of the glory of His grace," etc., Ephesians I, 3. This ought to be the constant voice and jubilation of Christians, and it would be in truth of all, if they would more deeply consider and weigh the good things received and to be received through Christ, and would live worthily of them, as is fitting. Now it is the lot of few, who, striving for perfection and contempt of the world, emulate the angelic life on earth; for their life and voice is nothing other than continual praise of God. For, as St. Bernard, experienced in this matter, says, sermon 11 on the Canticles: "Nothing so properly represents the state of heavenly dwelling on earth as the cheerfulness of those praising God, as Scripture says: Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, O Lord, for ever and ever shall they praise Thee." And St. Ephrem, in his tract On the Beatitudes, places this as the principal one among them: "Blessed," he says, "is he who has become like the Seraphim and Cherubim, and in divine and spiritual service is never idle, but continually glorifies the Lord."
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Christ: "He that believeth not is already judged;" and: "He that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live," etc. Fourth, because through it, as through a judgment and definitive sentence, God condemned the evil works of the world. This is indeed what Christ says: "I am come a judge into this world;" and: "This is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light," John III, 19. Moreover, this judgment is called by Isaiah light, or given "for a light to the nations," because through the preaching of the Gospel as a light, God clearly shows to all men the perversity of the works of the world, and on the other hand how much each virtue or work is worth and has merit before God. For everything that is made manifest is made manifest by the light, says St. Paul. Fifth, because through the Gospel Christ will judge, and will say to the faithful at the end of the world: "Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom;" but to the unfaithful and disobedient: "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." IT SHALL REST. — It will not pass by hastily, but "shall rest" among the Gentiles, as in its seat and place, firmly and for a long time. Forerius translates it differently, I will stir up. For it is the Hebrew רגע raga, of contrary signification, and signifies two contraries, namely, to rest and to stir up, as if you were to say: My judgment upon the nations I will stir up, that is, I will cause it to appear in a moment, and like lightning to shine forth and pervade the whole world. 5. MY JUST ONE IS NEAR, MY SAVIOUR IS GONE FORTH (that is, shall soon go forth). — These are the words of the Father concerning the Son, whom He promises to send shortly, so that He may be, He says, my saviour, through whom namely I may save the world and subject it to myself. The Hebrew and Septuagint have: My justice is near, my salvation is gone forth, which words are fitting no less to the Son than to the Father. Behold, this is the judgment which He promised to give as a light to the nations, namely, justice, that is, justification and salvation of them. These are the sources of joy, gladness and consolation promised in verse 3. MY ARMS SHALL JUDGE THE PEOPLES. — First, St. Thomas and Hugh understand by the arm of God Cyrus, who by God's strength overthrew Babylon and liberated the Jews. But these things pertain to Christ, not to Cyrus. Wherefore St. Augustine, in the book On the Essence of Divinity, understands by the arms of God, namely of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; for these proceed from the Father as arms from the shoulder. Second, Haymo, Vatablus and Lyra understand by the arms of God the Apostles; for these proceeded from Christ as an arm, and received from Him the strength to subdue the world, so as to allude to the strength and arms of soldiers. Third and genuinely, the arms of God are the forces and power which God exerted through Christ and through Christ's cross, when through the preaching of the Apostles He subjected all nations to Him. For the cross of Christ was the power of God, as the Apostle says. Thus St. Jerome, Adam, Forerius. Wherefore it alludes to the arms of Christ extended on the cross; these
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4. ATTEND TO ME, MY PEOPLE, — again and again see whence this joy and gladness of so numerous and happy an offspring shall come to you. A LAW SHALL GO FORTH FROM ME. — "Law," namely not the ancient law of Moses, but the new law of Christ and the Gospel, to wit the preaching of the Gospel shall go forth into the whole world. For "their sound hath gone forth into all the earth," namely of the spiritual heavens, to wit of the Apostles. This is what he said in chapter II, 3: "For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem." It follows concerning the same: AND MY JUDGMENT SHALL REST IN THE LIGHT OF THE PEOPLES. — The Evangelical law is called judgment. First, because it teaches us God's judgment, namely what pleases God, what displeases Him, what He approves, what He condemns. For from it we learn that humility, poverty, contempt of the world please Him, that pride, avarice, delights, etc., displease Him, and consequently God's judgment is contrary to the judgment of the world. Second, because it teaches God's judgment, that is justice, and that which we owe to each according to God's ordinance, namely to God worship, to our neighbors charity, to ourselves continence. Again, this law shall bring to men God's judgment, that is justification, so that they may live justly, piously and holily. This sense is very apt; for he adds: "My just one is near." Third, the law of Christ is called judgment, because he who receives it is adjudged to heaven; he who rejects it, to hell by that very law. This is what he says namely are strengths and as it were horns, by which he winnowed the enemies, and subdued the world, of which it is said in Habakkuk III, 4: "Horns in his hands." Moreover, to judge, among the Hebrews is the same as to govern and to rule, as I have said elsewhere. He therefore says the same thing here as in chapter XL, 10: "And his arm shall rule." Again, "they shall judge," that is they shall vindicate, the peoples from the yoke and tyranny of the devil, and shall assert them in liberty. For thus Gideon, Samson and others are called judges, that is vindicators of Israel. Thus Sanchez. THE ISLANDS SHALL WAIT FOR ME (the islanders, that is remote nations) — The Hebrew קוה kava has emphasis; for it signifies to direct, and to extend like a line; hence קו kaf signifies a line, as if to say the islanders shall extend their soul, and their hopes, vows and desires, and shall direct them like a line toward Christ. For hope as it were extends the soul toward the thing hoped for, so that he who hopes through hope as it were holds and grasps it. Hence the Psalmist says, Psalm XXIV, 1: "To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul." It is signified that there shall be a great desire of the Gentiles for Christ and Christianity, when they shall have heard of him, and his holiness and miracles. This is what Jacob foretold, Genesis XLIX, 10: "He shall be the expectation of the Gentiles." Second, Forerius thus explains the Hebrew kava, as if to say the islanders, now made Christians, shall direct and aim all their thoughts, words and actions toward Christ, as depending on him alone, and desiring to please him only. The former sense is more genuine to the Hebrew. Third, some thus expound it, they shall wait for, that is they shall most eagerly receive, just as if they had long waited for me; so that it be a metalepsis: for those things which we eagerly receive, we are accustomed to have waited for long before. AND THEY SHALL HOPE IN MY ARM, — namely, waiting, that is, as the Septuagint, Vatablus and others translate, and they shall hope in my arm. By arm he calls the power, strength and efficacy of the Gospel, or of Christianity, which changes and sanctifies minds and hearts, so that it kills vices, plants virtues in them and gives them life. Second, Forerius translates, and they shall wait for my arm, as if to say the nations shall obey the empire of Christ, shall hang on the word of Christ, and shall receive it hanging in suspense, and shall promptly execute his commands, saying: "Lord, what wilt thou have me do?" Give me a sign of thy will, I shall obey, and I shall go through rocks, through fires. 6. FOR THE HEAVENS SHALL MELT AWAY LIKE SMOKE. — In Chaldee, shall pass away. This is, as Christ says, Luke XXI, 33: "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away," as if to say the salvation and justice which I promised to give to you through Christ, verse 5, shall be firmer and more lasting than heaven and earth; for it shall be eternal, and shall stand forever: but the heavens and earth shall pass away, if not in substance, certainly in quality, form and renewal of themselves. See what is said in chapter XXXIV, 4. Thus St. Jerome. The salvation and justice of the world therefore is temporal; but the salvation and justice of God is eternal. This therefore is to be sought after with the Apostles and Martyrs, that to be neglected. For what shall it profit thee that all men who shall die tomorrow save and justify thee, if God the Lord of eternity condemn thee? Tyrants condemned the Apostles and Martyrs, killed them for a short time; they shall rise again, and shall condemn their torturers and tyrants forever. The Septuagint translates it, "because the heaven like smoke is made firm." That is, as St. Jerome explains: "Because all the firmness and strength and fortitude of the heavens is equated to the most empty wind and smoke which dissolves into the air, according to Ecclesiastes: Vanity of vanities, and all things are vanity." Such also are riches, delights, honors, pomp and all things which are contained within the circuit of the heavens. How vain and foolish therefore are those who seek after these things, and exchange them for eternal things! Symmachus translates it, οὐρανοί ἐλιώτονται, that is, the heavens like salt will melt and vanish; Aquila, οὐρανος μειωθήσεται, that is, the heaven will be reduced to nothing, not that it will properly perish and be reduced to nothing, but that it will be changed for the better, says St. Jerome, or that this its form and appearance is to be annihilated, and a new one far more august and splendid is to be given to it.
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7. Hear me (Christ speaks to His first faithful and Apostles), you who know justice (in Hebrew, righteousness, or that which is just and holy before God, I have taught you). My law in their heart,—that is, in whose heart my law and doctrine is, as Vatable and Forerius translate it. It is a Hebraism: for the demonstrative pronoun "their" is put for the relative "whose." DO NOT FEAR THE REPROACH OF MEN,—Of the Scribes and Pharisees, tyrants and other unbelievers, who will persecute you for my sake, mock you, scourge you and kill you. Whence Tertullian, book IV Against Marcion, chapter XIV, thinks Christ alludes to this, and says the same thing, when He says: "Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and exult: behold, for your reward is great in heaven," Luke VI, 22. For these words of Christ respond to these words of Isaiah as it were in antistrophe. Moreover, Tertullian reads and translates this passage of Isaiah thus from the Septuagint: "Do not fear shame from men, and do not be diminished by their nullification" in spirit, that is, do not be overcome, as others read it. For this is the Greek ηττάσθαι. Moreover, he calls nullification or nullification, the contempt by which someone is made nothing and is esteemed as nothing: "What shame? What nullification? What was to come for the sake of the Son of Man," says Tertullian, book IV Against Marcion, chapter XIV. 8. FOR AS A GARMENT,—supply, from itself generates a worm and moth, which gnaws it and consumes it: so mortal men from themselves generate for themselves diseases and death, by which they perish: "For all mortal things are condemned by mortality," as Seneca says, and especially sinners and persecutors of the Church from themselves generate crimes, which in themselves provoke the wrath and destruction of God. See the remarks on chapter L, 9. He alludes to the heavens, verse 6, as if to say: If the heavens, which are spread out and founded like air, will melt and waste away, how much more man, who is nothing but corruption and misery?
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the Red Sea, on account of its depth; violent, on account of its heat and waves. For it is a gulf or arm of the sea, where the sea being narrowed fluctuates and rages more vehemently.
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9. Arise, arise (Vatablus translates it as to awaken, to awaken, as it were from sleep of quietness, gentleness and patience), put on strength, the arm of the Lord. — Forerius wishes these to be words of God to himself, or to his virtue, namely Christ, who is both called the virtue of God and the arm of the Lord in Scripture. More clearly Sanchez judges these to be words of Isaiah, or of the people expecting and longing for the advent of Christ, so that God through him with a mighty arm might overcome demons, sin and death, and might free his faithful from them, and so that through the Apostles he might powerfully subdue enemies, tyrants and the whole world to himself. The Septuagint adds to Jerusalem; for they translate, arise, arise, Jerusalem. But truly this word is not in the Hebrew, Chaldean or Latin texts, in which "arise, arise, put on," and all the following words refer and look back to "the arm of the Lord." Furthermore, to put on strength is to prepare and gird oneself for battle, so that in it one might fight strongly and crush enemies, Psalm XCII, 1: "The Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself;" and Psalm XLIV, verse 4: "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty." It alludes to Cyrus, who was as it were the arm of the Lord in overcoming the Babylonians: indeed St. Thomas and Hugh think this to be the literal sense; but this is scarcely probable. ARISE AS IN THE DAYS OF OLD, IN THE GENERATIONS OF AGES. — The ancient days, or generations of ages, he calls the ancient times, namely the Egyptian times under Moses, between which and the present many centuries have flowed. DIDST NOT THOU, — namely O "arm of the Lord!" That this pronoun thou refers to this is evident from the feminine pronoun את at; for זרוע zeroa, that is arm, is likewise of the feminine gender. DIDST THOU NOT STRIKE THE PROUD ONE, DIDST THOU WOUND THE DRAGON, — namely Pharaoh in the Red Sea, when the Hebrews crossed it with dry feet, as follows. For he himself is called the sea dragon or river dragon, namely a whale, or rather a crocodile, because he ruled Egypt, which on one side is surrounded by the sea, on the other by the streams of the Nile, and therefore he thought himself unconquerable and insuperable. This is indeed what he says of the Pharaoh of his time, who was surnamed Ephree, Ezech. cap. XXIX, 3: "Behold I am against thee, Pharao, king of Egypt, thou great dragon, that liest in the midst of thy rivers." Thus St. Jerome, Cyril and others. Mystically, the dragon is Satan, as I said at cap. XXVII, 1. Thus Rupertus. THE WATER OF THE MIGHTY ABYSS. — He calls the Red Sea an abyss, on account of its depth; mighty, on account of its heat and waves. 11. AND NOW THEY THAT ARE REDEEMED. — The comparative particle is understood in the Hebrew manner as if, that is to say: Just as God, with Moses as leader, freed the Hebrews from the hand of Pharaoh, drowning him, and led them with joy, jubilation and exultation even into Judea to Sion: so now through Christ he will redeem them from the captivity and tyranny of the devil, namely the true Israelites, so that they may come into Sion, that is the Church, and may rejoice and jubilate, here in an inchoate manner, but perfectly in heaven. This is indeed what follows:
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EVERLASTING JOY UPON THEIR HEADS. — This indeed, as I have already said, is explained in Apocalypse VII, 16. It is a metaphor "taken," says Forerius, "from women, who carry great burdens imposed upon their heads: to which perhaps Paul also alluded, when he spoke of the weight of glory." Sanchez better judges it to be taken from crowns, which victors in triumphs or those celebrating a festival, at a feast or at weddings, place upon the head. Moreover by crowns is signified that these days will be both of triumph and of festivity and celebration. For the blessed in heaven will be crowned not with laurel, not with olive, not with thyrsus; but with the unfading crown of glory, as St. Peter says, epistle I, cap. V, verse 4.
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Again, the head is put for the whole man; for it is the principal part, in which the senses are vigorous, and it is the seat of joy and gladness, as much as of sorrow and sadness. Third, "upon the head" signifies that this gladness shall not be human and earthly; but sublime, transcendent and supernatural, namely heavenly and divine, from the grace and consolation of God, in this life; and in the future from the light of glory, the vision and fruition of God flowing forth. In a similar manner, cap. XI, 2, and cap. LXI, 1, the Spirit of the Lord, and all His gifts, are said to have rested upon Christ. For "upon" signifies these gifts to be supernatural, and to descend from heaven into men, yet in such a way that they are given to them and inhere in them. Finally, "upon" signifies the compass, abundance and magnitude of joy. For just as a crown encircles and encompasses the whole head, so shall this gladness encircle and encompass. This is what the Psalmist says, Psalm XXIX, 12: "Thou hast turned for me my sackcloth into joy." It is signified therefore that the joy shall be so great that man shall not be able to contain it; but it shall be poured around him on all sides, he shall swim in it and be inebriated by it. This is what Christ says: "Enter into the joy of thy Lord," as if to say: The joy shall be so great that thou shalt not so much enter into it, as it shall enter into thee: just as one invited to a wedding enters into the wedding hall furnished and filled with delights, music, tapestries and every delightful thing, so that it seems to enter into mere joys. JOY AND GLADNESS SHALL THEY OBTAIN. — He speaks here of joy beginning, but being consummated in heaven, as is evident from Apocalypse VII, 16. We read in histories that some in this life have been deprived of life by the magnitude of joy: how great therefore shall be the joys of the Blessed, in which they shall be surrounded on all sides and inebriated? Truly the joy would rend their heart, they would burst with joy, if God did not hold them above nature and preserve them in life. Thus Diagoras had three adolescent sons, one a boxer, another a pancratist, the third a wrestler; and he saw them all win and be crowned on the same day at Olympia. Moreover, when these three victorious sons embraced their father, and placed their crowns upon his head, and when the people, congratulating him, threw flowers upon him from all sides; he himself, unable to contain himself and his joy, straightway in that same place and stadium, in the sight of the people, breathed out his soul in the eyes and hands of his sons. Similarly we read that at the time when at Cannae the army of the Roman people was slain, an old woman, the mother of a son, was affected with extreme grief and sorrow when the news of her son's death was brought to her; but that news was false, and that young man not long after returned to the city from that battle. The old woman, suddenly seeing her son, as if overwhelmed by the ruin of unexpected joy falling upon her, was oppressed and deprived of life. Thus A. Gellius, lib. III, cap. XV. PAIN AND MOURNING SHALL FLEE AWAY. — Beautifully the Poet: We are born in tears, with tears also life is moistened, And we leave life again in tears. Death shall wipe away many tears of men, but God Himself shall wipe away all tears From all the elect. To this St. John alludes, Apocalypse XXI, 4: "And death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be anymore, for the former things are passed away." Because, as he said in verse 11: "Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads." Namely, Christ here places upon the head of His own His crown of thorns; in heaven He shall place a golden and jeweled crown, as He truly showed and granted to Blessed Catherine of Siena. The just begin this joy here, and it is the companion of their virtue, which it leads to heavenly and eternal joys. Seneca saw this through a shadow, writing to Lucilus: "I do not wish," he says, "that gladness should ever be lacking to thee, I wish it to be born in thee at home: it shall be born, if only it be within thyself. Other hilarity does not fill the breast, but only relaxes the brow: they are light, unless perchance thou judgest that one rejoices who laughs: the mind ought to be cheerful, and confident, and raised above all things." 12. I, even I myself will comfort you. — Consider what, how great, and how firm is the consolation which proceeds from so great a consoler, as a gift worthy of so great a prince. Wherefore: "Who art thou, that thou shouldest fear from mortal man?" In Hebrew from אנוש enos, that is, a miserable man, wretched, condemned to death. He rebukes lukewarm and fearful Christians, who were wavering in faith, or were about to fall away from it through fear of the Jews, Emperors, or other persecutors or mockers. Thus St. Jerome and Cyril. Whence the Hebrew is of the feminine gender, מיאת ותיראי mi at vattirei, as if to say: Why thou, O woman, fearest? For to fear when God's help and consolation are so great, especially an enemy of straw, and about to perish like straw, is of a timid and womanish nature; for thou shouldest have said: "If God be for us, who is against us?" 13. And thou hast forgotten the Lord thy maker (He gives the reason for fear, as if to say: Therefore thou fearest, as a woman, thy persecutors, because thou art unmindful of God, thy most powerful protector, who created, established and sustains the heavens and the earth. For from this, seeing the furious face of the persecutor and oppressor, thou wast afraid; but see how brief is his fury, how quickly it vanishes). WHERE NOW IS THE FURY OF THE OPPRESSOR? — as if to say: As the fury of Pharaoh persecuting the Hebrews was swallowed up by the sea, so also the fury of those persecuting thee, God avenging, shall soon be swallowed up and vanish. 14. QUICKLY SHALL HE COME THAT GOETH TO OPEN. — The Hebrews, St. Thomas and Hugh understand these things of the liberation of the Jews from the captivity of Babylon. But others commonly understand them of the aid and assistance of Christ, liberating, protecting, cherishing and nourishing his own in persecution, as if to say: Quickly shall come the arm of the Lord, that is, Christ the mighty warrior, going and trampling down thy adversaries, so that he may open the prisons and lead thee forth from thence, already condemned to death, as he did to St. Peter, Acts XII, 11. Again, "shall not kill," that is, shall not permit tyrants to kill the faithful unto utter destruction, but rather through the martyrdom of a few, shall cause many to increase. Whence in Hebrew it is ולא ימות lo iamut, that is, shall not die, namely the faithful one. Our text reads מית lo iamit, that is, shall not slay, shall not kill. NOR SHALL BREAD FAIL. — Even in the most extreme famine God shall be present, and shall provide for his own both bodily sustenance and more especially spiritual. This is what Paul, having experienced it, said: "We are straitened, but not destitute," II Corinthians IV, 8. Thus God hath often done for the faithful, and doth so, and in their straits marvellously succours them; so that when they seem to be in the depths and shut up in an eternal prison, suddenly he brings them liberty; when they seem to be at the point of death and led to the cross, he saves them and restores them to life; when they seem about to die of hunger, he abundantly supplies them with food, as Daniel, cap. XIV, in the den of lions, to whom he supplied food through Habacuc, snatched away by an Angel.
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Indeed, Forerius understands these things thus, as if it were said that God will so change the minds of the persecutors that they themselves will release the Christians whom they had shut up in prison and let them go free; those whom they had condemned to death, they will absolve; those whom they were torturing with hunger, they will nourish and feed. For thus he himself translates it: He who was tormenting (the faithful) hastened to open, and the faithful will not die in the pit, and his bread did not fail. For "going forth" in Hebrew is צעה tsoe, which Pagninus and R. Abraham translate as "bound"; Vatablus, "running about"; Forerius, "tormenting"; R. David, "captive"; Symmachus indeed, "hell". For thus he himself translates it: Hell will quickly be opened, and he will not die in corruption, that is to say, Christ dying will open the limbo of the fathers, and will lead out those bound, both in limbo and in purgatory, and in death his flesh will not be corrupted. For this is what is said in Psalm XV, 10: "Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption." Thus St. Jerome. 15. BUT I AM THE LORD — that is to say, Why do you fear, since you have me as your defender? I, who when I will, trouble the sea, can much more trouble men and your enemies, as I troubled the Midianites in the time of Gideon, Judges VII; and I am the Lord of hosts, who namely, when it pleases me, lead forth into battle the heavens, the stars, the elements, lightnings, thunders, hail, storms and innumerable legions of Angels. 16. I have put my words in thy mouth. — St. Thomas and Hugh think these are the words of God to Isaiah, or, as the Chaldean paraphrase has it, to the Prophets. Secondly, Cyril, Procopius and Sanchez hold that these words were spoken to the Apostles and apostolic men. Thirdly and most plainly, St. Jerome, Forerius, Adams and others everywhere hold that these are the words of God the Father to Christ the Son: for with the same words the Father addressed the Son, chapter XLIX, 2. And Christ is he who founded the Church, as follows. That is to say, Christ dying will open the limbo of the fathers, and will lead out those bound, both in limbo and in purgatory, and in death his flesh will not be corrupted. For this is what is said in Psalm XV, 10: "Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption." Thus St. Jerome. Moreover, under Christ he understands Christ's faithful and Apostles; for he continues to strengthen and confirm these, who were fearful and dreading the persecutions of the Jews and tyrants, as I said in verses 7 and 12, saying that he will be present to them and will give them, both wisdom and eloquence, by which they may prudently and steadfastly answer their persecutors; and both strength and fortitude, by which they may receive and endure their assaults and blows. And so God, turning away from the faithful, as from subjects, and reflecting his discourse to the head, namely to Christ, addresses and consoles the faithful in him; just as a king, turning away from soldiers, addresses the captain, and in him addresses and encourages the soldiers to battle, that is to say, Do not fear, O faithful, O Apostles, the threats and terrors of enemies; behold I have given you a head and leader, Christ. I in thy mouth, O Christ! have put my words, so that thou in turn mayest put them in the mouth of thy Apostles and faithful. Again, in the shadow of my hand I have protected thee, so that thou in turn mayest protect them under the shadow of thy hand. For the Apostles could with Moses, Exodus IV, allege two obstacles to the Gospel, namely, first, their rudeness and infancy; this he removes, saying: "I have put my words in thy mouth;"; secondly, the strength and fury of persecutors; this he removes, saying: "In the shadow of my hand I have protected thee." This is what Christ says, Matthew X, 19: "Take no thought how or what to speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what to speak; for it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you." By these words therefore Christ, the Apostles and their followers are instituted and as it were consecrated heralds of God, and God claims their mouth for himself, so that through it, as through his own instrument, he may speak. Thus St. Gregory relates it, book I of the Dialogues, chapter IV, that by these very same words St. Equitius the Abbot was instituted a preacher by an angel at God's command. For when Felix, a noble man, asked him: "Since you do not have the sacred Order, and have not received license to preach from the Roman Pontiff under whom you live, how do you presume to preach?" Equitius, being pressed, answered: "The things which you speak to me, I also consider with myself; but on a certain night a handsome young man stood before me in a vision, and placed in my tongue a healing instrument, that is a lancet, saying: Behold I have put my words in thy mouth, go forth to preach: and from that day, even when I wish to, I cannot be silent about God." St. Gregory adds: "For such a fervor to gather souls for God had inflamed him, that he so presided over monasteries, that through churches, through camps, through streets, and through the very homes of individual faithful he ran about everywhere, and stirred the hearts of his hearers to love of the heavenly homeland." Grant, O Lord, to thy Church more Equitii.
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THAT THOU MAYEST PLANT THE HEAVENS, AND LAY THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH,—that is to say, that thou mayest create and establish a new spiritual world, namely the Church and the kingdom of God, in which the faithful may live a heavenly life, and like the earth shall be solid and founded in faith, hope and charity. Thus St. Jerome, Haymo, Forerius, Dionysius, Adams and others. Some not badly interpret by the heavens the Apostles: for as the heavens bring light, so the Apostles brought the light of the Gospel to the world. By the earth, namely the new earth, the common people, who in the earthly Church, constantly receiving this light, forgetting their own weight, are borne up to heaven, and say with Paul: "Our conversation is in heaven." Wherefore some, understanding the particle beth, that is in, translate it, that thou mayest plant the heavens, and lay them as a foundation in the earth. For by the heavenly life which the Saints live, both Angels and the heavenly ones descend to men, and pious men ascend to the heavenly ones. Whence St. John, Apocalypse XXI, 1, saw the Church and the faithful, as it were a new Jerusalem descending from heaven.
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Morally, the Saints are heaven, first, because they have their heart and mind turned upward. Secondly, because they are adorned with the grace of God, and with every virtue, especially patience in tribulations. Thirdly, because they are the temple and throne of God; whence St. Augustine in Psalm CXXII: "God, he says, dwells in heaven, and the heaven of God are all just and holy souls: for even the Apostles, although they were on earth in the flesh, were heaven; because God sitting in them walked through the whole world, and Christ dwelt in them by faith, as the Apostle says: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Psalm CII. The Church therefore has its heavens, spiritual men conspicuous in life and reputation, pure in faith, firm in hope, generous in charity, suspended in contemplation. And these, raining down the saving rain of the word, thunder with reproofs, flash with miracles," etc. Fifthly, because, as St. Augustine says, in book II Against Julian: "Since we possess body from the earth and spirit from heaven, we ourselves are earth and heaven; and in both, that is in body and spirit, that the will of God may be done, we pray." Whence writing in Psalm XCVI: "Thou, he says, if thou wilt, shalt be heaven: cleanse the earth from thy heart. If thou shalt not have earthly desires, and thou shalt not in vain answer that thou hast thy heart turned upward, thou shalt be heaven: thou carriest flesh, and in heart thou art already heaven." Sixthly, heaven is said by Varro in book V of the Latin Language, because it is adorned with stars, or because it is κοῖλον, that is hollow; or, as Isidore says, because it conceals and hides the things above; or, as Rupertus in Genesis book I, chapter XXIX, from seeing, because it is conspicuous to all and is seen everywhere; as Plato in the Cratylus thinks heaven in Greek is called ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁρᾶν τὰ ἄνω, that is from beholding the things that are above; or, as Aristotle (or whoever is the author), in the book On the World, from ὅρος which is the boundary of the things that are above. Whence Philo, joining both together, in the book On the Making of the World: "Heaven, he says, is called οὐρανός; either because it is the ὅρος, that is the boundary, of all things; or because it was the first ὁρατόν, that is of visible things, made." Thus the Saint is hollow, that is entirely smooth and round: he is conspicuous to all through modesty, but hidden through devotion and contemplation. He is the same the boundary and end of all things: for God created the world on account of the Saints and the Elect. Whence St. Gregory, book XXX of the Morals, XII: "Heaven, he says, is called the Church of the elect, which while it strives toward internal sublimities through the elevation of contemplation, presses down the rising tumults of the lowest thoughts, and makes within itself a certain silence for God." The same, homily 14 in Ezekiel: "Heaven is the soul of the just, as the Lord says through the Prophet: Heaven is my throne," Psalm CII. The same, homily 30 in the Gospel: "The ornaments, he says, of the heavens are the virtues of those who preach. Hence it is written: By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and all their virtue by the spirit of his mouth; because they would not presume to resist the powers of this world, unless the strength of the Holy Spirit had solidified them," etc.
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Seventh, in heaven there is the sun, moon, and stars; thus in the soul of the just the sun is the intellect, the moon is faith, the stars are virtues, as St. Bernard says, sermon 27 in the Canticles, which is entirely about this matter: "Just as stars shine in the night, they are hidden in the day, so true virtue, which often does not appear in prosperity, shines forth in adversity: therefore virtue is a star, and man of virtues is heaven." Deservedly therefore the bride of Christ says: "I am fair as the tents of Solomon," that is, as heaven: for God stretches out "heaven like a skin," Eighth, because the just man through heavenly morals begins heavenly beatitude, and thus begins to be heaven. Hear St. Chrysostom, homily 16 on the epistle to the Hebrews: "Let us make, he says, our soul heaven. First, heaven is clear and serene, for it is not made black in winter: for it is not itself that changes its appearance, but clouds gathering together cover it;" thus the just man is serene and unperturbed. Second, "heaven has the sun; we also have the sun of justice. But I see that we are able to become even better than heaven; in what way? when we have the Lord of the sun. Third, "heaven everywhere is clean and without blemish, it is not changed in winter, not in night; therefore we also neither in tribulations, nor in the deceits of the devil should suffer this, but remain immaculate and clean. Fourth, heaven is high, and very distant from the earth; let us do this also, let us separate ourselves from the earth, and lift ourselves to that height. Fifth, heaven is above, and from rains and showers (for the clouds do not reach Olympus) and is consumed by nothing; we also shall be able to do this, if we wish. Sixth, heaven is thought to suffer, but it itself suffers nothing; thus also we, even if we are thought to suffer, yet we do not suffer, if we sit in that height with Paul and the Saints, who higher than heaven, have reached the Lord himself. Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? tribulation? or distress? or persecution? or hunger?" etc. AND THOU SHALT SAY (thou, O Christ) TO SION (to the Church): THOU ART MY PEOPLE. — For all the faithful are the people of Christ, and from this they are called Christians. 17. ARISE, JERUSALEM. — First, the Hebrews, St. Thomas, Hugo and Sanchez understand these things of Jerusalem, that is of the Hierosolymites captive in Babylon, and they think that here liberty and return to their homeland, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple are promised to them; and therefore Jerusalem is stirred up to cheerfulness and joy, and warned that henceforth it should beware of former crimes, on account of which it was delivered to enemies. For it seems the Prophet returns to the Jews in his own manner: for all these things properly pertain to them to the end of the chapter; yet under these he understands Christians as antitypes. Hence secondly, St. Jerome, Cyril, Haymo, Dionysius, Forerius, Adams, Vatablus, and many others everywhere understand by Jerusalem the primitive Church, born and gathered in Jerusalem: for he has dealt with it from the beginning of the chapter until now, and he consoles and wipes away its sorrow conceived from the fewness of the faithful, by the promise both of his protection and of restoration and numerous offspring. But, because in the city of Jerusalem some were believers in Christ, and others and more were unbelievers; hence first, he describes the slaughter of both it and the unbelievers by the Romans; then verse 22, he passes to the believers, and consoles the true Jerusalem, that is the Church, as is clearly evident in the following chapter, verses 2 and 7. For, when the Jews were almost destroyed by Titus, and when their commonwealth and Synagogue were completely abolished, then suddenly the Church gathered from the Jews began to flourish, then it raised its head. This is what he says: "Arise, arise, awake." For this was the restoration of Jerusalem and Sion, not bodily, but spiritual: for he passes from Jerusalem not believing and cut off, to believing in Christ and growing, or from the Judaic to the Christian. For just as the same people, for example the Roman, once Gentile, now Christian; so the same Jerusalem once Judaic, now Christian, especially because this began from the Jews at first and was gathered from them. See chapter VII. Add also that these things pertain to the consolation of Jerusalem, that is of the Jews still judaizing: because they in their time are to be grafted into the Church, as many have been grafted, and are grafted every year; indeed all and each can be grafted on any day, if they wish, and thus they can enjoy this consolation promised to them. Finally, others understand by the desolation of Jerusalem the persecutions which the primitive Church suffered from tyrants. But this seems forced. For these cannot be called the cup of wrath, and full of the indignation of the Lord, desolation, destruction, etc., which follow, since they were rather its glory and triumphs. WHICH THOU HAST DRUNK OF THE HAND OF THE LORD (offered and accepted) THE CHALICE OF HIS WRATH. — The chalice signifies the lot of each, sad or happy, which is measured out and attributed to each by God according to merits, or according to the will of God. It is a metaphor from banquets, in which formerly the master of the feast, who was called the Modimperator, mixed and tempered for each his own chalice. Therefore the chalice of wrath is the measure of punishment, or of vengeance from an angry God against Jerusalem, decreed and attributed for its deserts. See what is said Jeremiah XXV, 15.
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EVEN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CUP OF STUPOR. — In Hebrew it is תרעלה tarela, which Our translation renders as stupor, that is, as R. Solomon says, of stupefaction, that is, inducing stupor or lethal sleep; the Chaldean, of curse; the Septuagint, of fury; Symmachus and Theodotion, of laceration; R. David, of deadly poison; R. Jonah, of confusion and contraction; R. Emmanuel, of weeping and contraction; Arias Montanus, of disturbance and nausea; but most rightly Forerius, Vatablus and others, of trembling; רעל raal indeed signifies to tremble; and the cup is called a cup of trembling, which induces trembling and concussion of the limbs, and from this lethal stupor, such as are poisoned and cold potions. He does not therefore speak of a cup of wine mixed and aromatic, which was given to those condemned to punishment, so that the senses might be dulled, lest they feel the torments, or certainly so that they might feel them less: for this was in itself more a consolation than a pain to the condemned. Symbolically and tropologically, however, John Frederick Matenesius in the Syntagma which he wrote against him rightly adapts this cup of stupor to the cup and draught of sleep, which the Germans call Schlaftrunk: for the soporific cup induces and provokes this stupor-bearing effect.
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THOU HAST DRUNK EVEN TO THE DREGS. — Therefore thou hast drunk the whole barrel, and thou hast drunk not so much from the cup as from the barrel, and hast emptied it: there is signified the immense and extreme vengeance, the ruin and calamity of Jerusalem, which was both in the Babylonian captivity, and more so in the Roman.
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18. There is none to sustain it. — Parents in old age are accustomed to be sustained by their sons, and to lean upon them, as was done by P. Cornelius, who from this was called Scipio, because his father, walking, leaned upon him as upon a staff (scipio); whence Scipio himself gave the name to his family and transmitted it to his descendants. But at Jerusalem the contrary happened: for his sons, seditious, destroyed one another, and afflicted the city more grievously than the enemies did in the siege of Titus, as Josephus testifies. 19. TWO ARE THE THINGS THAT HAVE BEFALLEN THEE. — He names four scourges, for he adds: "Desolation, and contraction, and famine, and the sword." How then does he say there are two? Sanchez answers first, that there are two, because one, namely famine, befell the Jews in the siege; the other after the siege, the city being destroyed, namely desolation, and contraction and the sword. Second, he answers that there are two, because one was the scourge of the city, namely desolation and contraction; the other of the citizens, namely famine and the sword. So also Forerius: Desolation, he says, and contraction, are one and the same scourge; the other, however, is famine and the sword, for these are reckoned as one. Third, Vatablus: The two latter, he says, are contained in the two former. Therefore the first scourge is desolation, or famine; the other is contraction, or the sword. The second sense seems most fitting to the context. WHO SHALL BE SORROWFUL FOR THEE? — That is to say, So great is thy affliction, that both thou and those who see thee are amazed, and from amazement neither can they console thee, nor canst thou receive any consolation from them: for vehement pain brings amazement to the senses and mind, so that they feel or perceive nothing, however joyful and delightful. SHALL BE COMFORTED. — In Hebrew it is already אנחם anachem, that is, I shall comfort; but it seems it should be read ינחמו ienachem, that is, he shall be comforted: thus also the Septuagint translates it. Fourth, because like the heavens they rain, thunder, and lighten. Hear St. Augustine on Psalm CI, sermon 2: "By heaven," he says, "we not unreasonably understand the Saints of God, in whom God dwelling is present in precepts, has flashed forth in miracles, has rained upon the earth the wisdom of truth: for the heavens declare the glory of God." The same, sermon 3 on the Apostles: "The heavens are Saints declaring the glory of God, suspended from the earth, bearing God, thundering in precepts, flashing forth in wisdom." 20. THY SONS ARE CAST DOWN. — They lie stretched out in the streets and crossways, either pierced by the sword, or rather dying of hunger, wasting away, consumed: for this is the Hebrew עלף alaph. This is the same as what Jeremiah says in Lamentations IV, 5: "They that were brought up in scarlet have embraced dung:" especially because the enemies the Chaldeans, as well as the Romans, had burned or occupied the houses, so that the citizens were forced to sleep in the streets. AS AN ORYX CAUGHT IN A SNARE. — "Oryx" is a one-horned and cloven-hoofed animal, says Aristotle, lib. II Hist. animal. cap. 1, and lib. III De Part. animal. cap. II; others wish it to be an aurochs, or wild ox. Thus Gesner and Forerius. But Procopius wishes it to be a bird; yet this is scarcely probable. Better is Pliny, lib. II, XI, who says the oryx is a beast of Egypt, which has a cloven hoof, and at the rising of the Dog Star stands facing it, and as it were adores it by sneezing. The same, lib. VIII, cap. LIII: "There are also oryxes," he says, "called by some soli, clothed with contrary hair, and turned toward the head." And Oppian, Cyneget. lib. II, says it is a beast of milky color, having horns harder than bronze, iron and flint, similar to points, and that these are venomous; trusting in these, the beast is bold and fierce, not fearing hunters, nor dogs, nor even bulls, boars, leopards, lions, bears; but when it sees them rushing upon it, it stands motionless, and with head inclined pierces the belly of the attacker with its horns bent sideways. Hence Callixenes of Rhodes, as related by Athenaeus, narrates as a wonderful and unheard-of thing, that Ptolemy Philadelphus gave oryxes as draft animals in the Alexandrian procession. Thus Delrio, adage 789. Wherefore Martial, lib. XIII, thus depicts the oryx: Not the least prey of morning beasts, / The fierce oryx: it is known that to me by the death of dogs. The sense is, that is to say, As a fierce oryx, fighting with dogs and hunters, weary and at last conquered, is captured and snared, and thus snared and ensnared, and soon to be slain, is laid out in the street for all to see, so also the citizens of Jerusalem, weary, broken, worn out by hardships, and surrounded on all sides by the enemy, and as it were snared, lay in the streets soon to die, or to be slaughtered, and were a mockery to the enemies and to those passing by. He alludes to Titus, who besieged and surrounded Jerusalem and all its ways so suddenly, when all the Jews had flocked together for the Passover, that it was as a miracle that so great a city could be enclosed so quickly with a rampart and wall: then indeed the Jews were as an oryx snared by him. Thus Josephus, lib. VI Belli, cap. penult. And this was the cause why many, worn out by hunger and stench, on account of so great a multitude of people, lay lifeless in the streets.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Hie excludit secundum impedimentum, quod posset credi ex ipsa oppressione et humiliatione Judaeorum. Et dividitur in tres partes. In prima excluditur impedimentum dejectionis ex eorum paucitate; in secunda ex opprimentium potestate, ibi, Audite me qui scitis justum; in tertia ex poenarum gravitate, ibi, Ego sum qui conturbo mare. Circa primum tria. Primo excitat attentionem, ponens corum idoneitatem: Qui sequimini, bonis operibus, et quaeritis, recta intentione. Psalm. 55: «Divites » eguerunt et esurierunt; inquirentes autem Dominum non minuentur omni bono.» Secundo excludit paucitatis timorem, ibi, Quia unum vocavi eum. Tertio ponit promissionis firmitatem, ibi, Levate in caelum oculos vestros. Circa primum tria. Primo ponit exemplum: Attendent ad petram, scilicet Abraham, propter ejus senectutem, excisi, quasi violenter, non secundum cursum naturae; caverna», scilicet Saram, cui desierant fieri muliebria. Gen. 18, Rom. 4: «Non considerate » ravit corpus suum, cum esset mortuum.» In quo ostenditur quod Deus potens est fecundare. Qua a unum vocavi. Gen. 12. Et concludit divinae consolationis beneficium, Consolabitur, quantum ad reaedificationem civitatum, omnes ruinas. Ezech. 14: «Consolamini super malo quod induxit in Jerusalem, et ponet desertum, idest terram vestram, quae prius erat deserta. Et quantum ad laetitiam hominum, Gaudium. Supra 50: «Cantienne erit » vobis.» Tertio executionis modum. Attendent ad me. Et primo ponit divinae intentionem, Lex, praecptum Cyri de liberatione populi, judicium, ex justitia Domini promulgata, in lucem, consolationem.
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Supra 9: «Habitantibus in regione umbrae mortis » lux orta est.» Secundo ponit judicii propinquiatem: Prope est justus, scilicet Cyrus, vel Christus. Egressus, jam in praescientia mea. Supra 46: «Prope feci justitiam meam, et non elongabitur; » et salus mea non morabitur.» Tertio ponit judicii utilitatem: Brachia, potentes, mea, virtute, Cyrus et Darius. Insulae, diversae gentes in me sperabunt, videntes populi liberationem. Supra 42: «Ponet in terra judicium.» Levate in caelos oculos vestros. Hic ostendit divinae promissionis firmitatem per comparationem ad creaturarum mutationem. Unde primo ponit creaturae mutabilitatem, Languescent, quantum ad figuram, et quantum ad substantiam. Et similiter dicendum de aliis.
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Psal. 101: «Initio tu, Domine, terram fundasti, et opera » manuum tuarum sunt caeli.» Secundo divinae promissionis firmitatem: Salus autem mea in sempiternum erit, quam promitto, vel quia hoc ex me numquam deerit, eum sim paratus salvare, et justitiam facere. Luc. 21: «Caelum et terra tran-sibunt, verba autem mea non transibunt.» Audite me qui scitis justum. Hic excludit impedimentum quod timeri poterat ex oppressione, quantum pertinet ad potestatem opprimentium: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ponitur Domini confortatio; secundo prophetae disceptatio, ibi, Consurge, consurge.
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Circa primum primo excitat attentionem: Qui scitis justum, idest justitiam, quam in judiciis meis vobis revelavi. Psal. 147: «Non fecit taliter omni » nationi, et judicia sua non manifestavit eis.» In corde, in cognitione. Prov. 4: «Ne recedant ab » oculis tuis, custodi ea in medio cordis tui.» Secundo excludit timorem: Nolite timere opprobrium hominum, qui vos contemptui habent, de sua potentia gloriantes.
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Prov. 21: «Ego sum » vermis, et non homo; opprobrium hominum, et » abjectio plebis.» Tertio ostendit eorum fragilitatem: Sicut enim vestimentum sic comedet eos vermis. Job 13: «Qui quasi vestimentum quod » comeditur a tinea.» Quarto divini auxilii firmitatem: Salus autem mea in sempiternum erit. Supra 45: «Israel salvatus est; in Domino salus aeterna.»
Nota super illo verbo, Ponet desertum ejus quasi delicias, quia sancti habent duplices delicias. Primas gloriae, quae consistunt primo in plena Dei visione. Job 22: «Tune super Omnipotente deliciis afflues.» Secundo in perfecta dilectione. Tertio in copiosa refectio ne. Quarto in eminenti auctoritate. Secundas gratiae, quae consistunt primo in perceptione divini luminis. Psal. 158: «Nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.» Secundo in proposito vel sollicitudine boni operis. Eccl. 5: «Non » recordabor dierum.» Tertio in ornatu virtutum. Cant. 7: «Quam pulchra es, et quam decora in » deliciis!» Quarto in quiete cordis. Infra 58: «Vocaberis sabbatum deliciarum.»
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Consurge, consurge. Hic proponitur prophetae ad Deum disceptatio, qua conqueritur quod hostes populi aliter quam divina fortitudine consummantur. Unde primo ponitur prophetae petitio; secundo Domini responsio, ibi, Ego ego ipse consolabor vos. Circa primum duo. Primo ponit suam petitionem, in qua invocat divinae potentiae brachium: Brachium Domini, idest virtus Dei, consurge, quasi a somno. Psal. 43: « Exurge, quare dormis, Domine? » inducre, sicut miles arma bellica, ad hostes nostros impugnandum. Psal. 92: « Induit Dominus fortitudinem, et praecinxit se virtute. » Job 40: « Si habes brachium sicut Deus. » Allegat etiam divinae fortitudinis signum in occasione Pharaonis: Numquid non tu percussisti superbum, vulnerasti draconem, Pharaonem in divisione maris.
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Secundo annuntiat populo suae petitionis exauditionem; Et nunc, sicut fuit in exitu de Aegypto, qui redempti, de captivitate Babylonis: Ego ego ipse consolabor vos. Hic ponitur Domini responsio ad populum colloquentis: et primo promittit consolationem, Consolabor. 2 Cor. 1: « Benedictus Deus, et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Pater misericordiarum, et Deus totius consolationis, qui consolatur nos in omni tribulatione nostra. » Secundo excludit hostium timorem, ponens eorum fragilitatem. Quis es tu? Quasi femum.
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Supra 40: « Omnis caro fenum, et omnis gloria ejus quasi flos agri. » Tertio Dei protegentis potestatem: Et oblitus es Domini factoris tui. Deut. 52: « Deum qui te genuit dereliquisti, et oblitus es Domini creatoris tui? » Quarto hostis insutationem, Ubi nunc est furor tribulantis? Nabuchodonosor vel Senacherib. Job 20: « Si ascenderit in caelum superbia tua, inde detraham te. » Tertio ostendit consolationis ordinem: Cito veniet, scilicet Cyrus, ad aperiendo, carcerem captivis, non interficiet vos, sicut alii reges Chaldaeorum, nec deficiet, vobis, panis, sustentationis ipsius.
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Supra 53: « Panis ei datus est. » Supra 42: « Dedi te in foedus populi mei. » Ego autem sum Dominus Deus tuus. Hic excludit impedimentum quod posset putari ex eorum dejectione quantum pertinet ad poenarum magnitudinem: et primo ponit Dei confortantis potestatem: Ego sum qui conturbavi mare, contra peccatores diversas tribulationem immitens. Psal. 10: « Quoniam justus Dominus, et justitias dilexit. » Secundo prophetae concessam au-
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ctoritatem: Posui verba, o Isaias. Caelos, idest ut plantando praedices maiores de populo, terram, minores; vel plantes, tuis doctrinis. Tertio promittit a poenis liberationem, Elevare: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo ponit praeteritam afflictionem; secundo promittit liberationem, ibi, Ecce tuli de manu tua calicem soporis. Circa primum tria.
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Primo ostendit poenae cumulum: Usque ad fundum, quasi ad ultimum poenarum perpessa: soporis, idest mortis.
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Psal. 74: « Calix in manu Domini vini meri plenus mixto. » Secundo excludit omne humanum remedium: scilicet defensionis: Non est qui sustentet; liberationis, Non est qui apprehenda!; compassionis, Duo sunt quae occurrerunt tibi. In rebus vastitas, cujus effectus est fames; in persona contritio, cujus ultimum est gladius occidens. Jer. 15: « Qui ad gladium. » Et consolationis, Quis consolabitur?
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Thren. 1: « Non est qui consoletur eam ex omnibus caris ejus. » Tertio ostendit hujus rationem: Filii tui projecti, a terra sua, in capite viarum, quasi existentes in via, quando ducebantur in captivitatem: orix, animal immundum, idest mus aquaticus, vel animal multum dormiens, scilicet glis, vel quaedam avis quae est in Africa; vel orix origis, animal mundum simile capreo, de quo Deut. 14. Et septuaginta aliter legunt Beta, quae est quaedam herba cito solis ardore deficiens, vel genus olerum vilissimum.
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Idcirco audi haec paupercula, et ebria non a vino. Hic promittit liberationem: et circa hoc duo facit. Primo eorum liberationem, Inebriamini, et non a vino, sed amaritudine poenarum. Thren. 5: « Replevit me amaritudinibus, inebriavit me absynthio. » Qui pugnavit, in exitu de Aegypto, Exod. 14: « Dominus enim pugnavit pro vobis. » Secundo hostium, punitionem, Et ponam illum.
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Dixerunt animae tuae, Incurvare, sub potestate nostra, adeo te vilem tractantes, sicut lutum quod conculcatur. Psalm. 95: « Populum tuum, Domine, humiliaverunt, et hereditatem tuam vexaverunt. »
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v. 4 « Audite me qui sequimini quod iustum. est et quaeritis Dominum : attendite ad. petram unde excisi estis et ad. cavernam laci de qua praecisi estis,
Anc. — Admonentur pii, ut ad initium foederis attendant : ex uno Abraham ingentem multitudinem eduxit Deus, ita ex ruinis Sion dabit instaurationem gloriosam, qua salus diffundatur in universum orbem ; haec salus prope est et indeficiens, orbem praesentem duratione superans et excelsior impugnatione hostili (31, 1-8). Hanc salutem ut efficiat, vates ardenter implorat divinam potentiam olim in liberando populo adeo insignem ; certus de exauditione iam mente cernit in triumpho et exsultatione reduces ad Sion. Cum igitur Deus ita populi sui causam tuendam suscipiat, cur tandem pusillanimes hominum furorem et impugnationem timent quasi obliti Dei potentissimi? Veniet liberator Dominus, obstacula removebit, promissa sua ad regnum aeternum novum fundandum in populo suo adimplebit (31, 9-16). Quare Ierusalem iam iubetur surgere ex conditione humili et abiecta : utique experta est furorem et vindictam Domini, plaga prostrata est quam nemo hominum sanare potest, filii eius occisi vel captivi abducti sunt; at Dominus iram suam auferet ab ea et transferet in inimicos (51, 11-23). Unde Ierusalem maxima laetitiae significatione exsultare iubetur, quia Dominus succurret populo suo ab alienis oppresso et propter gloriam suam salvator aderit (82, 1-6). Iam laetus iste nuntius urbi affertur; iuremerito omnes ordines iubilant de potentia Domini coram omnibus manifestata et de salute orbi universo oblata. Verum ut huius salutis participes efficiantur, Dominum sequantur oportet ducem qui eis reditum ex exsilio concedet honorificum (32, 71-12). In oratione praecedente priorem partem capitis 49 de servo Domini vates magis explicuit; iam in hae oratione alteram illius partem de Sion prosequitur eiusque exaltationem et. gloriam post humiliationem praeclare describit, ita tamen ut clare efferat salutem a Domino concedendam minime arctis veteris theocratiae limitibus includi, verum ad orbem pertinere universum. Deinde quod 50, 10 instituerat, hac oratione pluribus exponit. Piis enim ea suggerit quae in tribulationibus ingruentibus solatio iis esse debent et quibus spem ac fiduciam suam : fuleiant atque sustentent; quare admonentur de initio foederis in familia patriarchae conspicuo, de Dei fidelis potentia, de Deo rege qui populum suum non derelinquere potest (51, 2. 13; 52, 4 seq.). Dein ipsa praeclara salutis et gloriae descriptione piorum animos consolari et ad excelsos de Deo sensus elevare studet. Demum conditionem indicat necessariam quam implere debeant, ut ad salutem illam et gloriam sese praeparent accipiendam : debent scil. sequi Dominum ab exsilio ad reditum invitantem. Quod propheta in consideratione illa 42, 13-44, 23 secutus est, partim etiam hoc loco exprimit, liberationem et salutem ita describens, ut eius initia et perfectionem summam non distinguat vel liberationem messianicam simul cum priore illa praeparatoria exhibeat.
Vates quod 50, 10 inceperat, iam latius prosequitur pios edocens de norma Dei eisque ea suggerens quibus in reipublicae conditione prostrata fidem et spem egregie sustentent. Quare Deum eos alloquentem facit
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v. 9 attendite ad. Abraham patrem vestrum et ad Saram quae peperit vos, quia unum vocavi eum et benedixi ei et multiplicavi eum »! —- quod in parte priore saepius observavimus, etiam hic occurrit, ipsum vatem locutionem metaphoricam subiuncta propria explanare (cf. 1, 8 seq. 4, 22. 93; 5, 18. 24; 9, 14. 15 etc.). Iubet eos mente ascendere ad Abraham patrem, ut quia filii indolem patris in se referre debent, fidem Abraham imitentur, qui accepta promissione fide et spe firmus cum Deo ambulavit, quamvis diu exspectare deberet, donec debile quoddam cerneret initium promissionis sibi factae. Ut filii heredes sunt illarum promissionum, quarum prima pignora et documenta in patre impleta cernunt. Quare si normam Dei eiusque agendi rationem plane perspicere desiderant Deumque vera pietate colere expetunt, rem in Abraham: gestam mente pertractent. Ipsa enim populi electi origo eos edocere debet de peculiari Dei providentia, de voluntate efficaci salutis largiendae, de Dei potentia. Sicut enim ex una lapieidina innumeri lapides, sic ex uno Abraham innumerabiles populi prodierunt (For.); ceterum metaphoram peirae seu lapicidinae accommodatam esse ad filii nomen hebr. (13 a ^33 aedificare) quasi quoddam aedificium sit ex patris satu et matris conceptu fabricatum, aut quasi lapis in aedificio aut structura familiae, iam Sanct. advertit et similia recentiores quoque monent ; alii in petra corpus Abraham iam emortuum connotari volunt (cf. S. Ephr. Cyr. Thom. Pint. Malv. Lap.) vel fidem eius firmissimam (Theod. Hahn). Simili modo vocatur Sara cavum foveae, ex qua lapides ad aedificandam domum Israel praecisi sunt; idque Hebraeis eo propius adiacet, quia domum aedificare iis idem est ac liberos suscipere (cf. Ex. 1, 21. Deut. 25, 9. Ruth 4, 11 ; Sanct.) ; ceterum in na2p?2 alludi ad 52pz veteres et recentiores monent. (Malv. Sanct. Del. Naeg.). Deus Abraham vocavit i.e. prae ceteris elegit et cum unus esset ei promissionem dedit et adimplevit de semine innumerabili; benedicere, multiplicare voces sunt sollemnes in divinis pollicitationibus Abraham coucessis; ef. Gen. 12, 9. 3; 43, 15. 16; 18, 18; 22, 1'1 etc. Uti ergo partem cernunt iam impletam eius benedictionis et multiplicationis, ita firmiter sibi persuadeant totam promissionem quae tandem in benedictione messianica absolvitur, iri completum ; in Abraham enim et eius semine omnes gentes iri benedictum promittebatur et oraculum illud in Messia demum compleri iam declaratur Ps. 4, 17, cum ibi de Messia dicatur : et benedicentur in ipso omnes tribus terrae. Quemadmodum Deus de uno homine tanta populorum millia procreavit et Abraham e conditione solitudinis cuiusdam ad patrem evexit multarum gentium, ita vastitatem et ruinas Sion instaurabit similiter ; (cf. S. Ephr.) quare
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v. 3 « consolabitur ergo Dominus Sion et consolabitur omnes ruinas eius et ponet desertum eius quasi delicias etsolitudinem eius quasi hortum Domini. Gaudium et laetitia invenietur. in ea, (gratiarum actio el vox laudis » ; — hebr. quia consolatur, uti modo dictum est quia unum vocavi eum; ita nexus rerum internus ipsa forma exprimitur et duo illa efferuntur concinne, ad quae attendere oporteat ; bene quoque dicitur in hebr. et ponit desertum eius quasi Eden, LXX &g xapáóstscy Sicut, paradisum, cui in membro parallelo Aortus Domini respondet; qua voce summa quaedam amoenitas et pax declaratur, eo aptius hoc loco, quia Messias damnum illud ab Adam illatum reparaturus est et desertum peccato inductum in paradisum gratiae commutaturus. Promittit itaque Sionis instaurationem (ita enim ruinas consolabitur) eamque multo excellentiorem conditione pristina, talem scil. qua quasi paradisi amoenitas et summa Dei cum homine familiaritas adumbratur. Est itaque restitutio status prioris peccato perditi. Hanc restitutionem comitatur et consequitur in hominibus beata laetitia et summa gratiarum actionis laudisque exhibitio. Unde optime declaratur, quomodo beatitudo creaturae ultimatim tendat et referatur ad Dei laudem et gloriam, in qua exaltanda totus demum finis creationis absolvitur. De aedificatione urbis vide 49, 171. 19. Ad declarandum autem quo sensu aedificatio sit capienda, praeterea vide quae ad Zach. 2, 2 et 10, 4-'1 adnotavi. In Sionis instauratione describitur theocratiae instauratio et indoles; est quippe Sion et Ierusalem civitas Dei, centrum regni Dei in vetere foedere constitatum; quare facile in eius restitutione ipsum regnum Dei instauratum depirgi potest. Notari oportet, quantopere hoc quoque loco indoles spiritualis instaurationis designetur; id bene observat S. Hier. : « et hoc notandum quod in Sion quae comparatur paradiso Dei aliud esse non debeat nisi gaudium et laetitia, confessio et vox laudis, ut quod in coelis facturi sunt sancti cum angelis Dei, hoc etiam in terra iugi in Domini laude meditentur ». Iam unde ista consolatio et laetitia proventura sit, explicatur et ideo etiam quomodo aedificatio illa et instauratio sit efficienda, proponitur
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v. 4 « attendite ad. me popule meus et tribus mea me audite : quia. lex a me exiet et iudicium meum in lucem populorum requiescet » ; — hebr. potius et ius meum collocabo in lucem populorum ; ponit hisce verbis, utait S. Thom., exsecutionis modum ad antecedentia, vel ut For. adnotat, aliis verbis explicat, quod dixerat : scitis unde consolatio ventura sit, unde gaudium et laetitia. Cum emphasi populum iudaieum et tribum illam suam electam compellat, ut e? annuntiet, legem, doctrinam divinam et normam iusti et veri positum iri in lucem omnium; proinde cum instauratione illa id iri coniunctum, ut quod eousque proprium fuerit stirpi israeliticae 1. e. legem habere divinitus datam et normam veri et iusti a Deo positam, id iam cedat in utilitatem et illustrationem populorum ; aliis verbis salutem offerri omnibus et instaurationem theocratiae fieri ita, ut ad omnes populos regnum Dei extendatur. Quare id propheta iam speciali ratione tribui suae annuntiat, quod postmodum adeo erat offensioni Iudaeis, etiam ipn gentes effundi gratiam Spiritus sancti sine lege mosaica intermedia. Effertur lex, doctrina, ius divinum, ut indoles instaurationis describatur (cf. 49, 2. 6; 50, 4) quaeita quoque clare a liberatione per Cyrum efficienda distiaguitur. Huius salutis certitudinem affirmat
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v. 5 « prope est iustus meus, egressus est salvator meus et brachia mea populos iudicabunt; me insulae exspectabunt et. brachium meum sustinebunt » ; — hebr. prope est iustitia mea, egressa est salus mea .... et brachium meum praestolantur ; in hebr. ponuntur abstracta, pro quibus S. Hier. substituit. iustum, salvatorem, quia iste status iustitiae et salutis, uti lam ex 42, 3. 4 patet, demum per servum Domini est efficiendus. At melius tamen retinentur cum textu hebr. et LXX abstracta. Prope est iustitia, ad solamen dicitur afflietorum et revera in unaquaque calamitate piis prope adest, quippe qui fide et spe suffulti salutem a Deo consequi possunt et consolationem. Iam egressa est salus, quatenus verbum de salute per prophetiam iam est annuntiatum et haec salus pro indole temporis iam ab unoquoque Iudaeo possit possideri, quippe qui iam possideat legem illam Dei et normam veri etiusti, quam Deus allatum iri dieit populis. Opus Dei prope est eorum cognitioni; ergo prope est sensu eodem, quo 48, 'i res oraculo patefactae dicuntur «creatae; idque eo magis quia divina dispositione res israeliticae ad illud opus divinum instituuniur ac diriguntur. Huic via paratur apud populos iudicio; de qua re vide quae vates a cap. 13 et deinceps proponit. Haec iudicia tamquam documenta insignia divinae potentiae designantur, unde brachia mea populos iudicabunt; eorum speciem — quandam et praeludium habes in iudicio quod Cyrus exercebit (cf. 41, 3. 25; 48, 1 seq.). Ceterum frequens est apud prophetas efferre iudicium quo regnum Dei inter gentes constituatur vel ei via paretur (cf. Mich. 1, 13. Agg. 2, "1. Zach. 1, 21 etc.). Illa autem iudicia quibus hominum pompa et fastus deiicitur (cf. 2, 12 seq.) homines ad Deum adducunt; quare subditur me insulae exspectabunt; cf. 49,4; brachium potentiam Dei dicit h. l. quatenus illam miserando et salvando maxime manifestat. Atque iuremerito huic saluti omnia magno quodam desiderio obviam feruntur quia est salus sempiterna; unde si animis cadere volunt et propter ruinas praesentes nimium affligi, hac cogitatione ut se arment ac confortent, propheta monet simul aliam afferens rationem, cur ad Dominus oporteat attendere
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v. 6 « levate in coelum oculos vestros et videte sub terra deorsum, quia coeli sicut. fumus liquescent et terra sicut vestimentum atteretur et. habitatores eius sicut haec interibunt, salus autem mea in sempiternum erit et iustitia mea non deficiet »! — coelum et terra transibunt, verba autem mea non transibunt! Locus insignis et ad animos consolatione erigendos factus. Ut oculos attollant in coelum, monet, et firmamentum considerent et stellarum agmina, quae illustria sunt et firma et stabilita et mira constantia per annorum millia iam consistunt; dein terrae firmitatem et inconcussam stabilitatem perpendere iubentur : verum etsi haec omnia dissolvantur et cadant et cum iis habitatores orbis, salus tamen Domini in sempiternum consistet, et status ille rectus quem Deus vult et efficit nunquam tabescet, nunquam concidet ; ergo etiam illi qui ea salute et iustitia donantur beatitate fruentur in perpetuas aeternitates. Haec scil. ut For. notat, ad cumulum consolationis et gaudii faciunt; non brevi tempore durabit hoc imperium, sed multo magis stabile est quam coelum et terra. Divinae ergo promissionis firmitas quam maxime declaratur (S. TAom.). lussi sunt antea ex coeli aspectu divinam discere potentiam (40, 26) ; iam ex eodem aspectu discant promissiones Dei firmitate et soliditate omnia quae creata sunt longissime superare. Coelum et terram iri immutatum, dissolutum, Isaias iam in priore parte indicaverat (cf. 13, 10. 13; 94, 1 seq.); cf. Ioel 2, 31; 3, 45. Verba ita conformata sunt, ut ex oliis s. Scripturae locis inferri debeat comparationem institui ex illa coeli terraeque dissolutione et transmutatione quae in consummatione saeculorum aderit (cf. Matth. 24, 29. Marc. 13, 24. Luc. 21, 13 et praesertim 2 Petr. 3, 10). Non quidem coeli et terra destruentur, verum praesens figura cessabit; nam « coeli magno impetu transient, elementa calore Solventur, terra autem et quae in ipsa sunt opera exurentur » (2 Petr. 3, 10); sed transibunt, non abolitione, sed immutatione, transibunt qualitate, forma et innovatione (Sasb. Pin. Lap.), nam « novos coelos €t novam terram exspectamus » (2 Petr. 3, 13; cf. Rom. 8, 21). Unde vi comparationis salus Domini demonstratur immutabilis talisque quae non vetere quadam et imperfecta conditione cum dolore et, angustia destructa (uti fit in coelis terraque) ad perfectionem demum traducenda sit sed quae in se iam contineat et includat cumulum omnium bonorum possessione perfectum. Illud de coelis et terra Sanct. censet solum hypothetica quadam seu conditionali comparatione dici, uti iam Barh. quoque rem concipit explicans verba : « si volo, illa facio transire » ; sententiam ita declarat Sanct. : « qualis ex aliquorum sententia est illa Matth. 24 : coelum et terra transibunt, verba autem mea non praeteribunt, hoc sensu : si alterum horum defecturum sit, deficient prius coelum et terra, quam meis verbis deficiat fides. Ita explieat hune locum Tansenius ex sententia Euthymii el pene probat Christus Luc. 16 : facilius est coelum et terram praeterire quam a lege unum iola cadere. Cuius loci ea videtur esse sententia, ut optime ibi [ansenius, non quod coeli et lerra praeteritura sunt aliquando, sed illud citius eventarum quod nemo futurum putat, quam contingat, ut inane excidat divinum verbum ». Sed inspeclis verbis et modo loquendi absoluto, dein in considerationem adhibitis iis, quae alibi de consummatione saeculorum docemur, neque opus est neque commode fieri posse videtur, ut ad locutionem hypotheticam, quae nulla ratione indicatur, confugiamus. Cum igitur salus Domini tanta polleat firmitate et perpetuitate, quid iam iis timendum erit qui ea salute donantur? v. '1 « audite me qui scilis iustum, populus meus lez mea in corde eorum, nolite timere opprobrium hominum et blasphemias eorum ne metuatis »! — qui salutis illius stabilis participes futuri sint, declaratur ; sunt scil. qui re et experientia norunt id quod rectum, iustum, Deoque placitum est, qui legem Domini non in ore tantum sed in animo gerunt, ergo ex animo illam amplectuntur et proinde opere exsequuntur cum dilectione. Uti salus res creatas soliditate et stabilitate superat, ita quoque longe superior est mala hominum voluntate et perversis eorüm studiis et conatibus. Eo quod pii admonentur nolite timere, impugnationes adfore ostenditur, quae et rebus gestis iniuriisque illatis opere et verbis consistent. Quibus infestationibus ut fortiter obviam eant, eadem illis proponitur victoriae certitudo, qua servus Domini animum calamitatibus superiorem demonstravit (50, 9) ;
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v. 8 «s?cut enim vestimentum, sic comedet eos vermis, et sicut lanam, sic devorabit eos tinea; salus autem mea in sempiternum erit. et iustitia mea. in, generationes generationum » ; — eadem igitur cogitatione at se arment et confortent qua servus Domini, admonentur. Ergo similis eis cum ipso sors, verum etiam victoria similis praedicitur, dummodo similes quoque sensus animis foveant. Sensus ergo servi Domini induant! Tunc erit victoria et salus perpetua. Proinde sicut servus Domini per tribulationes tendit ad gloriam, ita pii quoque eadem via incedere debent. Sed animos assumant ex doctrina servi Domini! Quid enim sunt omnes impugnationes hominum ? Quam facile a Domino diluuntur (S. Cyr.)! quanta enim est eorum fragilitas comparatione descripta, quanta vero salatis firmitas (S. Thom.) ! Repetitione sententiae ex v. 6 aeque graviter quam sollemniter affirmatio sancitur. — Elucet ex v. 4. 5 seq. instaurationem urbis ita intelligendam esse, at ex ea lex et iustitia Domini et salus diffundatur ad orbem universum. Unde h. l. simul clare enuntiatur, ad quid instauratio urbis ex Dei consilio tendat et quid urbem instauratam consequi et subsequi debeat. Quare iterum deprehendimus, quam intimo nexu cum instauratione urbis diffusio salutis vel nova illa theocratia universalis et spiritualis a propheta coniuncta cernatur. Idque iure; nam « ex Sion exibit lex et verbum Domini de Ierusalem » 2, 3.
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v. 9 « Consurge, consurge, induere fortitudinem brachium Domini ; consurge sicut in diebus antiquis, in. generationibus saeculorum! numquid non tu percussisti superbum, vulnerasti draconem »? — ardens quaedam cupiditas quae morae sit impatiens, exprimitur ; potentia Domini quiescere videtur, dum populum suum in humili conditione diutius manere permittit; unde evigila (hebr.); et salutem quae nunc efficienda est, fore praeclaram, unde opus esse magna quadam divinae potentiae ostensione, declaratur quia brachium Domini iubetur induere robur, ergo maxima quadam vi se instruere. Deum admonet magnalium quae olim pro populo patravit; ne ergo permittat illa frustra esse facta ; ne ergo a se ipso deficiat et se quasi inconstantem praebeat talem populum nunc diutius derelinquens. Opus semel tanta vi inceptum ad exitum perducat! Eos quos tanta potentiae ostensione honoravit ne diutius in miseria tabescere sinat! Ad quid enim tam magna miracula? In memoriam revocat magnalia contra Aegyptios patrata ; 211 cf. 30, 'i designat Aegyptum eiusque denotat ferociam et fastum; de "n vide 27,1; Aegyptus Nili aquis fecunda potest tamquam anguis aquatica considerari, vel tamquam crocodilus, fera bestia, quam Dominus perfodit, cum primogenitos vastator angelus interimeret et Deus exercitum Aegyptiorum undis involveret et interficeret. Ceterum regna Deo inimica iis declarari nominibus, vide Ps. 86, 4; 88, 11. Ez. 29, 3. Liberatio babylonica et messianica saepius cum illa ex Aegypto confertur (cf. 11, 15. 16; 43, 47l. Mich. 1, 15). Hac obsecratione propheta pios docet, quam ardenti desiderio manifestationem divinae potentiae debeant expostulare ; docet enim modum orandi Deumque obsecrandi et beneficia iam praestita adhibendi, ut Deus ad opus perficiendum urgeatur. Nam qui olim tantum studium et amorem populi exhibuit, quomodo nunc tardabit? Quare vates multus est in antiquo illo studio et amore Dei describendo
Salutis perennitate et sublimitate exposita et mente pertractata quid aliud sua sponte in animo prophetae enasci debuit, nisi vehementissimum quoddam eius desiderium ? Quare, uti 45, 8, ita nunc similem in modum Deum implorat, ut ad eam salutem efficiendam potentiam suam exserat
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v. 10 « numquid non tu siccasti mare, aquam abyssi vehementis? qui posuisti profundum maris viam, ut transirent liberati »? — en, ut populum educeres e servitute, tanta perfecisti! Num ergo labor erit cassus? denuo scil. servitute et captivitate populus tenetur (cf. 429, 92). Notanda est verborum vis mare siccare, aquas abyssi vehementis, profunda maris convertit in viam ; et omnia haec perfecit, ut populus vindicaretur in libertatem, ut secure pergeret ad terram Dei ! Sed haec omnia iam iacent prostrata ; an ergo alius beneficia illa praestitit, quia iam non de illis curare videris! Hic sane discere possumus, quanta eloquentia vates ardens suum desiderium Deo proponat. Sed illa magnalia pignus sunt et documentum et exemplum futurorum, ut fide inconcussa opus Dei gloriosum iri perfectum credant (cf. S. Cyr.). Quare vates ab ardenti postulatione ad certam laetamque praedictionem transit iam cernens mente impletum quod a Deo efflagitaverat
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v. 14 « et nunc qui redempti sunt a. Domino revertentur. et venient in. Sion laudantes et laetitia. sempiterna super capita eorum, gaudium et laetitiam tenebunt, fugiet dolor et gemitus » ; — idem versus legitur 35, 10 et salutem a Domino dandam tamquam statum omnium bonorum possessione absolutum et perfectum describit, unde voces iubilationis et gaudii cumulantur. In hac pompa festiva et beatitate perenni cernitur gloria operis servi Domini; ita declaratur, quid demum sibi velit illud : ut diceres his qui vincti sunt : exite (49, 9) et : scio quoniam non confundar (30, 7) ; hac igitur celebritate absolvitur instauratio Sionis (cf. 49, 8; 51, 3) et perspicue docetur, ad quale pondus gloriae ex huius vitae miseriis et tribulationibus demum perveniendum sit. Unde hoc versu piis qui simul cum servo Domini afflictionibus tentantur (cf. v. 1; 50, 6. 40) maxima offertur consolatio. facillime liberationis desiderium precatione facta perficitur certissima illa spe vel potius natura sua ad spem hane concipiendam et enuntiandam fertur. Dein non est omittendum, hoc v. 11 bene absolvi salutis sempiternae descriptionem. Demum spe illa ostensa et animis infusa quam maxime efficaciter pusillanimitas retunditur. Hanc autem in subsequentibus Deus reprehendit, quae reprehensio magis animos tangit et salutari pudore offundit, si praeclarum illud fastigium et culmen gloriae, ad quod Deus est adducturus, antea fuerit exhibitum. Unde in v. 11 optima pariter adest praeparatio ad sequentia, qua animi ita afficiuntur et disponuntur, ut verba ea acrioribus quasi stimulis infigantur. Cur ergo. versum removere qui adeo apte ex antecedentibus sequitur eaque absolvit et adeo psychologice animos disponit ut verba subsequentia fructum afferant et effectuni sortiantur quam plenissimum ? Adde, quod testes antiqui LXX, Syrus, Chald. versum praebent; etiam eum adfuisse apud Aq. Sym. Theod. vocibus pluribus servatis ostenditur. Hac spe ostensa iuremerito increpat Deus pusillanimes : ecce tam praeclara ego praesto et praestabo, nonne decet vos pudore suffundi propter diffidentiam et vanum timorem?
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v. 12 « ego, ego ipse consolabor vos! quis tu t£ timeres ab homine mortali et a. filio hominis: qui quasi fenum ita arescet »? — hebr. ego, ego ipse consolans vos; et qua ratione, optime explicatur v. 11; unde apte adiungitur : quomodo ergo tu times hominem (qui) moritur et filium hominis (qui) fenum traditur (hebr.) qui. ut fenum interitui obnoxius est et tam facile marcescit. Deo omnipotenti summa hominis fragilitas opponitur; etsi terreat homo, non diu durabit, morietur enim; etsi formidabilis videatur, sicut gramen est labilis. Cum ergo populus ita sit constitutus, ut ex una parte babeat Deum consolatorem omnipotentem benignissimum, ex altera adversarium hominem maxime fragilem, quare tam male sibi consulit, ut timeat (cf. For.)? Excludit itaque, ut S. Thom. ait, hostium timorem ponens fragilitatem hostium et Dei potentiam. In quam rem etiam sequentia dicuntur
51:13
v. 13 « et oblitus es Domin? factoris tui, qui tetendit coelos 'el fundavit terram, et formidasti 4ugitler tota. die a. facie furoris eius qui te tribulabat et paraverat ad perdendum ; ubi nunc est furor tribulantis »? — Dei potentiam effert creatoris, qui quem populum sibi formavit et delegit nunquam abiiciet (43, 1), qui tamquam coeli terraeque conditor (cf. 40, 22; 42, 5; 44,94; 45, 12) satis virium habet ad hostium conatus eludendos. Quia talis Dei obliti sunt, homines timent et iugiter contremiscunt. Unde bene For. : obiurgationem habet percunctatio haec. Is qui populum oppressit et disposuit ut perderet (cf. hebr.), Chaldaeus est (cf. 52, 4), sed ita ut omnes oppressores pariter in uno illo exhibeantur; procedit enim modus loquendi a calamitate a Babyloniis inflicia, attamen in ea minime sistitur, uli totius sermonis conformatione proditur. Interrogatione : ubi est furor oppressoris (cf. Deut. 98, 53. 35. 51)? oratorie indicatur hostium impetum ita iri exstinctum, ut ipsi illi pusillanimes de priore diffidentia et timore mirentur et quam inanes fuerint timores et trepidationes, non sine pudore fateantur. Idque confirmatur praedictione salutis et liberationis v. 14 hebr. cito incurvatus vel vinculis constrictus solvetur nec moritur ad. interitum (misera morte) nec deficiet panis eius; ergo hostes nulla ratione praevalebunt, Deus curam queque gerit liberatorum, ne qua in re penuriam vel inopiam experiantur; qui oppressus est et ligatus vel vinculis captivitatis (cf. 49, 9) vel generatim variis miseriis, in libertatem vindicabitur et postea vita vitaeque commodis Deo protegente abunde fruetur. Liberationem etiam praedictam habemus, licet parumper alia ratione, in vulg.
51:14
v. 44 « cito veniet gradiens ad. aperiendum et non interficiet usque ad internecionem, nec deficiet panis eius »; — gradiens ! ille est liberator; in hoc sermone post 49, 9 non poterit cogitari nisi de servo Domini, de Messia, quem pariter vox illa ad aperiendum (42, 1) designat ; Cyrum intelligere (cum S. Thom. Pint.) ab hoc contextu alienum est, cum in hac sectione de eo non fiat mentio; quare etiam hoc loco nequit intelligi neque qua talis qui pro pignore et arrha tutelae divinae et liberationis per Christum (T'/r.) datus sit. Membrum alterum et non interficiet... non potest commode referri nisi ad tribulantem v. 13, qui scil. interitum non poterit afferre populo, quia adest servator, cuius auxilia et subsidia nunquam deficient. Quod alii vertunt et explicant : non sinet interficere i. e. hostes impediet ne nos penitus deleant, ad sensum quidem aptum est (cf. Lap. Loch), at ex verbis iste sensus extundi nullatenus potest. Pro liberatione populi ligati (Vat.) vel vincti (Mald. cf. v. 14 hebr.) Deus denuo suam potentiam tamquam pignus ponit
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v. 15 « ego autem sum Dominus Deus tuus qui conturbo mare et intumescunt fluctus eius; Dominus exercituum nomen meum »; — i. e. cuius increpationem maria sentire et timere ostendunt fluctibus frementibus, cuius ad nutum maria obediunt (cf. Iob 26, 12. Ier. 31, 35), cui praesto sunt agmina coelestia et terrestria. Vide quam multiplici ratione vates studeat ex rerum naturalium creatione, mole, operibus demonstrare et quasi palpabilem reddere potentiam Dei; hanc si animis omnium bene impresserit, certo confidit addito verbo prophetiae fore ut maxima fiducia promissa Dei amplexi in rebus etiam difficillimis laetam retineant spem. Quare pergit ostendens Deum non solum velle populum in libertatem vindicare, verum etiam cum ipso regnum suum fundare quod coelum et terram complectatur
51:16
v. 16 « posui verba mea in ore tuo et in umbra manus meae protexi te, 4t plantes coelos et fundes terram et dicas ad. Sion : populus meus es tu »! —— uti verba in vulg. efferuntur, ad populum non possunt dirigi, quia sane ipse populus non potest dicere ad Sion : popu- ]us meus es tu. Ergo non possunt referri nisi ad servum Domini, de quo pars quaedam totidem verbis dicitur 49, 2; et ita multi verba explicant (ef. S. Hier. Osor. Pint. Mald. Malv. For. Schegg, Reinke, Troch. Naeg.); pauci quidam ea dicta esse volunt ad Isaiam (S. Thom. Mar.) vel saltem de eo posse etiam valere (Calm.). Verum cum a v. 12 constanter populus compelletur, tam repentina mutatio durior videtur, neque ea opus erit, si textum hebr. sequimur qui omnino verti potest : posui verba mea in ore tuo... ad. plantandos coelos et fundandam terram et ad dicendum Sioni : populus meus tu! i. e. ut plantem coelos et fundem terram (cf. Vat. Mar. Malv. Sanct. et recentiores). Pergit itaque Deus alloqui populum et uti supra iam intima eius cum servo Domini societas et similitudo indicata est (cf. 50, 10; 51, 8), ita hoc quoque loco verbis illis ex 49, 2 depromptis arctum exsistere vinculum innuitur inter servum Domini et populum redemptum. Neque id mirum videri potest, postquam opus servi Domini in redemptione collocari dictum est, (49, 9) et servum Domini sua obedientia expiasse populi inobedientiam etiam indicatum est (50, 4 seq.). Ait itaque Deus se, oracula sua cum populo ; communicasse et in populo suam se reposuisse revelationem (cf. 2, 3) et populum tam mira protectione defendisse et confirmasse, quia per revoluit, scil. resnum suum ita vult extendi, ut coelos terramque complectatur, ut novi quasi coeli plantentur, nova fundetur terra, quia nova illa et supernaturali regni Dei creatione ad novam conditionem evehuntur. Hisce vates iam ea praeparat quae 63, 1'7 de novis coelis et nova terra dicturus est; dicuntur plantari, fundari vel innovari etiam propterea, quia regnum Dei demum in innovatione et glorificatione creaturae absolvetur (cf. ad v. 6. Rom. 8, 21. 9 Petr. 3, 13). Hoc vero opus Dei ad coelos plantandos et terram fundandam, quod tamquam novum creationis opus designatur et proinde coelum et terram ad altiorem quandam conditionem evehet, in eo oritur, vertitur, ut Sioni dicat : populus meus es tu; Sion centrum et sedes theocratiae est (2, 2); ibi regnum Dei collocatum est et ex Sion propagabitur in orbem universum. Refert S. Hier. se vertisse sicut Aq. quoque; Sym. vero : ponam verba mea in ore tuo et in umbra n:anus meae protegam te in qua plantavi coelum et fundavi terram et ut dicam Sion : populus meus es tu ; sim. LXX; at in ultimo membro praebent: xoi ége? Xov ^! Aoóg uou &i cv. S. Cyr. hanc habet et explicat lectionem: et dicet Sion : Deus meus es tu; Procop. utramque coniungere videtur scribens : Sion dicet Domino : Deus meus es tu, a quo vicissim audiet : populus meus es tu. Syrus quoque praebet, sicut LXX et Sym. in ea (scil. manu) plantavi coelum, dum Chald. exprimit textuin hebr. : protexi te ad suscitandum populum, de quo dictum est fore ut multiplicentur tamquam stellae coeli, et ad füundandum coetum, de quo dictum est fore ut multiplicetur sicut pulvis terrae, et ad dicendum habitantibus in Sion : populus meus tu. Lectio quam LXX, Sym. Syrus exprimunt facilior est et divinam potentiam eo fere modo describit quo saepius iam declarata est. Textus hebr. difficilior est, cum modus loqueudi de regno Dei tamquam de coelo plantando * et fundanda terra certe sit inusitatus et non explicetur nisi demum 65, 17 et 66, 22. Sed quia postmodum haec ratio ac denominatio invenitur et Isaias saepius quae antea brevi perstrinxerat postnodum explicatius proponit, textus hebr. videtur praeferendus et lectio altera solum introducta ad sensum reddendum planiorem. — Obiicit Naeg. inepte dici : posui verba mea... ut dicerem ad Sion; at immerito; quid enim vel ineptum vel falsum inveniri potest in eo, quod Deus quia hune populum sibi clegit in eo sua reposuit oracula? Idem enim asseritur ea locutione quod dicit S. Paulus quoque : quid ergo amplius Iudaeo est? multum per omneni modum ; primum quidem quia credita sunt illis eloquia Dei (Rom. 3, 4. 2). 1. Sed etiam lezitur in aliquibus codd. zxi £26 vf Xwov; vide F'ield ad h. I. Cum itaque regnum Dei quod coelum et terram complectitur et innovabit in populo sionitico quasi in suo primordio et radice fundetur, iuremerito admonet propheta Ierusalem, ut spe adeo praeclara et dignitate hac maxima praedita e miseriis caput emergat et licet afflicta, tamen ob praeclaram suam electionem se consoletur ; v. 4'7 « Elevare, elevare, consurge lerusalem, quae bibisti de manu Domini calicem irae eius, usque ad fundum calicis soporis bibisti et potasti usque ad faeces » ! — iusto Dei iudicio urbs iacet prostrata (cf. 29, 4) ; Dominus ei miscuit et dedit calicem irae (cf. 19, 14; 29, 18) i. e. tantam ei immisit calamitatem, ut pro eius magnitudine stupefacta et quasi ebria efficeretur. Sors quae alicui attribuitur vel pars et portio calix quandoque dicitur qui alicui porrigitur ad bibendum; unde calix irae Domini est poena quam Dominus infligit, et iste calix ut caliz poculi vertiginis (hebr.) designatur, ut poenae magnitudo qua obruti et obstupefacti usu sensuum destituantur et ebriorum instar cadant, usitata metaphora declaretur (cf. Ier. 25, 15. 21, Ez. 23, 32. Hab. 2, 16. Ps. i4, 9; 19, 6). Aique ea erat calamitas eui ab hominibus remedium afferri poterat nullum
51:18
v. 18 « non est qui sustentet eam ex: omnibus filiis quos genuit, et non est qui apprehendat manum eius ex omnibus filiis quos enutrivit » ; — non erat qui eam duceret (hebr.); eius casum et ruinam nemo ducum, principum, sacerdotum avertit neque prostratae manum porrexit ut eam e vili conditione erigeret. Qua comparatione restitutio theocratiae tamquam opus Dei describitur, ad quod perficiendum vires humanae non sufficerent. Quae hucusque comparationibus dicta sunt, iam propriis verbis declarantur, uti saepius apud Isaiam fit (cf. 1, 6. 22. 95 etc.)
51:19
v. 19 « duo sunt quae occurrerunt tibi ; quis contristabitur super te? vastitas el contritio et fames et gladius; quis consolabitur te » ? — duo simul mala incurrerunt : dira telluris aedificiorumque vastitas et foeda hominum excisio (Osor.) quos vel fames vel gladius hostium abstulit. Utrumque malorum genus duobus significatur quo eorum exprimatur magnitudo; quae eo quoque declaratur, quia nemo propter tantam malorum stragem vel possit vel audeat illam consolari, illam alloquio erigere. Nullus eiusmodi conatus consolandi tentatur, cum plaga nimia cernatur quàm solo silentio et lacrimis lugere possunt. Illud contristari explica : quis condoleat tibi vel te commiseretur, te alloquio soletur (cf. Nah. 3, 1). Sicut ergo amici Iob cernentes nimium eius infortunium « sederunt et nemo loquebatur ei verbum, videbant enim dolorem esse vehementem » (Iob 2, 13), ita qui cernit urbis casum tacens rei eventum secum meditatur et in tanta ruina nullum esse consolationis locum agnoscit. Id omnium nomine vates fatetur se quoque imparem consolationi afferendae dicens : quis consolabor te (hebr.) ? ita scil. unusquisque dicere debet : quis ego ut afferam tibi solatium ? est modus alius dicendi humanis viribus vel subsidiis iam non posse levamen afferri ; unam spem esse collocandam in interventu Domini, uti v. 21. 22 clare effertur. In hebr. effertur prima persona in ultimo membro. Tertia tamen legitur apud LXX, Syrum, S. Hier., Chald. vero ita habet : non. est qui consoletur te, nisi ego. Prima persona sensum omnino aptum fundit, et *»2 oportet retineri in nativa sua significalione, neque opus est corrigere »22 (Hlitz.) neque explieare ae si r2 scriberetur ; de simili locutione vide Am. 7, 2. 5. Alii exclamationem ad unum Isaiam referunt; prae. placet sensu generaliori eam aecipere. Neque tamen opus est textum hebr. corrigere vel asserere N scribi quia quandoque x et * ex sono inter se commutentur, uti vult Boettcher, Neue exeg. krit. Aehrenlese z. A. T. II p. 144. ; Iam explicat quid fames et gladius agant (For.)
51:20
v. 20 « filii tui proiecti sunt, dormierunt in capite omnium viarum, sicut oryz illaqueatus, pleni indignatione Domini, increpatione Dei tui » ; — « sub dio iacent filii tui aut animam prae fame agentes aut vulneribus confossi » (For.). Hebr. filii tui obvelati sunt vel defecerunt, passi sunt animi deliquium (cf. apud Malv. Mald. For. et recentiores), id quod capiunt vel de fame (Mald. Mar. Kn.) vel generatim de calice vertiginis (For. Malv. III. Rohl. Hahn) ; iacent in compitis irretiti (sicut. oryx illaqueatus) capti et omnium iniuriis expositi, inopes aliorum potestati traditi. Neque putandum est hostes eam intulisse calamitatem ; Dei opus est et vindicta ; unde additur pleni... i. e. ad quantam iram et vindictam Dominum provocaverint, miserrimus ille aspectus docet et vastitas summa dominae gentium (Lament. 4, 1) illata; vide Lament. 2, 91 ; 4, 9; B, 14. Quia igitur humano auxilio plane est destituta urbs et calamitas est inflieta a Domino qui castigatione populum suum non delere sed ad meliorem sanctitatis conditionem evehere vult, propterea cum calamitas quasi ad summum est perducta, adest divina opitulatio. Unde urbi fit consolatio
51:21
v. 21 « idcirco audi hoc paupercula, et ebria non a vino!
51:22
v. 22 haec dicit dominator tuus Dominus et Deus tuus, qui pugnabit pro populo suo : ecce tuli de manu tua calicem soporis, fundum calicis indignationis meae, non adiicias ut bibas illum ultra,
51:23
v. 93 et ponam illum. in manu eorum. qui te humiliaverunt et dixerunt animae tuae: : incurvare ut transeamus ; et posuisti ut terram corpus tuum et quasi viam transeuntibus » ; — ebria est a calice vertiginis Domini (cf. 99, 9. 10). Et quia non est alius qui possit iuvare, ipse Dominus, qui causam sui populi defendendam suscipit (cf. 52, 4; 49, 25; 41, 10. 11) promittit se erecturum esse urbem a vili conditione. Auferet scil. ignominiam ab urbe; promittit, talem fore urbem instauratam, ut iam non alii simili casligationi subiaceat. Sion ergo instaurata erit sancta ; nova illa theocratia ad quam primus quasi gradus fit reditu ex exsilio et urbe temploque restitutis (cf. 44, 26 seq.), ita erit sanctitate conspicua, ut iam non indignatio Domini in eam exardescat, verum ut Deus omni studio amorem suum erga illam exhibeat. En, talis ergo Sion a propheta intelligitur, quae instauratione facta iam non ultionem et vindictam Domini incurrat; proinde non urbem qua talem intelligit, sed theocratiam illumque populum qui fide et pietate Deo adhaeret ; est ergo Sion, prout iam in v. 16 continetur, « non alia nisi populus Dei » (S. Hier.) et hunc populum constanti studio sanctitati daturum esse operam eo ipso indicatur, quia iam non Deum ultorem experietur. Sed Deus erit populi sui defensor et proinde inimicos prosternet ; dabit calicem furoris in manum vexatorum, qui urbem Ierusalem humi prostraverunt eamque pedibus coneuleaverunt. Quantopere fuerit urbs ab insolentia hostium vexata et humiliata, ultima enuntiatione describitur : tergum posuit terrae instar et sicuti viam pro transeuntibus 1. e. libere et diu omnes pedibus proterebant et conculcabant eam duris vestigiis (cf. Ios. 10, 24. Ps. 109, 1). Hic ergo erat calix vertiginis pro lerusalem; iam vero inimici eius iisdem poenis subiicientur; franget Dominus eorum potestatem cum ignominia delebitque eos. Etiam hic valet : Sion in iudicio redimetur : (4, 291). Unde denuo illud inculeatur, fore in Sion salutem, verum post humiliationem, Dei autem hostibus imminere perditionem. Adversarii dixerunt animae urbis i. e. minime ei pepercerunt rei quae erat urbi quam maxime sacra et cara et in qua eius excelsa continebatur dignitas, sed in sacrario suo et in praecellentia theocratica experta est humiliationem. Sed uti ad servum Domini ignominia affectum annuntiatio fit gloriae (49, 6. 7), ita Ierusalem ex vili conditione ad suam clevabitur gloriam ; unde propheticus sermo redit ad id quod v. 17 erat inceptum. Uti in priore parte via ad gloriam descripta est consistere in deiectione pompae humanae et in iudicio divino, ita hoc loco eadem via et ratio assignatur. Unde post humiliationem Sionis descriptam (91, 18 seq.) sermo ad fructum humiliationis progreditur et Sion admonetur, ut robore et ornamentis potita exsultet in Domino;
51:3
The memory of the extraordinary vegetation of the terrestrial paradise returns in the Bible as a term of hyperbolic comparison: Gen. 13:10; Is. 51:3; Ez. 28:13; 31:8 ff.; 36:35; Ioel 2:3; Eccli. 40:17.
51:4
… 22, 22; Ps. 78, 1 Heb.), by the sages (Prov. 3, 1; 4, 2; 6, 23; 7, 2; 13, 14), by the mother (ibid. 1, 8; 6, 20; 31, 26); Yahweh (or his representative) will give it in the messianic kingdom (Is. 2, 3 = Mic. 4, 2; Jer. 31, 33; Is. 42, 4; 51, 4). In this second semantic stage, the t. ("instruction," "teaching") has as its purpose and effect dâ'ath "knowledge." The t. dispensed by the priest has
51:5
… There are few cases in which St. Jerome misunderstood the text (cf. Gen. 49, 2; Jer. 31, 15, etc.); more often he supposes (cf. Is. 16, 1) or accentuates (cf. Is. 11, 10; 12, 3; 51, 5) the messianic sense.
51:9
… This monster becomes, in poetic passages, the image of the powers of evil, sometimes joined with ráhabh "ferocity," which likewise designates a sea monster: Is. 51:9 (God shatters ráhabh, pierces tannin, then dries up téhóm; missing in the Septuagint), Job 26:12 f. (God shatters ráhabh and captures náhás). …
… Elsewhere (Ps. 88:10 ff.; Job 9:13; 26:12 ff.; Isa. 51:9) it indicates a monster, which personifies pride and rebellion against God; today such texts are usually seen as containing a literary reference to the myth
51:10
… Is. 43:16; 51:10; Ps. 66:6; 78:13; 106:9; 114:3); Moses (v.) emerges in the history of Israel as liberator, shaper of national unity and lawgiver; Hebrew worship was formed of feasts (Passover and …
51:12
«SON OF MAN». — A Semitic expression normally meaning "man." In Hebrew ben 'ādhām ("s. of m.") is found in parallelism with 'ādhām or 'ēnās ("man"): Job 25:6; Ps. (Heb.) 144:3; Is. 51:12; Ez. 2:1, etc. In Aramaic and Syriac bar 'ēnās ("s. of m.") or bar nāsā ("the s. of m.") is commonly used to indicate "man."
51:16
… (Is. 49, 2; 51, 16; cf. Ps. 16, 8 and the commentary of F. Vigouroux, ad loc., with monumental illustrations). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.