Thomas Aquinas, on Isa 40:1

“Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.”

“This the second principle part of this book, in which he principally intends the comfort of the people through many promised benefits. And it is divided into two parts: in the first, he leads them to the expectation of promises; in the second, he describes the promise of divine benefits, below: thus says the Lord to my anointed (Isa 45:1). The first of these is divided into three parts: in the first, he comforts them with the power of the one who promises; in the second, with his love: let the islands keep silence (Isa 41:1); in the third, with the weakness of the idols who might be believed to resist: and now hear, O Jacob (Isa 44:1). Concerning the first, he does three things: first, he leads them to comfort; second, he promises the comforter: the voice of one crying in the desert (Isa 40:3); in the third part, he shows the power of God who comforts: who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? (Isa 40:12). First, he leads the people to comfort: be comforted, in spiritual goods, be comforted, in the temporal goods granted you: he comforted the mourners in Zion (Sir 48:27); and the Lord answered the angel, that spoke in me, good words, comfortable words (Zech 1:13).”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.

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