Commentary on Isaiah (Super Isaiam)

Hear this, O house of Jacob, etc. Here he promises the liberation of the people. And it is divided into two parts. In the first he promises the liberation; in the second he carries out the order of the liberation, below, chapter 49: Hear, O islands, etc.

The first is divided into two. In the first he arouses attention, calling to mind three things in which they gloried: namely, the dignity of their lineage, because they were from holy fathers: "of the waters," that is, of the seed. Against which, Matthew 3: "Do not think to say," etc.; the privilege of the knowledge of God: "who swear" — calling upon his name — "and remember" — as to the knowledge of him — "in truth," of heart, "nor in justice," of work. Above, chapter 29: "This people, with their lips, me," etc.; the worship of sacred religion: "from the city" — namely Jerusalem, in which was the worship of sacrifices — "they are called" — men of Jerusalem — 2 Maccabees 5: "not for the sake of the place, the nation," etc.

Secondly he promises the liberation: "the former things, from that time," and concerning this he does three things. First he shows the majesty of God who promises; secondly, the prosperity of Cyrus who carries it out: "Assemble yourselves, all of you," etc.; thirdly he promises the liberation: "Come near to me," etc.

Concerning the first, two things. First he shows the majesty of God from the foretelling of future things; secondly from the creation of things: "Hearken to me, Jacob," etc.

Concerning the first, three things. First he assigns the reason for the foretelling of certain future things, setting down the foretelling itself: "the former things" — namely those which have already passed — "from that time," when they were still future, "suddenly," as regards others to whom they were not foretold. Ecclesiasticus 42: "declaring the things that have passed," etc.; setting down also the reason for this, which is taken from their condition — which he first states, "for I knew," from eternity. "That thou art hard" — hard to come to one's senses from evils; "thy neck" — that is, the stiffness of one's own judgment; "a sinew of iron," which cannot be bent; "thy forehead" — on account of shamelessness. Acts 5: "stiff-necked," etc.; Deuteronomy 31: "I know the contention," etc.; Jeremiah 3: "the forehead of a harlot," etc.; and then from this he draws out the reason, "I foretold," etc., as if to say: because thou wert prone to idolatry, I foretold it to thee, lest thou shouldst ascribe my benefits to idols. Hosea 2: "I will go after lovers," etc.; setting down also the manifestation of the things foretold: "which thou hast heard" — foretold to thee by me — "behold," fulfilled. Psalm 47: "As we have heard, so have we seen," etc.

Secondly he assigns the reason for the concealment of certain future things, setting down first the concealment itself. As has been said, certain future things I foretold to thee; but certain future things have been kept in my foreknowledge, which thou dost not know, because I have not revealed them to thee. "Now" — that is, in time — "they are created," that is, brought forth in effect, and not from that time when I foreknew them; and "before the day" of their fulfillment, "thou hast not heard" of them, neither from me nor from the idols. 4 Kings 4: "the Lord hath hid it from me," etc. He also assigns the reason for this: "lest perhaps," as if to say: I did not reveal it for this reason, that thou mightest perceive thy own defect, and that of thy gods, in that thou canst not foreknow future things except those which I reveal to thee. "I have known" — by my own effort — "nor hast thou heard" — from the idols — the things opened by me. Psalm 63: "Man shall come to a deep heart," etc. He also sets down their condition, from which the aforesaid reason is drawn: "for I know." "From the womb" — that is, from the time when I carried thee through the desert as in a womb. Exodus 32: "I see that this people," etc.; above, chapter 24: "by the transgression of the transgressors," etc.

Thirdly he excludes a certain objection: "for my name's sake." For someone could ask: since they are so hard, why then dost thou promise them good things, and hast done so? And to this objection he first sets down the response, recalling three benefits shown to them: "for my name's sake" — not on account of thy merit — "I will put far off," or have put far off, freeing them from punishments. Ezekiel 36: "Not for your sakes will I do this," etc., and "for my praise" — that is, I bound thee to my ceremonies and my praises, lest, offering sacrifices to idols, thou shouldst perish. Psalm 31: "with bit and bridle," etc. "I have refined," wishing to purge thee through tribulations, "but not as silver," which is purged. But thou hast not been corrected. Jeremiah 6: "in vain hath he melted," etc. "I have chosen," purging thee, namely, through poverty, punishing thee by the spoiling of goods. Gregory: "those whom the infirmity of their conduct wounds, the medicine of poverty heals." And this by correcting as a father.

Secondly he sets down the exposition of the response: "for my own sake" — that I not be blasphemed, as though powerless to save the people whom I have chosen for myself; and "my glory" — namely, that the idols be judged stronger than I. Above, chapter 42: "my glory," etc.

Hearken to me. Here he shows the divine majesty from the creation of things. "I will call," imposing upon each thing its proper work: "they shall stand," ready to obey. Above, chapter 40: "who hath weighed with three fingers," etc.

Assemble yourselves, etc. Here he foretells the prosperity of Cyrus himself; and first he shows the concealment of this deed from others: "who among them?" — namely, among the idols — as if to say: none. Above, chapter 41: "who hath declared from the beginning," etc. Secondly he himself foretells his prosperity: "the Lord hath loved him" — namely Cyrus — advancing him into the kingdom; "in Babylon," capturing it; "his arm" — that is, by his own power slaying them. 1 Kings 27: "and indeed doing," etc. Thirdly he assigns the reason for his prosperity from divine aid: "I, I," etc.; "directed," not absolutely, but to this end, that he might destroy Babylon; otherwise it could not be expounded of Cyrus, but only of Christ, as Jerome says, because he was an idolater. Psalm 106: "he led them into the way," etc.

Come near to me, etc. Here he promises liberation; and concerning this he does three things. First he arouses attention, setting down the divine authority: "in secret" — yet all the people saw the voices: Exodus 20. "From the beginning" — of the law given. "From the time," past, before they came to pass — the things which I foretell — "there I was," present to those future things, remaining, through the same "now" of eternity, throughout the whole succession of time. Or in the person of the Son, "there I was" — namely, in the Father according to his divinity — Proverbs 8: "when he weighed the foundations," etc.; setting down the truth of the prophet — who was sent by God — "and now, me": Isaiah, or me, Christ made man; "God," the Father; whence the three Persons are designated. Below, chapter 61: "the spirit of the Lord is upon me," etc.

Secondly, there, "thus saith the Lord," he sets down the reason for the captivity, showing on God's part the help that was prepared. "Teaching" — against ignorance — and "governing in the way," of works, against weakness in acting. Psalm 31: "I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct," etc.; showing also the harm arising from the fault of the Jews. "O that thou hadst hearkened" — keeping them — "as an abundant river," "as the waves." The same, Psalm 80: "if my people had heard," etc.

Thirdly, there, "go forth," he foretells the liberation; and concerning this he does three things. First he announces to them the departure from captivity, as certain of the liberation as if it were already present. "Go ye forth," etc.; Apocalypse 18: "go out from her," etc.; and he charges them to announce the benefit of God. "Declare ye," etc.; Jeremiah 50: "the voice of them that flee, and of them that have escaped," etc. Secondly he designates the benefit of consolation bestowed on those freed: "they thirsted not" — that is, the Lord will provide for them in all things just as when they went out from Egypt. Psalm 77: "he struck the rock, and they flowed," etc.; Numbers 21. Thirdly he takes away from the wicked the solace of peace: "there is no peace," below, chapter 57; 4 Kings 9: "what hast thou to do with peace," etc.

(Collations, chapter 48) Poverty confers: the recognition of sins: "if they shall be bound," etc.; the preservation of virtues, Ecclesiasticus 10: "the poor man glorieth," etc.; quiet of heart, Tobit 5: "it was enough for us," etc.; the fulfillment of desire, Psalm: "the desire of the poor," etc.; participation in the divine sweetness, Psalm: "thou hast prepared in sweetness," etc.; exaltation, 1 Kings 2: "raising up from the dust," etc.; the heavenly inheritance, Matthew 5: "blessed are the poor," etc.

The words of God are useful: for the illumination of the understanding, Proverbs 6: "the commandment is a lamp," etc.; for the delight of the affections, Psalm: "how sweet to the jaws," etc.; for the kindling of love, Jeremiah 20: "it came to be in the heart," etc.; Psalm: "the word of the Lord"; for the rightness of work, Psalm: "direct me in truth," etc.; for the attainment of glory, Proverbs 3: "keep the law"; for the instruction of others, 2 Timothy 3: "all doctrine divinely," etc.