Isa 57:16

“We certainly ought not to agree, after the Jewish custom, that God is enclosed in any place and dwells only in heaven. For God, by whom all things are held together, is present everywhere. Instead, we should understand correctly the meaning of heights and heavens and saints and virtues.…Because I strike in order to correct, therefore do I kill in order to bring to life. For I have mercy on my creatures, nor will I allow those whom I have established to perish eternally. And my Spirit that proceeds from me, or, according to the Hebrew of Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion, that "encompasses all things" (for this is what the Greek words perieilēthēsetai and periballei signify), is the animator of all that exists. I also created the breath, or plural breaths (this is what "nasamoth" indicates), about which it is written elsewhere: "May every breath, or everything that breathes, praise the Lord." … Some among us say that this is the Spirit whereby all the world is inspired and ruled.… But others understand it to be the Holy Spirit who was borne above the waters in the beginning and vivified everything, the Spirit who proceeds from the Father and, because of the union of natures, is sent by the Son, on account of which he said: "It is expedient for you that I go away, for unless I depart, the Paraclete will not come to you. If I go, however, I will send him to you." … Let no one be scandalized, though, if the Spirit is said to proceed from the Father, for the Son also says this about himself: "I proceeded and came from the Father; I did not come on my own, but he sent me."”

“(Verse 16.) I will not contend forever, nor will I be angry to the end: for the spirit will go forth from my presence, and I will make breath. LXX: I will not take vengeance on you forever, nor will I be angry with you always. For the spirit will go forth from me, and I have made every breath. The Lord, who dwells on high and looks upon the lowly, whose name is holy and who finds rest in the holy ones: who sustains the afflicted and gives life to the oppressed (Ps. CXII), has spoken these words: I will not always be angry, nor will I be indignant forever. I strike in order to correct, I kill in order to give life. I have pity on my creature; and those whom I have created, I will not allow them to perish forever. My spirit, which emanates from me or, according to the Hebrew, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, encompasses all things (for this is the meaning of περιειληθήσεται and περιβαλλεῖ), is the life-giver of all. And the breath, or in the plural breaths (for this is what Nasamoth signifies), I have made, about which it is written elsewhere: Let every breath, let everything that breathes, praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6). Regarding the spirit and breath that is written in the beginning of Genesis: God breathed the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Job also speaks of such a thing: The spirit of the Lord is in my nostrils, and the breath of the Almighty teaches me (Job 27:3). Therefore, when my spirit goes out and by my breath and inspiration all things are invigorated and live, it is not right for those who are sustained by my breath and spirit to perish forever. Some of us say that this is the spirit by which the whole world is inspired and governed; and all things have knowledge of God, whom the renowned poet, according to the Stoics, writing in the Aeneid (Book 6), says: In the beginning, the spirit nourishes the sky and the earth and the flowing fields, the shining globe of the moon, and the stars of Titania. It infuses the whole through all its limbs, the mind moves the mass, and mingles itself with the great body. And so on. But others understand the Holy Spirit, who in the beginning was carried upon the waters and gave life to all things: who proceeds from the Father, and, because of the fellowship of nature, is sent by the Son, who says, 'It is expedient for you that I go.' For if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7) And again he says of him: When the Paraclete comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father. (John 15:26) Let no one be scandalized if it is said that the Spirit proceeds from the Father, when the Son himself has also said: I came forth from the Father, and I have come; I did not come of myself, but he sent me. (John 16:28) About this Spirit, he spoke: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete, that he may be with you always, the Spirit of truth (John 14:16). This is the Spirit of whom Moses also wrote: Would that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them (Numbers 11:29). And Joel, speaking on behalf of God, said: I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters will prophesy (Joel 2:28). And Zacharias: Nevertheless, receive my words and my laws, which I command in my Spirit, to my servant the Prophets (Zach. I, 6). And again: I will pour out upon Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of mercy (Zach. XII, 10). And many other things from both the Old and New Testaments that it is now too long to repeat. We only say this, that the same Prophet has spoken about this Spirit and breath in the same way: Thus says the Lord God who made the heavens. And afterwards a little: He who gives breath to his people, who is above her, and spirit to those who trample on her (Isaiah 42:5).”

“He has shown the variety of types of care; although he dwells in the heavens, [God] considers lowly things, and though as holy he resides among holy ones he gives spiritual comfort to those who are spiritually weak. Those who are heartbroken he leads back to life. For he does not concern himself only with the righteous but also with those who have let themselves draw near to the abyss of evil, and he brings healing in various ways to those afflicted in soul.”

“It is easier for the Lord to restrain his anger, which we know is remote from his tranquility; but we should believe that he is more inclined to mercy, which is never detached from his majesty.… So he will not restrain his mercy in anger, but rather he will refrain from anger in mercy, as long as devoted conversion is forthcoming in this world. Remember too that in the case of the Lord anger is mentioned in a loose rather than a precise sense.”

“For I will not contend forever If I bring afflictions upon a person, My contention with him is not for a long time, neither is My anger forever. when a spirit from before Me humbles itself Heb. יַעֲטוֹף. When the spirit of man, which is from before Me, humbles itself, confesses and humbles itself because of its betrayal. Comp. (Lam. 2:19) “humbled (הָעֲטוּפִים) with hunger,” “when the small child and the suckling are humbled (בֵּעָטֵף).” And the souls which I made. when a spirit from before Me Heb. כִּי. This instance of the word כִּי is used as an expression of “when.” Comp. (infra 58:7) “When you see (כִּי תִרְאֶה)”; (Deut. 26:1) “When you come (כִּי תָבוֹא).” That is to say, when his spirit is humbled, and he is humbled, I terminate My quarrel and My anger from upon him.”