Isaiah 11

The root of Jesse the patriarch is the family of the Jews, Mary is the rod, Christ the flower of Mary, who, about to spread the good odor of faith throughout the whole world, budded forth from a virgin womb, as he himself said: "I am the flower of the plain, a lily of the valley."

Moreover, he wonderfully expressed his incarnation, saying: From the shoot, my son, you have ascended; in that he sprouted as a plant of the earth in the womb of the Virgin, and as a flower of sweet fragrance, he ascended for the redemption of the whole world, emitted by the maternal womb with the splendor of new light, just as Isaiah says: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The root of the family of the Jews is Mary, the branch is Mary, Christ is the flower of Mary. The rod, which is of royal lineage, rightly comes from the house and homeland of David, whose flower is Christ, who has abolished the stench of the worldly filth and has poured out the fragrance of eternal life.

And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. The root is indeed the family of the Jews, the branch is Mary, the flower is Christ of Mary, who when he shines forth in our land and delights the field of the soul, or blossoms in his Church, we cannot fear the cold, nor dread the rain, but await the day of judgment.

Jacob also prayed when he returned back from Laban, and he was rescued from the hands of his brother, Esau. He prayed as follows, confessing and saying, "With my staff have I crossed this river Jordan, and now I have become two camps." Wondrous symbol of our Savior! When our Lord first came, the staff left the stem of Jesse, just like Jacob's staff; and when he returns from his Father's house at his second coming, he goes back to him with two camps, one from the people [Israel], the other from the peoples [nations]—just like Jacob who returned to his father Isaac with two camps.

David was the king of Israel and the son of Jesse at a certain time in the Old Testament, when the New Testament was still hidden there in the Old, like a fruit in its root. For if you seek the fruit in its root, you will not find it. But neither would you find the fruit in the branch, unless it had first come from the root.At that time, then, the first people had come from the seed of Abraham carnally. The second people, those who belong to the New Testament, also belong to the seed of Abraham, but spiritually. Those first people who were still carnal, therefore, among whom very few prophets understood both what was to be desired from God and when to announce it publicly, foretold this future time and the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Insofar as Christ himself was born according to the flesh, he was hidden in the root, in the seed of the patriarchs, and was to be revealed at a certain time, like fruit appearing on the branch, as it is written: "A rod will bloom from the root of Jesse." The same is true of the New Testament, which was hidden in Christ throughout those earlier times and was known only to the prophets and to a very small group of godly persons, not as the manifestation of present realities but as a revelation of future events. For what does it mean, brothers, if I can remind you of one specific event, that Abraham, sending his faithful servant to betroth a wife to his only son, makes him swear to him and in the oath says to him, "Put your hand under my thigh and swear"? What was in the thigh of Abraham upon which the man put his hand and swore? What was there, except what was then promised to him: "in your seed, all the peoples will be blessed"? The thigh signifies the flesh. From the flesh of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob and, without naming everyone, through Mary, came our Lord Jesus Christ.

The prophet Isaiah bears witness that our Redeemer had to be conceived in Nazareth when he says, "A nazareus will ascend from his root." The term nazareus has the meaning of "flower" or "clean." The Son of God made incarnate for us can properly be named by this term, both because he adopted the nature of a human being clean from all vices and because in him the font and origin of spiritual fruits came forth for all believers, since to them he both pointed out examples and granted the fruits of living properly and blessedly.

Now [Mary] saw that she herself, who had arisen from the stock of Jesse, had conceived God's Son of the Holy Spirit.

For it is history when something is reported as having been done or said in plain discourse according to the letter; for example, the people of Israel, after they had been delivered from Egypt, are said to have made a tabernacle for the Lord in the wilderness. It is allegory when the presence of Christ and the sacraments of the church are designated by mystical words or things; by words, certainly, as when Isaiah says, "A shoot [virga] shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root," which is to say openly, "The Virgin Mary will be born from the stock of David, and Christ will proceed from his lineage"; and by things, as when the people delivered from Egyptian slavery through the blood of the lamb signifies the church freed from the devil's domination by the passion of Christ.

The seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which remain in our Lord and Redeemer forever and are distributed in his members (that is, in all the elect) according to his will. Therefore the seven lamps are set upon the lampstand because upon our Redeemer, the firstborn "from the root of Jesse," rested "the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and of godliness," and he was filled "with the Spirit of the fear of the Lord." As he himself also says through the same prophet, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me."

The prophet Isaiah testified that it was necessary that our Redeemer be conceived in Nazareth when he said, "There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a nazareus will go up from his root." Nazareus can be translated either as "flower" or as "pure." The Son of God who was made flesh for us can rightly be called by these names because he assumed a human nature which was pure of every vice and because he is the font and source of spiritual fruit for all who believe in him, to whom he also both showed an example and granted the gift of righteous and blessed living.

Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall be the band around his waist. Not by appearance shall He judge nor by hearsay shall He decide." Such, then, is God: for if He were mere man, He could not judge otherwise than through witnesses. All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment.

Third, there is the production of prophets similar to the multiplication of flowers. Flowers appeared when the prophet said: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom."

Elsewhere, the Holy Spirit also speaks of the Virgin about to give birth when he says, "There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will arise from his root." The rod from the root of Jesse signifies the Virgin Mary, who found her origins in the stem of Jesse through David. For, as the Evangelist or apostle reveals, out of the tribe of David came the Virgin Mary, from whom the flower of human flesh arose in Christ. This is the rod which, having been placed in the ark of testimony to be a sign for everlasting memory, has now by a new and wonderful mystery, without moisture from the earth, brought forth the fruit of the almond. It is by this miracle that Aaron's priesthood was confirmed.

By the fruit of the root he will graft us onto his tree.

He is the son of Mary, however, and not the son of Joseph. He did not appear in the body from any other lineage, except from David.

This shows in an obvious way that the birth of Christ would be from the root of Jesse, who was the father of David. This points toward the birth which the Gentiles would follow, having been prophetically announced by way of signs.

It is prophesied that one will come forth of the seed of Jesse, that is to say, of David, many years after the death of both David and Solomon.

In which rod, no doubt the blessed Virgin Mary is predicted, who sprung from the stock of Jesse and David and fecundated by the Holy Spirit, brought forth a new flower of human flesh, becoming a virgin-mother. (Pope St. Leo the Great Sermon 4) Or it could be that a flower refers to Christ; and it is probably implied indirectly by "rod" that he has royal dignity as well, a rod being a symbol of kingship. (St. Cyril of Alexandria) Or it could be that Jesse is the root, David the tree that through its branch, that is, Mary, has produced fruit, that is Christ.

Just as when a lion is born from a lion, the nature is not changed but is shown to have a common source, so also one who is born from God cannot be anything other than God. But he calls him a lion's cub for the purpose of signifying the Son. Indeed, he adds "from a sprout, my son, you have gone up," because he wants to show us that Christ came from the sprout of Judah, as it was also said through the prophet Isaiah: "there will come forth a rod [virga] out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will go up from his root." This Jesse was the father of David, from whose root, that is, source, the Virgin Mary [maria virgo] was born. That Isaiah refers to a "rod" [virga] and to a "flower" from the rod suggests that the flower which is Christ would be born from a virgin [virgine].

The land that before brought forth thorns, hears in Isaiah the blessing: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom." "You have turned away the captivity of Jacob." The Lord has come, therefore, to proclaim pardon to captives. There is a parallel to this in another passage of Scripture: "He led captivity captive," that is, we, who in former times had been captured by the devil to perdition, now are led away by the Savior to salvation.

And there shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and godliness: and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him. Up to the beginning of the Vision, or burden, of Babylon, which Isaiah son of Amos saw, all this prophecy is about Christ, and we wish to explain it part by part, lest, being set forth and discussed all at once, it confuse the reader's memory. The Jews interpret the rod and the flower from the root of Jesse as the Lord himself: namely, that in the rod the power of one who reigns is shown, in the flower his beauty. But let us understand the rod from the root of Jesse as the holy Virgin Mary, who had no shoot clinging to her; of whom we also read above: Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Isa 7:14). And the flower as the Lord Savior, who says in the Song of Songs: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys (Song 2:1). For root, which the Seventy alone translated, in the Hebrew there is written (גזע) GEZA, which Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion interpreted as κορμὸν, that is, trunk. And for flower, which in Hebrew is called (נצר) NESER, they translated sprout, to show that long after the time of the Babylonian captivity, when no one of David's stock possessed the glory of the ancient kingdom, Mary arose as if from a trunk, and Christ from Mary. That saying in the Gospel of Matthew of which all churchmen seek, and do not find, where it is written, For he shall be called a Nazarene (Matt 2:23), the learned among the Hebrews think was taken from this place. But it must be known that this NESER is written with the letter SADE, whose peculiar quality and sound, between z and s, the Latin tongue does not express. For it is a hissing sound, and is uttered with clenched teeth, barely, by the pressure of the tongue: and with it the city Zion too is written. Further, Nazirites, whom the Seventy translated sanctified, Symmachus separated, are always written with the letter ZAIN (ז).

And coming he dwelt in a city that is called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: For he shall be called a nazarene. If he had set down a fixed example from the Scriptures, he would never say: what was spoken through the prophets, but simply: what was spoken through the prophet; but as it is, by naming the prophets in the plural, he shows that he took from the Scriptures not the words but the sense. Nazarene is interpreted holy. And that the Lord would be holy, all Scripture records. We can also say otherwise, that it is written in Isaiah even in the same words according to the Hebrew truth: A rod shall go forth from the root of Jesse, and a nazarene shall rise up from the root.

The same rule of truth teaches us to believe, after the Father, also on the Son of God, Christ Jesus, the Lord our God, but the Son of God—of that God who is both one and alone, namely, the Founder of all things, as already has been expressed above. For this Jesus Christ, I will once more say, the Son of this God, we read of as having been promised in the Old Testament and we observe to be manifested in the New, fulfilling the shadows and figures of the Old Testament types, being the embodiment of truth. For as well the ancient prophecies as the Gospels testify him to be the son of Abraham and the son of David. Genesis itself anticipates him when it says, "To you will I give it, and to your seed." He is spoken of when Scripture shows how a man wrestled with Jacob; he too, when it says, "There shall not fail a prince from Judah, nor a leader from between his thighs, until he shall come to whom it has been promised; and he shall be the expectation of the nations." He is spoken of by Moses when he says, "Provide another whom you may send." He is again spoken of by the same, when he [Moses] testifies, saying, "A prophet will God raise up to you from your brothers; listen to him as if to me." [Moses] bears witness of him, finally, when he says, "You shall see your life hanging in doubt night and day, and you shall not believe him." Isaiah also refers to him: "There shall go forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow up from his root." The same also when he says, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son."

On this account a "man" is sought who may be with these "seven" spiritual "women", that he may "take away their reproach". Properly there is "one" "man" who may "take away their reproach". Who is this "man"? Jesus, who "came forth according to the flesh" "from the root of Jesse", "made of the seed of David according to the flesh, predestined the Son of God in power according to the spirit of justification". For "there came forth a rod from the root of Jesse". The "rod" is not "the firstborn of all creation", the "rod" is not "he who in the beginning was with God, God the Word", but "a rod from the root of Jesse", who "was born according to the flesh". "There came forth", therefore, "a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower ascended from his root". What is the "flower" and what is the "root"? For both are one in him who lies beneath; but the difference is one of dealings. For if you are a sinner, there is no "flower" for you, nor will you see the "flower which is from the root of Jesse"; for the "rod" will come even to you, just as the disciple speaks of the "rod" and the "flower". Of the "rod" indeed he says: "what do you wish? shall I come to you with a rod?", but of the "flower": "or in the love of God and the spirit of gentleness?". "There came forth", therefore, "from the root of Jesse a rod" for him who is punished with penalties, a "rod" for him who needs rebuke, a "rod" for him who has need to be reproved; but a "flower" for him who is already instructed and does not need harsh correction, or at least does not need punishments, but is now strong enough to begin to flower toward perfect fruit. For first the "flower" is shown, and then after the "flower" it becomes a "rod" unto fruit. "There came forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower ascended from his root. And the seven women shall rest, the Spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him". For the "spirit of wisdom" did "not rest" in Moses, the "spirit of wisdom" did "not rest" in Joshua son of Nun, the "spirit of wisdom" did "not rest" in each of the prophets, in Isaiah, in Jeremiah.

But do not stone me as though I were blaspheming, while I desire to glorify my Lord Jesus Christ; rather, bearing with me, consider what is said, and you will see that in none of them did the "spirit rest", not because it came to none, but because it "rested" in none. It came "upon" Moses, and Moses does not believe after the "spirit of wisdom" that came to him. For he says: "Hear, you rebels: shall I bring forth water for you out of this rock?" It came "upon" all the just, it came also "upon" Isaiah. But what does he say? "Having unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people having unclean lips". The "spirit of wisdom" came after that "tongs" and fire, it came to him "having unclean lips", but it did "not rest". It used him indeed as a minister, but it did "not rest"; it is troubled, to whatever of men it comes. For every man sins, "there is no just man upon the earth who does good and does not sin"; "no one is clean from filth, not even if his life be of one day, but his months are numbered". Therefore it "rests upon" none. We can also prove from the Gospel that the "spirit came upon" many and "did not remain in" them. A little while ago it was read: "my spirit shall not remain in these men forever"; he does not say: it shall not be, but: "it shall not remain". John saw one alone in whom it "remained", and this was the sign: "upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, this is the Son of God". A certain one ministered to the Word of God when the "spirit descended"; a little after he "sins", a little after he speaks an "idle word". But I do not know whether he even remains without sin; do you think that, with the "spirit" present, it is granted to sin? "Upon" none, therefore, did "the Spirit of God rest", according to what is written: "there came forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower ascended from his root, and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might". On account of this he is the "angel of great counsel", on account of this he grew strong and, growing strong, ascended, and the powers marvel at him as he ascends and say of him: this is "the Lord strong and mighty in battle". To him, then, as he ascends into the heavenly places, or to his strength, I will say that: "the spirit of counsel and might rested upon him"; "the Lord is my strength and my praise, and he has become for me salvation". "There rested", therefore, "upon him the Spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of God filled him".

We believe, therefore, in the immortal and invisible God, not in him whom the infidels have fashioned to be God, who is both an adulterer and a thunderer, but in the true God, Creator and Ruler of all the world.We also hold to Jesus Christ his Son, formerly promised through the prophets, and we know that the promise has been fulfilled. Yet, because we were not present when it was fulfilled, we are also commanded to believe it. The Jews were present then, however, from whose race the Savior himself chose apostles through whom the faith has reached us. As a member of the very race in which and from which he deigned to be born, the prophet Isaiah predicted a long time ago: "Behold, a virgin will conceive in the womb and will bear a son, and you will call his name Emmanuel, which means 'God with us.' "; And elsewhere [we read]: "There will come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower will go up from his root." The branch signifies the Virgin Mary, and the flower of the rod represents the Son of the Virgin, the Lord Jesus Christ. Before these things took place, the Jews read about it and did not understand.… Christ was born from a virgin like a flower from a branch, without the involvement of any seed. He was born a small infant and a great king.

In him dwelt the fullness of the Spirit; therefore I acknowledge him to be "the rod of the stem of Jesse." His blooming flower shall be my Christ, upon whom has rested, according to Isaiah, "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and of the fear of the Lord." Now to no man, except Christ, would this diversity of spiritual proofs suitably apply. He is indeed like a flower for the Spirit's grace, reckoned indeed of the stem of Jesse but thence to derive his descent through Mary.

352. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root. The destruction of their adversary having been set out, the restoration of the people, who had been divided into the two tribes and the ten tribes, is promised. And this is divided into two parts.

In the first part, the restorer is described,

in the second, the restoration is promised: and it shall come to pass in that day (Isa 11:11).

Now this chapter is interpreted in three ways.

For Jerome and all our saints interpret it as concerning the restoration made through Christ and concerning Christ, so that it was spoken figuratively;

some teachers interpret it as concerning Ezechias or Josias, similarly taking the passage figuratively;

the Jews interpret it as concerning their messiah, whom they await, wishing to understand all of it literally.

But this last interpretation is foolish and fabulous;

the second is tortured;

but the first is straightforwardly true, and therefore, following this first interpretation, we shall touch on the others indirectly.

The first part therefore is divided into three:

in the first, Christ the restorer is described as to his nativity;

in the second, as to his sanctity: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa 11:2);

in the third, as to his dignity: in that day the root of Jesse (Isa 11:10).

353. Concerning the first, he touches on two things;

the procession of his mother from the royal line or lineage: and there shall come forth a rod, a rod to which no shrubbery adhered, out of the root of Jesse: literally, from the lineage of Jesse, who was the father of David: a star shall rise out of Jacob and a rod shall spring up from Israel (Num 24:17);

as to the procession of the son from the virgin mother, and a flower, Christ: I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys (Song 2:1), shall rise up, for he that comes from heaven is above all (John 3:31); hence, below: behold the Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved (Isa 19:1).

354. Out of the root of Jesse: I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise: and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth (Jer 23:5). Where he ought to say, out of the rod, he says, out of the root, in order to exclude two heresies:

one of which said that Christ did not have true flesh;

another which said that Christ had true flesh but that it was not propagated from Adam and from his ancestors and others, but was created by God in the Blessed Virgin; or that it came from our first parents separately like a kind of light, never infected by the contagion of original sin.

This heresy is wholly excluded by this where he said to rise up from the parents of the Virgin, like a flower from a root. The Jews say that the flower and the rod refer to the Christ; and he is called a rod because of his power and his scourging of the wicked, and a flower because of his honesty and consolation of the good. Jerome says that it is from this verse that what is said in Matthew 2:23 is taken: he shall be called a Nazarene, which means flowery. Those who explain this chapter as concerning Josias and Ezechias explain this similarly, and they say that Josias and Ezechias are said to descend from Jesse and not from their nearer ancestors because to David was made the promise of the confirmation of the kingdom in his sons.

355. It is to be noted on the words, and there shall come forth a rod, that the Virgin is called a rod:

first, consoling in tribulations: but lift you up your rod, and stretch forth your hand over the sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground (Exod 14:16);

second, bearing fruit: Moses found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded: and that the buds swelling it hid bloomed blossoms (Num 17:8);

third, satisfying: and when Moses had lifted up the rod, striking the rock twice, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank (Num 20:11);

fourth, scourging: a star shall rise out of Jacob and a rod shall spring up from Israel: and shall strike the chiefs of Moab (Num 24:17);

fifth, watching: I see a rod watching (Jer 1:11).

356. Note on the words, and a flower out of his root, that Christ is called a flower:

first, because of the purity of Mary: behold you are fair, O my love (Song 1:14); behold you are fair, my beloved (Song 1:15); and below this: I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys (Song 2:1);

second, because of the ease of injury by the wind: he shall be blasted as a vine when its grapes are in the first flower (Job 15:33);

third, because of sweetness of smell: send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell (Sir 39:19);

fourth, because of comeliness of beauty: and as the rainbow giving light in bright clouds, and as the flower of roses in the days of the spring (Sir 50:8);

fifth, because of certitude of fruit: as the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor: and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches (Sir 24:23).

Therefore, the fear of the just is the tribunal of Christ's speech and the golden foundation of full prudence. But the good image, like the likeness of truth, is the word of the saints. And see how the fear of the saints is like a golden foundation. Read Isaiah: see how much fear he has subjected, in order to make it blameless and good fear: the spirit, he says, of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of holy fear. By how much fear did he subject, so that he might have something to follow? He is informed through wisdom, instructed through understanding, guided by counsel, strengthened by virtue, governed by knowledge, adorned by piety. Take away from fear of the Lord those things, and it is an irrational and foolish fear, one of those: "Outside are battles, inside are fears," by which even Paul would have been afflicted if he did not have the Lord as his comforter.

So, then, the Holy Spirit is the river, and the abundant river, which according to the Hebrews flowed from Jesus in the lands, as we have received it prophesied by the mouth of Isaiah. This is the great river that flows always and never fails. And not only a river, but also one of copious stream and overflowing greatness, as also David said: "The stream of the river makes glad the city of God."60For neither is that city, the heavenly Jerusalem, watered by the channel of any earthly river, but that Holy Spirit, proceeding from the fount of life, by a short draught of whom we are satiated, seems to flow more abundantly among those celestial thrones, dominions and powers, angels and archangels, rushing in the full course of the seven virtues of the Spirit. For if a river rising above its banks overflows, how much more does the Spirit, rising above every creature, when he touches the low-lying fields of our minds, as it were, make glad that heavenly nature of the creatures with the larger fertility of his sanctification. And let it not trouble you that either here it is said "rivers" or elsewhere "seven Spirits," for by the sanctification of these seven gifts of the Spirit, as Isaiah said, is signified the fullness of all virtue; the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness, and the Spirit of the fear of God. One, then is the river, but many the channels of the gifts of the Spirit. This river, then, goes forth from the fount of life.

And as the Son is the Angel of great counsel, so, too, is the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Counsel, that you may know that the Counsel of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is One. Counsel, not concerning any doubtful matters, but concerning those foreknown and determined.

A person would not have wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of God unless, according to the prophet's words, he had received "the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, of counsel and of fortitude, of knowledge and of godliness, and of fear of God." ... And a person would not have power and love and sobriety, except by receiving the Spirit of whom the apostle speaks: "We have not received the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of sobriety." So also one would not have faith unless he received the spirit of faith of which the same apostle says: "But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written, 'I believed, therefore I have spoken,' we also believe therefore we speak also." Thus he shows very plainly that faith is not received because of merit but by the mercy of him who has mercy on whom he will, when he says of himself: "I have obtained mercy to be faithful."

For if Paul had said only "Jesus Christ," he would have included Jesus Christ according to his divinity, according to his being the Word who was with God, Jesus Christ the Son of God. Yet children cannot receive what is said in this manner. How, therefore, do they who are fed milk receive it? "Jesus Christ," he said, "and him crucified." Feed upon what he did for you, and you will grow to know him as he is. There are therefore both those who ascend and those who descend on that ladder. Who are they that ascend? They who progress towards the understanding of things spiritual. Who are they that descend? They who, although, as far as men may, they enjoy the comprehension of things spiritual: nevertheless, descend unto the infants, to say to them such things as they can receive, so that, after being nourished with milk, they may become fitted and strong enough to take spiritual meat. Isaiah, brothers, was himself among those who descended to us, for the steps upon which he descended are obvious. In reference to the Holy Spirit, he said "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of God rested upon him," he began from wisdom and descended toward fear. See how the teacher descended from wisdom toward fear; you who learn, if you are to make progress, must ascend from fear to wisdom. For it is written, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Listen, therefore, to the psalms.

And this Holy Spirit is in Scripture especially spoken of by the number seven, whether in Isaiah or in the Apocalypse, where the seven Spirits of God are most directly mentioned, on account of the sevenfold operation of one and the self-same Spirit. And this sevenfold operation is mentioned in Isaiah: "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of God rested upon him." This fear of the Lord should be understood as pure, enduring forever.

"The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."That the Holy Spirit is suggested by the number seven anybody knows who can read. But listen anyway, those of you who read carelessly, or perhaps cannot read. This is how God presents the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit," he says, "of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of God." This is the sevenfold Spirit who is also called down upon the newly baptized. The law is the Decalogue; the Ten Commandments, you see, were written on tablets, but stone ones still, because of the stubborn hardness of the Jews. After the Spirit came, what does the apostle say? "You yourselves are our letter, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart." Take away the Spirit, the letter kills, because it finds the sinner guilty, doesn't set him free. That's why the apostle says, "For we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as coming from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of the new covenant, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit brings to life." So add seven to ten, if you wish to fulfill all justice. When you are commanded by the law to do something, ask the Spirit to help you.

The apostle also says to Timothy, "For God hath not given to us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Now in respect of this passage of the apostle, we must be on our guard against supposing that we have not received the spirit of the fear of God, which is undoubtedly a great gift of God, and concerning which the prophet Isaiah says, "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon thee, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of the Lord." It is not the fear with which Peter denied Christ that we have received the spirit of, but that fear concerning which Christ Himself says, "Fear Him who hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him." This, indeed, He said, lest we should deny Him from the same fear which shook Peter; for such cowardice he plainly wished to be removed from us when He, in the preceding passage, said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." It is not of this fear that we have received the spirit, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. And of this spirit the same Apostle Paul discourses to the Romans: "We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." Not by ourselves, therefore, but by the Holy Ghost which is given to us, does it come to pass that, through that very love, which he shows us to be the gift of God, tribulation does not do away with patience, but rather produces it.

It seems to me, therefore, that the sevenfold operation of the Holy Spirit, of which Isaiah speaks, coincides with these stages and maxims. However, the order is different. In Isaiah, the enumeration begins from the higher, while here it begins from the lower; in the former, it starts from wisdom and ends at the fear of God. But "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Therefore, if we ascend step by step, as it were, while we enumerate, the first grade is the love of God; the second is piety; the third is knowledge; the fourth is fortitude; the fifth is counsel; the sixth is understanding; the seventh is wisdom. The fear of God coincides with the humble, of whom it is here said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."

The seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which remain in our Lord and Redeemer forever and are distributed in his members (that is, in all the elect) according to his will.

Only of the mediator between God and humanity, the man Jesus Christ, can it be said truthfully, "And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord will fill him." Each of the saints, on the other hand, receives not the fullness of his Spirit but receives from his fullness only as the Spirit grants it, for "to one is given through the Spirit a word of wisdom, and to another a word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith in the same Spirit, to another the grace of healing in the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of languages, to another the interpretation of words. One and the same Spirit operates all of these gifts, dividing to each person as he wills."

In truth, not all the saints receive the fullness of his Spirit, but they receive from his fullness, insofar as he grants it.

By the seven spirits of God we must understand the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which the prophet Isaiah shows to have rested upon the Lord, saying: “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him” (Isa. 11:2). These seven lamps, that is, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, are said to burn before the throne, that is, before the sight of his Church, because without the light of these virtues, placed as we are in the night of this world, we cannot walk along the paths of life to the heavenly homeland. But when he says that Christ received these seven gifts from the Holy Spirit, this belongs to the mystery of his humanity; for according to his divinity he could in no way be increased, since without him nothing could exist.

Yet a question can truly be raised: why, when the prophet said that these seven gifts were going to descend upon Christ, did he begin with the greater ones and, going down, arrive at the lesser? But it will seem not to have been done without reason if it is carefully examined. For since our Lord Jesus Christ, from that heavenly blessedness in which He was in all things equal to the Father, consented to descend to earth and to become man, and chose to be made lower than the angels whom He Himself had created, He fittingly received these seven gifts in a descending order; because by descending and humbling Himself even to death He fulfilled the will of the Father, as the Apostle says: He humbled Himself unto death, even death on a cross (Philip. 2:8). But we, who are raised up from the very pit of destruction to heavenly things, begin from the lesser, so that by growing we may come to the greater.

Let us now briefly say how these seven gifts descended upon Christ, as the Lord has granted. The Spirit of wisdom rested upon the man Christ when the Son of God according to his divinity, who is called the wisdom of the Father, descended into him.

The spirit of understanding rested in him, when he was endowed with all virtues, just as it is written in the Gospel: Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and grace before God and men (Luke 2:52).

After understanding comes counsel. Counsel is so called from “consulting”; for if some danger is hanging over us, we seek counsel from a wise person, so that we may know how to escape the danger. Likewise, when we desire to rise to some dignity of the world, we seek counsel as to how we may be able to attain what we desire. Christ therefore is our counselor, who gives counsel as to how we may escape eternal dangers; and the counsel that he gives, he himself brings to completion, when he frees us from eternal dangers. Likewise, he gives counsel as to how we may be able to reach the inheritance of Paradise, and he himself leads us to those joys. Therefore the spirit of counsel descended upon the man Christ, when from the Holy Spirit he received the teaching of the Gospel, in which the counsel of all who desire to be saved consists.

The Spirit of fortitude also rested upon Christ when he appeared among men as the strong one to wage war against the ancient enemy. Of this fortitude of his he himself said in the Gospel: “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own courtyard, the things he possesses are in peace; but if someone stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he will take away all his weapons in which he trusted, and will distribute his spoils” (Luke 11:21).

After fortitude comes knowledge. Among men there are many kinds of knowledge; for there are different kinds of knowledge belonging to different arts. There is knowledge in literature, there is in worldly laws, there is in increasing temporal goods, there is also knowledge in anticipating dangers; there are also many who, through sensitivity of perception, foresee certain future things. But these kinds of knowledge are sometimes possessed by the good, sometimes by the evil; whereas the knowledge that descended upon Christ no one except a good person can have. It was so great that no mind could comprehend it: “For in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Therefore it seems to me that by the spirit of knowledge we ought not to understand some particular deed of his; for our Savior, foreseeing that, if he avoided the company of sinful men, many wicked people would fall into the pit of despair, willed to conform himself to sinners through the fellowship of the body, namely by eating and drinking with them, and not rejecting even the touch of prostitutes. He also promised paradise to the thief at the very beginning of his confession (Luke 23:43), so that he might give hope of pardon to all sinners who desire to be saved. But the Pharisees, not having the spirit of knowledge, found fault with him because he ate with tax collectors and sinners. Yet he, possessing the spirit of knowledge, said to them: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matt. 9:12 and so on).

But regarding the spirit of piety, there is no need for us to say anything. For what is as pious as he who did not commit sin, and in whose mouth no deceit was found (1 Peter 2:22); and though he could by his own power free himself from death, yet for the salvation of humanity he allowed himself to be seized, bound, spat upon, struck with blows, scourged, and crucified?

But the spirit of the fear of the Lord, which is placed last, refers to the Passion; not because he was compelled by fear to die for the salvation of humanity, but we must understand “fear” here as “obedience,” of which he himself says: “I have not come to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me, the Father” (Jn. 6:38). For we also say that a son who is in all things obedient to his earthly father “fears” his father, although that obedience is not of fear but of love. Of this fear the Psalmist says: “The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever” (Ps. 18:10); yet it is not fear, but the love of God that will remain for ever and ever.

Now it must be said briefly how these seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are fitting for each of the faithful. And since we, who through the guilt of the first transgression lay in the snare of destruction, are by the mercy of God brought back from lower things to those above, that is, we begin with the fear of God, so that by advancing we may grow to higher things, that is, to wisdom. And by the same steps by which Christ, humbling himself, came down to us and brought our salvation to completion by dying, by those same steps we also ought to ascend to him, namely by doing his commandments, which are contained in the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Spirit of the fear of the Lord rests upon every sinner when, considering his sins and greatly dreading the just judgment of God and the punishments of eternal fire which have been prepared for the wicked, he is turned to repentance and tears, and begins to weep most bitterly for what he performed with delight.

But the spirit of piety rests upon any sinner, when, hearing Scripture which says, “Just as water extinguishes fire, so almsgiving extinguishes sin” (Sirach 3:33), and the Lord saying, “Give alms, and behold, everything is clean for you” (Luke 11:41), he begins to feed the needy, clothe the naked, and to carry out the other works of mercy; so that, by having mercy on others, he may make God favorable to himself, whom he had offended by sinning. Therefore also the prophet Daniel took care to admonish the most wicked king to redeem his sins by almsgiving and by acts of mercy toward the poor.

One ascends from piety to the spirit of knowledge; for although someone may seem to possess knowledge, he is a fool if he lives badly. For what is more foolish than to cast the fear of God out of one’s mind, to be enslaved to vices, and to hurry at full speed toward destruction? Therefore, if it is folly to serve vices, and the best kind of knowledge is to abandon vices and turn with one’s whole mind to God, then whoever, through the spirit of fear, begins to weep for his sins, and through the spirit of piety strives to be merciful toward those in need, so as to make God merciful to himself by having mercy on others, must necessarily possess, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of knowledge. For whoever desires to be converted to God must necessarily abandon vices; and whoever wishes to abandon vices must necessarily, through the teaching of the divine Scriptures or through the preaching of holy men, learn what kinds of vices there are, how they lure people, and by what means they can be extinguished; what also are the deceits of demons, and how one must fight against them: this, then, is what it is to possess the spirit of knowledge.

And because Solomon says that whoever adds knowledge also adds labor (Eccles. 1:18), from knowledge one ascends to the spirit of fortitude. For just as any fighter does not battle against someone whom he holds in chains, but rather against one who wishes to resist him, so too the Devil does not fight against the one whom he keeps bound with the chains of sins, but rather against the one who stops sinning and returns to God with his whole mind. Therefore, whoever through penance and works of mercy deserves to be freed from the chains of the Devil and wishes to wage war against him through the spirit of knowledge, must necessarily receive from the Holy Spirit the gift of fortitude. Armed with this, he is able both to extinguish completely his internal enemies, that is, the vices, and to overcome exterior enemies, namely, other people, through patience, and to repel from himself all the darts of demons with the shield of faith.

One ascends from courage to counsel; but the counsel of our salvation lies in the Gospel teachings. Therefore, whoever has been able to extinguish vices within himself through the spirit of courage must necessarily go on to examine the commands of the Gospel and store them up in his heart; there he will find the counsel by which he may be able to ascend to the summit of perfection.

And because the commands of the Gospel cannot be kept without virtues, one ascends from the spirit of counsel to understanding, in which the perfection of the virtues wholly consists. Indeed, the faithful receive the gift of understanding from the Holy Spirit when they deserve to be enriched with all the virtues; for he truly possesses understanding who is enlightened by faith, purified by chastity, adorned with patience, fortified with humility, shining with love, and brought to completion by the other virtues.

And because through the exercise of the virtues one climbs to the summit of perfection, wisdom is placed before understanding, in which all perfection consists. Of this perfection the Lord says in the Gospel: If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; and come, follow me (Matt. 19:21). There are indeed many who try suddenly to ascend to the height of perfection; but because they do not climb by the steps of the virtues, they easily fall. For what does it profit to abandon one’s possessions, if one does not cast away from one’s mind anger, hatred, drunkenness, envy, pride, vain glory, and the other vices that kill the soul? It is no advantage to climb a tree to escape a lion if one carries a serpent in one’s heart, by whose venom one perishes. Nor does the Lord say that he is perfect who has only given up his possessions, but rather he who has given up his possessions and has followed Him Himself. Now we follow Him when we imitate Him. Therefore, he ascends to this summit of perfection by a fitting degree who, having first renounced vices, rises from the active life, which is brought to completion by the virtues, to the contemplative life, in which he is united to Christ alone, who is the wisdom of the Father and the Son of God, and he becomes a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Now let us briefly show how the ascent of the faithful, through the seven steps of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, corresponds to Christ’s descent. The last step of Christ’s descent is the fear of God, through which we said his passion and death were prefigured, and it is the first step of the ascent of those who turn to God. The death of the Lord, moreover, suits those who, through the spirit of the fear of the Lord, weep for their sins; because in the death of the Lord lies the forgiveness of all sins, nor could there be perfect forgiveness of sins if he had not died for us.

The sixth step of Christ’s descent is mercy, and the second of the penitents’ ascent. Now the mercy of the faithful agrees with the mercy of the Lord; for he bestowed his mercy on those who were wretched in respect of the soul, freeing them from eternal death by his own death, and these (the faithful) bestow mercy on those who are wretched in respect of the body, by giving them the bodily necessities, about which he himself will say in the judgment: “Whatever you did to one of the least of my brothers, you did to me” (Matt. 25:40).

The fifth step of Christ’s descent is knowledge, and the third of the faithful’s ascent. Now, the spirit of knowledge that is given to the faithful agrees with the spirit of knowledge that was bestowed on the man Christ; for he, in order to save sinners, did not disdain to make himself like them, and they, in order to escape sins, flee to him through the spirit of knowledge, who has the power to forgive sins.

The fourth step of Christ’s descent is fortitude, and likewise the fourth of the faithful’s ascent. Moreover, the fortitude of the faithful corresponds to the fortitude of Christ, because they conquer the Devil by that same fortitude by which Christ also conquered, namely, by the fortitude of Christ, not their own; as he himself says: “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

The third degree of Christ’s descent is the spirit of counsel, and the fifth of the faithful’s ascent. But the counsel of the faithful is joined to the counsel of Christ when they devote themselves to keeping the teachings of the Gospel, in which the perfect counsel of all the saints consists.

The second degree of Christ’s descent is understanding, and the sixth of the faithful’s ascent. And the understanding of the faithful corresponds to the understanding of Christ when the same virtues that he received from his Spirit, the same also his saints merit to receive from him.

The first degree of Christ’s descent is wisdom, and the seventh of the faithful’s ascent; because Christ is the wisdom of the Father, and from him all wisdom arises. Therefore the saints, who are united to the Lord through the practice of virtues, receive from him wisdom, in which the fullness of all goodness consists (Prov. 3:13). To them he himself speaks through Solomon, saying: If anyone loves wisdom, let him turn to me, and he will find it; and when he has found it, he is blessed if he holds fast to it.

Although the gifts of gratuitously given grace are very many, and generally all habits divinely given can not absurdly be called gifts of God, yet specially and appropriately there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which Isaiah enumerates and names, speaking of the flower that proceeded from the root of Jesse, that is, Christ, of whom he says that the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him. In this enumeration he proceeds by descending from the highest and by combining, so that at once the distinction, connection, origin, and order of the gifts may be shown.

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: since the restorative principle through supreme liberality gives grace not only for rectifying against the crookedness of vices through the habits of virtues, but also for freeing against the impediments of infirmities through the habits of gifts; therefore the gratuitous gifts must be multiplied according to what is necessary for sufficiency of freedom. Since therefore our soul needs to be freed in a sevenfold manner, hence it is that from a sevenfold cause it is necessary that the gifts of the Holy Spirit be sevenfold.

First, therefore, for most expeditiously repelling the crookedness of vices, there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely: fear against pride; piety against envy; knowledge against anger, which is as it were a kind of madness; fortitude against sloth, which renders the mind powerless for good; counsel against avarice; understanding against gluttony; and wisdom against lust.

Second, for freeing the natural powers, the gifts of the Holy Spirit must be seven. For the irascible power needs to be freed for good things both in prosperity and in adversity: in prosperity it is freed through fear, in adversity through fortitude. The concupiscible power needs to be freed with respect to affection toward the neighbor, and this is done through piety; and with respect to affection toward God, and this is done through the taste of wisdom. The rational power indeed needs to be freed in the speculation, choice, and execution of truth: through the gift of understanding it is freed for speculating upon the true, through the gift of counsel for choosing the true, through the gift of knowledge for executing what has been chosen.

Third, for the carrying out of the seven offices of the virtues there must be seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For fear disposes to temperance, since fear transfixes the flesh; piety to true justice; knowledge to prudence; fortitude to fortitude or patience; counsel to hope; understanding to faith; wisdom to charity. Whence, just as charity is the mother and consummation of all the virtues, so wisdom is of the gifts.

Fourth, for readiness in suffering conformably to Christ, there are seven habits of the gifts. Now Christ was moved to suffer by the paternal will, human necessity and the vigor of virtue. The divine will indeed moved him, as known through understanding, as loved through wisdom, as held in reverence through fear. Our necessity also moved him, for the knowing of which knowledge is necessary, and for the pitying of which piety is superadded. The vigor of virtue moved him no less, as provident in choosing through counsel, as vigorous in enduring through fortitude. And thus the gifts must be seven.

Fifth, for readiness in acting, seven gifts are given by the Holy Spirit. For ready action, we must be made ready to turn away from evil, which is done through fear. We must also be made ready to advance in good of a twofold kind: either of necessity, or of supererogation. Regarding the first, we are made ready through knowledge and piety, such that one directs and the other executes; regarding the second, through counsel directing and through fortitude executing. We must also rest in the best, both as regards the understanding of the true and as regards the affection for the good; the first is done through the gift of understanding, the second through the gift of wisdom, in which there is rest.

For readiness in contemplating, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are seven in number. For the hierarchical and contemplative life requires the soul to be purged, illuminated, and perfected. Now it must be purged from concupiscence, from malice, from ignorance, from weakness or impotence: the first is done by fear, the second by piety, the third by knowledge, the fourth by fortitude. Illuminated we also need to be regarding the works of restoration and of the original creation: the first is given by counsel, the second by understanding. Perfected we are to be through approach to the highest, which consists in one, and this through the gift of wisdom; and thus the mystery of contemplation is consummated.

Finally, for readiness in action and contemplation there must be seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For the contemplative life, on account of its turning toward the Trinity, must have three expediting gifts: with respect to reverence for majesty, fear; with respect to the understanding of truth, understanding; with respect to the savor or taste of goodness, wisdom. The active life, however, which is engaged in doing and enduring, must have four, namely piety for doing and fortitude for enduring; and the directive gifts of these two, namely knowledge and counsel. Whence, because direction is necessary for readiness, there arises a combination of gifts; and more gifts pertain to the intellect, because the light of knowledge greatly avails to direct one's feet into the right path.

"The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." John in the Apocalypse saw in the midst of the throne a Lamb having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. He calls the gifts of the Holy Spirit horns and eyes. There is a certain efficacy of the gifts of the Holy Spirit by which all evils are combated; there is another efficacy of the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things. And because strength resides in horns, therefore the gifts by which evils are combated he calls horns. And because the power of readiness resides in the eyes, therefore the gifts by which a person is equipped for all good things he calls eyes.

Through the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, designated by the seven horns, the seven mortal sins are destroyed, and seven virtues are introduced. The gift of fear destroys pride and brings about the good of poverty; the gift of piety destroys envy and introduces meekness; the gift of knowledge destroys wrath and introduces mourning; the gift of fortitude destroys sloth and introduces hunger for justice; the gift of counsel destroys avarice and introduces mercy; the gift of understanding destroys gluttony and introduces purity of heart; the gift of wisdom destroys lust and introduces peace.

The third ground of the influx of fortitude is from God indwelling. "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety"; and he places fortitude in the middle, because Christ does not dwell in us unless we have these two, namely the Spirit of the Lord and fortitude; and therefore he placed fortitude in the middle. Peter denied at the voice of a maidservant, yet stood firm against the emperor, because without the Spirit of the Lord the soul is weak, and with the Spirit of the Lord it is strong. He stood firm against the emperor, because with the Spirit of the Lord he was then strong.

As we said earlier, the seven-formed Spirit has been denoted here, as you easily infer by calculation and recognize by his activity. But we must regard this Holy Spirit as one and the same as him whose virtues are known by Isaiah's witness to be the same seven which we have mentioned: the Spirit of wisdom, of understanding, of counsel, of courage, of knowledge, of piety, of fear of the Lord; and he distributes these to each as he wills. It should not trouble you that everywhere Isaiah ascribes the words to the voice of the Holy Spirit, for clearly "voice" is associated with the whole Trinity. We read of the Father's voice when he says, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," and again of the Son's voice in the words "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Likewise in the Acts of the Apostles we read of the Holy Spirit: "Separate for me Paul and Barnabas, for the work to which I have called them."

Isaiah signifies that the Spirit was indeed one and indivisible, but his operations diverse.

We read in Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord descended upon the Lord Jesus, "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and piety." It is in reference to this same Spirit of the Lord who descended upon the Savior in a holy outpouring that the Son said through Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," and that Matthew the Evangelist said, "Behold, the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending upon him like a dove." Luke the Evangelist, moreover, clearly teaches that the Spirit of God whom the Savior received in baptism is the Holy Spirit: "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan."

For seven are the gifts of the charisms, as through Isaiah the renowned prophet the Lord has deigned to manifest: And there will rest upon him the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, of counsel, of virtue, of knowledge, of piety, the spirit of fear of God; we cannot all have them all, but we individuals have single ones. But only Christ the Lord has all, whereby the body is whole; but in us, single ones, whereby we are counted as members. Therefore, whoever of the number of brothers consisting in one and in the same church have had the spirit of wisdom, these all having one charism make one church. Indeed, church means the congregation of the saints; lastly, the blessed apostle Paul, when he was writing to the Church, added what the Church is, saying: to the saints and faithful; and also through this whoever holy and faithful brothers have the spirit of understanding make another church as another class; also, by similar reason, whoever have the spirit of counsel make a third class as a third church; and those whom the spirit of virtue has filled are numbered as the fourth church; in the same way too those whom the spirit of knowledge has inundated are counted in the fifth church; thus too those whom the spirit of piety has united show the number of the sixth church, and those whom the spirit of the fear of God has conjoined are referred to the seventh church. For when we are separate, we individuals have the single charisms; however, when we convene into one, we all make the one and whole and perfect septiform Church, whose is the body of Christ.

I think Isaiah loves to call the activities of the Spirit "spirits."

For there are seven sons born to us, when by the conception of good intent the seven virtues of the holy Spirit spring up in us. Thus the Prophet particularizes this inward offspring, when the Spirit renders the mind fruitful, in these words: "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." So when by the coming of the Holy Spirit there is engendered in each of us, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, piety, and the fear of the Lord, something like a lasting posterity is begotten in the mind, which preserves the stock of our nobility that is above unto life, for so much the longer as it allies it with the love of eternity.

The gate is ascended by seven steps, because through the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit the entrance to heavenly life is opened to us. Isaiah, enumerating this sevenfold grace in our very Head, or in His body, which we are, says: "The spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon Him, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him." Speaking of heavenly things, he numbered these steps by descending rather than ascending, namely: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear. And since it is written, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," it is without doubt established that one ascends from fear to wisdom, but does not return from wisdom to fear, because indeed wisdom possesses perfect charity. And it is written: "Perfect charity casts out fear." Therefore the prophet, because he was speaking from heavenly things down to the lowest, began rather from wisdom and descended to fear. But we who strive from earthly things toward heavenly things, let us enumerate those same steps by ascending, that we may be able to arrive from fear to wisdom. For in our mind the first step of ascent is the fear of the Lord; the second, piety; the third, knowledge; the fourth, fortitude; the fifth, counsel; the sixth, understanding; the seventh, wisdom. For the fear of the Lord exists in the mind. But what kind of fear is this, if piety is not with it?

For you know that in the Old Testament all action is commanded through the precepts of the Decalogue, but in the New Testament the power of that same action is given through the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit as the faithful are multiplied. Announcing this, the prophet says: "The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." But he receives action in this Spirit who acknowledges the faith of the Trinity, so that he believes the Father and the Son and the same Holy Spirit to be of one power and confesses them to be of one substance. Because therefore the seven things we mentioned above were given more broadly through the New Testament, but the ten precepts through the Old, all our virtue and action can be fully comprehended through ten and seven.

Upon this flower, then, which will suddenly rise up from the trunk and the root of Jesse through the Virgin Mary, the spirit of the Lord will rest, because in him it pleased all the fullness of the divinity to dwell bodily: not in part, as in the other saints; but, according to the Gospel written in the Hebrew tongue which the Nazarenes read: The whole fountain of the Holy Spirit shall descend upon him. Now the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Cor 3:17). In the same volume of Matthew we read that the words written in what follows: Behold my servant whom I have chosen: my chosen one, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the nations (Matt 12:18), are referred to the understanding of the Savior, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested, that is, remained in everlasting habitation: not so as to fly away and descend upon him again; but, according to the testimony of John the Baptist, so as to remain continually; for he says: I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and remaining on him, and I did not know him: but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me: He on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, he it is who baptizes in the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-33). Further, in the Gospel which we mentioned above, we find these things written: And it came to pass, when the Lord had come up from the water, the whole fountain of the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon him, and said to him: My Son, in all the prophets I was awaiting you, that you might come and I might rest in you. For you are my rest, you are my firstborn son, who reigns for ever. This Spirit is called the Spirit of the Lord and the Spirit of wisdom; for all things were made through him; and without him nothing was made that was made (John 1:3). And in the Psalms it is sung: How magnified are your works, O Lord! You have made all things in wisdom (Ps 103 [104]:24). And the Apostle writes: Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1). And in Proverbs it is read: God by his wisdom founded the earth, and prepared the heavens by prudence (Prov 3:19). And as the same Word of God is called light, and life, and resurrection, so he is named the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and of counsel and fortitude, and of knowledge, and of godliness, and of the fear of the Lord: not that he is different according to the differences of the names, but that he is one and the same fountain and principle of all virtues. Without Christ, therefore, no one can be wise, nor understanding, nor a counselor, nor strong, nor learned, nor godly, nor full of the fear of God. And this is to be noted, that the Spirit of the Lord, of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, and of knowledge, and of godliness, and of the fear of the Lord, that is, the sevenfold number, which in Zechariah (ch. 3) are called seven eyes on one stone, rests upon the rod and the flower which rose up from Jesse, and so from the stock of David.

About this text you should first take care to observe that Isaiah does not say that "the spirit of fear shall rest upon him" but "shall fill him." The power of it is so abundant that if once it possesses a person in its strength, it possesses his mind to the exclusion of all else. Linked with the charity that never fails, it fills and permanently possesses the soul whom it has seized, and it cannot be lessened by the temptations of any this-worldly happiness.

The Scripture says that these enumerated powers of the Spirit have come on Him, not because He stood in need of them, but because they would rest in Him, i.e., would find their accomplishment in Him, so that there would be no more prophets in your nation after the ancient custom: and this fact you plainly perceive. For after Him no prophet has arisen among you.

Moreover, the apostle Paul says, "Having the same Spirit; as it is written, 'I believed, and therefore have I spoken'; we also believe, and therefore speak." He is therefore one and the same Spirit who was in the prophets and apostles, except that in the former he was occasional, in the latter always. But in the former not as being always in them, in the latter as abiding always in them; and in the former distributed with reserve, in the latter entirely poured out; in the former given sparingly, in the latter liberally bestowed; not yet manifested before the Lord's resurrection, but conferred after the resurrection. For, he said, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth." And, "When he, the Advocate, shall come, whom I shall send to you from my Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from my Father." And, "If I do not go away, that Advocate shall not come to you; but if I go away, I will send him to you." And, "When the Spirit of truth shall come, he will direct you into all the truth." And because the Lord was about to depart to the heavens, he gave the Paraclete out of necessity to the disciples; so as not to leave them in any degree orphans, which was hardly desirable, and forsake them without an advocate and some kind of protector.For this is he who strengthened their hearts and minds, who marked out the Gospel sacraments, who was in them the enlightener of divine things; and they being strengthened, feared, for the sake of the Lord's name, neither dungeons nor chains, nay, even trod under foot the very powers of the world and its tortures. For they were henceforth armed and strengthened by the same Spirit, having in themselves the gifts which this same Spirit distributes and appropriates to the church, the spouse of Christ, as her ornaments. This is he who places prophets in the church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works, often discrimination of spirits, affords powers of government, suggests counsels and orders and arranges whatever other gifts there are of charismata.… This is he who, after the manner of a dove, when our Lord was baptized, came and abode upon him, dwelling in Christ full and entire, and not maimed in any measure or portion; but with his whole overflow copiously distributed and sent forth, so that from him others might receive some enjoyment of his graces: the source of the wholeness of the Holy Spirit remaining in Christ, so that from him might be drawn streams of gifts and works, while the Holy Spirit dwelt richly in Christ. For truly Isaiah, prophesying this, said, "And the Spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and piety; and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." This selfsame thing also he said in the person of the Lord himself, in another place. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he has anointed me, he has sent me to preach the gospel to the poor."

In Christ alone he dwells fully and entirely, not lacking in any measure or part; but in all his overflowing abundance dispensed and sent forth, so that other men might receive from Christ a first outpouring, as it were, of his graces. For the fountainhead of the entire Holy Spirit abides in Christ, that from him might be drawn streams of grace and wondrous deeds because the Holy Spirit dwells richly in Christ.

Scripture testifies that "a great and strong angel exclaimed in heaven: Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seal? No one was able to open the book or to look at it, neither in heaven nor on earth nor under the earth." John wept and lamented that none of all the rational creatures in the universe was found worthy to open the book to look at it. One of the elders consoled John as he wept and said, "Do not cry, John. Behold, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, was victorious in opening the book and breaking its seal." What, I ask, is this book which no one was ever able to receive from the hand of the living, except "he who walks without sin and does justice"? It is not enough that he walk without sin or that he be a lamb, but he must be a slain lamb who crowned purity with the witness of the passion of life, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God. These undoubtedly are "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord." What, therefore, is this book? It is the book of judgment, I believe. For "the Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son."

357. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. Here he describes him as to his sanctity, as to three things:

first, as to habits of necessity;

second, as to rectitude of works: he shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes (Isa 11:3);

third, as to the effect of this rectitude: the wolf shall dwell with the lamb (Isa 11:6).

His perfection as to gratuitous habits is shown in three things.

First, as to their rest: shall rest, for grace was not increased in him: a woman shall compass a man (Jer 31:22); nor was it interrupted by fault: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth (1 Pet 2:22); nor was it troubled by the battle of the flesh, for it was without the original fault: let it expect light, and not see it, nor the rising of the dawning of the day (Job 3:9); he upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizes (John 1:33).

358. As to multitude in all the gifts: the spirit of wisdom. For although all the gifts of sanctifying grace are infused at the same time, nevertheless, no one else has perfect use of them all, because of which, concerning all these, it is now said: there was not found the like to him (Sir 44:20); nor again all gratuitous graces: to one indeed, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom: and to another, the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit (1 Cor 12:8–9). But Christ had all of these perfectly, for God doth not give the Spirit by measure (John 3:34).

360. To understand these things which are said here it necessary to see five things concerning these gifts:

first, how they differ from the virtues, the beatitudes, and the fruits;

second, their number;

third, their order;

fourth, how they exist in Christ;

fifth, in what manner they are attributed to the Holy Spirit.

361. Concerning the first, it is to be known that, as Gregory says, the gifts are given to assist the virtues, by which the powers of the soul are perfected for acts that are proportionate according to a human manner, as faith, which makes us to see in a glass and obscurity. Now there is a twofold defect of virtue: one accidental, from the indisposition of the one who has the habit, from which the virtue remains imperfect in the subject, and this defect is removed through the increase of the virtue; the other defect is essential on the part of the habit itself, as faith is continually imperfect according to its disposition, because it is obscure, and this defect is removed through a higher habit, which is called a gift, for as it exceeds the manner of human operation, it is given by God: as the gift of understanding, which in some manner makes things of faith to be seen clearly and distinctly. An operation, however, proceeding from a virtue perfected by a gift is called a beatitude, which is nothing other than operation according to perfect virtue, as the Philosopher says, as is said in Matthew 5:8: blessed are the clean of heart: they shall see God. But delight necessarily follows such operation, for delight is the unhindered operation of a proper habit, as the Philosopher says; and according to this, it is called a fruit; hence Ambrose on the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), says that they are called fruits in as much as they renew minds with sincere delight.

362. Concerning the second, it is to be known that the number of the gifts can be understood in three ways, because gifts are perfected either through retreat from evil, and thus is fear; or through approach to good, and thus either according to the contemplative life or according to the active life: if according to the contemplative, either according to the end of contemplation, and thus is wisdom, which concerns the highest causes; or according the means to the end, and thus is understanding, as of created spiritual substances and of what pertains to them. If according to the active life, either as to those things to which all are held, and thus the executive gift is piety, which is benevolence to those who are joined by faith or the image of God, and the directing gift is knowledge; or of those things to which not all are held, and the executive gift is fortitude, as it exposes itself to difficulties, and the directing gift is counsel.

363. From this the response to the third is now evident, because the gifts are ordered first in as far as they are perfections, and this order is considered according to the emanation of the gifts from the giver, and not in as far as they are received. Again it is evident that wisdom directs understanding, because the wise man sets things in order, and, through first things, someone is regulated in secondary things, as metaphysics regulates the other sciences, counsel regulates fortitude, knowledge regulates piety, fear regulates in all, because it directs to approach the good and in retreat from evil.

364. Concerning the fourth, it is to be known that Christ had these gifts according to their most excellent uses, according to which they are had in heaven. For he did not have servile fear as if he feared punishment or filial fear as if he feared to sin but the chaste fear which belongs to reverence: he was heard for his reverence (Heb 5:7). And it is similarly evident concerning the other gifts. However, it is said especially that the spirit of fear filled him lest, from the greatness of his gifts, he be thought to be proud, like the first angel, about whom it is said in Ezekiel 28:16: by the multitude of your wisdom or merchandise, your inner parts were filled with iniquity; or because he came to save through humility; or because he wished to be imitated in this: learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart (Matt 11:29).

365. Concerning the fifth, it is to be known that if these gifts are considered according to their own natures, as knowledge in as much as it is knowledge, then some of them are appropriated to the Son, which pertain to the perfection of the intellect, some to Holy Spirit, which pertain to the perfection of the affections, although all of them together are gifts of the entire Trinity. If, however, they are considered in as much as they have the nature of a gift, they are thus all attributed to the Holy Spirit, who is the first gift in whom all gifts are given. Similarly too if they are considered as to the principle of motion of such gifts, which is love: for the goodness of God, as Dionysius says, is diffusive of all things which are received in creatures from God, which are appropriated to the Holy Spirit. Others, however, refer this to the holiness of Josias and Ezechias; the Jews refer it to the antichrist.

Moreover, the seven heavens agree with those days; for thus we are warned: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the powers of them by the spirit of His mouth." There are seven spirits. Their names are the spirits which abode on the Christ of God, as was intimated in Isaiah the prophet: "And there rests upon Him the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of wisdom and of piety, and the spirit of God's fear hath filled Him." Therefore the highest heaven is the heaven of wisdom; the second, of understanding; the third, of counsel; the fourth, of might; the fifth, of knowledge; the sixth, of piety; the seventh, of God's fear.

Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall be the band around his waist. Not by appearance shall He judge nor by hearsay shall He decide." Such, then, is God: for if He were mere man, He could not judge otherwise than through witnesses. All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment.

But especially the spirit of the fear of the Lord filled him, for the sake of those who have need of the fear of the Lord, because they are little ones; the fear which perfect love casts out. For he who fears has punishment, and is not perfect (1 John 4:18). Hence the Apostle too says to believers: For you have not received the spirit of slavery again in fear: but you have received the Spirit of adoption, in which we cry Abba, Father (Rom 8:15). And in Malachi we read: If I am a father, where is my glory? and if I am Lord, where is my fear (Mal 1:6)? of which fear it is sung in the Psalm: Come, children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord (Ps 33 [34]:12).

He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears: but he shall judge the poor in righteousness, and shall reprove with equity on behalf of the meek of the earth, and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the spirit of his lips he shall slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith the belt of his reins. We refer these things to the first coming of the Savior: the Jews contend that they will come to pass at the end of the world. Further, the Seventy translated: He shall not judge according to glory, nor reprove according to speech: but he shall judge with a lowly judgment, and shall reprove the lowly of the earth. For he accepts no one's person in judgment; but to the scribes and Pharisees and rulers he says: Woe to you, hypocrites: and, The kingdom of God will be taken from you, and will be given to a nation that brings forth its fruits (Matt 23:13; 21:43). Nor did he rebuke according to speech and the hearing of the ears. For when they said: Master, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in truth, and you care for no one: for you do not look at the faces of men (Matt 22:16), knowing their malice he answered: Why do you test me, hypocrites? and other things like these.

359. As to fullness, for he was perfect in every grace, which is noted where it says, the spirit of the fear of the Lord filled him: we saw him full of grace (John 1:14). Concerning all these things: in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead corporeally (Col 2:9).

366. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes. Here he shows his holiness as to rectitude of works, and especially in judging, because this is the work of a king. Hence he shows three things:

first, his shrewdness in discerning;

second, his justice in executing: but he shall judge;

third, his constancy in persevering, and justice shall be (Isa 11:5).

Therefore he says, as to the first, he shall not judge according to the sight of the outward eyes, nor according to the hearing of the outward ears, as if to those who say in Matthew 22:16, master, we know that you are a true speaker. Because he needed not that any should give testimony of man: for he knew what was in man (John 2:25). And this cannot be explained as of a mere man, as is said in 1 Samuel 16:7: man sees those things that appear, but the Lord beholds the heart. And therefore they said separately, now we know that you know all things (John 16:30). Nevertheless, others explain this in a tortured way as concerning the just kings, for they did not judge things that appear at first glance according to flatteries, but diligently sought the truth of the case.

For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

Hence, when Isaiah said "he will judge the poor with justice," he was without doubt speaking of those very persons to whom it was said, "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

Just as "feigned righteousness is not righteousness, but double iniquity," so feigned holiness is not holiness, but rather iniquity. Against such the Apostle says: "In the last times there will be men who are lovers of pleasures, having the appearance of piety, but denying its power." Those having the appearance of piety are hypocrites. For such a one is a son of perdition. Of such a one it is said: "With the breath of his lips he shall strike the impious one," namely him who will have the greatest appearance of piety.

He [Christ] does not esteem the learned above the simple, nor the rich above the poor.

That the Holy Spirit also proceeds from the Son, the prophetic and apostolic teaching shows us. So Isaiah says concerning the Son, "He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked." Concerning him the apostle also says, "Whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth." The one Son of God himself, showing who the Spirit of his mouth is, after his resurrection, breathing on his disciples, says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." "From the mouth," indeed, of the Lord Jesus himself, says John in the Apocalypse, "a sharp, two-edged word came forth." The very Spirit of his mouth is the sword itself that comes forth from his mouth.

But he judged in righteousness the poor in spirit, whose is the kingdom of God; and he reproved with equity the meek and humble of the earth, saying to the Apostles: Are you also still without understanding? And again: Do you not yet know nor understand? And to Peter in particular: O you of little faith, why did you doubt (Mark 8:17)? Or certainly, on behalf of the humble and meek he reproved others, who were trying to oppress them (Matt 14:31). He also struck all earthly works with the rod, or, as the Seventy translated, with the word of his mouth, saying in the Gospel: Do not think that I have come to send peace upon the earth: for I have not come to send peace, but a sword. And with the spirit of his lips he shall slay the wicked (Matt 10:34; Luke 12:51): of whom we read in Psalm 9: You have rebuked the nations, and the wicked has perished: you have blotted out their name for ever and for ever and ever (Ps 9:6). And Paul the Apostle writes: Whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the spirit of his mouth (2 Thess 2:8; Eph 6).

rod of his mouth....: He is not speaking literally, for all the language in this passage he employs in a spiritual sense.

367. But he shall judge. Here his justice in executing is shown.

And first, as to the good, in distributing their rights: he shall judge, in the day of judgment and even now: the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22); the Poor, about whom it says in Matthew 5:3: blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Second, as to the wicked, and first, as to the members: he shall strike the earth, that is, the earthly, with the rod of his mouth: go, you cursed, into everlasting fire (Matt 25:41); woe to you, scribes and Pharisees (Matt 23:13); as to the head: with the breath of his lips, that is, his indignation expressed with words; he shall slay the wicked, that is, the antichrist: the man of sin will be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is worshipped (2 Thess 2:3–4); or the devil: now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31). And all this can be explained literally of the just kings, and who slew the impious with their precepts.

"And out of His mouth was issuing a sharp two-edged sword." By the twice-sharpened sword going forth out of His mouth is shown, that it is He Himself who has both now declared the word of the Gospel, and previously by Moses declared the knowledge of the law to the whole world. But because from the same word, as well of the New as of the Old Testament, He will assert Himself upon the whole human race, therefore He is spoken of as two-edged. For the sword arms the soldier, the sword slays the enemy, the sword punishes the deserter. And that He might show to the apostles that He was announcing judgment, He says: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." And after He had completed His parables, He says to them: "Have ye understood all these things? And they said, We have. And He added, Therefore is every scribe instructed in the kingdom of God like unto a man that is a father of a family, bringing forth from his treasure things new and old," -the new, the evangelical words of the apostles; the old, the precepts of the law and the prophets: and He testified that these proceeded out of His mouth. Moreover, He also says to Peter: "Go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that shall first come up; and having opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater (that is, two denarii), and thou shalt give it for me and for thee." And similarly David says by the Spirit: "God spake once, twice I have heard the same." Because God once decreed from the beginning what shall be even to the end. Finally, as He Himself is the Judge appointed by the Father. on account of His assumption of humanity, wishing to show that men shall be judged by the word that He had declared, He says: "Think ye that I will judge you at the last day? Nay, but the word," says He, "which I have spoken unto you, that shall judge you in the last day." And Paul, speaking of Antichrist to the Thessalonians, says: "Whom the Lord Jesus will slay by the breath of His mouth." And Isaiah says: "By the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." This, therefore, is the two-edged sword issuing out of His mouth.

At all times let us stand firm, but especially now, although many afflictions overtake us and many heretics are furious against us. Let us then, my beloved brothers, celebrate with thanksgiving the holy feast that now draws near to us, "girding up the loins of our minds," like our Savior Jesus Christ, of whom it is written, "Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins."

Finally, He must be supremely just, because of the manifold character of a justice making infallible inquiries, irreproachable distinctions, and irrevocable judgments, handing out retribution to each one according to his deeds. Isaiah writes: "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. Justice shall be the band around his waist. Not by appearance shall He judge nor by hearsay shall He decide." Such, then, is God: for if He were mere man, He could not judge otherwise than through witnesses. All the judgments of Scriptures refer to this one judgment.

"Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and truth the girdle of his loins." As a king has a belt made of gold and precious stones, so in a prophetic manner, he speaks about the belt made of righteousness and truth. By the belt we may also understand the divinity of the Word, because he is righteousness, according to the apostle: "He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption." He is also the truth, according to Evangelist: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." The Word being the righteousness and the truth that comes from the root of Jesse, his waist [belt] points out to his attribute as king and warrior as the Word who conquers the invisible powers and hosts.

And when the wicked has been struck, the Lord is girded with righteousness and truth and faith. For he himself was made for us by God wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption (1 Cor 1), he who also says in the Gospel: I am the light, and the way, and the truth (John 8:12; 14:6). And of the Psalms it is said: Truth has sprung from the earth: and righteousness has looked down from heaven (Ps 84 [85]:12). Hence the Apostle too exhorts the Ephesians: Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and clothed with the breastplate of righteousness (Eph 6:14). But if faith is read in place of truth, this must be said: that the girdle of the Lord, with which Jeremiah was girded (Jer 13), is the faith of believers.

"Stand therefore," saith he, "having girded your loins with truth." He is not speaking of a literal, physical girdle, for all the language in this passage he employs in a spiritual sense. And observe how methodically he proceeds. First he girds up his soldier. What then is the meaning of this? The man that is loose in his life, and is dissolved in his lusts, and that has his thoughts trailing on the ground, him he braces up by means of this girdle, not suffering him to be impeded by the garments entangling his legs, but leaving him to run with his feet well at liberty. "Stand therefore, having girded your loins," saith he. By the "loins" here he means this; just what the keel is in ships, the same are the loins with us, the basis or groundwork of the whole body: for they are, as it were, a foundation, and upon them as the schools of the physicians tell you, the whole frame is built. So then in "girding up the loins" he compacts the foundation of our soul; for he is not of course speaking of these loins of our body, but is discoursing spiritually: and as the loins are the foundation alike of the parts both above and below, so is it also in the case of these spiritual loins.

368. And justice shall be. Here his constancy in persevering is set out: and justice, which he shall observe in his judgments, shall be the girdle of his loins, that is, the sword with which he shall fight, and faith, confidence from God by which he will prevail; and this can be applied to Christ and to the just kings. Or the girdle of his loins which strongly adheres to man, and girdles the whole man on all sides. Or justice, in the equity of the deed, faith, faithfulness in the mode of doing: stand, having your loins girt about (Eph 6:14); or justice, the just; faith, the faithful; and thus these words are only referred to Christ: as the girdle sticks close to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me all the house of Israel (Jer 13:11). From this Jerome argues against the Hebrews that all these things cannot be understood literally.

If the earthly lion could read the prophecy of that day when he shall eat hay like an ox, he would regard it as a description not of heaven, but of hell. And if there is nothing in the lion but carnivorous sentience, then he is unconscious and his "survival" would have no meaning. But if there is a rudimentary Leonine self, to that also God can give a "body" as it pleases Him--a body no longer living by the destruction of the lamb, yet richly Leonine in the sense that it also expresses whatever energy and splendour and exulting power dwelled within the visible lion on this earth. I think, under correction, that the prophet used an eastern hyperbole when he spoke of the lion and the lamb lying down together. That would be rather impertinent of the lamb. To have lions and lambs that so consorted (except on some rare celestial Saturnalia of topsy-turvydom) would be the same as having neither lambs nor lions. I think the lion, when he has ceased to be dangerous, will still be awful: indeed, that we shall then first see that of which the present fangs and claws are a clumsy, and satanically perverted, imitation. There will still be something like the shaking of a golden mane: and often the good Duke will say, "Let him roar again".

[Isaiah] continues prophetically to show the transformation of all different races of humanity, barbarian and Greek … through the teaching of Christ.… The irrational animals and wild beasts in the passage represent the Gentiles, who are naturally like animals. One who comes from the seed of Jesse will rule over the Gentiles. This is the genealogy of our Savior and Lord, in whom the Gentiles now believe and hope.

And sometimes this pure gentleness and this pure fierceness met and justified their juncture; the paradox of all the prophets was fulfilled, and, in the soul of St. Louis, the lion lay down with the lamb. But remember that this text is too lightly interpreted. It is constantly assured, especially in our Tolstoyan tendencies, that when the lion lies down with the lamb the lion becomes lamb-like. But that is brutal annexation and imperialism on the part of the lamb. That is simply the lamb absorbing the lion instead of the lion eating the lamb. The real problem is--Can the lion lie down with the lamb and still retain his royal ferocity? That is the problem the Church attempted; that is the miracle she achieved.

For behold, we who seem clothed in religious habit have come together from the diverse condition of the world to faith and to hearing the word of the almighty Lord, and from dissimilar iniquities we have been gathered into the concord of holy Church, so that what is said of the promise of the Church through Isaiah now seems to have been openly fulfilled: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid." For through the bowels of holy charity the wolf dwells with the lamb, because those who were plunderers in the world rest in peace with the gentle and meek. And the leopard lies down with the kid, because he who was spotted with the stains of his sins consents to be humbled with him who despises himself and confesses himself a sinner. Where it is also added: "The calf and the lion and the sheep shall dwell together," because he who prepares himself as a daily sacrifice to God through a contrite heart, and another who raged severely from cruelty like a lion, and another who perseveres in the simplicity of his innocence like a sheep, have come together in the folds of holy Church. Behold what charity is like, which kindles, burns up, melts together the diversities of minds and reforms them as it were into one appearance of gold.

I am quite aware that some persons endeavour to refer these words to the case of savage men, both of different nations and various habits, who come to believe, and when they have believed, act in harmony with the righteous. But although this is [true] now with regard to some men coming from various nations to the harmony of the faith, nevertheless in the resurrection of the just [the words shall also apply] to those animals mentioned. For God is non in all things. And it is right that when the creation is restored, all the animals should obey and be in subjection to man, and revert to the food originally given by God (for they had been originally subjected in obedience to Adam), that is, the productions of the earth. But some other occasion, and not the present, is [to be sought] for showing that the lion shall [then] feed on straw. And this indicates the large size and rich quality of the fruits. For if that animal, the lion, feeds upon straw [at that period], of what a quality must the wheat itself be whose straw shall serve as suitable food for lions?

The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the dead; when also the creation, having been renovated and set free, shall fructify with an abundance of all kinds of food, from the dew of heaven, and from the fertility of the earth: as the elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, "I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me." In like manner [the Lord declared] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear should have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds (quinque bilibres) of clear, pure, fine flour; and that all other fruit-bearing trees, and seeds and grass, would produce in similar proportions (secundum congruentiam iis consequentem); and that all animals feeding [only] on the productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man.

And these things are borne witness to in writing by Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book; for there were five books compiled (συντεταγμένα) by him. And he says in addition, "Now these things are credible to believers." And he says that, "when the traitor Judas did not give credit to them, and put the question, 'How then can things about to bring forth so abundantly be wrought by the Lord.' the Lord declared, 'They who shall come to these [times] shall see.' " When prophesying of these times, therefore, Esaias says: "The wolf also shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall take his rest with the kid; the calf also, and the bull, and the lion shall eat together; and a little boy shall lead them. The ox and the bear shall feed together, and their young ones shall agree together; and the lion shall eat straw as well as the ox. And the infant boy shall thrust his hand into the asp's den, into the nest also of the adder's brood; and they shall do no harm, nor have power to hurt anything in my holy mountain." And again he says, in recapitulation, "Wolves and lambs shall then browse together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent earth as if it were bread; and they shall neither hurt nor annoy anything in my holy mountain, says the Lord." [Isaiah 40:6, etc.] I am quite aware that some persons endeavour to refer these words to the case of savage men, both of different nations and various habits, who come to believe, and when they have believed, act in harmony with the righteous. But although this is [true] now with regard to some men coming from various nations to the harmony of the faith, nevertheless in the resurrection of the just [the words shall also apply] to those animals mentioned. For God is rich in all things. And it is right that when the creation is restored, all the animals should obey and be in subjection to man, and revert to the food originally given by God (for they had been originally subjected in obedience to Adam), that is, the productions of the earth. But some other occasion, and not the present, is [to be sought] for showing that the lion shall [then] feed on straw. And this indicates the large size and rich quality of the fruits. For if that animal, the lion, feeds upon straw [at that period], of what a quality must the wheat itself be whose straw shall serve as suitable food for lions?

Not of course that the ox may learn ferocity from the lion but that the lion may learn docility from the ox.

But according to the life-giving spirit, the understanding is easy. For the wolf, Paul, who at first persecuted and tore the Church, of whom it was said: Benjamin a ravening wolf, dwelt with the lamb, either with Ananias, by whom he was baptized (Gen 49:27; Acts 8), or with the apostle Peter, to whom it was said: Feed my lambs (John 21). And the leopard, who formerly did not change his spots, washed in the fountain of the Lord, lay down with the kid, not the one which is on the left, but the one which is sacrificed in the Lord's pasch. And this is to be noted, that it is not the lamb and the kid that dwell and lie down with the wolf and the leopard, but the wolf and the leopard that imitate the innocence of the lamb and the kid. The lion too, formerly most ferocious, and the sheep, and the calf, will abide together. This we see daily in the Church: rich and poor, powerful and lowly, kings and private men abiding together, and being ruled in the Church by little children, whom we understand as the Apostles and apostolic men, unskilled in speech but not in knowledge.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the lion and the sheep shall abide together, and a little child shall drive them. The calf and the bear shall feed: their young ones shall rest together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the infant at the breast shall delight over the hole of the asp; and he that has been weaned shall put his hand into the den of the basilisk. They shall not hurt, and they shall not kill in all my holy mountain, for the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters of the sea that cover it. These things too the Jews, and our judaizers, contend will come to pass according to the letter: that in the glory of Christ, who they think will come at the end of the world, all beasts will be brought back to gentleness, and, laying aside their former fierceness, the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the rest with the rest, which we now see to be opposed to one another. We must ask them whether, if everything in the present place is taken just as it is written, and nothing is referred to a spiritual understanding, according to the saying of the Apostle: Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3), then the root and the rod and the flower too are not to be referred to a sense; and the earth struck by the word of God, and the wicked slain by the spirit of his lips, are to be understood just as they are written; and whether they will be forced to teach how the reins of the Lord are girded with incorporeal things, righteousness and truth? But let us ask them this too: what is worthy of the majesty of the Lord in the wolf and the lamb feeding together, and the leopard lying down with the kid, and the lion eating straw, and a little child putting his hand into the hole of asps? Unless perhaps, according to the fables of the poets, they will restore to us the golden age of Saturn, in which wolves and lambs will feed together, and rivers will run full of honeyed wine, and the sweetest honey will drip from the leaves of the trees, and all things will be filled with fountains of milk. But if they answer that these things will come about for the blessedness of the times, so that men may enjoy all good things without harm to anyone, let them hear from us that nothing is good except virtue, and nothing evil except vice, as the Psalmist says: Who is the man who wills life, and loves to see good days? Restrain your tongue from evil, and let your lips not speak guile. Turn aside from evil, and do good (Ps 33 [34]:14; 30 [31]:27). Riches, moreover, and health of body, and abundance of all things, and their opposites, poverty, sickness, and want, are reckoned even among the philosophers of the world neither among goods nor among evils, but are called indifferent. Hence the Stoics too, who agree with our doctrine in very many points, call nothing good but honor and virtue alone, and nothing evil but baseness. We have said these things briefly to convict our judaizers of snoring in the heaviest sleep.

The prophet also foretold the kinds of people from whom the church would be established. Not only the meek and the mild and the good would form the church. The wild, the inhuman and men whose ways were like those of wolves and lions and bulls would flock together with them and form one church. Hear how the prophet foretold the diversity of this flock when he said, "Then a wolf shall feed with a lamb." And by this he showed the simplicity of the way of life the church's rulers would live.

When he saith, "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;" he is signifying the exaltation of the lowly, the humiliation of the self-willed, the hardness of the law changed into easiness of faith. For it is no longer toils and labors, saith he, but grace, and forgiveness of sins, affording great facility of salvation. Next he states the cause of these things, saying, "All flesh shall see the salvation of God;" no longer Jews and proselytes only, but also all earth and sea, and the whole race of men. Because by "the crooked things" he signified our whole corrupt life, publicans, harlots, robbers, magicians, as many as having been perverted before afterwards walked in the right way: much as He Himself likewise said, "publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you," because they believed. And in other words also again the prophet declared the self-same thing, thus saying, "Then wolves and lambs shall feed together." For like as here by the hills and valleys, he meant that incongruities of character are blended into one and the same evenness of self-restraint, so also there, by the characters of the brute animals indicating the different dispositions of men, he again spoke of their being linked in one and the same harmony of godliness.

I have heard many saying, "The threats of a king are like the wrath of a lion;" being full of dejection and lamentation. What then should we say to such? That He who said, "The wolves and the lambs shall feed together; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox," will be able to convert the lion into a mild lamb. Let us therefore supplicate Him; let us send an embassy to Him; and He will doubtless allay the Emperor's wrath, and deliver us from the impending distress.

The elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, "I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me." In like manner [the Lord declared] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear should have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds (quinque bilibres) of clear, pure, fine flour; and that all other fruit-bearing trees, and seeds and grass, would produce in similar proportions (secundum congruentiam iis consequentem); and that all animals feeding [only] on the productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man... Now these things are credible to believers... When the traitor Judas did not give credit to them, and put the question, 'How then can things about to bring forth so abundantly be wrought by the Lord.' the Lord declared, 'They who shall come to these [times] shall see.'

The promise will be fulfilled when kings, peasants and the poor all gather equally around the one table of Christ (believed and seen by us); according to the prophet Isaiah: "Then the wolf will dine with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the cow, the lion and the lamb will eat straw together, and a small child will feed them."

369. The wolf shall dwell. Here the effect of his rectitude is set out, which is in the multitude of peace, which he shows as to two things:

first, as to the meekness of the great,

second, as to the security of the lowly: and the sucking child (Isa 11:8).

The meekness of the great is shown as to three things:

first, as to dwelling: the rapacious wolf with the innocent lamb, and on the contrary, for the wolf will follow the lamb's innocence; the crafty leopard with the simple kid; the calf, a kind of animal that is strong, and the lion, a kind of animal that is strong and fierce; the sheep, a kind of animal that is weak, together they will all be in unity, where there is neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all and in all (Col 3:11). This is signified in Noah's ark, where there were all animals of each kind (Gen 7:1–3).

370. Second, as to government: a little child: Peter the fisherman. Above: behold I and my children (Isa 8:18); the foolish things of the world has God chosen, that he may confound the wise and the contemptible things that he may confound the strong (1 Cor 1:27); shall lead, that is, he shall lead them to the kingdom, like a general.

Such is the grace of the waters, that their calves and lions flee from them, so that this prophetic saying about the sanctity of the Church rightly applies to them: Then wolves and lambs will graze together, and lions and oxen will eat straw together. No wonder, since even in the Church, water works in the same way, that the washed-away wickedness of the thieves is compared with the innocence.

Where and when, therefore, will this blessing be accomplished except in the kingdom of God, where grain, wine and oil are in abundance? The earth will yield its fruit generously and every evil will be destroyed, as Isaiah said: "In those days, the lion will eat straw with the ox, the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and a small child will put his hand in the den of an asp without being harmed." In his kingdom, God will recreate the world as wonderfully as it was made at the beginning, before the first man sinned. For after he violated the word of God, all things were corrupted, profaned and cursed when God said, "Cursed is the ground because of your works." The passing form of this world, therefore, will become the kingdom of the saints and the liberation of creation.

If we carefully examine the words of the Prophets, we discover that these and they were put forth by the same Spirit. For when Isaiah observed the life of sinners devoured by the ancient and insatiable enemy, he said, "the lion shall eat straw like the ox." But what is signified by the words hay, and straw, except the life of the carnal? Of which it is said by the Prophet, "All flesh is hay." He then who here is 'Behemoth,' is there a 'lion;' they who are here called 'hay,' are there called 'straw.' But the mind strives to enquire why this lion in Isaiah, or Behemoth as he is called by the voice of the Lord, is in both passages compared not to a horse, but an ox. But we ascertain this the sooner, if we consider what is the difference of foods in the two animals. For horses eat hay, however dirty, but drink clean water only. But oxen drink water, however filthy, but feed only on clean hay. What then is it, for which this Behemoth is compared to an ox, which feeds on clean food, except that which is said of this ancient enemy by another Prophet: "His food is choice." For he rejoices not in seizing those whom he beholds lying of their own accord in the lowest depths with himself, involved in wicked and filthy actions. He therefore seeks to eat hay as an ox, because he seeks to wound with the fang of his suggestion the pure life of the spiritual.

Hence there too it is added: "And a little child shall lead them." Who is this little child except he of whom it is written: "A child is born to us, a son is given to us"? He leads those dwelling together, because lest our hearts cling to earthly things, he daily inflames them through inward desire. And this very leading of his is to kindle us unceasingly to love of him, lest when we love one another we remain in mind in this exile, lest the rest of this life so please us that it leads to forgetfulness of our homeland, lest the mind delighted by prosperity grow sluggish.

And when they have been bound together by the discipline of the Lord, so that their households too are joined, then will be fulfilled: Their young ones shall rest together. The lion too will eat not flesh but straw, namely, he will feed on simple food. And here it must be observed that it is not the ox that eats flesh, but the lion that eats straw. By straw I think the simple words in the holy Scriptures are understood; and by the wheat and the inner marrow, the sense which is found within the letter: and it often happens that men of the world, ignorant of mystical things, are fed on the simple reading of the Scriptures.

371. Third, as to eating, in two ways:

as to conformity of food: the calf, who eats grass and is a clean animal, the bear, who tears meat and is not a clean animal, shall feed together, on the same food of the Word of God; their young ones, that is, their families, together, that is, in conformity, shall rest to eat, or the food of the sacraments: they ate the same spiritual food (1 Cor 10:3).

Second, as to humility of food, the lion, the king, like the ox, the rustic, straw, rough doctrine, or, literally, abstinence from food: shall the rhinoceros be willing to serve you, or will he stay at your crib? (Job 39:9).

But this seems to be more expressly preserved in religion, where men of different ages and conditions live with one mind, that is, in conformity: who makes men of one mind to dwell in a house (Ps 67:7[68:6]). Others say that this was fulfilled in the time of the good kings, when the great lived in peace with the lowly. The Jews say all these things are to happen literally in the times of the antichrist.

Listen to how the flesh of God becomes an antidote: The Word became flesh; He put His hand into the den of vipers, He expelled the venom, He removed sin; that is, He condemned sin in the flesh.

The infant too, who is a little one in malice, puts his hand into the hole of the asp, and drives demons out of the possessed bodies of men. But he who has been weaned is no longer nourished on the milk of infancy, but now feeds on solid food. He puts his hand into the den of the basilisk, that is, into the dwelling of Satan himself, and drags him out from there. Hence power was given to the Apostles too to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the strength of the enemy (Luke 10).

Happily the Creator has promised by Isaiah to give this power even to little children, of putting their hand in the cockatrice den and on the hole of the young asps without at all receiving hurt. And, indeed, we are aware … that under the figure of scorpions and serpents are portended evil spirits, whose very prince is described by the name of serpent, dragon and every other most conspicuous beast in the power of the Creator. This power the Creator conferred first of all upon his Christ, even as the ninetieth psalm says to him: "Upon the asp and the basilisk shall you tread; the lion and the dragon shall you trample under foot." So also Isaiah: "In that day the Lord God shall draw his sacred, great and strong sword" (even his Christ) "against that dragon, that great and tortuous serpent; and he shall slay him in that day."

372. And the sucking child shall play. Here he shows the security of the young, and he sets out three things:

their confidence, where against horror he sets out joy: on the other hole of the asp, that is, on the trials which the devil or a tyrant will send, and immediately, because he has begun to be nourished by the milk of the doctrine of faith: and not only so: but we glory also in tribulation, knowing that tribulation works patience (Rom 5:3); or in converting the wicked: he that hears, let him say: come (Rev 22:17). Against flight, which is indicative of fear, he sets out the daring of invasion; the weaned child, now eating solid food, shall do more, for he shall thrust his hand into the den of the basilisk, that is, the devil, who is king over all the children of pride (Job 41:25); for he will confidently expose himself to the persecutions of tyrants, as did many martyrs: he exults boldly, he goes forward to meet armed men (Job 39:21); or this refers to preachers, who thrust the hand of preaching for the conversion of sinners; or at the breasts, of newness and delight, for the newly converted rejoice at this.

But now, to all the earth has gone forth their voice, and all the earth has been filled with the knowledge of God, and the disciples have made disciples of all the nations, and now is fulfilled what is written: "They shall be all taught of God." And then what was revealed was but a type; but now the truth has been manifested.

Beyond philosophical knowledge, God gave us theological knowledge, which is the pious awareness of credible truth: because the eternal light, namely God, is a light inaccessible to us as long as we are mortal and have the eyes of a bat. Hence Augustine says: "The weak gaze of the mind is not fixed upon so excellent a light unless it is cleansed through the justice of faith." Therefore theological knowledge is founded upon faith: just as the philosophical sciences are founded upon their first principles, so the science of Scripture is founded upon the articles of faith, which are the twelve foundations of the city. Concerning this knowledge it is said in Isaiah: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain": there follows: "because the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters of the sea covering it." Sacred Scripture is compared to the water of the sea on account of the profundity of its mysteries, on account of the manifold variety of its senses and on account of the establishment of the Churches.

In relation to the abundantly flowing multiformity of the spiritual meanings, there are many outpourings, of the waters from clouds, rivers, fountains, and all come from the sea. If you ask: How? It is through various detours and motions: this is how the cloud, the river, the fountain answer. Hence, in Isaiah: "The earth shall be filled with knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea." And before this: "There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain."

Now this refers much more directly to the time of the New Testament, when Scripture was made evident, and mostly toward the end, when those Scriptures were understood which had not been understood before. For then there shall be a "mountain," that is, the contemplative Church; then, "there shall be no harm" when the monsters of heresy shall flee on account of the proper use of wisdom.

Paul testifies to our Redeemer when he says, "He was made a curse for us." The wood of the cross is also announced through the prophet, who said, "The Lord reigned from a tree," and again, "Let us put wood in his bread." But the wood of the cross is explicitly revealed through the gospel, where the prophesied passion of the Lord is described.This very same cross is also maintained in words and works through the apostles, as when Paul writes, "The world is crucified to me and I to the world," and again, "May I glory in nothing except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." For us who strive to reach the eternal homeland, therefore, sacred Scripture is the sea in its four aspects. It announces the cross because it bears us on a tree to the land of the living. Had the prophet not found a likeness between sacred Scripture and the sea, he never would have said, "The earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord, like the waters covering the sea." It follows, then: "The four had one likeness and their appearance and work was like a wheel within a wheel." The four had one likeness because what the law proclaimed, so also did the prophets; and what the prophets announced, the gospel set forth; and what the gospel set forth, the apostles proclaimed throughout the world. The likeness of the four is one, therefore, because even though the divine words are distinct with regard to time, they are nevertheless unified to those who hear them. "And their appearance and work was like a wheel within a wheel." The wheel within a wheel is the New Testament within the Old, as we have already said, for what the Old Testament signifies, this the New Testament displays. Let me speak succinctly of complex matters. What does it mean that Eve is produced from a sleeping Adam if not that the church is formed from the dying Christ? What does it mean that Isaac bore wood as he was led to be sacrificed and that he continued to live after he had been laid on the altar, if not that our Redeemer himself bore the wood of the cross as he was led along and that he died in sacrifice for us according to his humanity but nevertheless remained immortal in his divinity?

And the animals that were once venomous will in no way be able to hurt and kill those who dwell on the holy mountain of God, which means the Church, of which it is said in the Gospel: A city set upon a mountain cannot be hidden (Matt 5:14). And lest we think that this is said of mount Zion, according to the error of the Hebrews, in the following verse the mysteries of the Gospel preaching are shown: For the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord: this is what was said more obscurely above: The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and according to their custom the prophetic words are laid open at the end: Like the waters, he says, of the sea that cover. As the waters of the sea cover the depths of the sea, that is, the earth which is covered by the waves, so the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord. This joining together of those who were formerly of diverse ways the blessed apostle Peter too testifies that he saw in the linen vessel (Acts 10) which was let down from heaven, having four corners, which we understand as the four quarters of the world, so that we may recognize the earth filled with the knowledge of God: in which vessel there were four-footed beasts, and serpents, and wild beasts, and birds of heaven, so that what the Ark did in the flood, the Church may do in the world.

And in other words also again the prophet declared the self-same thing, thus saying, "Then wolves and lambs shall feed together." For like as here by the hills and valleys, he meant that incongruities of character are blended into one and the same evenness of self-restraint, so also there, by the characters of the brute animals indicating the different dispositions of men, he again spoke of their being linked in one and the same harmony of godliness. Here also, as before, stating the cause. That cause is, "There shall be He that riseth to reign over the Gentiles, in Him shall the Gentiles trust:" much the same as here too he said, "All flesh shall see the salvation of God," everywhere declaring that the power and knowledge of these our Gospels would be poured out to the ends of the world, converting the human race, from a brutish disposition and a fierce temper to something very gentle and mild.

The successful spread of the gospel message all over the world was also predicted.

373. Second, he sets out inability to hurt them: they shall not hurt; in my holy mountain, that is, the Church, except the willing: behold, I have given you power (Luke 10:19); and these signs shall follow them that believe: they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents: and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them (Mark 16:17–18).

374. Third, he sets out the cause of both: for the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord: their sound has gone forth into all the earth (Ps 18:5[19:4]); I, wisdom, have poured out rivers (Sir 24:40).

The Jews explain all of this literally. Others say that it signifies that, in the times of the good kings, all the young boldly committed themselves to those who were previously plunderers and cruel men.

In that day the root of Jesse, who stands as a sign of the peoples: him the nations shall beseech, and his sepulcher shall be glorious. LXX: And there shall be in that day the root of Jesse, and he who shall rise up to be prince of the nations; in him the nations shall hope, and his rest shall be honor. For his rest, there is set in the Hebrew MNUATHO (מנחתו), which all translated alike. For honor too there is read in the Hebrew CHABOD (כבוד), which plainly means glory. And the sense is: his death shall be glorious, so that what the Savior prays in the Gospel may be fulfilled: Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with you before the world was (John 17:5). It has been said of his birth, it has been said of the other mysteries in between: he comes to death, which, not by the customary name used of mortals, but because in Christ there was everlasting life, is called rest. But we, to make the sense plain to the reader, for sleep and rest translated sepulcher, another word but the same sense. At that time, then, when the Gospel of Christ has flashed forth in the whole world, and all the earth has been filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters of the sea covering the earth, there shall be the root of Jesse, and he who shall ascend from its stock as a sign of all the peoples, so that the peoples may see the sign of the Son of man in heaven (Matt 24). He will have horns in his hands, in which his strength will be hidden, so that, being lifted up, he may draw all things to himself (Hab 3). Or, as the Seventy translated, he will rise again from the dead, to be prince of all the nations, and all the nations will hope in him. This Jacob too (Gen 49:10) attests in mystical speech concerning the tribe of Judah: A prince shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is laid up, and he shall be the expectation of the nations.

Long before this tomb [of Christ] was hewn out by Joseph, its glory was foretold in Isaiah's prediction, "his rest shall be glorious," meaning that the place of the Lord's burial should be held in universal honor.

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. [Isaiah 11:10] Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Now Jesse was the father of David, and the promise with an oath was made to David. The prophet would not have spoken of the Lord Christ as a rod growing out of Jesse if he had only known him as God.

375. In that day. Here he places the dignity of the restorer. For a sign, the sign of the cross; those who take up this sign will be saved: I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself (John 12:32); below: behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and will set up my sign to the people; him the Gentiles shall beseech (Isa 49:22). All kings of the earth shall adore him: all nations shall serve him (Ps 71[72]:11). His sepulcher shall be glorious: it shall be venerated by all; hence it is signified by the sepulcher which he built in Modin for an everlasting monument, that it might be seen by all passing by (1 Macc 13:25–30). Others explain this as concerning Josias, for he was buried in the sepulchers of the kings.

And it shall be in that day, the Lord will set his hand a second time to possess the remnant of his people, which shall be left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Ethiopia, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he will lift up a sign to the nations, and will gather the fugitives of Israel, and will collect the dispersed of Judah from the four quarters of the earth: and the jealousy of Ephraim shall be taken away, and the enemies of Judah shall perish. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not fight against Ephraim. And they shall fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines by the sea, together they shall plunder the sons of the East: Edom and Moab shall be the command of their hand, and the sons of Ammon shall be obedient. In that day, that is, at that time, of which it was said above too, when the root of Jesse has risen as a sign of the peoples, or to rule over the nations, the Lord will set his hand a second time; so that it is not, as our judaizers hold, at the end of the world, when the fullness of the nations has come in, that all Israel will then be saved (Rom 11); but let us understand all these things of the first coming. For we cannot, since one day is spoken of both now and above, refer that one to the first coming and this one to the second: lest through these things which follow, those too which went before should have to be referred to that Christ whom the Jews contend has not yet come but is to come. After the calling of the nations, then, which were once reckoned as the tail, Israel will be reckoned as the tail (above, Isa 10): so that the Lord may set his hand a second time and possess the remnant of his people, concerning which we read above too that not all Israel, but a remnant is to be saved, which shall be left from the Assyrians and from Egypt and from the various nations round about. For first the twelve Apostles, and the seventy, and the hundred and twenty souls, and the five hundred to whom the Lord appeared when they were gathered together, then three thousand and five thousand of the Jews believed in the Lord. James too speaks to the apostle Paul, who was himself also of the remnant: You see, brother, how many thousands of the Jews there are who believe? all these are zealous for the law (Acts 21:20). And in the same volume we read: Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation that is under heaven, who all marveled and said: Are not these Galileans, and how have we heard each one his own tongue, in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who dwell in Mesopotamia and Syria, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, and Egypt and Libya, and Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs, we have heard them speaking in our tongues the great works of God (Acts 2:5ff.). From all these nations, then, the remnant of Israel will be saved through the Apostles. The histories of the Church relate that the Apostles, dispersed through the whole world, preached the Gospel: so that some penetrated to the Persians and the Indians, and Ethiopia stretched out her hands to God, and from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia gifts were brought from there to Christ. And lest he seem to signify only the eastern peoples, he adds the rest too: And from the islands of the sea. By the islands of the sea he signifies the western region, which is enclosed by the circuit of the Ocean.

376. And it shall come to pass in that day. In this part he promises the restoration of the people as to three things:

first, as to their liberation;

second, as to the condition of the liberated, where it says, and the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away (Isa 11:13);

third, as to the preparation of their liberation, where it says, and the Lord shall lay waste (Isa 11:15).

Concerning the first, he does two things:

first, he promises their liberation;

second, he describes the manner of their liberation: and the Lord shall set up a sign (Isa 11:12).

Some explain this as concerning the liberation from captivity in Babylon, when the Lord took possession of them, snatching them out of slavery in Babylon; and it is called second in relation to the first liberation, by which he led them out of slavery in Egypt: for when Nabuchodonosor was ravaging them, different nations led them into captivity and slavery, and, many of them having been killed, those remaining were congregated by the command of king Cyrus, as we read in Ezra 1. But this is better explained as concerning the liberation accomplished by Christ: for thus it agrees with what precedes it.

377. In that day, namely, when he shall stand as a sign of the peoples, the Lord shall set his hand the second time, through the apostles, for he himself preached the first time; the remnant, for a remnant shall be saved: in which is noted the holiness of the Jewish converts, and the multitude of the gentiles, about which, it says in Micah 7:1: I am become as one that gleans in autumn the grapes of the vintage. Phetros is a region which has its name from one of the sons of Abraham; Elam, a city of Persia; Emath, Antioch; Sennar, a place in Chaldea (Jer 30). Or, the second time, in the second coming, when the hearts of children will be turned to their fathers by the preaching of Elias (Mal 4:6). Blindness in part has happened in Israel (Rom 11:25).

He will lift up, then, the sign of the Cross over all nations, and will first gather the people of Israel from the synagogues of the Jews, so that the Apostles might fulfill the command of the Savior, who had said: Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt 10:6). Finally Paul too speaks to the unbelievers among the Jews: It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you; but since you have rejected it, and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the nations, as the Lord commanded us (Acts 13:46-47). By the four quarters he signifies east and west, south and north, so that through these the calling of the world may be shown.

378. And he shall set up. Here he places the manner of liberation, as to the first explanation: a sign, that is, the edict of king Cyrus; the fugitives of Israel, literally, those who went to Ezechias in Jerusalem, and joined themselves to the two tribes, and were captured with them and liberated with them. Or the sign of the Cross, as to the second explanation; he shall assemble the fugitives: to you it behooved us first to speak the word of God: but because you reject it . . . behold we turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). Or the sign of some miracle by which they will be converted to the preaching of Elias, below: behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and will set up my sign to the people (Isa 49:22); you shall proclaim (Ezek 34).

At that time, says Isaiah, Ephraim and Judah, who now, while I prophesy, are at odds with each other in hostile hatred, will in no way be enemies, but according to the prophecy of Ezekiel the two rods will be joined into one rod, and those who were formerly separated will be united in the Church of Christ (Ezek 37), so that they toil with common labor among the nations, and fly upon the shoulder of the Philistines by the sea, that is, first preach to the Palestinians of the coast, and then go by sea with winged course to the other nations. Or, according to the Seventy translators: they will fly in the ships of foreigners, together they will plunder the sea: which we may understand from the example of the one apostle Paul, who through Pamphylia, and Asia, and Macedonia, and Achaia, and various islands and provinces, to Italy too (Acts 28), and, as he himself writes, to Spain, was carried in the ships of foreigners (Rom 15). So Ephraim and Judah, that is, those of the twelve tribes from among the Jews who believed in Christ, will together plunder the East, and will stretch out their hands into Edom and Moab, according to what Christ speaks mystically in the person of David: Into Edom I will stretch out my shoe: foreigners will serve me (Ps 59 [60]:10). For these nations, at the time when Isaiah prophesied, were adversaries of the people of the Jews, and therefore he now says that after the root of Jesse has risen to reign among the nations, and the standard of the Cross has been raised for the salvation of the whole world, then Edom too and Moab and the sons of Ammon, that is, the whole breadth of Arabia, give their hands to the Apostles, and in the places of idolatry churches of Christ are raised up.

379. And the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away. Here the condition of the liberated is shown,

and first, as to concord, in contrast to the hatred which had existed between Ephraim and Judah: and the envy of Ephraim shall be taken away, that is, their hatred; this was fulfilled in the return from captivity, according to the first explanation; or as to the unity of faith, according to the second; or it will be fulfilled in the future, as to the third explanation. Of this concord: the house of Judah shall go to the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers (Jer 3:18).

He [the Antichrist] shall be proclaimed king by them, and shall be magnified by all, and shall prove himself an abomination of desolation to the world.

Of these fishers, who go down to the sea and are in ships, Isaiah too prophesies: They shall fly in the ships of foreigners, and together they shall plunder the sea. For in the churches gathered from the number of the nations the apostles flew through the whole world, to plunder the sea and to carry off the spoils of the dragon who reigned in the sea, and of whom it is written: This sea, great and spacious in its arms; there are creeping things without number, small creatures with great. There the ships shall pass through; this dragon whom you formed to mock him. The sea is broad and spacious for the small and great living creatures that dwell with the dragon, and whose number is beyond count.

380. Second, as to power in the subjugation of enemies, either that which occurred literally in the time of the Maccabees, as to the first explanation; or through the preaching of the apostles, as to the second; or as to the prosperity which the Lord will also give them in the future. They shall fly, as if to say, they shall fall quickly, upon the shoulders of the Philistines, to scourge them, by the sea, because they are near the sea, and this as to the first and third explanation; together, with those already conquered, they shall spoil the children of the east, the Assyrians: this is not said to have happened in the time of the Maccabees; or they shall spoil by the sea, because the Philistines abounded in ships. Edom, and Moab, who at first were enemies, shall fulfill the precept of their hand, not expecting the other to act according to the command: in which is noted their great exaltation; and the children of Ammon: all these were great adversaries, below: behold these shall come from afar (Isa 49:12). Or, they shall fly, because of their desire to preach, by the sea, for the apostles reached many nations by ship through the sea. Or by the nations which he names he understands all nations, below: who are these, that fly as clouds? (Isa 60:8); the precept of their hand, for they taught by word and example.

It is said, as Paul witnesses: "And from sin He condemned sin." He bound his tongue with a cord, because by means of the likeness of sinful flesh He swept away all his deceitful arguments from the hearts of His Elect. For behold, when the Lord appears in the flesh, the tongue of Leviathan is bound, because, when His truth had become known, those doctrines of falsehood were silenced.

For where is now the error of the Academicians, who endeavour to establish on sure grounds that nothing is sure, who with shameless brow demand from their hearers belief in their assertions, when they declare that nothing is true? Where is the superstition of the Mathematicians, who, looking up at the courses of the constellations, make the lives of men to depend on the motions of the stars? Though the birth of twins often scatters their doctrine to the winds; for though born at one and the same moment, they do not abide in the same kind of conversation. Where are those many false teachings, which we abstain from enumerating, for fear of digressing far from the course of our commentary? But every false doctrine has now been silenced, because the Lord has bound the tongue of Leviathan by the cord of His Incarnation. Whence it is also well said by the Prophet: "And the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the Egyptian sea." For the 'tongue of the sea,' is the knowledge of secular learning. But it is well called 'the Egyptian sea;' because it is darkened with the gloom of sin. The Lord, therefore, laid waste the tongue of the Egyptian sea, because by manifesting Himself in the flesh, He destroyed the false wisdom of this world. The tongue of Leviathan is, therefore, bound with a cord, because the preaching of the old sinner was bound by the likeness of sinful flesh.

And the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and shall lift his hand over the river in the strength of his spirit, and shall strike it in seven streams, so that men may cross it shod. And there shall be a way for the remnant of my people that shall be left from the Assyrians, as there was for Israel in the day when it came up from the land of Egypt. As Edom and Moab and the sons of Ammon will give their hands to the Apostles, to obey the Gospel preaching, so the Lord himself, who accomplished those things in his Apostles, will lay waste, not the sea, as according to the Seventy, but, according to the Hebrews, the tongue of the sea of Egypt, which formerly blasphemed against the Lord and presided over the Egyptian superstition. Hence also in the Psalms we read: This great and wide sea, there are creeping things without number (Ps 103 [104]:25-26). To which is added: This dragon which you have formed to mock him. He will lay waste, then, or slay, that is, ἀναθεματίσει, as Theodotion, Aquila and Symmachus translated, the tongue of the sea of Egypt, and will lift his hand over the rivers of Egypt in the strength of his spirit, or with a most violent wind, by which we understand the kingdom of the Romans. For in the reign of Caesar Augustus (Luke 2), when the flower ascended from the root of Jesse, and the first enrollment was made in the Roman world, the kingdom of the Egyptians, formerly most powerful, which had endured for many ages, was destroyed by the death of Cleopatra, and the river of Egypt was struck in seven streams, or in seven valleys. For the Nile of many waters, which formerly flowed in one channel and was impassable, was divided and cut up into seven very low valleys and streams, so that it might be crossed with shod feet. And this signifies tropologically that the nation of the Egyptians, so given over to idolatry and the vainest superstition as to consecrate hawks, owls, dogs, and goats, and asses with a divine name, he distributed from the boundless power of a kingdom among the several judges of the Roman empire, so that Thebes has one judge, Libya another, Pentapolis another, Egypt another, Alexandria another, and so the various regions which the Egyptians call νόμους. And for this reason, under the metaphor, the Nile has been divided into parts and split into streams, so that the Gospel word might run about without any impediment and reach the farthest peoples of Egypt.

381. And the Lord shall lay waste. Here the preparation of their liberation is set out. And concerning this two things are set out:

first, the preparation,

second, the attainment of the benefit: and there shall be a highway (Isa 11:16).

And the preparation is promised according to the likeness of the twofold benefit which was shown to their fathers who came out of Egypt:

first, in the parting of the sea, which we read about in Exodus 14, and as to this, he says, the tongue of the sea; and it is called the tongue of the sea because, as the Master says in the Histories, when the sons of Israel came out of Egypt, the sea was not parted from one shore, but like a tongue of land which surrounded a mountain. The tongue of the sea, that is, the middle of the sea, in the manner of Hebrew speech, which calls anything that is in the middle the tongue, because the tongue is in the middle of the mouth. This indeed never happened literally; but it signifies the removal of all impediments that detained them, as to the first explanation; or the tongue of the sea refers to Egypt, whose shore the sea licks. But as to the second explanation, the Lord shall lay waste the tongue of the sea of Egypt, that is, the tongue by which they praised idols.

382. The second benefit was in the parting of the Jordan, which we read about in Joshua 4; and as to this, he says: he shall lift up his hand, that is, his power, over the river, as to the first explanation; and this is metaphorical speech, so that by the division of the sea and the river the removal of all impediments is understood; as to the second explanation, it literally signifies a river: the Nile, which was divided into seven streams by Alexander, who was the preparation for the Romans; and it was broadened so much that, with the water passing through streams and channels, it could be forded in shoes by the apostles, about whom Ephesians 6:15 says, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Or by the river is signified the kingdom of Egypt, which was divided by the Romans into many senates. In the strength of his spirit, the army of Alexander, or of the Romans; or the spirit, that is, the wind, like what is said in Exodus 14:21: by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night.

And as in the times of Moses the Red Sea was dried up so that the people might flee out of Egypt, so on the contrary the rivers of Egypt will be dried up, so that the remnant of the people of God, which will be saved from the Assyrians and from various nations, may cross into Egypt, in no way fleeing it, but taking it and treading it under their foot. Let the prudent and Christian reader hold this rule for the prophetic promises: that what the Jews and ours, or rather not ours but the judaizers, contend will come to pass carnally, we teach to have been already accomplished spiritually, lest on the occasion of fables of this kind and of inextricable questions, according to the Apostle (2 Tim 2), we be forced to judaize.

383. And there shall be a highway. Here the benefit is set out, and it is already evident from what has been said; as there was: renew your signs, and work new miracles. Glorify your hand, and your right arm. Raise up indignation, and pour out wrath (Sir 36:6–8).