Isaiah 52

Just as the body is adorned by its garment, so the soul is adorned by fortitude; therefore it is called the clothing of the soul; nor is fortitude only the clothing of the soul, or of the glorious Virgin, but indeed of Mother Church. Whence Isaiah says: "Arise, arise, O daughter of Sion; put on the garments of thy glory." The discourse concerns the habit of fortitude, how we may be clothed with it. If we wish to describe fortitude rightly, we must note that it is from heaven.

He calls the holy city "the church." It is sanctified not by the prescribed cultic system, for the law never perfected anyone, but it is made in the likeness of Christ and participates in his divine nature, according to the communication of the Holy Spirit, in whom we are sealed for the day of redemption, with all vileness washed and removed.… We have been justified by faith in him, who reinforces us in all safety and shelters us in his love from every fierce attack of the devil and wild surges of enemy opposition. And so he teaches us when he says "to Zion or Jerusalem, that is, the church of the living God."

Arise, arise, put on your strength, Zion: put on the garments of your glory, Jerusalem, city of the Holy One: for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no more pass through you. LXX: Rise up, rise up, ÷ Zion: ⁚ put on your strength, Zion, and put on your glory, Jerusalem, holy city. No more shall the uncircumcised and the unclean pass through you. Here again the name Zion, as above, was added by the Seventy, and therefore it has been transfixed with the spit. To her, then, to whom he had said above (Isa 51:17), Lift yourself up, lift yourself up, arise, Jerusalem, he now says: Arise, arise, put on your strength, Zion. And who Zion is, the following verse shows: Put on the garments of your glory, Jerusalem. We have said this to prove that Jerusalem and Zion are one city. And she is commanded to put off her garments of mourning and to put on those which she had before she drank from the hand of the Lord the cup of fury. And she is called the city of the sanctuary, for this is what CODES (קדש) signifies, on account of the temple which was built in her; or of the Holy One, on account of the knowledge of God; or holy, because she alone in the whole world had received the law. Hence too, after the resurrection of the Savior, the bodies of the dead appeared in the holy city, which surely, on account of its blasphemy and the hands laid on the Lord, could not be holy (Matt 27). And what is promised, that if she rises after her ruin and puts on her strength and glory, the uncircumcised and unclean shall no more pass through her, signifies what the Apostle Paul also says: What participation has righteousness with iniquity? What fellowship has light with darkness? What agreement has Christ with Belial? What part has the believer with the unbeliever? What accord has the temple of God with idols (2 Cor 6:14, 15)? All these things too, as we began to explain, are referred to the state of the soul. If through penance she has recovered her former strength, let her be called the dwelling of the Holy One, and become a Temple of God, and let no uncircumcised and unclean λογισμὸς pass through her. Of these it has been said: From my hidden sins cleanse me, O Lord, and from those of others spare your servant. If they have not had dominion over me, then I shall be spotless, and shall be cleansed from the greatest offense (Ps 18 [19]:13, 14). But all the things that are promised to Zion and Jerusalem are not said, as the Jews dream, of her stones and ashes and embers, that she may be restored to her former state; but of the people of Jerusalem, which killed the Prophets and stoned those who were sent to it (Matt 23), and at the last laid hands even on the Son of God. That people, falling in the passion of Christ, was raised up in his resurrection, when many thousands of the Jews believed and the remnant was saved. The same we can say of the Church also, which is the vision of peace and the watchtower: if she has fallen into heresy, she is commanded to go out and take up the ornaments of her former faith. And if she has been raised up, the rewards of holiness and continence are promised to her, so that the uncircumcised and the unclean shall by no means pass through her. This can be referred not to the cutting of the flesh and the foreskin, but to the uncleanness or cleanness of works, so that we call uncircumcised and unclean those who serve the pleasure and lust of the body. Indeed, Jeremiah speaks to those circumcised in the flesh, not in the spirit: All the nations are uncircumcised in the flesh; but the sons of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts (Jer 9:26). And the blessed Apostle, disputing of virginity and continence and marriage, threw in, in the midst: Was anyone called circumcised? Let him not draw on a foreskin. Was he called in foreskin? Let him not be circumcised (1 Cor 7:18). This seems to me to say in other words: Has he been called without a wife, and believed? let him not take a wife. Or on the contrary: having a wife, has he believed in Christ? let him by no means make a divorce. And he keeps this sense not only in circumcision and foreskin, but in freedom and slavery, so as to call virgins and the continent free, and slaves those who render the debt to a wife. For it is not in our power to draw on a foreskin after circumcision, as those in the book of Maccabees are said to have made foreskins for themselves: which is said of the sons being born, and not of the fathers. Or he who has been called free is rather the slave of Christ (ibid. 7:22), since in the baptism of Christ there is no difference of Jew, pagan, Greek and Barbarian, man and woman, free and slave.

He calls the lower city "Jerusalem," and the city on high "Zion," but both together are one city. This is why he promises restoration to both; and, since foreign nations crossed through it without fear when its inhabitants had been taken captive, he is promising deliverance from these foreigners.… It is due to their sins that they have been sold, but it is by the benevolence of God that they have obtained deliverance.

Arise, arise. Here he excludes the third impediment to their liberation, which could be doubted from their poverty of goods, promising them gratuitous liberation. And this is divided into two parts:

for first, he foretells the liberation of the Jews from the Babylonians;

second, the liberation of the gentiles from their sins: behold my servant shall understand (Isa 52:13).

Concerning the first, he does two things:

first, he foretells the liberation;

second, the order of liberation: the Lord has prepared (Isa 52:10).

Concerning the first, he does three things:

first, he promises gratuitous liberation;

second, he assigns the cause of liberation: for thus says the Lord God (Isa 52:4);

third, he proclaims joy to the liberated: how beautiful (Isa 52:7).

Liberation is promised to them in three ways.

First, from the oppression of their enemies as to the goods which they regained: arise, from the weakness through which you were not able to resist your enemies, and therefore, he says: put on your strength, like arms of war, O Zion, on which was the stronghold for the defense of the city; arise, from the misery which you incurred, when your enemies despoiled you, and therefore he says: put on the garments of your glory. The glory of a city is the crowds of its citizens, the beauty of its streets, the riches of its goods: put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of your mourning, and affliction: and put on the beauty, and honor of that everlasting glory which you have from God (Bar 5:1). And as to the enemies which they escaped: for henceforth shall no more pass through you, as ravagers and rulers, the uncircumcised, as to gentile enemies, and unclean, as to traitors from their own people, above: it shall be called the holy way (Isa 35:8); there shall not enter into it any thing defiled (Rev 21:27).

Note on the words, put on the garments (Isa 52:1), that the saints have garments of virtues in which they glory: and these are,

first, for protection, below: the Lord has clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice he has covered me (Isa 61:10);

second, for keeping warm: she shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow: for all her domestics are clothed with double garments (Prov 31:21);

third, for ornament: that you may be clothed in white garments (Rev 3:18).

These garments ought to be,

first, white in honesty of work: at all times let your garments be white (Eccl 9:8);

second, clean in rectitude of intention, above: every garment mingled with blood, shall be burnt (Isa 9:5);

third, fragrant through the spreading of reputation: the smell of your garments, as the smell of frankincense (Song 4:11).

Shake yourself from the dust: arise, sit down, Jerusalem: loose the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without silver. LXX: Shake off the dust, and rise up, Jerusalem. Loose the bond of your neck, captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. That the Prophet's word is by no means addressed to Jerusalem, that is, to the ruins of her stones, and her ashes and embers, but to the people that dwells in her, and that it is called daughter on account of the effeminacy of its spirit, the following verse shows, in which he says: Loose the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion. For truly captive is the people of the Jews, which to this day bears the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, and is bound fast by the cords of its sins and blasphemies; which was sold for nothing, and did nothing worthy for which it could be redeemed. To it also it is said above: Behold, for your sins you were sold, and for your iniquities I put away your mother. And he gives the reasons why they were sold, why they were cast off: Because, he says, I came, and there was no man; I called, and there was none to hear. From this it is plain that they were handed over to error and to demons because they had not heard him crying: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened (Matt 11:28). But those who are willing to believe shall be redeemed, by no means with silver and money, but with the precious blood of Christ, so that they hear through the Apostles: Grace to you and peace (Rom 1:7). For not because of merits, but because of grace and faith in Christ, we have been reconciled to God. It is said also to the soul which, polluted by the filth of vices, had lost the whiteness of her former way of life, that she should shake off, with the Apostles, the dust that has clung to her feet (Matt 10). For it could not be that she who, prostrate, had laid down her neck for those passing outside, and had joined her middle parts to the earth, and had said, My soul is humbled in the dust, my belly cleaves to the earth (Ps 43 [44]:25), should not have taken on the image of the earthly. From this the Apostle calls us back, saying: As we have borne the image of the earthly, so let us bear also the image of the heavenly (1 Cor 15:49). Hence those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom 8). Not that the nature of the flesh is condemned, whose maker is God, and in which very many have pleased God and reign with Christ; but that the works of the flesh are rejected, of which the same Apostle speaks: But I am carnal, sold under sin (Rom 7:14). Indeed, to men of this kind he says: But where there is jealousy and rivalry among you, are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to man (1 Cor 3:3)? And on the contrary to the saints: But you are not in the flesh, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. The dust, then, is shaken off, of which it is written, Shall the dust confess to you, or declare your truth (Ps 29 [30]:10), so that the bonds of our neck may be loosed, and we may by no means hear, your neck is an iron sinew, but may deserve to hear with the bride: How beautiful are your cheeks, like the turtledove's: your neck like necklaces (Song 1:9). And again: I have put bracelets on your hands, and a necklace on your neck; so that, freed from the heavy burden and receiving back our former ornaments, we may cease to be captives: redeemed by him who came to proclaim release to the captives, and of whom it is written (above, Isa 45:13): He shall build my city, and bring back the captivity of my people, not for a price nor for gifts. With this sense the Apostle Peter also agrees: Knowing that you were redeemed from your vain way of life handed down from your fathers, not with corruptible things, silver and gold, but with the blood of the spotless lamb (1 Pet 1:18).

The creation, then, after being restored to a better and more fitting state, remains, rejoicing and exulting over the children of God at the resurrection. For their sake the creation now groans and travails, waiting itself also for our redemption from the corruption of the body, that, when we have risen and shaken off the mortality of the flesh, according to that which is written, "shake off the dust, and arise and sit down, O Jerusalem," and have been set free from sin, it also shall be freed from corruption and be subject no longer to vanity but to righteousness.

Second, he promises liberation from the baseness of her inhabitants, for some of the poor of the land were left behind, as it says in 2 Kings 25:12 and Jeremiah 52:16; shake yourself from the dust, of baseness, arise, resisting your adversaries, and then next, sit, at rest: he raises up the needy from the dust (1 Sam 2:8).

Also on the words, loose the bonds (Isa 52:2), note that there are bonds from which God loosens:

first, of worldly solicitude: who has sent out the wild ass free, and who has loosed his bonds? (Job 39:5);

second, of carnal love: I have found a woman more bitter than death, and her bonds (Eccl 7:27);

third, of perverse action: he brought them out of darkness, and the shadow of death; and broke their bonds in sunder (Ps 106[107]:14);

fourth, of vicious custom, above: woe to you that draw iniquity to iniquity, and sin as the rope of a cart (Isa 5:18).

There are also bonds from which God does not loosen:

first, of love: I drew them with the cords of love (Hos 11:4);

second, of divine law: of old time you have broken my yoke (Jer 2:20);

third, of divine instruction: bow down your shoulder, and bear her, and be not grieved with her bands (Sir 6:26[25]).

Let us all flee to Christ. Against sin let us appeal to God, the giver of freedom. Let us request to have ourselves put up for sale that we may be redeemed by his blood. For the Lord says, "You were sold for nothing, and without money you shall be redeemed." That is, without payment, without your payment, because by mine. The Lord says this, for he gave the payment himself, not silver but his own blood. For we had remained both slaves and in need.

No one is sufficient to redeem himself, unless he comes who turns away the captivity of the people, not with ransoms or with gifts, as it is written in Isaiah, but in his own blood.

For without a doubt he will not deserve to be adorned with the garment of incorruption (concerning which the apostle commanded, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ"; and again: "Clothed in the breastplate of righteousness and love";11 and about which the Lord himself said to Jerusalem through the prophet: "Rise up, rise up, Jerusalem, put on the garments of your glory") who has been overcome by slumbering idleness and boredom and who has chosen to be clothed not by the effort of his own toil but in the rags of laziness, which he has cut off from the complete fullness of the Scriptures and from their body and which he refits into a disgraceful covering to hide his slothfulness rather than into a garment of glory and beauty.

Third, he promises liberation from detention by her captors, foretelling the benefit of liberation: loose the bonds, that is, come forth from captivity: I have broken the chains of your necks (Lev 26:13). And he shows the manner of liberation: for thus says the Lord: you were sold gratis, as if to say: those who took you captive furnished no benefits to you; and you shall be redeemed, from captivity to Babylon by Cyrus, above: he shall let go my captives (Isa 45:13); you have sold your people for no price (Ps 43:13[44:12]).

For thus says the Lord God: My people went down into Egypt at the beginning, to sojourn there; and Assyria oppressed him without any cause. And now what have I here, says the Lord? For my people has been taken away for nothing: its rulers act unjustly, says the Lord, and continually all the day my name is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name in that day: for I myself who spoke, behold, I am here. LXX: For thus says the Lord: My people went down into Egypt formerly, to sojourn there; and they were violently led away to the Assyrians; and now what shall be here, says the Lord? Because my people has been taken away for nothing, wonder, and howl. Thus says the Lord: Because of you my name is always blasphemed among the nations. Therefore my people shall know my name in that day: for I myself who spoke am here. He rebukes the people of the Jews and foretells what is to come: that the people which of its own will went down in Jacob to the Egyptians, and in a time of need and famine sojourned in the land of Goshen (Gen 47), afterwards suffered oppression from the Assyrians, whom it had harmed in nothing, and was carried away in captivity into Babylon (2 Kgs 17:23).

According to the Seventy, God says to Israel that it went down into Egypt of its own will, as Moses says in Deuteronomy: With seventy souls your fathers went down into Egypt (Deut 10:22); and they were led away captive violently by the Assyrians. Hence it is said to them: And now what are you here? What are you doing in the land of Judea, you who after the murder of the Prophets laid hands on the Son of God? Or else God speaks to the angelic powers and the Angels who presided over the Temple: What are you doing here, why do you not leave the blaspheming people? As Josephus also relates (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 6, ch. 12): when the gates of the Temple were suddenly opened and unbarred of their own accord, gates which many men could scarcely shut, a voice came forth from the inner sanctuary of the Temple, of those saying: Let us pass over from these seats. Here we must consider the exactness of the words: that they did not say, Let us depart, but, Let us pass over, namely to the people of the nations. Hence too the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom, so that all the ceremonies of the Jews were laid open, and at that time was fulfilled what is said in this same Prophet: Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many nations, even far off (Isa 2:3, 4). For their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world (Ps 18 [19]). And in every place incense is offered to God, and a pure sacrifice (Mal 1), since the prophetic word was fulfilled: All the ends of the earth shall remember and return to the Lord: and all the families of the nations shall worship in his sight; for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations (Ps 21 [22]:28ff.). Hence it is said to the princes of the Jews: Wonder, and howl, since you are the cause of the people's ruin. Further, according to the anagogy we can say this: that the people of God goes down of its own will into the Egypt of this world when it is a lover of pleasures rather than of God, and does not hear that prophetic word: Woe to those who go down into Egypt for help (Isa 31:1). When it has been beguiled by vices, and has dwelt in a place of waters and rivers, which does not have the dryness of chastity, then it shall be handed over violently to the Assyrians, so that they may rule over it, who afterwards may accuse and convict it in its sin. For they are both enemies and avengers, of whom he speaks to Israel: And now what have you to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the water of Gihon; and what have you to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the rivers (Jer 2:18)? He, then, who has gone down into Egypt, and has slipped from the height of Jerusalem to lower places, and going to Jericho, another Egypt, has received many wounds from robbers, to him it is said: And now what have you here? Why do you pretend to be in the land and in the Church of God, you who with eagerness and all desire went down into Egypt, and are possessed by the Assyrians, and have been taken captive; and you ought rather to howl and mourn, because on account of your vices and sins the name of God is blasphemed among the nations? To such it is said in Ezekiel: You have defiled my name among the nations (Ezek 36:20). And as the Lord says to his disciples in the Gospel, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt 5:16), so on the contrary, when we have done evil works, the name of God is blasphemed among the nations because of us.

His question is a matter of style meant to show the strangeness of the happening: did you not go to Egypt? he says. Why then have you come back from there? "Thus says the Lord, because my people was taken for nothing, you wonder and howl." You are struck with amazement, he says, in deploring the captivity, because, despite the title of "my people" that you carry, you have suffered these misfortunes. Well, do not wonder, but consider how "on account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles." The fact that you are justifiably undergoing these misfortunes is not so insupportable as the fact that I am blasphemed because of you and that the Gentiles think my weakness is the cause of the bad fortune that you have endured.

For thus says the Lord. Here he assigns two causes of their liberation, namely, the calumny of the people and the blasphemy of God.

And first, he alleges calumny: my people went down into Egypt in the beginning, in their fathers (Gen 46–47); to be a colonist there, and therefore the Egyptians had some right to oppress them from the benefits bestowed on them; and the Assyrian, under which the Chaldeans are also included, has oppressed them without any cause at all, not furnishing them any benefits. If, therefore, the Assyrian drives away their liberation, what is this to me, that is, what hinders me that I should not now free Jerusalem?

The name of God is in its nature holy, whether we say so or not; but since it is sometimes profaned among sinners, according to the words, "Through you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles," we pray that in us God's name may be hallowed; not that it comes to be holy from our being holy but because it becomes holy in us, when we are made holy and do things worthy of holiness.

For he said, "I found nothing here among them," as was made clear in the earlier passage, "Why did I come, and there was no one? Why did I call, and there was none to hear?" However, earlier they were violently led away as captives, first by the Egyptians and then by the Assyrians, and were given over on account of their sins. But now they have been taken away for nothing, "as a gazelle caught in a net," by hunters of souls who trap them with nets of wickedness.

Hence he adds: And now what have I here, says the Lord? And the sense is: I have nothing left for which I should remain in this region, from which my people has been taken away for nothing, and sold for its sins, and caught like an oryx in a net, either by the forces of the Romans or by the snares of the devil, in which it is held bound to this day. And that they should suffer these things, their rulers and teachers acted unjustly; who, according to Symmachus and Theodotion, shall howl, according to Aquila, shall weep, when they have been handed over to torments. For they are the ones who stirred up the people against the Savior, so that they cried with one voice: Crucify, crucify such a one (John 19:15). Of them he had already said before: The Lord himself will come with the elders of the people and with its princes. But why have you burned my vineyard, and the plunder of the poor is in your houses (Isa 3:14)? Wherefore according to the Seventy he says to them: Because of you my name is always blasphemed among the nations. And it must be known that among the nations is not found in the Hebrew, but simply, my name is continually blasphemed, so that "in your synagogues" is understood: who day and night blaspheme the Savior, and, under the name of Nazarenes, as I have often said, heap curses on the Christians three times a day.

Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. [Isaiah 52:5] For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

There is indeed a blasphemy that we must avoid completely, namely, that any of us should give a pagan any cause for blasphemy by deceit or injury or insult or some other matter justifying complaint in which the Name is deservedly blamed, so that the Lord is deservedly angry. But if the words "because of you my name is blasphemed" cover every blasphemy, then we are all lost, since the whole culture assails the Name, for no fault of ours, with its wicked outcries.… Our name is blessed when we are cursed for keeping our discipline.

Second, he pronounces the sentence: for my people is taken away, from their own land; they that rule over them, who have usurped dominion to themselves, namely, the Chaldeans; and, because, my name is continually blasphemed, as though I could not free my people: I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the Gentiles (Ezek 36:23).

That is, he extended his hands to a people who did not believe and contradicted: not seeking an ambassador or messenger, but desiring to save his own people, the Lord himself: 'I, who spoke, behold I am here,' he said. And so, openly, I appear to those who do not seek me, and I am visible to those who do not ask me.

[Christ] was not speaking as a teacher but as the Lord. He was not speaking in reference to a greater authority, but he was teaching that which was his very own. Particularly, he was speaking in this manner because he who had spoken by the prophets was speaking now in person. "It is I who have foretold it, Here I am!"

While they, then, blaspheme and curse the Lord, his people, of whom much has already been said, that is, the Christian people, shall know the name of him who is to come in the name of the Father. And it shall know it because he himself who formerly spoke through the Prophets will instruct the peoples in person.

Therefore he who has the knowledge of the name of God, and is not ignorant that he was created in his image and likeness, will dwell in light. And he will be in the day which Abraham rejoiced to have seen (John 8), of which holy David also speaks: This is the day which the Lord has made, let us exult and rejoice in it (Ps 117 [118]:24). For those who have lit for themselves the light of knowledge, and have the everlasting light which has been promised to believers, The Lord shall be to you an everlasting light (Isa 60:20), walk honestly in the day, and are sons of light and of the day; and they know him who says to Moses, Go, say to the sons of Israel: He who is has sent me (Exod 3:14); and him whom they had known before in the saints they will know to be present to themselves too.

Therefore my people shall know my name in that day, of liberation, for I myself that spoke, promising, I am here, to fulfill my promise: afterwards he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men (Bar 3:38); God, who, at sundry times and in diverse manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days, has spoken to us by his Son (Heb 1:1–2) if this is explained mystically of the coming of Christ.

When they of whom it was foretold, "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet," … announce this gospel of peace, then each one begins to be a son of peace when he obeys and believes this gospel, and, justified by faith, begins to have peace with God. However, according to the predestination of God he already was a child of peace. For it is not said, "He on whom your peace shall have rested, he will become a child of peace." "If a child of peace is there, your peace will rest on him."

But you, "O elect people," set in the firmament of the world, who have forsaken everything that you may follow the Lord, follow him now and confound the mighty! Follow him, O beautiful feet, and shine in the firmament, that the heavens may declare his glory, dividing the light of the perfect ones—though not yet so perfect as the angels—from the darkness of the little ones, who are nevertheless not utterly despised.

We appropriately regard shoe as the gospel preaching, for just as the shoe's protection wards off troublesome thorns and other injuries from our feet, so the authority of the gospel protects our most glorious way of life, which is often compared with advancing on foot. So fulfilled by such kind help and with the Lord's protection we can pass through the world without suffering gashes.

Here [Isaiah] says very particularly that it is the feet of those who publish the good news of Christ that are beautiful. For how could they not be beautiful, which in so small, so short a time have run over the whole earth and filled every place with the holy teaching about the Savior of the world?

Zion and Jerusalem, that here have the good news told them, the apostle knew to be heavenly, when he said, "But the Jerusalem that is above (that is, our mother) is free," and, "You have drawn near to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of angels." Zion might also mean the church established by Christ in every part of the world, and Jerusalem the godly citizenship (politeuma) that, once established long ago among the ancient Jews alone, was driven out to the wilderness by their impiety and then again was restored far better than before through the coming of our Savior. Therefore, the prophecy says, "Let the waste places of Jerusalem break forth into joy together, for the Lord has pitied it and saved Jerusalem."Nor would you be wrong in calling Zion the soul of every holy and godly person, so far as it is lifted up above this life, having its citizenry in heaven and seeing things far beyond the world. For it means "a watchtower." And insofar as such a person remains calm and free from passion, you could call him Jerusalem—for Jerusalem means "vision of peace."

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and proclaims peace, and announces good, who proclaims salvation, and says to Zion: There shall reign your God. The voice of your watchmen: they have lifted up their voice; together they shall praise, for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord has turned Zion back. LXX: As an hour upon the mountains, so are the feet of him who brings good news of the hearing of peace, who brings good news of good things: for I will make my salvation heard, saying: Zion, your God shall reign. The voice of those who guard you has been lifted up, and with the voice together they shall rejoice, for eyes shall see to eyes, when the Lord has had mercy on Zion. Consequently, of him who had said above, I myself who spoke, behold, I am here, the Prophet now testifies that he himself preached the Gospel upon the mountains, that is, upon the Apostles, of whom it is written: Draw near to the everlasting mountains (Mic 2:9 LXX); and whose doctrine is the illumination of God. Hence it is said to him in the Psalms: You give light wonderfully from the everlasting mountains (Ps 75 [76]:5). He announced and proclaimed peace to those who were far off, that is, to the nations, and to those who were near, that is, to the Jews, reconciling the world to God; of him it is sung in the psalm under the name of Solomon: In his days righteousness shall arise, and abundance of peace, until the moon be taken away (Ps 71 [72]:7). And in this same Prophet, of the child who is born and of the son who is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder, and who shall be called the Angel of great counsel, it is said after the rest (above, Isa 9:7): And of his peace there shall be no end. For he is our peace, who has pacified all things through the blood of his cross, in heaven and on earth; who said to the Apostles: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you (John 14:27). And he announced good things to us, not those which the Philosophers call indifferent, but those which are truly good, which the Father gives to those who ask him, that is, all the graces of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, another Evangelist writes in the same place: How much more will your Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13)? These are the good things which the Lord promises to believers: Hear me, and you shall eat good things, and your soul shall delight in good things; and he announced to all not only good things but salvation, which he himself gave, who says to Zion, that is, to the Church: There shall reign your God. Hence the Apostle too says to the Saints: Let not sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires (Rom 6:12). And writing of sinners: Death, he says, reigned from Adam to Moses (Rom 5:14).

What the Seventy translated, as ὥρα, that is, an hour upon the mountains: so the feet of him who brings good news of the hearing of peace, and the rest, Paul, following the sense of the Hebrew Truth, sets down in the Epistle to the Romans: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things, who bring good news of peace (Rom 10:15): wishing the Apostles to be understood, whose feet the Lord washed (John 13), that they might be clean and beautiful for preaching, and might run through the whole world, and in a short time fill the world with the doctrine of Christ. Now ὥρα, that is, hour, according to the Seventy and the ambiguity of the Greek word, signifies either time or beauty. If time, this will fit it: In an opportune time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have been your helper (Isa 49:8). Hence the Apostle adds: Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). For at the opportune time he shed his blood for all, when all had turned aside, together they had become useless; there was none who did good, there was not even one (Ps 13 [14]): that he might taste death for all, because all had sinned and were in need of the glory of God (Rom 3). But if we refer beauty to what is said in the psalm, Beautiful in form above the sons of men (Ps 44 [45]:3) (for what is more beautiful than that the form of a servant should become the form of God, and sit and reign with Christ in the heavenly places?), ὤρα can, according to the breadth of the Greek language, also be called care and solicitude, according to what the Saint says: You will multiply me in my soul, in your strength (Ps 137 [138]:4). For you will multiply me, in the Greek it says πολυωρήσεις με, that is, you will hold me worthy of much care and solicitude. And elsewhere: According to your height ἐπολυώρησας the sons of men (Ps 11 [12]:9): which in other words is said in Greek, πολλῆς ὤρας, τοῦτ' ἔστι, φροντίδος ἠξίωσας. But these things are superfluous; and the feet of Christ or of the Apostles are rather to be taken as beautiful, as all except the Seventy translated alike, Paul approving their interpretation.

"How are beautiful are the feet of those who announce good things!" Since Isaiah perceived the beautiful and opportune preaching of the apostles who follow the One who said, "I am the way," he praises the feet that proceed over the intelligible way, which is Christ Jesus, and go in to God through the door. Those whose feet are beautiful announce Jesus as "good tidings."

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! [Isaiah 52:7] But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

814. What moves one to preach,

is the instigation of faith: I have believed, therefore have I spoken (Ps 115[116]:10; 2 Cor 4; Rev 22);

the spur of zeal: there came in my heart as a burning fire (Jer 20:9);

the greatness of the reward: he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:19).

How beautiful. Here he proclaims joy to the liberated.

And first, he describes their joy as to the reception of messengers, who, coming from Chaldea, announced it to them: beautiful, for it was beautiful and pleasant to the people to hear them announcing such things; upon the mountains, so that many would hear them; that preaches, publicly, peace, restored by Cyrus, good, of promised assistance, salvation, from captivity; your God shall reign, as though from then on, God alone will reign in you because you will worship him in the restored temple: behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings good tidings (Nah 1:15).

And what follows, The voice of your watchmen, or of your guards, signifies the Apostles, of whom God speaks to the Church in another place too (below, Isa 62:6): Upon your walls I have set guards, who shall never be silent, remembering the Lord, who will lift up their voice, discoursing of lofty things. Hence it is said to them (above, Isa 40:9): Go up upon a high mountain, you who bring good news to Zion. Lift up your voice with strength, you who bring good news to Jerusalem. These will praise God with one voice, and see with eyes to eyes; which the Apostle says in other words, Face to face (1 Cor 13); when the Saint sings, My eyes are ever toward the Lord (Ps 24 [25]:15), and, To you I have lifted up my eyes, who dwell in heaven (Ps 122 [123]:1). And the Lord will answer him: For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears toward their prayer (Ps 33 [34]:16).

Second, he describes their joy as to the inspection of their watchmen who saw them returning from there, setting out the voice of exultation, the voice, of joy will resound: with one accord lifted up their voice to God (Acts 4:24); and the reason for their joy: for they shall see eye to eye, as if to say, they shall see the captives coming with their own eyes, above: your eyes shall see Jerusalem (Isa 30:20).

Israel was destroyed in the war with the Romans, so that very few survived to remain, and the holy city was deserted. But its desert places will rejoice, so it says. For the houses were mournful and filled with dejection for not having inhabitants. But they rejoice as if they have many living there. From the historical sense we can draw something that the spiritual senses can grasp. The church from the nations—that is, those believers from the nations who are called Zion and even Jerusalem—were few in the early days and the holy city of God, the church, was truly like a desert.

Rejoice and praise together, deserts of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people: he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has prepared his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. LXX: Let the deserts of Jerusalem break forth into gladness together, for the Lord has had mercy on her, and has rescued Jerusalem. The Lord will reveal his holy arm in the sight of all the nations. And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. When the people of the Jews had been led into captivity and the city burned, there was in Jerusalem either a rare inhabitant or none. But after he who formerly spoke in the Prophets, and was in the beginning with God, God the Word, dwelt among us and was made flesh, the deserts of Jerusalem were restored; and he came of whom it is written: He shall build my city, and bring back the captivity of my people: so that she is by no means lamented by Jeremiah, How does the city sit alone that was full of peoples: she has become like a widow, she who was multiplied among the nations (Lam 1:1), but hears David singing: When the Lord turned back the captivity of Zion, we became like those comforted (Ps 125 [126]:1, 4). And a little after: We became glad.

Third, as to the arrival of the captives: rejoice, above: the land that was desolate shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice (Isa 35:1).

And so that we may know that these things are by no means said of the people of the Jews, but of all who were to believe in the Lord through the apostles, he sets it down and says: he who comforted her, or had mercy on her, and who rescued or redeemed her, he himself prepared or revealed his holy arm in the sight of all the nations: and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. From this it is plain that, once the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the Church, which had been abandoned by the Jews, was built up through the Apostles, the arm of the Lord is revealed to all the nations, and all the ends of the earth see his salvation. This is understood in two ways. For either the Father reveals his arm to all the nations, or the Son reveals his strength, of which it is written: For power went out from him and healed all (Luke 6:19). And again: I perceived that power went out from me, which healed the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:30). And that the Son of God is called the right hand and arm of the Father, there are many testimonies, of which we shall mention a few: Will save for him his right hand, and his holy arm (Ps 97 [98]:2). And elsewhere: In my arm shall the nations hope (Isa 51:5). Of him Jacob says: He shall be the expectation of the nations (Gen 49:10). And Psalm 88 (89): Your arm is with might. With this arm the Lord led the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Of this he spoke to the prince of the Apostles: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven (Matt 16:17). And the Apostle Paul of himself (Gal 1:15): When, he says, it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, to reveal his Son in me. And that he joined all the ends of the earth to all the nations who are to see the salvation of God shows what is also said in another place: Turn to me from the ends of the earth, and you shall be saved (Isa 45:22); and through Jeremiah: To you the nations shall come from the ends of the earth (Jer 16:19); and again: All the families of the nations shall remember and turn to the Lord; for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he shall rule over the nations (Ps 21 [22]:28ff.): so that not only the variety of the individual nations but all the hinges of the world too are foretold as about to believe in Christ; according to what he himself says: But when this Gospel has been preached in the whole world, then shall the end come (Matt 24:14). Others will have the heights and extremities of the earth to be understood as those who, standing not in the middle of the earth but at its extremities, like the rims of wheels, forsake lowly things and hasten to the heights.

The God of the universe will show his power, he says, to all the nations—for he gives to his power the name "arm"—and all people will know the Provider of salvation.

The Lord has prepared. Here he describes the order of liberation.

And first, he sets out the manifest help of God: his holy arm, namely, his power, which all were able to perceive in this deed: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God (Ps 97[98]:3).

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. [Isaiah 52:11]

What else does touching anything unclean mean, anyway, but consenting to sins? And what else does going out from there mean, but doing what is involved in rebuking the bad, to the extent that this can be done, taking account of each person's status and position, without damage to peace? It has displeased you that someone sinned; you have taken care not to touch an unclean thing. You have challenged, rebuked, warned, even administered, if the matter called for it, a suitable penalty that does no violence to unity; you have gone out from there.…When Scripture thunders at us that we must withdraw from the wicked, we are only being required to understand that we must withdraw in our hearts. Otherwise we may commit a greater evil by separating too simply the good from the bad. This is what the Donatists have done.… To understand what he said, I pay attention to what he did.… What he said was "Depart." … What I am asking is, did he depart physically from such people? I find that he did not. So he must have understood his own words differently. Because, of course, he himself would be the first to do what he commanded.… God, after all, could not blame him for his own sins, because he did not commit any; or for other people's, because he did not approve of them; or for indifference or neglect, because he did not keep quiet; or for pride, because he remained steadily in the unity of God's people.

Who is there among those destined to be born and die who will not at some point have to leave his country and suffer the loss of his estate? But by no means let Christ be forsaken. The loss of salvation and an eternal home is a much greater threat. See how the Holy Spirit cries to the prophet, "Leave. Depart. Get out of here. Do not touch any unclean thing. Get out of the middle of such things and be separate, you who bear the vessels of the Lord." And yet, those who are the vessels of the Lord and the temple of God do not go out from the middle of all this and leave so that they wouldn't have to be compelled to touch the unclean things or be polluted and corrupted with deadly food. In another place, a voice is heard from heaven, warning them ahead of time what servants of God should be doing. It says, "Come out of her, my people, so that you do not become partakers of her sins and so that you do not receive her plagues." The one who goes out and leaves does not become a partaker of the guilt. But whoever is found as a companion in her crimes will be wounded with the plagues. Therefore, the Lord commanded us in persecution to leave and to flee. He not only taught that this should be done; he did it himself. For just as the crown is given by the condescension of God and cannot be received unless the hour comes for accepting it, so those who remain in Christ but leave for a while do not deny their faith but instead bide their time. One who has fallen, however, after refusing to leave, remains only to deny his crown.

But we, having heard above, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who announces and proclaims peace, and, The Lord will reveal his arm in the sight of all the nations, and, all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God, understand this by no means of the Jews, but of the choir of the Apostles and of all the Saints. They are commanded to depart from Jerusalem and to preach the Gospel in the whole world, as the Lord the Savior says: Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19): so that they may by no means stay with the blaspheming Jews, for whose slaughter the Roman army was being made ready, but may leave the polluted, and that those who carry the vessels of the Lord may be separated from them and be cleansed. For they are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3), and the vessels of gold and silver of a great house. Such was the Apostle Paul, who is called a vessel of election (Acts 9); for he had prepared himself to be a precious vessel, fit for the ministry of God. Or surely this must be said: that the vessels of the Lord are the spiritual armor of God, of which the Apostle Paul also spoke: Put on the armor of God (Eph 6:11); and he lists it piece by piece: the breastplate of righteousness, and the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which means the word of God. To these he adds the belt of truth, and the feet shod in the preparation of the Gospel of peace. And in another place: Laying aside, then, the works of darkness, let us put on the arms of light (Rom 13:12).

Depart, depart, go out from there, do not touch what is polluted: go out from the midst of her, be cleansed, you who carry the vessels of the Lord. For you shall not go out in tumult, nor shall you hasten in flight. For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will gather you. LXX: Depart, depart, go forth from there, and do not touch what is unclean: go out from the midst of her: be separated, you who carry the vessels of the Lord, for you shall not go out with tumult, nor go with flight: but the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel who gathers you. This too the Jews try to expound thus: Go out from Babylon, and abandon their idols. Go out from the midst of her, and bring back into the temple the vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had carried off when Jerusalem was taken (2 Kgs 15), now that Cyrus releases the captives under Zerubbabel and Ezra (Ezra 1); and do not go out of Babylon as you fled out of Egypt before, with tumult and fear, but with peace and with the goodwill of the king of the Persians and Medes, in whom the will of the Lord appeared, who protected and gathered you. Others interpret what we have said of Babylon as said of the Roman kingdom: that all these things are to be fulfilled at the coming of Christ, who is to set them free.

"Be separated", indeed, "you who carry the vessels of the Lord, and go out from the midst of them, says the Lord". "Separate yourself" from earthly deeds, "separate yourself" from the concupiscence of the world: "for everything that is in the world", according to the Apostle, "is the concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes, which is not from God". When therefore you have separated yourself from all these things, devote yourself to God as a firstborn calf; let sin not work through you, nor let malice impose a yoke upon you, but be set aside and set apart, given over only to priestly uses like a firstborn animal.… But we say that one is set apart not by places, but by deeds, and not by regions, but by manners of life. Finally, the very word which in the Greek language is spoken, ἅγιος, signifies as it were to be outside the earth. For whoever shall have consecrated himself to God will rightly be seen to be outside the earth and outside the world; for he too is able to say, walking upon the earth: "we have our manner of life in the heavens".

When the Romans were on the point of making a campaign against Jerusalem, all those who had accepted the message exiled themselves in other cities, for they had learned of the misfortunes that would strike Jerusalem. Thus, it is the Lord in person who commanded them to do this: "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near," and again: "Then, let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house." Therefore, because they knew these events in advance, they went out and escaped the misfortunes of the siege of the city, while the Savior in person guided them, directed their steps toward the Gentiles and assembled the church derived from the Gentiles. Since we also have learned of these events, let us, therefore, flee disbelief; let us persevere in the faith; let us guard the commandments of God and let us proceed on the right path, with the Lord Jesus to guide our way.

Second, he enjoins the captives to flee: depart, namely, from Babylonia; touch no unclean thing, do not live among these unclean people: go out from her, my people (Rev 18:4).

There follows: You shall not go out in tumult, nor shall you hasten in flight. For they departed from Jerusalem not as the vanquished but as victors: so that they who, preaching the Gospel of God daily in the Temple, had brought many thousands of the Jews under the faith of Christ, might subdue the world too to his Gospel. For they had the Lord going before them, to gather them, the God of Israel, that is, to make one flock out of the whole world, so that what the Lord says to the Father in the Gospel might be fulfilled (John 17:21): Grant that, as I and you are one, so these too may be one in us: so that, with the same mind and the same judgment, forsaking the vices that fight one another and are contrary, they might lay hold of the one and only virtue. For vices and passions do not follow one another, as is said of the virtues, in which there are neither ὑπερβολαὶ nor ἐλλείψεις, that is, neither more nor less, but all things are tempered. In the vices, by contrast, all things are contrary: as panic to boldness, superstition to impiety, luxury to thrift.

Third, he shows the manner of their flight, as to purity: be clean, you priests; as to security: for you shall not go out in a tumult, namely, of war, as you did from Egypt: he brought forth his people (Ps 104[105]:43); as to their leader: for the Lord will go before you, as a leader, and the God of Israel will gather you together, as a shepherd: for I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land (Ezek 36:24).

"Behold, my servant shall be wise," that is, shall be illustrious; these words certainly concern our Lord. Indeed, he was called a servant by his Father, because, in the first place, he was sent by his Father in order to fulfill his will in procuring salvation for all humankind, and in the second place, because he assumed the aspect of a servant. "He shall be exalted and lifted up, and he shall be very high" through his virtues and miracles.

Behold, my servant shall understand; he shall be exalted, and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were astonished over you, so shall his appearance be without glory among men, and his form among the sons of men. He shall sprinkle many nations: over him kings shall shut their mouth: for those to whom it had not been told of him have seen; and those who had not heard have beheld. LXX: Behold, my child shall understand, and shall be exalted, and shall be greatly glorified. As many shall be astonished over you, so shall your appearance be in glory from men, and your glory from the sons of men: so shall many nations marvel over him, and kings shall shut their mouth, for those to whom it has not been announced of him shall see, and those who have not heard shall understand. So that no ambiguity may be left to readers as to who it is that said, I who spoke, behold, I am here, and what the holy arm of the Lord is, which has been revealed to all the nations, God the almighty Father teaches plainly: Behold, my servant shall understand, or my child, of the difference between which we have spoken above. And he shall understand not as the Word of God and wisdom, but as servant and child. He, though he was in the form of God, deigned to take the form of a servant, becoming obedient to the Father unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil 2). Wherefore he exalted him, and gave him the name which is above every name. He speaks in the psalm: I will bless the Lord, who has given me understanding (Ps 15 [16]:7); and of him David sings: Who made the heavens in understanding (Ps 135 [136]:5). For he himself is wisdom and understanding, he who as a child advanced in age and wisdom; of whom Peter too speaks: The God of our fathers has glorified his Son Jesus, whom you indeed handed over, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he wished to release him. But you denied the holy and righteous one (Acts 3:13, 14); of whom too we showed that it was written above: I am witness, says the Lord, and the child whom I have chosen: over him very many shall be astonished (Isa 43:10), when they have seen his signs. And hence the wonder will be greater, that his appearance will be without glory among men: not that it signifies ugliness of form, but that he came in humility and poverty. He, though he was rich, became poor for us; and he said to believers: Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Matt 11:29); of whom Clement too, the apostolic man, who governed the Roman Church after Peter, writes to the Corinthians: The scepter of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, did not come in the boasting of pride, though he could do all things, but in humility. So much so that, when struck by the servant of the priest, he answered: If I have spoken evil, convict me of the sin; but if well, why do you strike me (John 18)? though he had twelve thousand Angels who would obey his nod.

Behold my servant shall understand. Here he foretells the liberation of the gentiles from slavery to sin, carried out by the Son of God.

And first, he describes the liberator as to eminence of grace: my servant shall understand, as to the fullness of wisdom; servant, Christ, according to the human nature he assumed: taking the form of a servant (Phil 2:7); a wise servant is acceptable to the king (Prov 14:35); and: he that understands shall possess governments (Prov 1:5). He shall be exalted, as to the operation of his powers: be you exalted, O Lord, in your own strength (Ps 20:14[21:13]); and lifted up, as to his ascension: for your magnificence is elevated above the heavens (Ps 8:2[1]); he that descended is the same also that ascended (Eph 4:10); and shall be exceeding high, sitting at the right hand of the Father, above: the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be high (Isa 4:2).

All which things the prophet Isaiah foretold, thus proclaiming beforehand, and by one word intimating all this insolence. For "like as many were astonished at thee," he saith, "so shall thy form be held inglorious of men, and thy glory of the sons of men." For what could be equal to this insolence? On that face which the sea, when it saw it, had reverenced, from which the sun, when it beheld it on the cross, turned away his rays, they did spit, and struck it with the palms of their hands, and some upon the head; giving full swing in every way to their own madness. For indeed they inflicted the blows that are most insulting of all, buffeting, smiting with the palms of their hands, and to these blows adding the insult of spitting at Him.

Similarly the Father addressed the Son, "Even as many will be astounded at you, so your appearance will be without glory from people." For though, as David has it, he is timely in beauty even above the children of human beings, yet this is in that allegorical state of spiritual grace, when he girds himself with the sword of the Word, which is in truth his very own form and comeliness and glory.

And as to the ignominy of his passion: for as many have been astonished at you, by your example, miracles and teachings: and all the multitudes were amazed (Matt 12:23) at his teaching and the miracles which he did, so shall his visage be inglorious, in suffering, and his form, his appearance or beauty: I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people (Ps 21:7[22:6]).

The Word, joined to human flesh, came forth from the virgin womb and has now strode forth like a giant and has run his course, and his exit was from the highest heaven and his return to the height of heaven. Now he has been exalted and honored, and many nations now marvel at him, and the kings stop their mouths because they have passed the cruelest laws against Christians. For, indeed, they were not told about him. Now they see, and though they did not hear, now they understand.

"Kings shall shut their mouths because of him." He means that they will be troubled, after examining [his miracles]. Or, he alludes to what happened at the time of the crucifixion; the sun became obscure, and everybody stood up, being struck by stupefaction.

He shall sprinkle many nations, cleansing them with his blood and consecrating them in baptism to the service of God. Over him kings shall shut their mouth, and the princes of the world, all of whose wisdom has been overthrown by the preaching of the cross; and those who had not had the Law and the Prophets, and to whom nothing had been announced of him, they themselves shall see and understand. Of them the Savior also speaks: Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed (John 20:29). In comparison with them the hardness of the Jews is reproved, who, seeing and hearing, fulfilled in themselves the prophecy of Isaiah, who says: Hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall look, and shall not see. For the heart of this people has been made fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily (Isa 6:9, 10).

And we have not in vain believed in Him, and have not been led astray by those who taught us such doctrines; but this has come to pass through the wonderful foreknowledge of God, in order that we, through the calling of the new and eternal covenant, that is, of Christ, might be found more intelligent and God-fearing than yourselves, who are considered to be lovers of God and men of understanding, but are not. Isaiah, filled with admiration of this, said: "And kings shall shut their mouths: for those to whom no announcement has been made in regard to Him shall see; and those who heard not shall understand. Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. [Isaiah 52:15]

For not all believed, but those who did believe admired to the highest point the mystery of piety. "And kings shall keep their mouths shut." At the manifest demonstration of God's power, those who formerly persecuted him and had dared to blaspheme will restrain their tongues from slander. Then he adds in a clearer vein: "For they to whom no report was brought concerning him shall see; and they who have not heard shall consider." For those who did not receive the prophetic predictions, but who served idols, will see, thanks to the heralds of truth, the might of him who was proclaimed to them, and they will know his power. After the predictions concerning the Gentiles, he also prophesies the incredulity of the Jews.

Second, he foretells liberation as to the remission of sins: he shall sprinkle, with the sprinkling of his blood (1 Pet 1:2), and the water of baptism: having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with clean water (Heb 10:22); as to the veneration of him: kings shall shut their mouth at him, silent, to listen, not presuming to discuss his secrets: the princes ceased to speak (Job 29:9); and as to the knowledge of truth: for they to whom, namely, the gentiles, it was not told of him, by the prophets, have seen, in their hearts, and they that heard not, him preaching in person, below: behold me, to nations that did not know me and that did not call upon my name (Isa 65:1).