Commentary on Isaiah 5.4.15–5.4.22

For if Christ is always, and is God and Lord, the confession of faith in him will never cease among those who have recognized his appearing.

“… light, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the gentiles; but upon you the Lord shall appear, and his glory shall be seen upon you. And kings shall walk by your light, and gentiles by your brightness.”

As though the promise had been given that Israel will be saved in due time, the prophetic word here in a way leaps up for joy; for all but lifting a great cry on high it exclaims, saying: “Be enlightened, be enlightened, for your light has come.” See how, since the divine light, plainly the light through Christ, was distributed by God to those of Israel before the others, the prophet says, “Your light has come”, all but showing them as present the one who was announced long before through the law and the holy prophets, and who shone with flesh on those on earth in the last times of the age. And he calls him who appeared “the glory of the Lord”; for Christ rose like a sun, flashing round everything with the divine and spiritual light, and sending down the radiance of the true knowledge of God on those more ready for faith. And he is also the glory of God the Father; for in him and through him and with him the Father is glorified. And he depicts, as in his own nature, the one who begot him. And since we have known the Son, we have beheld through him and in him the greatness of the Father, his incomparable glory, and the preeminence of the dignities befitting God. So Christ said somewhere: “Father, glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you.” The glory of God the Father, then, was seen among us. Then, separating Israel from all the other nations as specially honoured by God and as his own lot, he goes on and says: “Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the gentiles; but upon you the Lord shall appear.” He does not say such things as though darkness were going to be spread over the gentiles when Christ shone on the world; rather they were enlightened, and cast off the darkness of the ancient deceit. But those who have translated divine Scripture very often make no distinction in rendering the tenses; so they have put “will cover” instead of “covers”. For it is true that even when Christ had shone forth, and to those of Israel before the others, the multitude of the gentiles was still held by darkness, since grace had not yet been transferred to them. Behold, then, he says, the whole land of the gentiles has been covered with darkness and gloom, plainly that of ignorance and that of error; but upon you the Lord will appear. For he shone upon them, as I said, and his glory was first seen by them, through the extraordinary … For as God he worked among them, now raising the dead from tombs, now putting light into the eyes of the blind, cleansing lepers with a nod, rebuking demons with authority, and, in short, leaving out no way that was enough to give full assurance that he is God in truth and Son of God by nature.

“And kings shall walk”, he says, “by your light, and gentiles by your brightness.” The prophet again joins the calling of the gentiles to the visitation of those of Israel, so that they may know that, even if by their disobedience they dishonour the Redeemer and leap away from love for him, to the destruction of their own head, he will not be left without worshippers, but will rather net both gentiles and kings through faith; for kings and gentiles will walk by the brightness of Christ. And where will they walk? Plainly to salvation through faith, to a glorious and blameless life, to knowing and confessing who is by nature and truly the Creator and craftsman of all. For they worshipped the creation rather than the Creator, and paid their reverence to wood and stones. But since they have been made bright by the light given to you, they too, he says, will walk the straight and royal road, stumbling against nothing that lies in the way, but, as in brightness and day, though they were sons of night and darkness, running past every stumbling block.

“Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered. Behold, all your sons have come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on shoulders. Then you shall see, and be afraid, and be amazed in your mind, because the wealth of the sea and of nations and peoples shall change over to you. And herds of camels shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and Gerar shall cover you. All from Sheba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense; they shall bring precious [stone] too, and shall proclaim the good news of the salvation of the Lord. And all the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered to you, and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you, and acceptable [offerings] shall be brought up on my altar, and the house of my prayer shall be glorified.”

The saying has a very great and wise design. For it announces the good news of the calling of the gentiles, and … the union of the two peoples in Christ, and the change of the shadow of the law into spiritual worship. For in Christ all things are new, and the old things have passed away; and he created the two peoples into one new man, making peace, and reconciling both in one body to the Father. He foretells all these things, and he says to the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, the church, which from the beginning was made up of Jews (for they believed first): “Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered. For behold, all your sons have come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried on shoulders.” For he says such things as though the divine preaching of the gospel were gathering believers from every nation and country, netting the earth under heaven, and as into one city for the sake of faith, that is, into the nurse of the saints, I mean the church; just as he says somewhere else too: “For in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, ready on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be raised above the hills, and many nations shall come to it and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will declare to us his way, and we will walk in it.” And not only those of the blood of Israel would be called children of Jerusalem, but also all those from every nation and country who have been called through faith into the light of truth. For as the all-wise Paul writes: “Not all who are from Israel are Israel, nor are all children because they are Abraham's seed; but the children

of the promise are reckoned as seed.” And it was said by God to the inspired Abraham: “I have made you a father of many nations.” So, as though a multitude had already been gathered from the gentiles and were worshipping Christ: “Lift up your eyes round about”, he says, that is, look round the whole inhabited world, and from every part of it you will see your children running to you; and they will come, though once they were far off, far off not in place but in will and in the disposition of the mind. So one of the holy prophets said to those who had run away from knowing him who is by nature and truly God: “Remember … to your heart.” And the all-wise Paul wrote of Christ: “He came and preached peace to those far off and to those near.” And he writes to those from the gentiles too: “Remember, you gentiles, who are called uncircumcision by what is called circumcision in the flesh, made by hands, that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the hope of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world; but now you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” For those who do not know at all him who is God by nature and truly are said to be far off, and are so, according to … he says, that is, their calling will not be far off or deferred; for they will run as it were at the heels of the preaching of the gospel. And they will make their approach to God through faith without any toil, all difficulty and sweat being taken away. For they will be carried on shoulders. The shape of the saying is moulded from an example among us: newborn babies love to be nursed, and seek to rest on their mothers' bosoms and arms. Something of this kind happens with those called out of Greek error. For they are tended by those who initiate them into the mysteries rather than harshly trained, not going at once on the rough path, but by a gentle upbringing, as it were, little by little [growing] to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So he commanded the holy apostles to baptize all the nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to keep all that he had commanded them. And they, wishing to do this, laid nothing burdensome on the believers at the beginning, using their skill as teachers. For they wrote to those from the gentiles: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden, except that you abstain from sexual immorality, and from what is strangled, and from blood.” And the most excellent Paul writes to some: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able.” And … belongs to the mature,

who have the [faculties] of the heart trained to discern good and evil. So your sons and your daughters, he says, will be carried on shoulders, and then you will see and be afraid and be amazed, in the sense of “you will wonder”. For so the inspired Habakkuk says somewhere: “Lord, I have heard your report and was afraid; I considered your works and was amazed.” And we ourselves too are used to saying sometimes “I was amazed” when something extraordinary happens to be done by someone. You will wonder, then, he says; and what will be the occasion of it? “For the wealth of the sea and of nations and peoples shall change over to you.” In these words he makes a clearer prediction that the multitude of the gentiles will be called in due time to the knowledge of the truth. For the country of the Jews lay in the more southern regions, while the parts toward the north, and the sea, and the cities and countries lying on it, were divided among the herds of the gentiles. But since, returning from the ancient deceit, [they came] to the knowledge of him who is God by nature through those who perform the sacred service of the gospel of Christ … That is why he says that the wealth of the sea will change over to the church; and the wealth, as I said, of the cities and countries lying by the sea is those who dwell in them. “And herds of camels”, he says, “shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and [Gerar] shall cover you.” … having their neighbours, the Midianites and those from … idolaters, but he shows in these words that they too will be called and will bear fruit to God. For they rode camels, and provided their means of living from fighting and from keeping livestock; and they were [hostile] especially to those of Israel. But those who once wandered, profane and having no dealings with the sanctified, will come, he says, not one by one but in herds, as it were, and in a multitude, riding on camels, or rather bringing what they have and honouring God with what is at hand. “And all from Sheba shall come bringing gold and frankincense; they shall bring precious stone too, and shall proclaim the good news of the salvation of the Lord.” Sheba again is a country beyond the Arabs, rather near the Red Sea, from which Sheba, the queen of the Ethiopians, came to Jerusalem in the times of Solomon. And the country is most productive of frankincense, gold and Indian stones. They will come, then, he says, bearing fruit to the glory of God and offering frankincense and gold and stones, that is, the fragrance of good works, spiritual radiance and spiritual wealth. “And they shall proclaim the good news of the salvation of God.” For very many who were called from the gentiles, made wise in heart and given an understanding mind for the sacred doctrines, have held the rank of teachers, and, proclaiming to others the salvation and grace from the Saviour of us all, Christ, have bound on the crown of genuineness.

“And the sheep of Kedar”, he says, “and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you, and acceptable [offerings] shall be brought up on my altar.” Kedar and Nebaioth are again other countries, rich and good for pasture, with very many inhabitants, but idolaters and astray. But these too, he says, will bring rams and sheep, and all will be acceptable on my altar; although according to the law of Moses foreigners were not permitted to bring sacrifices to God, nor, if they brought them, would anyone have accepted them. But behold, God commands that these too be acceptable at the holy altars. For in Christ Jesus there is neither slave nor free, barbarian, Scythian, Greek or Jew, but Christ is all and in all. For the two peoples have become one, since he broke down the dividing wall of the fence and abolished the law of commandments in ordinances. So the sacrifices of all are acceptable, as they approach God through faith in Christ. And the house of God's prayer has been glorified. And see again, I pray, the depth of the saying. He no longer wants the church to be called a house of sacrifices and smoke, as indeed the temple in Jerusalem was, but of prayer, that is, of spiritual worship. And the inspired David sings somewhere and says: “Let my prayer be directed as incense before you, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.” And it should be noted that the Saviour himself recalled this verse somewhere when rebuking the trading of the Jews, and saying: “It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.” So when it became a house of prayer, then it was also glorified.

“Who are these that fly like clouds, and like doves with their young? The islands have waited for me, and the ships of Tarshish among the first, to bring your children from afar, and their silver and gold with them, because of the holy name of the Lord, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorious.”

Here again one can see the person of the church brought in, that is, of the spiritual Jerusalem, having as it were lifted its eyes round about, as God commanded, and then amazed at the multitude of those running to it, and at the people, beyond all number, of those gathered through faith. “For who are these”, he says, “that fly like clouds, and like doves with their young?” For not only old men are netted through faith, but young men with them, fathers together with children and mothers with daughters. So the net of the gospel preaching is spread over every age; and this, I think, is what is written in the book of Psalms: “Young men and virgins, old men with younger, let them praise the name of the Lord.” And he says that they fly, either because they will go to it not carelessly and slackly but like winged creatures and runners, or because, leaving the earthly and lowly mind, they in a way walk on high, and like clouds out of the sea, out of the tumult and luxury of the world, they dart up on high and rise to the surface, hastening to the city above.

So, as the church wonders at the concourse from every country through faith, he who nets them again lays bare the cause of the matter, and says: “The islands have waited for me, and the ships of Tarshish, to bring your children from afar, and the gold and the silver with them.” And by “islands” here you will understand, not at all the soil of the islands themselves (that would be simple-minded), nor the ships of Tarshish themselves, but rather those who dwell in them, that is, the inhabitants of the islands. And divine Scripture very often calls the lands of India Tarshish; and they say that there is also a city in Cyprus named Tarshish. So since the islands, he says, and those who come from the land of the Indians have waited for me, that is, have submitted to the yoke laid on them by me, for this reason the multitude of believers flows together from everywhere. For not a few men have come even from the barbarian land itself, bearing the name of Christ and bringing as fruit to his glory whatever their country is able to bear. And they say it is rich in gold and silver. And they will bring them, not by their former custom to lifeless idols and herds of demons, but because the name of the Lord has become holy among them, and the Holy One of Israel glorious. And the Lord is not one and the Holy One of Israel another, but one and the same is both Lord and holy and glorified. And one should know that cities round about that have much uninhabited desert are also called islands. And if they too are said to have waited for the Lord, that is, to have served him, you will understand that those who live in trackless countries or cities, shut off by great desert, will also come through faith and bring gold and silver as fruit to Christ; and not at all the material, but, as it were, what is precious and bright in us and worthy of all account, plainly faith and the radiance of every virtue. For these are guest-gifts to God, and bright and admired offerings of spiritual worship. And it is written in the book of Psalms of the Saviour of us all, Christ: “Kings of Tarshish and the islands shall bring gifts”, kings of the Arabs and of Sheba shall offer gifts; and all the kings of the earth shall worship him, all the nations shall serve him.

“And foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall stand by you.”

This too is extraordinary, and the work of a power befitting God. For the walls and enclosures that keep the children of the church safe would be understood as right and blameless faith, and the brightness of works gathering beauty from every virtue; and the introducers of doctrinal knowledge, and indeed of moral knowledge, and the teachers of the divine preaching, would be all the sacred ministers who are called to this by divine vote. And the first fruits of these sacred preachings were for us the inspired disciples, and after them very many who followed in the track of their word, not only from the Jews but also from the ranks of the Greeks, who, being excellent also in worldly wisdom and knowing how to speak well, became the best educators, building the unswerving word of faith elegantly in the souls of those being initiated, and implanting in them an admirable conscience of conduct. So they are foreigners, since they are not of the blood of Israel according to the flesh, but wise master-builders, according to the inspired Paul, well knowing how to lay Christ as a foundation in us, plainly through faith and the teaching of good things.

This, I think, is the meaning of “Foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall stand by you.” Whose kings? Plainly those of the foreigners. And by kings he means here either the rulers and leaders of peoples, who stand by the church of Christ, guarding it as it were like spearmen, fighting shoulder to shoulder with its children, and warding off every attack of enemies, visible and invisible; or, in the true sense, those crowned with the highest honours and holding the sceptre of kingship, who also have stood by the church. And “standing by” here signifies obedience. For they yield to the divine and sacred decrees, and count the preaching of the church worthy of all account.

“For in my wrath I struck you, and in mercy I loved you. And your gates shall be opened … to bring in to you the power of nations, and kings led along. For the nations and the kings who will not serve you shall perish, and the …”

For since, he says, you were found guilty of very many and unbearable offences, you have undergone a penalty of equal weight; for being such, you had to undergo the effects of wrath. But since again mercy had to be given you, as from a good and compassionate Lord and God, it has been given, and I will drive away the effects of wrath. What, then, will be yours, and what will be given when the gloomy things have ceased? “Your courts”, he says, “shall be opened continually, day and night, and shall not be shut.” In these words he seems to promise them peace and the calm that comes of it. For some cities keep their gates open, but as occasion and need require, and scarcely by day, and not without fears; but those wholly freed from expecting to suffer any such thing throw them wide to those who enter, even if some do so by night. If, then, God promises them peace and breadth of prosperity, or rather that the concourse of those coming to it will be unceasing and their entry as it were continual, as they are in a way drawn through faith to the knowledge of Christ, so that the gates seem to stand open and there is no time at which it is fitting to shut them, and not only for those in humble life and under the yoke of kings, but also for those who hold power over all … One can see through events the force of the prophecy prevailing to this day. For the church receives at every time those who wish to believe, and shuts out no one's zeal for this; and those who wish may, with no one preventing them, be led at whatever time they wish to the light of the true knowledge of God. And God the Father leads all to the knowledge of the Son, through whom and in whom and with whom he is glorified. And the Son himself has made this known to us, saying: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” And he says that the power of nations will be brought in, so that you may not think, as I said, only of those in lowliness and humble estate, but also of those in power and glory in this life. And he adds: “And the nations and the kings who will not serve you shall perish and be made desolate.” For the unbelieving and uninitiated, who have no share in the salvation through Christ, even if they should be some of those … will fall into the snare of death; for they will die in their own sins and undergo the last penalty of all.

“And the glory of Lebanon shall come to you, with cypress and pine and cedar together, to glorify my holy place.”

Lebanon is a mountain of Phoenicia, [rich] in cedars and in the [trees] of Lebanon … For this reason the mountain mentioned is admired, as having the most abundant timber and being rich in the tallest and most fragrant trees. This glory, then, will be given you, he says, plainly in a spiritual sense. For the church of Christ nurtures very many approved heads of saints, raised on high by their virtues, and also most fragrant, for they give off the fragrance of Christ; and they also have the quality of lying beyond the corruption that comes from a fleshly mind, just as pine and cedar do not decay. And it is the custom of divinely inspired Scripture sometimes to liken the multitude of the saints to such plants. So God said again somewhere through the voice of Isaiah: “And I will make water in the desert, and rivers in the waterless land. I will set cedar in the waterless land, and …” For he likens the gentiles to dry and waterless land; for there was not among them the divine word that can give life and bring growth in godliness and the knowledge of God. But there have come to be among them cedar and box and myrtle and cypress and white poplar, that is, tall and admirable plants, which the inspired Psalmist also mentions, saying: “Bread strengthens the heart of man; the trees of the plain shall be satisfied, and the cedars of Lebanon which you planted.” For as the all-wise Paul writes: “We are God's field.” This glory of Lebanon, then, he says, will be given you, that is, you will be seen planted with many admired heads of saints. And this will be so that my holy place may be glorified. For the boast of the churches are those who … of virtues … not having what is earthly and grovelling in their mind by minding the things of the flesh, but rather darting on high and minding the things above, and as it were departing from the earth: walking on it, but having their citizenship above and in heaven.

“And the sons of those who humbled you and provoked you shall come to you in fear, and you shall be called the city of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One [of Israel].”

The very outcome of events shows exactly the force of the prophecy, which does not depart from the truth. For having raged drunkenly against the Saviour of us all, Jesus Christ, Jerusalem was humbled, cast out of fellowship with God, slipping away from hope in him, left bereft of the sparing from above, and falling into the hands of enemies, who laid waste all Judea and burned even the divine and famous temple. But since the remnant has been saved, as God had compassion (for not a few of those of Israel believed in Christ), it has been named the church of Christ, and has become as it were the mother of the gentiles.