Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

The words "be blameless" are addressed to Abraham, to whom had been given the spirit of wisdom, holy, marvelously agile, unpolluted. The soul of the just man, therefore, must be in training night and day, ever on the lookout, never indulging in sleep but on perpetual watch, intent on God, so as to understand the things that are and to comprehend the causes of each. But wisdom is also the interpreter of future things: "She knows the things of old and infers the things to come. She understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles. She has foreknowledge of signs and wonders and of the outcome of seasons and times." One who has obtained her, therefore, cannot but be good and perfect, because he possesses every virtue and is the very image of goodness. Even the sophists of this world drew from this text a definition of such a wise man: The wise man is (by definition) a good man and an accomplished communicator.

After he had turned ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be perfect. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will greatly multiply you exceedingly." Hence, the name of Abraham is amplified at the age of one hundred years, the covenant of circumcision is given, and the promise of the birth of Isaac is made, so that in a great mystery, a one-hundred-year-old receives the son of promise already circumcised. He walks before the Lord to be able to be perfect, who every moment remembers himself to be standing in the sight of the Divinity and as if placed in his service; as Elias, who said, "The Lord lives, in whose sight I stand" (1 Kings 17:1); he always indicated that he kept himself prepared for divine service, having the presence of his Creator in mind; and because the first step of perfection is humility, it is rightly added:

After the tenth year he took Ishmael, his child by the maidservant, and considered that the promises had been fulfilled for him in the child. The patriarch was, you remember, the text tells us, eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born. The loving God, however, exercised the virtue of the just man for a still further period of thirteen years. When God saw that he had been purified like gold in a furnace for a long period of time and had rendered the just man's virtue more conspicuous and resplendent, Scripture says, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to him again." Why did God delay so long? Not simply that we should get to know the just man's endurance and his great virtue, but for us to see as well the extraordinary degree of his power. You see, when nature lost its potency and was now useless for childbearing, his body being wasted and chilled with old age, God put into effect the promise to demonstrate his peculiar power.

Abram fell face down. We read that in the earlier places of sacred history, holy men invoked the Lord, offered him sacrifices of praise, and lived innocently in his sight, but none had fallen face down before the Lord before Abram. However, the more superior gifts he received compared to the previous ones, the greater thanks he gave to the Giver of gifts by humbling himself; and because in falling to the ground he humbly recalled his fragility, he immediately deserved to sublimely recognize the eminence of divine power. For it follows:

And God said to him: I am, and my covenant is with you. For what is it for the Lord to say: I am, if not to clearly declare the state of his eternity, in which he is always the same? About which the Psalm also says: But you are the same (Psalm 102:28). This place harmonizes with the Gospel where the Lord said to the Jews: Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58). For appearing in the flesh, he taught that he himself was the one who had once appeared to Abraham in spirit, when he repeated to the Jews the same testimony of his essence that he had given to Abraham; but the Jews were troubled because they had heard: Before Abraham was, I am; yet Abraham rejoiced when he heard: I am, and did not doubt that God existed before he did; hence, because he faithfully heard the word of divine eternity, he received in the increase of reward that he would be called and be the father of many nations. Moreover, the Jews, because they could not grasp the mysteries of divinity they'd heard, were cast out from the lineage of Abraham, and were counted among the offspring of vipers: Finally, they took up stones to throw at him; but he hid himself from them, and went out of the temple (John 8:59), so that, evidently hidden from their stony hearts, and going out, he would come to reveal to the Gentiles the knowledge of his majesty. For even then having gone out of the temple, he restored sight to the man born blind. Evidently as a figure of grace, with which he was to enlighten the hearts of the Gentiles. It follows:

The promise of a bodily posterity was made to Abraham, for it is written: "So shall your posterity be." The promise of a spiritual posterity was also made to him, for through faith he was to be the father of a multitude. The flesh of Abraham gave forth offspring and was thus multiplied. All the more so would his spiritual begetting be fruitful: for he begot spiritually through his fruitful mind. Now, the great number of thoughts arising out of faith transcend in clarity the light of the stars.

Conjugal chastity accords with the written law by reason of the divine promise: because the Lord promised to Abraham, Genesis 17: You shall be the father of many nations; and I will make you increase most exceedingly, and I will establish you among nations, and kings shall come forth from you. Since therefore the Lord as a benefit promised that He would give offspring to Abraham through the way of marriage, it is evident that conjugal chastity accords with the written law.

(Chapter 17—Verse 3 and following) And the Lord spoke to him, saying: Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. It should be noted that wherever we read Testament in Greek, in the Hebrew language it is the word covenant or pact, that is, Berith ().

For a name is changed, with a letter added, so that he would be called Abraham instead of Abram, which means 'father of a multitude', as the Latin interpretation has it, or 'sublime father', 'chosen father'; or so that he would become a father and the father of a son. He was vain when he did not know God; he became chosen after he knew God. He was a father when he had offspring by a slave woman; but he was not the father of a son, because he did not have a son who was conceived in lawful marriage. Sarah gave birth, and he became the father of a son.

However, a question arises here which should not be passed over and which may perhaps also, quite independently, be bothering some of you. What does it mean, that when the name of Abraham, this man Jacob's grandfather, was changed (he was previously called Abram, you see, and God changed his name and said, you shall not be called Abram, but Abraham)? From that time on he was never called Abram. Search in the Scriptures, and you will see that earlier on, before he received another name, he was only called Abram. After he had received the new one, he was only called Abraham. This man Jacob, however, heard the same words when he received another name: You shall not be called Jacob, but you shall be called Israel. Now search the Scriptures, and see how he was always called either name, both Jacob and Israel. When Abram got another name, he was never called anything but Abraham; when Jacob got another name, he was called Jacob and Israel. The name Abraham was to receive its explanation in this world, because it was here that he became the father of many nations, from which his name is derived. The name Israel, on the other hand, belongs to the next world, where we will see God. So the people of God, the Christian people, is in this world and this time both Jacob and Israel; Jacob in our actual situation, Israel in our hopeful expectation.

And you will be the father of many nations, and your name will no longer be called Abram, but you will be called Abraham, because I have made you the father of many nations. Because blessed Abraham left his kin and his father's house at the command of the Lord, he received deservedly also in this gift of reward to exist as the father of many nations; indeed of so many, that not only those who came from his seed according to the flesh, but also those who deriving their origin of flesh elsewhere, would follow the footsteps of his faith and obedience, as the Apostle writes to the Romans with full exposition. It should be known that Abram means Exalted Father, but Abraham means Father of Many, so it is understood, of many nations.

(Chapter 17, Verse 5) And your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of many nations. The Hebrews say that God, from his name, which is the Tetragrammaton among them, added the letter He to Abraham and Sarah: for he was first called Abram (), which means lofty father, and later he was called Abraham (), which means father of many: for what follows nations is not part of the name, but is understood. It is not surprising, therefore, that when it seems that the letter Α has been added among the Greeks and us: we have called it the Hebrew letter He added; for the language of that tongue is to write with He (ה‎), but to read with A (א‎): just as, on the contrary, the letter A is often pronounced as He.

Verse 7. "And the overseer of the eunuchs imposed names upon them, calling Daniel Belteshazzar (Balthasar), and Hananiah Shadrach, and Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abednego." It was not only the overseer or master of the eunuchs (as others have rendered it, the "chief-eunuch") who changed the names of saints, but also Pharaoh called Joseph in Egypt Somtonphanec (Genesis 41:45), for neither of them wished them to have Jewish names in the land of captivity. Wherefore the prophet says in the Psalm: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Psalm 137:4). Furthermore the Lord Himself changes names benignly, and on the basis of events imposes names of special significance, so as to call Abram Abraham (Genesis 17:5), and Sarai Sarah (Genesis 17:15). Also in the Gospel, the former Simon received the name of Peter (Mark 3:16), and the sons of Zebedee are called "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) - which is not boanerges, as most people suppose, but is more correctly read benereem.

Many responses are given to Abraham by God, but they are not all delivered to one and the same man. For some are to Abram and some to Abraham; that is, some are expressed after the change of name and others while he was still known by his name given at birth. And first indeed, before the change of name, God delivered to Abraham the oracle that says, "Go out from your country and from your kindred and from your father's house," and the rest. But no order is given in this about the covenant of God, no order about circumcision. For it was not possible while he was still Abram and was bearing the name of his physical birth to receive the covenant of God and the mark of circumcision. But when "he went out from his country and his kindred," then responses of a more sacred kind are delivered to him at this time. First God says to him, "You shall no longer be called Abram, but Abraham shall be your name." Then at once he received the covenant of God and accepted circumcision as a sign of faith that he could not accept while he was still in his father's house and in the relationship of flesh and while he was still called Abram.

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. [Genesis 17:5] Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Hence, the Stoic philosophers drew their doctrine as if from a source, saying that all things belong to the wise. For the East and the West, the North and the South are parts of the universe. The whole world is enclosed in them. When God promised Abraham that He would give him these things, what else does He declare but that He will provide everything to the wise and faithful, leaving nothing lacking? Thus, Solomon also says in Proverbs: the whole world of riches belongs to the faithful. How much greater is Solomon than Zeno, the master and founder of the Stoic sect! How much greater than Plato, the father of philosophy, or Pythagoras, the inventor of his name! But who is faithful, if not wise? For the fool is like the moon, always changing, but the wise person remains steadfast in their faith.

And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and between your seed after you in their generations with an everlasting covenant; that I may be your God and the God of your seed after you. The old translation has: And I will establish my testament. It should be noted, however, that wherever we read "testament" in Greek, in the Hebrew language it is "covenant" or "pact," that is, "berith." It is not surprising, then, that the testament or covenant of God is with Abraham and his seed in an everlasting covenant, that He may be their God: because indeed this covenant will be preserved throughout the entire duration of this life without any interruption in the generations of the chosen following in succession, and will be celebrated without any end in the future age. What follows, however, is:

And I will give to you and to your seed after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. It requires a more laborious exposition on how it should be understood as fulfilled or still expected to be fulfilled, since any earthly possession cannot be eternal for any nation. But it should be known that "eternal" is interpreted by our people as what the Greeks call "Aeonion," which is derived from "age." For in Greek "Aeon" is called an age. But the Latins did not dare to say "age-long," lest they send the meaning far off into something else. For many things are called "age-long" that are done in this age in such a way as to pass away in a short time. However, what is called "Aeonion" either has no end or extends to the end of this age. And therefore, as we said above, the land of Canaan is given as an everlasting possession to the seed of Abraham, because in it Christians, up to the end of this age, whether from the Jews or from the Gentiles, that is, the seed of Abraham, are believed never to be lacking.

God said again to Abraham: And you shall therefore keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations; this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised; and you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. The Lord, in His kind provision, first established the covenant of His grace with the blessed Abraham and his offspring; and then He requires of them the covenant of obedience: so that the labor of striving might be less terrifying when the reward of perpetual remuneration is heard first. Therefore, the foreskin of the flesh is commanded to be circumcised, as a sign of the covenant between God and men, so that by this sign the faithful of that time might be reminded to cleanse themselves from all pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God; but also by a higher mystery, that carnal circumcision was done as a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham's offspring, because it was given as a sign of that covenant of which it was said above to Abraham: In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed; which no faithful person doubts pertains to the grace of the new testament. Therefore, in the sign of this covenant, no faithful person doubts that Abraham and his offspring were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin, so that it might be typologically prefigured that one would be born from his seed who would cleanse his chosen ones from all stain of sins, and grant them perpetual blessing; to the sacrament of which cleansing aptly corresponds what follows:

A man rejoices in his mouth's sentence, etc. It is indeed human for each to rejoice in his sentence as though prudently uttered; but a true wise man carefully investigates not only the matters he speaks, but also the opportunity of place or time or person, to whom he speaks.

The path of life is above the wise, etc. He calls the wise one perfected not only in knowledge, but also in practice. For to him indeed the paths of life from above are rightly opened; to him the gate of heaven is open. But the last hell, from which he is delivered, is the final punishment of damnation. For the first hell is the blindness of the sinning soul, and the lack of knowledge of true light, of which it is said in the Psalms, And they descend into hell alive (Ps. 54), that is, they knowingly fall into sin.

The Lord demolishes the house of the proud, etc. The Lord demolishes the gatherings of heretics and other persecutors of the Church, and establishes the boundaries of the same Church, that is, His bride, firm throughout the whole world, for whose life He deigned to die.

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, etc. The Lord abhors the thoughts of heretics, indeed all contrary to piety, and the pure word of true faith will be established by Him, when in the judgment, not only for deeds but also for all words, worthy rewards will be given. He abhorred their evil thoughts, who said, Who is this who even forgives sins? (Mark 2). And He affirmed the pure word of him who said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16), to be most beautiful, to whom He replied, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal it to you, but my Father who is in heaven (Matt. 16:17).

If every evil word is an abomination to the Lord your God, how great an abomination must be supposed the evil word of denial and the evil word of publicly proclaiming another god and the evil oath by the fortune of people, something that has no existence.

The light of the eyes rejoices the soul, etc. It rightly delights the human mind, when it recognizes, by the Lord's revelation, that it has perceived the light of heavenly mysteries. Which another translation more clearly says, The eye seeing good things delights the heart, certainly the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Whoever contemplates these with the eye of the mind, rightly delights in the heart, though externally he seems to walk sadly, oppressed by an enemy. That most blessed fame, by which we have learned that not only our deeds and words, but also our thoughts are known in heaven by the reporting angels; offers the richness of love and faith to our virtues, lest they wither by failing. For the more surely we hold that the hidden things of our heart, and likewise our works, are open to divine views, the more we ought to inflame with the oil of His charity the strength of our good action, lest it grows weary.

We are not harsh toward the impenitent. They are wicked to themselves, for those that spurn instruction hate themselves. Yet even in such cases we should seek in every way that healing come to those who are so completely perverted as not even to be conscious of their own ills and drunk with a drunkenness more fatal than that from wine, the drunkenness that comes from the darkness of evil.

If the prophet deems those guilty whom discipline has never reached, what should we think of those whom it has abandoned? Discerning between the acts of these two classes of people, the prophet authoritatively regards the fault of never having come to discipline as one less serious than that of having rejected her law. Notice his words: "He that rejects instruction despises his own soul." The case truly is just what he says. For the person who has spurned the warnings of discipline in order to occupy himself with the devil's business is indeed the foe of his own soul.

All the ways of a man are open to His eyes, etc. Thus the ways, that is, the actions of all, both good and evil, the Lord sees, so that He distinguishes with a certain scale even the individual spirits, what they secretly think. Hence it is rightly added:

Besides being bright, certainly light (as it is) is conspicuous. As it does its work everyone observes it. In the same way, the humble person shows us in no small way what is right. For a contrite person will nevertheless excel in great things. But God does not desire to acknowledge the deeds of the proud.

Commit your works to the Lord, etc. Indeed, we reveal our works to the Lord when we remember Him in all we do, knowing that nothing is hidden from Him, and we seek His help in all things. And when we do this devoutly, it happens that not only the same works, but even our inner thoughts proceed under His direction.

We are commanded to show him our ways and make our ways to him, which are made straight, not by our own efforts but by his help and mercy. Whence it is written, "Make straight your way in my sight" (or as other copies have it, "make straight my way in your sight"), so that what is straight to him may also appear straight to me. Solomon also says, "Lay open your works to the Lord, and your thoughts shall be directed." For our thoughts are directed then, and only then, when we lay open to the Lord, as to a firm and very stable rock, everything that we do and impute everything to him.

The Lord has made everything for its own purpose, etc. The Lord had no other cause for creating the invisible or visible creature than His will, that He might show His goodness to the rational creature, whom He would make eternally blessed: and also the one who of his own will abandoned the good of his condition, that is, the devil and his followers, He justly condemned with severity.

Only God does what is good, acting from love of goodness for its own sake and not moved by fear or hope of reward. As Solomon says, "The Lord has done all things for his own sake." For the sake of his own goodness he bestows an abundance of goodness upon the worthy and the unworthy, because he can neither be wearied by wrongdoing nor provoked to painful emotion by human wickedness. He always remains what he is, perfect in goodness and unchanging in nature.

Every arrogant person is an abomination to the Lord, etc. Whoever attributes to himself the good that he does, even if he appears to work nothing evil with his hands, has already lost the innocence of his heart, in which he has preferred himself to the giver of the gifts. Therefore, his Creator abhors such a one, as guilty of being ungrateful for the benefits he contemplates.

Nothing so estranges from the mercy of God and gives over to the fire of hell as the tyranny of pride. If we possess this within us, all our life becomes impure, even if we practice chastity, virginity, fasting, prayer, almsgiving, or any virtue whatsoever. "Every proud man," Scripture says, "is an abomination to the Lord." Therefore, let us check this puffing up of the soul, and let us cut out this tumor, if we wish to be pure and be rid of the punishment prepared for the devil.

When a man's ways please the Lord, etc. Such is the sanctity of divine religion, that often even those who are outside hold it in veneration. And those whom they perceive to serve God perfectly, they begin to have peace with, even though they differ in religion. Hence because the ways of Daniel and the three youths pleased the Lord, He also turned their enemies, who had cast them into the fire or to the beasts, to peace. Because the ways of the holy preachers pleased the Lord, He converted many of their persecutors not only to peace but also to the same unity of faith and religion.

Better is a little with righteousness, etc. And the Lord says, Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (Matthew V). And again, Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation (Luke VI). It can also be understood thus, that it is better to serve God devoutly in simple conversation, than being abundant in many virtues, for example, alms, prayers, fastings, teaching, chastity, to despise the deeds of others, and to glory as it were in one's unique sublimity.

(Chapter 41, verses 1 and following.) Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations change their strength: let them come near, and then let them speak: let us come together to judgment. Who raised up the Just One from the East, and called him to follow him? He will give nations before him, and he will rule over kings: he will make them like the dust with his sword, and like stubble driven by the wind to his bow. He will pursue them, and he will pass in peace, a path will not appear under his feet. Who has accomplished and done this, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first and the last; I am He. The islands have seen and feared; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, 'Be strong!' The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows faint. LXX: Come near to me, you islands; let the leaders approach together and declare judgment. Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.\ He will call her who has been called from the beginning of generations. I am the first God, and I am present in the things that are to come. The nations have seen and feared: the ends of the earth have stood in awe and approached: they have come together, each judging their neighbor to help and support their brother: and they will say: the skilled craftsman and blacksmith have prevailed, striking the hammer together, producing: sometimes indeed they say, 'it is good to strengthen'. They have strengthened it, they have set it in nails: and it will not be moved. People, that is, the islands, which are buffeted by the false and bitter waves of this age, are commanded to listen and to close their mouths, and to know that which was said to Israel: Listen, Israel, and be silent; and to change their strength, lest they cannot hear the word of God because of their former weakness, so that they may approach the Lord first, and that they may not be satisfied with their own salvation; but that which they have learned, they may teach to others, and may argue with the Lord whether God has kept justice for all. But he interrogates them and challenges them to respond, in order to teach them through the questioning what they are ignorant of: Who raised up the just one from the East, or justice? For it is not only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, who called Christ the Lord and Savior, who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Cor. 1). In which, according to the same Apostle, God's righteousness is revealed (ibid). But he called him, so that he might follow him in all things and do the works of the Father; and he fulfilled that saying: O God, I desired to do your will (Ps. 39:9). In his presence, kings and nations will submit their necks, and the opposing powers, like stubble and dust, will be subjected to his sword and arrows. He will pursue them, namely the kings and princes of each nation, and he will pass by in peace, calling all to peace so that they may be reconciled to God. His path will not be visible, that is, he will not feel the labor of the journey or any weakness or fatigue of human nature; but he will drink from the stream on the way, and therefore he will lift up his head. Who, he says, has worked and made these? Who raised up the righteous, or righteousness? Who delivered nations and kings to him? Who subjected all things to his sword and bow? Certainly he, who from the beginning of the world predicted these things, who is the creator of all. And because he had said, in response to the questioner's emotion: Who raised up the righteous from the East, etc., while all were silent, he answered himself: I am the Lord, I am the first and the last. He Himself is the one who speaks in the Apocalypse of John: I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev. I, 8; and XXII, 13). The islands, that is, the nations or the Churches gathered from the nations, have seen and feared the Lord, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. IX, 10). All the ends of the earth trembled at the words of the Apostles, approaching and likewise coming to the Gospel of Christ. And when they saw themselves to be saved, they completed the work that they had heard before: let them approach, and then let them speak; that they may assist their neighbors, and that they may wish to strengthen their brothers in the Lord, and may say to them: Depart from idols, despise ancient images of demons, which were created by human hands, which were produced by a hammer striking, which were bound with glue, which were fastened with nails, so that they would not be moved; and when they stood, they could not walk. Some report that we, interpreted as the ones above all others, through the calling of the Gentiles and the preaching of the Gospel and the condemnation of idols, led Cyrus, the king of the Persians, to rise up against the Babylonians from the East, and made him submit to his command, prostrating many nations before him and subjecting everything to his sword and bow. And they relate other things that follow concerning his person, namely that their idols, which were made with human skill and skillfully crafted by the bronze smith, were of no avail to the Babylonians. Some Hebrews believe that Abraham was called righteous from the East, that is, from the Chaldeans, because he alone was found to be righteous. He followed God, leaving his homeland to a land that he did not know, and he delivered kings into his hand who had come against Sodom and Gomorrah. He made them like stubble and dust before his sword and bow. He pursued them, returned in peace, and did not feel the effects of the long journey, and all this was not by his own strength but by the mercy of the Lord, who knew these things from the beginning. They saw, he said, the islands, that is, the nations in the surrounding area, and they were terrified by his power: and the ends of the earth. Indeed, he was the son of Noah, who had escaped the Flood with his father and brothers in the final time of the earth; and he had been preserved until that time: they want him to be understood as Melchizedek, and to have come to meet Abraham returning from battle, and to have received him, and blessed him, and strengthened him with the blessings of God: and to be the skillful craftsman who had fashioned for Abraham, and with the hammer of his art had brought forth better things: and to have said to him, It is good that you are united and joined to him in the fear of the Lord. And he strengthened him, or established him on the key of the commandments of the Lord, so that he would not be moved, but would remain in fear of Him.

[Where] do you get those fortresses of yours, "ingenerate" and "unoriginate," from—or where the term "immortal"? Show us the express words, or we cross them out as unscriptural, and you will be dead as a result of your own principles, since the words, the wall of defense you trusted in, will have been destroyed. Is it not plain that these terms derived from passages that imply, without actually mentioning them? Which passages? What about "I am the first, and I am hereafter," and "Before me there is no other God and after me there shall be none," "for everything that exists" [God is saying] "is mine, without beginning or ending"? You have taken the truths that there is nothing before God and that he has no prior case, and you have given him the titles "unoriginate" and "ingenerate." The fact that there is no halt to his ongoing existence means he is "immortal" and "indestructible."

"I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he." There is no "God" "before" God, nor can we call "God" that which is "after" God. (For that which is after God is the creation, and that which is before God is nothing, and nothing is not God, or, one should rather say, that which is "before" God is God in his eternal blessedness, defined in contradistinction to nothing.) … For if it is the Father who speaks in this way, he bears witness to the Son that he is not "after" himself. For if the Son is God and whatever is "after" the Father is not God, it is clear that the saying bears witness to the truth that the Son is in the Father and not after the Father. If, [however,] one were to grant that this statement is of the Son, the phrase "no other has been before me" will be a clear allusion that he whom we contemplate "in the Beginning" is apprehended together with the eternity of the Beginning.

I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: [Isaiah 41:4] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

From the beginning, [Isaiah] says, God has made announcements concerning righteousness. He made the covenant with Abraham in these terms: "All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in your seed," and he [renewed] the covenant with Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David. This is what he has likewise announced through other prophets. "I, God, I AM the first, and I AM the future." The One who gave the Old Testament, he says, is not different from the One who established the New. The divine nature is one, always the same and unchanging.

He seeks the author: who has wrought and done these things, and who was calling the generations from the beginning, in eternal foreknowledge, below: the Lord has called me from the womb (Isa 49:1); and he sets out the response: I the Lord: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 1:8). This is explained otherwise literally of Cyrus, and mystically of Christ.

Third, he sets out the response as though from the gentiles, in which they believed that they were defended by idols; and first, he touches on their stupor at wonders recounted or seen: the islands saw it: the waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you: and they were afraid (Ps 76:17[77:16]); they drew near, to resist.

The meaning of this is as follows: They have approached and come together, no longer staying apart, not alienated from each other through sin but as if brought close through spiritually taking possession, are joined into one faith and a common spirit. For once they tasted of the Lord and understood that he is good and began to wonder at the beauty of his truth, they did not only keep the gift for themselves but each one generously came to the aid of his brother and his friend.

You, Jacob, now ponder such things, the Savior of everything did not privilege you over the salvation of other human beings but chose the things that suited you, while to the rest of the nations he announced an exchange, summoning them all to knowledge of him.… He calls "islands" the churches from all the nations, since those partially submerged under the evil of life are like those islands in the sea.…For it is not only those who are called who come to salvation, but also those nearby according to the laws of neighbor love (philanthropy). So they say these things to those worshiping God nearby, who would like to be their brothers and friends yet who are still "out of place." There was a time when our own craftsman prevailed, beating out idols, and the smith struck with a hammer his gods. But now we know that they are nothing and recognize the illusion of our forefathers.

Those who formerly have been in error, as soon as they have benefited from the light of the knowledge of God, cannot bear to hide his glory but call all people to participate in it. "And one will say," that is to say, one who is removed from the darkness of ignorance.

Second, he sets out mutual strengthening: every one shall help his neighbor: they stick one to another (Job 41:8).

By mocking those who make the idols, [Isaiah] says, "The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, who strikes with the hammer." That is, even though they know that their hands have made them and that "they fasten them with nails," they are not ashamed to adore them.

Look, [Isaiah] says, what the newcomers to the truth say to those who are still held prisoner to the error of idols, to show them their impotence: idols can neither walk nor hold themselves up without being fastened with nails. As for the phrase "it is a piece well joined," the three interpreters have rendered it, "it is a joint well made"; that is to say, the joints are well fitted. It has been put together by craftsmanship.

Third, he sets out the making of idols: the coppersmith striking the iron with the hammer encouraged him that forged, that formed the figure of the idol, saying: it is ready for soldering, to solidify the idol: setting it in a wall, and fastening it with iron (Wis 13:15–16).

Abraham, styled "the friend," [Isaiah 41:8] was found faithful, inasmuch as he rendered obedience to the words of God. He, in the exercise of obedience, went out from his own country, and from his kindred, and from his father's house, in order that, by forsaking a small territory, and a weak family, and an insignificant house, he might inherit the promises of God. For God said to him, "Get you out from your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, into the land which I shall show you. And I will make you a great nation, and will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be blessed. And I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you; and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed." [Genesis 12:1-3] And again, on his departing from Lot, God said to him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you now are, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, [so that] if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall your seed also be numbered." [Genesis 13:14-16] And again [the Scripture] says, "God brought forth Abram, and spoke unto him, Look up now to heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them; so shall your seed be. And Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness." [Genesis 15:5-6] On account of his faith and hospitality, a son was given him in his old age; and in the exercise of obedience, he offered him as a sacrifice to God on one of the mountains which He showed him. [Genesis 22:9]

Since the seed of Abraham is spread over all the earth, he speaks about this.… In the same way Paul the apostle shows the Jews, "first it was necessary that the word be proclaimed to you, but since you turn away, we are going to the Gentiles." Isaiah addresses those among them, therefore, who would obey the calling and the Gospel word that is handed on: "You whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners." Many from the Jews, during the apostolic times, handed on the word of Christ, not only to the land of Judah but also to the rest of the nations. For the seed of Abraham rises quickly, until the time when God remembers the election of the apostolic chorus, and he says to them, "you are my son," or, according to the other interpretations, "you are my servant; I have chosen you and not abandoned you." Probably the divine apostle equates the servant with himself, made present as one worthy of the honor of being a servant of the Savior, since also from the first the word proclaimed this, saying, "great to you are those called 'my servant.' "

(Verses 8-9) And you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend. I have taken hold of you from the ends of the earth, and summoned you from its farthest corners. I said to you, 'You are my servant; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.' LXX: But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off". Paul the Apostle teaches that Jacob and Israel are both carnal and spiritual: See Israel according to the flesh (1 Cor. 10). From which we understand that there is also another according to the spirit; and the carnal are called Israel: If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. And above all, it is said (In Chapter 40, verse 27): Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel: My way is hidden from the Lord: and my judgment has passed over from my God? On the contrary, now God speaks to the spiritual Israel, who has received the coming of his Lord, whom he first calls servant, then chosen, and finally the seed of Abraham. For before we received the spirit of slavery in fear (Romans 8); and afterwards, as the chosen ones, we are joined in friendship with God. Therefore, after the calling of the Gentiles, when they saw the islands and were afraid, they were astonished at the ends of the earth; they came near and approached, they are called the remnants, according to the choice of grace, of whom both the Gospel and the Evangelist write: Jesus chose these twelve, whom he also named Apostles (Luke 6), who were chosen after the servitude of the Law, in the Gospel; and they deserved to be the seed of Abraham, friends of God. For in that he apprehended them from the ends of the earth, and called Israel from its farthest borders, gathering first the people of the Jews, of whom also the Apostle Paul says: 'It was necessary that the word be preached to you first, but since you reject it, we will go to the Gentiles' (Acts 13:46).

To Israel [Isaiah] awards praise at one time, then later addresses accusations. Far from acting in a contradictory manner, he does things in consonance. For those who believe are descendants of Israel, as are also those who crucified Jesus. It is, therefore, natural that [Isaiah] should praise one and accuse the other. Here, in any case, he has recalled his promises and his benefits of former times: he led their patriarch [Abraham] out of the land of the Chaldeans. He delivered their whole race from the domination of the Egyptians; and he deemed them worthy of all kinds of attention.

806. But you Israel. In this part, he strengthens the Jews by the same benefits.

And first is set out the repetition of past benefits in the election of their fathers Jacob and Abraham, in whom they were distinguished from others universally: Jacob whom I have chosen: O you seed of Abraham his servant; you sons of Jacob his chosen (Ps 104[105]:6); that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calls, it was said to her: the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved: but Esau I have hated (Rom 9:11–13).

He adds that he is to strengthen and sustain those undergoing afflictions at the hands of those [who oppose God] with the vision of the goal that awaits them. He encourages with good news of God speaking to you without deceit: "I am the Lord and God, and I strengthen your right arm," and I say to you, "Do not fear, I will help you." In the Septuagint, "I will help you, do not fear, you worm Jacob," does not appear. This one who was after the former people called "chosen" is now called worm through its worm-like subjection to the cities of the unbelieving nations and all of their polytheistic errors. In addition, what is perfect and special in the apostolic preaching will destroy and remove the demonic energies from the depth of human thinking. Indeed, the Savior called himself a worm, saying "I am a worm and no man," a disgrace among people and an object of their contempt. Since there were only a few who were the Savior's disciples, there being twelve apostles, therefore the Septuagint says, "Israel, the very few."

For to none other than to God does it belong to implant courage in the fearful, saying to the fainthearted, "Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed," as says the psalmist, "Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

(Verse 10) So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. LXX: fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Therefore, to you, who are both my servant and my chosen one, who will preach among the Gentiles and endure many persecutions, I say, do not be afraid, for I am with you, to whom I speak in the Gospel: Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Do not wander, nor deviate from the truth, nor deceive yourself with false persuasion, thinking that with your inexperienced and unarmed strength, you can enter the wilderness of the nations and call the fiercest nations to gentleness. I am the one who has strengthened you and helped you; and my right hand, that is, the right hand of the righteous, that is, the Lord Savior, has supported you or protected you, as the Septuagint translates.

Second, the promise of future benefits is set out; and first, as to freedom from evils, he excludes fear, because of the presence of God: fear not, for I am with you: be not afraid at their presence: for I am with you (Jer 1:8); because of the justice of their fathers: I upheld you, as the promised seed, of my just one, Abraham; or: I upheld you, to defend you, my just one, Cyrus: in their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone (Ps 90[91]:12).

815. Christ upheld us, as a conqueror upholds a captive to liberate him: to the prey, my son (Gen 49:9); bring my soul out of prison (Ps 141:8[142:7]); as a physician upholds a sick man to heal him: who forgives all your iniquities: who heals all your diseases (Ps 102[103]:3); as an advocate upholds a defendant to plead to excuse him: we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1); as a strong man upholds a weak man to defend him, below: I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save (Isa 63:1); the Lord will fight for you (Exod 14:14); as a husband upholds his wife to rejoice with her: I will espouse you to me (Hos 2:19).

(Verses 11-12) All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. You will seek them, and you will not find them: your rebel men will be as if they were not: and like the destruction of warring men against you. LXX: Behold, they shall be confounded and ashamed, all your adversaries. They shall be as if they were not, and all your enemies shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them, those who rage against you. They shall be as if they were not, and they shall not fight against you. Behold, for your adversaries, the people of the Jews and all who fight against you, and your persecutors will be turned into nothing, and you will seek your adversaries, and you will not find them. And the reason why you will not find your adversaries is explained: because they will be as if they do not exist.

This is what already happened figuratively in the epoch of the Babylonians, since the God of the universe destroyed their empire, liberated the Jews from bitter servitude and brought them back to the land of their ancestors. However, this deliverance applies properly and truly to the holy apostles and to the victorious martyrs: their enemies are covered with shame, their persecutors have today disappeared and are unknown, whereas the defenders of the truth attract all the attention and are known by all.

And he sets out also the removal of enemies as to their confusion: behold all that fight against you shall be confounded: let them be confounded that persecute me (Jer 17:18); as to their destruction: they shall be as nothing, above: to destroy the nations unto nothing (Isa 30:28).

And the impossibility of restoration: you shall seek them: I have seen the wicked highly exalted. And I passed by, and lo, he was not (Ps 36[37]:35–36).

There are many who think of the holy mysteries and the saving message in disrespectful ways, but they amount to nothing, and such impious adversaries will perish. For those who oppose the divine agents of preaching are doing no less than fighting against the teachings of godliness.… For thousands will make war against God's ministers, but these will end up as though they never existed and will clearly be brought low, falling under the machinery of the wrath of God. [Isaiah] tells them to quit relying on human strength and their own foolhardiness, saying, "I am your God who strengthens your arm," that is, I am the one who supports you and makes you prevail in any test. I say to you, "Do not be afraid, O little Israel."

(Verses 13-14) For I, the Lord your God, took hold of your hand, saying to you: Do not fear, I have helped you. Do not fear, words of Jacob, you who are dead from Israel. I have helped you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. LXX: For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, O Jacob, O little Israel.' I have helped you, says God, who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel. But you should not be afraid, because I have taken hold of your hand. I say to you, Do not be afraid: I have helped you; do not fear, worm of Jacob, who are dead from Israel, or as the LXX says, very few from Israel. This that we have set forth, I have helped you: do not fear, worm of Jacob, which is not found in the LXX. But the worm which is said in Hebrew, Tholath (), is called the chorus of the Apostles because of their humility and contempt, imitating the Savior, who speaks in the psalm: I am a worm, and not a man: the reproach of men, and the despising of the people (Psalm 22:7). For just as the worm penetrates the earth, so the apostolic word penetrated the cities of the nations and first entered the hardest hearts. And rightly few are called from Israel, because in comparison to the whole world, very few from the Jewish nation believed, to whom the Lord speaks in the Gospel: 'Do not be afraid, little flock' (Luke 12:32). Or, according to the Hebrew, the dead from Israel, who also say with the Apostle: 'I die daily' (2 Corinthians 15:31). And elsewhere: I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. (Galatians 2:20).

When we hear the prophet say, "You, Israel, my child, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, whom I have loved," we do not think, do we, that the Jews are only flesh and not complete human beings composed of bodies and rational souls?… And [don't we think] that the seed of Abraham is not without a soul and not without a mind but that it possesses everything that belongs to Abraham's nature?… We confess one Son, who, according to the divine apostle, took hold of the seed of Abraham and brought about the salvation of human beings.

He also shows the reason for their destruction: for I am the Lord your God: put forth your hand from on high (Ps 143:7[144:6]).

The Spirit described his generation as a worm that was without meaning. The type that the Holy Spirit shaped attains its meaning.

Therefore, you will subdue kings and kingdoms with your frailty and will overturn their schemes and proud designs. So [Isaiah] calls the Jews, about whom he is speaking here, "worm," in order that they may understand that they cannot rely on their strength; nonetheless, their weakness will not hinder them, since worms are able to consume hard wood, so that, in the future, they will destroy the pride and power of very strong kingdoms.

"I have placed you like a new threshing wagon [sledge] with jagged wheels." … We can also say that the person of the church is in a new wagon with the jagged wheels of the preaching of the gospel, which cannot be worked at all in the old way of the letter but in the new way of the Spirit, and which wears away the hardest hearts of unbelievers, separating the wheat from the chaff.

This shows clearly that the prophetic text applies to those who have believed in the Lord. It is a small part of Israel that believed, while the major part refused to. That is why Paul said that even at the present time there remains a remnant according to God's gracious election.… As for the name "worm," it fits very well. In the first place, this remnants' appearance was contemptible. In fact, this is what the divine apostle meant when he said, "God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise." But Isaiah calls them worms for another reason. The worm that lodges in wood of poor quality will in a short time wear it down. Similarly, those who are athletes of the truth will, while hidden and imperceptible, destroy the error of the idols.

807. Second, as to abundance of goods; and first, against slavery, he sets out the very yoke of slavery: fear not, you worm, as if to say: you who were thought vile and trampled on as a worm, and were reckoned for dead: I am a worm, and no man (Ps 21:7[22:6]); he also sets out divine help, below: I have helped you (50).