Isaiah 55

Aquila translates “like wine and milk” so as to say not only water but also wine and milk are promised to the thirsty. “Water” is clearly the gospel message that flows from the spring of the Savior, but “wine and milk” hymn the mystery of the rebirth in Christ.… One should be mindful of the fact that according to the old covenant mystical milk is given to those reborn in Christ along with the body and blood of the new covenant. It is said to be kept even now as a custom in some churches, if not in a bodily at least in a spiritual way, in that the mystical blood is provided for those deemed worthy of the new life in Christ in the form of wine and milk. If with the Septuagint we read “and suet”—the fat and richness and nourishment of the spiritual food that is in Christ is here praised, just as our Savior revealed, saying, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink of my blood, you shall not have life in you.” So just as in Isaiah his body is called “suet” and as the blood is called wine, we understand the suet to mean his incarnate economy and the wine to mean the mystery of his passion.

Commentary on Isaiah 2:44

He then who is wise is free, bought with the price of the heavenly oracles, with that gold, that silver of the Divine Word; bought with the price of blood (for it is no small thing to acknowledge one's Redeemer;) bought with the price of Grace: he who heard and understood the words, Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and drink and eat.

Letter 37, 15

As long as the virtues are found before us and are sold cheaply, let us take from the munificent One, let us grasp, let us purchase.… As long as the festival lasts, let us buy alms, or, better yet, let us purchase salvation through almsgiving. You clothe Christ when you clothe the poor.

Homilies on Repentance and Almsgiving 7:6.22

It is very marvelous how they can buy water without money and do not drink it but eat it. For he who came down from heaven is himself both bread and water.… We read that he mixed wine and wisdom in his bowl, telling all the fools of this age and the world who do not have wisdom to drink, that we buy not only wine but also milk, which signifies the innocence of little ones. The manner and type of this remains today in the Eastern churches, where wine and milk are given to the newborn in baptism.

Commentary on Isaiah 15:11

(Chapter 55, Verse 1) All you who are thirsty, come to the waters, and you who have no money, hurry and buy and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? LXX: You who are thirsty, go to the water, and you who have no money, go, buy and eat, and walk, and buy wine and fat without money and without price. Why do you spend money, and your labor not for satisfaction? The Hebrew word Oi (), which I mentioned earlier in the prophecy against Ariel (Isaiah chapter 29), was ambiguous, and it could either mean an interjection of calling or woe. Here at the beginning of the chapter, it is not read as a lament, but with the emotion of calling. Therefore, since he had said that every earthen vessel against the Church should be crushed, and every voice and tongue that had rebelled against the knowledge of God should be overcome, he calls believers to the river of God, which is filled with water, and whose flowing brings joy to the city of God, so that they may drink from the fountains of the Savior, who spoke to the Samaritan woman: If you knew the grace of God, and who it is that says to you, give me something to drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. The water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into eternal life (John 4:10, 14). Of these waters He cried out in the Temple: If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink. He who drinks of the water that I shall give him, rivers of living water shall flow out of his belly (Ibid., 37, 38), signifying the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive, as also the Prophets did declare in mystic language: My soul thirsts for the living God (Psalm 42:2); and again: With you is the fountain of life (Psalm 36:10). He himself spoke of himself, saying: They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). These waters are scattered by the clouds, to which the truth of God reaches. As it is written: Let the clouds scatter righteousness (Isaiah 45:8, Septuagint). And it is commanded to those who are thirsty, that they must not drink the turbid waters of Sion and the swollen torrents of the Assyrians, but rather go to the waters of Siloam, which flow silently, and not fear the poverty of speech, if perhaps they do not have silver (Isaiah 45; Jeremiah 2), but listen to the Apostle saying: By grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:8); and the Lord said to the disciples: Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8). They amazingly buy water without money; and they do not drink it, but eat it. For he himself is both the water and the bread, which descends from heaven (John VI). Therefore, what is read in some copies, 'Buy and drink,' has been changed by ignorant writers, who thought it would be more consistent if water were drunk rather than eaten. And money is also very bad, or silver, which the Scripture condemns, saying: Money that is given with deceit will be considered as a broken piece of a pot (Proverbs XXVI, 23, sec. LXX); and in another place: Your silver is worthless (Jeremiah VI, 30). And silver is compared to the words of God: The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver that is tested in a furnace of earth, refined seven times (Psalm 12:6). Therefore, despising that silver and wealth, with which we cannot buy the waters of the Lord, let us go to Him, who, holding the chalice of the Sacrament, spoke to the disciples: Take and drink, this is my blood, which will be shed for you for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:27, 28). He mixed wine and wisdom in his cup, challenging all the fools of the world who have no wisdom, to drink. And not only wine, but also milk, which symbolizes the innocence of children, as is still practiced today in Western Churches. It is given as wine and milk to those reborn in Christ. Concerning this milk, Paul also said: 'I gave you milk to drink, not solid food' (1 Corinthians 3:2). And Peter: Desire the rational milk, as newborn babes (I Pet. II, 2) . Therefore, even Moses, understanding wine and milk in the passion of Christ, testifies in mystical language: His eyes are gracious from wine, and his teeth white from milk (Genes. XLIX, 12) . For they translated milk into fat in the present passage. Concerning this, the holy David says in the psalm: Let my soul be filled as with fatness and abundance (Psal. LXII, 6) ; and in another place: He fed them with the fat of wheat, and filled them with honey from the rock (Psal. LXXX, 17) . Those who desire nothing other than mystical flesh. To which the Lord urged his disciples, saying: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you (John 6:54). Therefore, he was handed over in Gethsemane, which signifies a valley of fatness, or the fattest. At the same time, he rebukes those who follow secular wisdom and the perverse doctrines of heretics, as well as the traditions of the Pharisees, and all false knowledge that exalts itself against God, and who pay great prices and work constantly for money in that discipline in which there is no bread, and they sweat for food in which there is no satisfaction. From which it is shown that wisdom must be sought, which is not in the leaves and flowers of words, but in the marrow and fruits of senses; which does not fly past the ear, but refreshes the mind. And in order to learn this, we do not cross seas, nor do we need great expenses, but the word is near in our mouth and in our heart.

Commentary on Isaiah

1–2

How can they purchase, yet receive gifts without paying? Well, because we accept the payment in faith from Christ, and we pay for none of these things with short-term or perishable goods. For it says, “I said to my Lord, ‘You are my Lord since you have no need of goods from me.’ ” By way of gifts and honor to Christ we offer to Christ the confession of faith in him. So without money and payment comes this drink and bountiful gift of spiritual charisms. For what could we offer and what price could we pay for such a drink? For those drinking the living water are those enriched with grace through the Holy Spirit through participation in him and purchasing this through faith, since they are sharers of the wine and suet, that is, of the holy body and the blood of Christ.

Commentary on Isaiah 5:2.55:1-2

“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters,” that is, you, who are deprived of any kind of good, run to the fear of God, because you will be educated through the doctrine that comes from me; even though you possess nothing better, at least pay “the price,” which is repentance, and buy the virtue of the fear of God thanks to the generosity that [comes] from his mercy. This is what the words “without money and without price” mean.

Commentary on Isaiah 55:1

Second, he sets out the promise, promising future abundance in necessities: all you that thirst, that is, you among the Jews, who were thirsty because of your poverty, buy, without price, eat, bread and other necessities: if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink . . . and out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37–38); and in delights: come, buy, as if to say, take as if you were buying, or without money, that is, less than a just price, wine and milk: I have drunk my wine with my milk (Song 5:1).

Note on the words, all you that thirst, come to the waters (Isa 55:1), that divine doctrine is first called water:

and this is first because it heals the sick: she shall give him the water of wisdom to drink (Sir 15:3);

second, because it cleanses the filthy: I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness (Ezek 36:25);

third, because it satisfies the thirsty: if anyone shall drink of the water that I will give, he shall not thirst for ever (John 4:13).

Second, it is called wine:

and this is first because it stings in argument, above: your wine is mingled with water (Isa 1:22);

second, because it inflames in exhortation: the word of the Lord inflamed him (Ps 104[105]:19);

third, because it inebriates in consolation, below: that you may be inebriated with the breasts of her consolations (Isa 66:11).

Third, it is called milk:

and this is first because of its beauty: Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty (Gen 49:21);

second, because of its sweetness: let your voice sound in my ears: for your voice is sweet (Song 2:14);

third, because of the ease with which it is taken: as newborn babes, desire milk (1 Pet 2:2).

Commentary on Isaiah

2–3

(Verse 2, 3.) Hear me, you who listen, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in abundance. Incline your ear and come to me; listen, and your soul will live. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David. And I will establish for you an everlasting covenant, holy and faithful to David. Lest anyone think these are hearsay of the flesh, not of the mind, to whom the divine word encourages them to listen, promising them not the goods of the flesh but of the soul. For, he says, if you listen to me, you will eat the good things of the earth (Isaiah 1:19). Or of the one who says: I am the good shepherd (John 10:11). And your soul will delight in good things and in richness. Therefore, the goods that are promised to the soul are not riches, and bodily health, and worldly honors, which even the philosophers call indifferent, that is, neither good nor bad, and vary according to the quality of the users; but they must believe in those things to which God encourages us: Turn away from evil and do good (Psalm 37:27). But if the soul is said to be good, then honesty and virtues are also said to be good. Therefore, not poverty, bodily infirmity, and low social status should be considered as evils, but rather all vices that are truly bad. In conclusion, Abraham was not considered good because he was wealthy, but because he made good use of his wealth (Genesis XIII). And Lazarus, who later rested in his bosom, did not endure evils because he suffered the torment of diseases in poverty, but he attained true good through the evils that were considered in the world. And so that rich man, clothed in purple, received his good things in his life, which were good to him, who thought them good (Luc. XVI), and of Lazarus it is not said on the contrary: He received his evil things in his life; but he received his evil things in his life, which were not evil to him, who suffered, but seemed evil to others. The blessed Job gives us an example of both things, who was not conquered in the good things or the evils of the world, but endured everything with equal strength of mind (Job. II). Therefore, Solomon prays to God: Do not give me riches and poverty. But establish for me what is necessary and sufficient for my sustenance, so that I may not become satiated and speak falsely, saying, 'Who sees me?' or 'I am needy and therefore become a thief and swear falsely by the name of the Lord' (Prov. X, 8, 9). But if he prays for this, that he may neither possess riches nor poverty, but only the necessary sustenance, of which the Apostle also says, 'Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content' (I Tim. VI): it is evident that riches and poverty, health and sickness, pleasure and torment, are not inherently good or evil, but become good or evil depending on the diversity of those who endure them. Therefore the Lord promises not a thousand riches, abundance of wealth, and luxurious food, and corpulence of the body, and bean dishes and stuffed turtles, mead, wine, and the beauty of wives, the offspring of bees, but those delights to which he mystically provokes us, saying: Delight yourself, or enjoy delights in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 36:4); and elsewhere: I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 26:13); and in another psalm: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me bless his holy name. Who fills your desire with good things (Ps. 102:1, 5). Finally, he adds: Hear me, and your soul will live (Isaiah 55:3). The promise of all good things is eternal life. But if you wish to hear and your soul will live forever, I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the faithful mercies of David. Concerning which the same Psalmist sings: I will sing the mercies of the Lord forever. In generation and generation I will announce your truth (Ps. 88:1, 2). And so that we may know what these mercies are, he explains in the following discourse: Once I swore in my holiness: if I lie to David, his seed will endure forever, and his throne will be like the sun before me, and like the moon, perfect forever, and a faithful witness in heaven. He is called faithful for this reason, because he has fulfilled the promises. For this reason, the Seventy translated it as 'the holy and faithful things of David' (Acts 13:34), which can be understood as strong and firm. That is, faithful is he in all his commandments: confirmed for ever and ever (Ps. CX, 8). And in another place: God is faithful, and there is no iniquity in him (Deut. XXXII, 4). And the apostle Paul says: If we deny him, he remains faithful: he cannot deny himself (II Tim. II, 13). And in another place, writing to Timothy: Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptance (I Tim. XV). But this pact, which the Lord promises, will not be brief and of one time, as it was for the people of the Jews, but it will remain forever, so that the true David may come, and what has been promised from the person of God may be fulfilled in the Gospel: I have found David my servant, with my holy oil I have anointed him (Ps. LXXXVIII, 21). Whose hand he placed in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. Whom, according to Ezekiel, David, who has been sleeping for many centuries, calls his servant and shepherd, saying: I will raise up for you one shepherd, my servant David (Ezekiel 34:23).

Commentary on Isaiah

“What is good.” … Abraham did not have good things because he was rich but because he used his riches well. And Lazarus, who later rested on Abraham’s bosom, did not suffer the pains of sickness and bear evils on the grounds of natural necessity; rather, he was pursued by evil people who thought truly good things were to be found in the world. Hence, the rich man of noble standing received good things in his life—which were food to him who thought they were good. Conversely, about Lazarus it is not said, “He received his own bad things in his life,” but rather “he received evil things in his life,” since they were not evils to him who suffered but seemed that way to others. Blessed Job has offered us an example of each, since he neither in good things nor in bad was overcome but endured all things with firm equanimity.

Commentary on Isaiah 15:12

Behold what [Isaiah] has shown here, before indicating the road of righteousness. For it is thanks to all-holy baptism that “we are justified freely,” according to the divine apostle: “by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” It is this the prophetic text likewise allows [us] to understand: “And all that have no money, go and buy, and eat and drink wine and fat without money or price.” The divine Scripture often calls righteousness “money.” “The oracles of the Lord are pure oracles; as silver tried in the fire, proved in a furnace of earth.” As for those who live with iniquity, “call them rejected silver, for the Lord has rejected them.” …Here he rejected the sacrifices of the law.… The prophetic text teaches that these sacrifices gave no nourishment to the soul.

Commentary on Isaiah 17:55.1-2

And he recalls their former poverty, why do you spend money for that which is not bread? As if to say: why thus far have you been spending money and from it have not been able to eat bread? You have sowed much, and brought in little (Hag 1:6). These things, however, are explained mystically of the water of divine wisdom, which is given freely to the thirsty, according to the Gloss.

Third, he enjoins preparation to obtain this promise: hearken diligently to me; and first, he rouses their attention; second, he sets out the exhortation: seek the Lord (Isa 55:6). He rouses their attention by a threefold promise. First, he promises to those who listen abundant enjoyment of goods: eat, that is, I will restore you with various goods, if you will hear me; in fatness, as to abundance, above: if you be willing, and will hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land (Isa 1:19); and I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness (Jer 31:14).

Commentary on Isaiah

Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. [Isaiah 55:3] Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

The Lord God, ever compassionate, is ready to bring people to good things, and he promises to give not only good things in the present but also the enjoyment of eternally good things in the hereafter. For he demands nothing other than a ready listener, one who takes in his words and is quick to respond willingly to his voice. To attend with the ears in the sense of physical hearing is only what seems to be meant here. For attending with the eyes, we are not able to hear with these, and we cannot see as we listen with our ears. The same is true in the case of the other senses. From this we can assume that we pay attention with the eyes of the mind and are able to listen with the ears. For the soul is single and with one form by nature, and with one power [it] is able to listen and to see. But the mass of your sins and ungodliness constricts you and hinders you from fleeing to him. But there would be no such great obstacle if you desire that mercy beyond words; for then such evils of yours would not defeat and overcome his compassion. For God is great in pity, and he will provide forgiveness for your sins and so will show you to be pure, so that no trace of your former sins will remain.

Fragments on Isaiah

This covenant that the Lord promises will not be short-lived and for one age only, as it was of the Jewish people, but it will remain in eternity, in that the true David will come and the things promised in the gospel from the person of God will be fulfilled: “I have found my servant David, and in holy mercy I have anointed him.”

Commentary on Isaiah 15:12

For the law was not a perpetual and immoveable law, but it remained in force only as long as the time of its imposition. As the most wise Paul said, “For the former and ancient command has a gap whose filling is to be sought in the second, that is, the new has many things quite different from the old.” …That second one is the eternal covenant, and that he fulfilled it for those approaching him by faith is confirmed when it immediately adds, “the holy trustworthy things of David.” This concerns the announcements about the Savior of us all, Christ, which are declared to be given to those who are attentive among the nations, or it means the divine and sacred prophecies of Christ, who was born from the seed of David according to his humanity. These are called “holy,” for they make perfect those in whom they dwell, just as the fear of God is called “pure” because it is purifying and the gospel word is called “life” because it gives life.… This is the power through Christ of these prophecies.…

Commentary on Isaiah 5:2.55:1-5

I will fulfill these covenants that had been made to David for them, clothing the human nature from the line of David according to the promise and bringing forth the New Testament.

Commentary on Isaiah 17:55.2-3

Second, he promises escape from death: incline your ear: my soul shall live (Ps 118[119]:175); and also: your justifications I will never forget: for by them you have given me life (Ps 118[119]:93).

Third, he promises power. And first, he sets out a similitude: and I will make an everlasting covenant, the faithful mercies of David, that is, as I made true promises to David that his seed would remain forever, so I will also do with you.

Commentary on Isaiah

4–5

(Verse 4, 5.) Behold, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, a leader and instructor to the nations. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. See, I have given him as a witness to the nations, a prince and ruler of the nations; nations that did not know you will call upon you, and peoples who do not know you will seek refuge with you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. He had provoked the Jewish people to believe, so that they would incline their ear and accept the eternal covenant that the Lord had promised to David, and to Abraham, and to his descendants, saying: 'In your seed all the nations will be blessed' (Genesis 22:18). The apostle Paul, explaining this, says, 'He did not say "seeds," but "seed," which is Christ' (Galatians 3:16). And because he knew that the unbelieving Jews would believe, he turned to the Gentiles, and says that he sent his Son as a witness to all the nations, who would announce his commandments and teachings to the people. He speaks of himself, saying, 'This Gospel must be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all the nations' (Matthew 24:14). Finally, he refutes Pilate, who was acting arrogantly, with this statement: 'For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth' (John 18:37). Concerning whom the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy: 'For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was given at the proper time' (1 Timothy 2:5). Therefore, everything that is said must be referred to him, who, like a sheep led to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, did not open his mouth. Concerning which it is said above: We saw him, and he had no form nor comeliness (Isaiah 53:2); and: He himself bore our sins and suffers for us. Those who previously did not know him have taken refuge in him, saying: Our God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1); and again: Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 90:1). About their faith and what was said above, we read: Those to whom it has not been proclaimed will see, and those who have not heard will understand. This is the witness of all that the Father promised and provided for the world, the mystery of which Paul comprehends in his letter to the Ephesians: God, he says, is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory (Eph. I, 3). And it is written: For the sake of the Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you, and the glory that he had before the world was made. About whom the Prophet also testifies: The glory of God will appear (Heb. I), who is the splendor of glory and the form of his substance, when every tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of the Father (Phil. II). Who answered the Son, demanding the glory that he had before: And I have glorified, and will glorify. About whom also the Apostle John says: We have seen, he says, his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 12:28; 1:14). Therefore, when he speaks of himself: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, he is called the Father of glory; but when he speaks of himself who says in the Gospel: Why do you persecute me, a man who speaks the truth to you (John 8:4)? He is called the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not that there is one and another (which is the worst of many errors), but that the same Son of God, now in the glory of his divinity, now in our nature, which he deigned to assume, speaks with emotions.

Commentary on Isaiah

Second, he explains this similitude, showing what he did for David: behold I have given him for a witness to the people: a people which I knew not, has served me: at the hearing of the ear they have obeyed me (Ps 17:45[18:44]).

Commentary on Isaiah

For those who had never seen Christ on account of residing in gloom and darkness called on him, that is, they acknowledged Jesus as God and fled to him calling him their hope and shelter and means of salvation and called on him as God … for although according to the measure of humanity Christ was thought to be ignoble, he went back to that which was appropriate to him and divine and the highest glory—but not without his flesh.

Commentary on Isaiah 5:2.55:1-5

And what may be done for them: behold you shall call nations, to fulfill your command, not by your own power, but because of the Lord, above: and they shall adore for the sake of the Lord your God, who has chosen you (Isa 49:7).

Commentary on Isaiah

6–7

(Vers. 6, 7.) Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and he will have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. LXX: Seek the Lord: and when you have found him, call upon him. And after he has drawn near to you, let the wicked forsake his ways and the unrighteous man his thoughts and return to the Lord; and he will obtain mercy, for he will abundantly forgive your sins. Therefore, since, as we have said before, you refused to accept the eternal covenant and the faithful mercies of David, which the multitude of Gentiles, unwilling as you were, received, I warn you, my fellow countrymen, I am a Prophet and I call upon you, while there is still time, to repent. Turn to him who now speaks to you through the prophets, who will speak to you in person later. Seek him while he can be found, while you are in the body, while there is a place for repentance, and seek him not only in place, but in faith. However, how God is to be sought is more fully explained in another place: 'Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who seeks refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing' (Psalm 34:8-9). Therefore, knowing this saying about sinners, 'Those who are far from you will perish,' let us speak to the Lord: 'Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there' (Psalm 139:7-8). And let us call upon Him while He is near, so that He does not withdraw far from our faults and sins. For He draws near to those who draw near to Him, and He joyfully meets His son returning after a long time. Therefore, the saint sings in the psalm: But for me it is good to cling to God (Ps. LXXII, 28). And Moses alone approached the Lord (Exod. XX). And God speaks through Jeremiah: I am the God who draws near, and not from afar (Jer. XXIII, 33). Approaching those who approach me with faith, and distancing myself from those who depart from me in disbelief. For this reason it is said to believers: Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. And lest we think this is enough, immediately he adds: Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:8). Regarding this, he said previously: Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith (1 Peter 5:8-9). It is not enough to seek the Lord, and while it is the time of penance, to find and invoke Him when He is near, unless the wicked person has abandoned their former ways and the old thoughts by which they had turned away from the Lord. For then we will return to the Lord, who will have mercy on us, and to the most merciful Father, who is abundant in mercies and ready to forgive, when we have abandoned our former thoughts and ways, so that we may deserve to hear afterwards: Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (Psalm 32:1).

Commentary on Isaiah

Seek him while he can be found, while you are in the body and as long as an opportunity for penitence is provided, and seek him not in any particular place but in faith. Just how God is to be sought we learn elsewhere.… “Taste of the Lord in goodness, and in simplicity of heart seek him.” … For it is not enough to seek the Lord and while there is a time of penitence to find him and to call on him while he is near—unless the ungodly also leave their former ways and leave the old ways of thinking for those of the Lord.

Commentary on Isaiah 15:14

How then am I to seek for you, Lord? When I seek for you, my God, my quest is for the happy life. I will seek you that “my soul may live,” for my body derives life from my soul, and my soul derives life from you.… Is not the happy life that which all desire, which indeed no one fails to desire?

Confessions 10.20

If, therefore, he who is sought can be found, why was it said, “seek his face evermore”? Or is he perhaps still to be sought even when he is found? For so ought we to seek incomprehensible things, lest we should think that we have found nothing, who could find only how incomprehensible is the thing that we are seeking. Why, then, does he so seek if he comprehends that what he seeks is incomprehensible, unless because he knows that he must not cease as long as he is making progress in the search itself of incomprehensible things and is becoming better and better by seeking so great a good, which is sought in order to be found and is found in order to be sought? For it is sought that it may be found sweeter and is found in order that it may be sought more eagerly.

On the Trinity 15:2.2

He says, “When you who seek have found, when you have called and have found pardon, flee the former road of ungodliness and immorality and show God your face, not your back. For he will grant you mercy and give you forgiveness of sins.”

Commentary on Isaiah 17:55.7

Seek the Lord. Here he enjoins upon them preparation to obtain the promise. And first, he gives the divine counsel of seeking: seek the Lord, while he may be found, before adversity or death comes: seek the lord (Ps 104[105]:4); they shall rise in the morning, and shall not find me (Prov 1:28).

Commentary on Isaiah

Let the wicked forsake his own way, in which he sins; let the unrighteous abandon his thoughts with which he despairs of the forgiveness of sins and according to the prophet’s statement, “return to the Lord, for he will abundantly pardon.” In this “abundantly,” nothing is lacking. Here mercy is omnipotent and omnipotence is merciful. For so great is the kindness in God that there is nothing that he is unable to loose for the converted person.

Letter 6

Second, he teaches the manner of seeking: let the wicked, sinning against God, forsake his way, and the unjust man, sinning against his neighbor, above: take away the evil of your devices from my eyes (Isa 1:16).

Third, he sets out the fruit of returning, namely, mercy: and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; for he is bountiful, that is, of manifold mercy, to forgive: turn to the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful (Joel 2:13–14).

Commentary on Isaiah

He speaks these words clearly to the believers in the gospel that he delivered to the godless and lawless ones who were turning to him from the nations, presenting the word that was there in the beginning and is now coming down from the Father above like rain and snow in its descent to human beings, inasmuch as he makes their souls watered and fruit-bearing.… It is as though these words come out of Christ’s own mouth, so that there is no need to think of the spoken word reexpressed among us, since here is a physical mouthpiece for God.

Commentary on Isaiah 2:44

“For my counsels are not as your counsels.” … Now if we admit to our favor household slaves when they have offended against us, on their promising to become better, and place them again in their former position and sometimes even grant them greater freedom of speech than before, much more does God act thus. For if God had made us in order to punish us, we might well have despaired and questioned the possibility of our own salvation. But if he created us for no other reason than his own good will, and with a view to our enjoying everlasting blessings, and if he does and contrives everything for this end, from the first day until the present time, what is there which can ever cause us to doubt? Have we provoked him severely, in a way no other person did? This is just the reason why we ought specially to abstain from our present deeds and to repent for the past and exhibit a great change. For the evils we have once perpetrated cannot provoke him so much as our being unwilling to make any change in the future. For to sin may be a merely human failing, but to continue in the same sin ceases to be human and becomes altogether devilish.

Letter to the Fallen Theodore 1:15

Do not want to be more merciful than God, or rather, if you wish it, you will not be able, not even in the least degree. How should you? As far as the heaven is from the earth, Scripture says, so far are My counsels from your counsels: and again, If ye, He says, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more your heavenly Father? But in fact this talk is mere pretext and subterfuge. Let us not prevaricate with God's commandments.

Homily on Acts 50

8–9

(Vers. 8, 9.) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. LXX: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. But as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and your thoughts than my thoughts. Do not think, he says, that what I promise is difficult, and that it seems unbelievable to you, that the impious and unjust can be saved, either the Jewish people or all those among the Gentiles who did not know God. Consider this: there is much difference between my thoughts and yours, and as great as the difference in nature, so too is the difference in will. (Proverbs 19). For many thoughts are in the heart of a man, but the counsel of the Lord remains forever. You, like humans, often, repenting of a promised will, overturn an old desire with a new one. For the Lord frustrates the plans of the nations, and rejects the thoughts of the people, and renders the will of the rulers void (Psalm 33). But the thoughts of his heart endure from generation to generation, and whatever he has decreed cannot be changed. Do you want to know the difference between my plan and yours? Just as the sky's location is far from the earth, and the dwelling place of angels is different from that of humans, so my thoughts are separated from your plans. For it is said of my thoughts: His judgments are inscrutable, and his ways are unsearchable (Rom. XI, 33). Moreover, of yours: They devised a plan, but they could not establish it (Psal. XX, 12). And in another place: Whatever counsel you take, it will be scattered, and whatever you say, it will not remain within you (Isa. VIII, 10). They do not need a clear interpretation, therefore they are tightened rather than discussed.

Commentary on Isaiah

God brings salvation to the human race in diverse and innumerable methods and inscrutable ways. He stirs up some, who already want it and thirst for it, to greater zeal, while other even in their resistance, he forces against their will. Sometimes he gives his assistance in the fulfillment of those things which he sees that we desire for our good, while at other times he instills in us the beginnings of holy desire and grants both the beginning of a good work and perseverance in it.… The blessed apostle, reflecting on the manifold bounty of God’s providence as he sees that he has fallen into some vast and boundless ocean of God’s goodness, exclaims: “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are the judgments of God and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord?” Whoever then imagines that he can by human reason fathom the depths of that inconceivable abyss, will be trying to explain away the astonishment at that knowledge, at which that great and mighty teacher of the gentiles was awed. For if a person thinks that he can either conceive in his mind or discuss exhaustively the designs of God through which he brings salvation to human beings, he certainly impugns the truth of the apostle’s words and asserts with profane audacity that his judgments can be scrutinized and his ways searched out. The Lord also witnesses to this when he says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.”

Conference 13:17

8–9

Fourth, he excludes the obstacle to mercy: for my thoughts are not your thoughts, as if to say: you are wicked, I am loving; you think of vengeance, I think of mercy: is it my ways that are not right, and are not rather your ways perverse? (Ezek 18:25).

Commentary on Isaiah

“If you would,” he says, “Ascend to heaven, banish cares of earth. For far as earth is distant from the sky And heaven from the world below, so far Are your vain thoughts from my eternal thoughts, Ill from good, sin from virtue, dark from light. I counsel you to shun all passing things And deem as nought all to corruption prone, For it is destined to return to nought. All earth brings forth and holds, at dawn of time I made; I decked with splendid ornaments The shining world and formed the elements, But willed that the enjoyment be confined Within due bounds, as far as mortal frame And fleeting human life may have the need, Not that humanity, by unbridled passion ruled, Should reckon good alone things sweet and vain, Which I have preordained to pass with time.

Against Symmachus 2:123-40

For the rain and the snow do not return to heaven but accomplish in the earth the will of him that sends them. So the word that he shall send through his Christ, who is himself the Word and the Message, shall return to him with great power. For when he shall come and bring it, he shall come down like rain and snow, and through him all that is sown shall spring up and bear righteous fruit, and the word shall return to his sender; but not in vain shall his going have been, but thus shall he say in the presence of his sender, “Behold, I and the children that the Lord has given me.” And this is the voice through which the dead shall live. And this is the voice of God that shall sound from on high and raise up all the dead.

Demonstrations 8:15

10–11

(Verse 10, 11) And how does rain and snow descend from the sky, and it will not return there until it has soaked the earth and makes it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread for eating. So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it. LXX: Just as the rain and snow descend from the sky and do not return until they have soaked the earth, causing it to bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread for eating. So shall my word be that comes out of my mouth; it will not return until it accomplishes what I desire, and I will make its ways prosperous and fulfill my commands. Based on what has been said earlier, the meaning here is briefly: may the people of the nations not be incredulous, that after so many wicked deeds the impious may suddenly be saved. For my thoughts are not the same as human thoughts, and as far as the heavens are from the earth, so are my thoughts separated from human thoughts. For I am most merciful and abundant in forgiving. Would you like to hear another similarity? Just as rain and snow descend from the sky and do not return there but drench the earth, and make it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish what I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. According to the twofold interpretation of anagoge, the word of the Lord can refer to that one of whom it is written: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). He who does not turn to him empty, unless he has done the will of the Father; and has completed all things for which he was incarnate, and has reconciled the world to God. He who is said to come forth from the mouth, and from the womb and birth canal: not that God has these members, but that we learn the nature of the Lord through our words. Or certainly this must be said, that the sermon of the Gospel doctrine is called a shower, and the rains that are poured out upon good earth, spiritual clouds, to which the truth of God reaches. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses promises rain and showers, saying: Let the earth hear the words of my mouth; let my speech come down as the rain and the dew, so that those who sow in tears may reap in joy. And those who sow in righteousness and in the spirit will reap the fruit of eternal life, receiving the bread of the Gospel teaching, as it is written in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes: Open your eyes and be filled with bread. And again: Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. For it is not to be believed that it is commanded to those who eat, that they should open their eyes to eat this bread, by which bodies are nourished, and thus be satisfied with bread, which the poor secretly eat in Abacuc (Abac. III). But God's teaching encourages us to the bread of doctrine, which we cannot eat unless we open the eyes of our heart. Of whom Paul often writes to these, who are nourished by the words of faith and truth (II Cor. IX). And it is commanded to the teacher, that he may send the bread of his doctrine over all the water, and pour out spiritual grace upon all, and know that if he does what is commanded, he will receive rewards in the last time. And it will seem unjust that the one who gives alms should make friends for himself from unjust mammon, who will receive him into eternal tabernacles (Luke XVI): and the one who gives spiritual food and gives food to his servants in their time, will not find them after many ages, which Ecclesiastes calls the multitude of days (Ecclesiastes XI).

Commentary on Isaiah

10–11

And as the rain and the snow. Here he shows the firmness of the promise: And first, he sets out the efficacy of the divine word: it shall not return to me void, that is, without fruit: an obscure speech shall not go for naught (Wis 1:11); he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth (Hos 6:3).

Commentary on Isaiah

“For my thoughts are not like the thoughts of human beings, and as far as the heaven is from the earth, so much are my thoughts separated from the thoughts of human beings. For I am extremely gracious and very much for forgiving … so that once I have promised and it has come out of my mouth, it will not be void, but everything will be completed through its efficacy.” According to the anagogical sense, there is a double meaning here, because the Word of the Lord or he about whom it is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.” God’s word does not return to him void, only through his doing the will of his Father as he filled all things on account of which he had become embodied and reconciled the world to God. He is the One who is said to proceed out of his mouth and out of the womb and vulva, not that God has bodily parts like that but so that we learn the nature of the Lord through our words. Or it indeed could be said that the word of gospel teaching may be called “rainstorms” and the rain that the spiritual clouds pour over the good earth, where the truth of God has reached.

Commentary on Isaiah 15:16

We stand far apart from each other, as far as the heaven is from the earth. For you hate me, while I love you. You avoid me, while I call you. You fight me, while I work for your benefit.

Commentary on Isaiah 17:55.8-9

12–13

(Vers. 12, 13.) Because you will go out in joy, and be led forth in peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush, the cypress will grow; and instead of briers, the myrtle will grow. And the Lord will be called an everlasting sign, that will not be taken away. LXX: You will go out in joy, and be led forth in gladness. The mountains and hills will leap with joy, eagerly awaiting your coming, and all the trees of the field will applaud with their branches. And in place of a heap of rubbish (that is, the lowest branches (Al. stems)) cypress will rise up; and in place of conyza myrtle will rise up. And the Lord will be a name and a perpetual sign, and he will not fail. My word, he says, will not return empty, but after it has accomplished all that I desired, and has made my will on earth, then it will come back to me; and that which is written will be fulfilled: The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand: until I make your enemies a footstool under your feet (Ps. 110:1-2). For in joy you will go forth from the blood of idolatry, and you will be led in peace, so that you may hear from the Apostle: Grace be to you and peace (Rom. I, 7). Whether you are led in joy, that you may learn the truth of the Gospel after the shadow of the Law. For the mountains and hills, which we can understand to be Angels, and the souls of the Saints, which are called mountains and hills by reason of the variety of virtues, will rejoice over the repentant and will indicate the joy of the mind by leaps. What the Lord says in the Gospel: There will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner (Luke 15:7). Also, all the trees of the field will clap their hands, or branches, that are planted along the watercourses, which will bear fruit in their season, and their leaves will not wither (Psalm 1). Concerning these trees, one tree was spoken of in the psalm: But I am like a fruitful olive tree in the house of the Lord (Psalm 52:10). Let us ask those who follow only simple history and eat cooked lamb. Whether the woods applaud with branches and crackle in the hand, and what is said about rivers: The rivers will clap their hands (Psalm 98:8), in what sense it should be understood. Not only will the mountains and hills leap and sing; and all the trees of the field, blessed by the Lord, will applaud with branches and clap their hands: but even the bush and the fern, as well as the reed and the nettle, will turn into fir trees, and myrtle and cypress. The word κονύζη, which is written as Nesus in Greek and סרפד (Sarphod) in Hebrew, is translated by Aquila and Theodotion as κονύζη. κονύζη is a very cheap and bitter herb with a very bad odor. But when the Septuagint translated κονύζη, which is called Sarphod in Hebrew, Symmachus translated it as urticam (nettle). And as for the nature of proper names, it must be said that evil things are turned into good things, and virtues are born from vices, that is, justice from injustice, fortitude from temerity, temperance from luxury, and prudence from foolishness. Let us give examples of our ancestors: Matthew and Zacchaeus and the tax collectors were like salt and piles of ashes, and useless stumps, and bitter flavors, and extremely foul odors, saying: My wounds have festered and become corrupt, because of my foolishness (Ps. XXXVII, 6). Suddenly, these people were transformed into apostles, becoming cypress trees, and firs, and myrtles, with the best fragrance, and necessary for various works. Even Paul, the persecutor of the Church, when he heard from the Lord: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard to kick against the goad (Acts 9:4-5), it was a nettle with the stings of persecution. But when he preached the Gospel throughout the whole world, he could say: We are the sweet aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15), rightly called cypress and myrtle. Prostitutes and tax collectors enter the kingdom of God before the Pharisees, and the thief from the cross passes into paradise (Matthew 21). Therefore, what is said in the Gospel: A good tree cannot bear bad fruit (Luke 6:43; Matthew 7:18), does not refer at all to the nature of things, as the heretics want it to, but to the choice of the mind. Finally, it is inferred: Either make a good tree and its fruits good. From this it is clear, each one by their own will makes their soul a good or bad tree, whose fruits are varied. It follows: And the Lord will be an everlasting name and sign, which will not fail. For those who have been changed from evil to good, the Lord will be an eternal name and sign, so that they may be called Christians by his name, and branded by his crucifix. About which sign Simeon, holding the little one in his arms, spoke: This one will be for the ruin and the resurrection of many, and for a sign which will be contradicted (Luke 2:34): about which it is also said above: The Lord Himself will give you a sign (Isaiah 7:14): And the holy one sings in the psalm: Make with me the sign of the Lord for good (Psalm 85:17). And He Himself who is the sign says: When you see, He says, the sign of the Son of Man, which will not fail, and will not be changed by any end, but will pass from the present conversation into the future.

Commentary on Isaiah

12–13

The mountains are the heavenly powers that are instituted in heaven by God for the sake of those who are on the earth. For they are ministering spirits sent for the service of those inheriting the future salvation. And they also offer thanks for even one repentant sinner. … Or they could be understood to be those who have a teaching practice in the church and care not for earthly things but those that are above.… And the trees of the field can be understood as those who are perfected among the people. For the Savior has a flowering garden. And since, indeed, it flourishes there and produces good fruit, it is written in the Song of Songs of the bride, “May my beloved come into his garden.”

Commentary on Isaiah 5:3.55:12-13

Second, he sets out restraint as to their joyful release from Babylon, for you shall go out with joy: he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness (Ps 104[105]:43); as to the congratulations of others: the mountains and the hills, the powerful and the common people, praising God in you; or this is hyperbole: your land congratulating your return.

Commentary on Isaiah

“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle.” The spiritual meaning of these words refers to the change of customs, which sprouted and rose up in the advent of Christ among those nations who embraced his faith. Instead of thorns, which represent the sins, and instead of the brier, which is devoid of fruits, the sweet-smelling cypress and the myrtle have risen, which are figures of the actions of virtue, purity and holiness and … are pleasing to God and delight him.

Commentary on Isaiah 55:13

Thus when it is said in the Gospel, “A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit,” in no way does this refer to the property of nature, as the heretics maintain, but to the will of the mind.… From this it is clear that each by his own will can make his soul a good or bad tree, which produced different fruit.

Commentary on Isaiah 15:17

He has shown by this the change undergone by the foreign nations. For people who formerly resembled useless and rampant weeds, behold, after having had knowledge of the Savior, they have imitated the height of the cypress and the sweet aroma of the myrtle. They proclaim by their deeds the power of our God and Savior, in offering their own change as a sign [to others] and as a miracle, great, astonishing and lasting. Thus, this sign will be eternal and shall not fail.… Let us therefore offer ourselves [to others] as a sign worthy of our God and Savior, not only in adhering to the holy precepts but also in embracing the mode of life corresponding thereto, to the end that seeing our “good works” people may “glorify your Father in heaven.” To him are due all glory, honor and magnificence, together with his only-begotten Son and the All-Holy Spirit, now and forever and to ages of ages. Amen.

Commentary on Isaiah 17:55.13

Of the abatement of this heat it is said to her by Isaiah, by promise of the Lord, "Instead of the ground willow shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle tree." For 'instead of the ground willow there comes up in her the fir-tree,' when in the heart of the Saints, instead of the sunkenness of earthly thought, the elevation of heavenly contemplation rises up. Now the nettle is altogether of a fiery nature. But the myrtle is said to be of cooling virtue, and therefore 'instead of the nettle there comes up the myrtle tree,' when the minds of the righteous are brought from the irritation and heat of bad habits to coolness and quietness of the thoughts, while they now no longer seek earthly things, while they extinguish the flames of the flesh by heavenly aspirations.

Morals on the Book of Job, Book 18, Section 32

As to the multiplied restoration of goods: instead of the shrub, shall come up the fir tree, that is, your former goods are few in comparison to what you will have: the glory of this last house shall be more than of the first (Hag 2:10[9]), above: I will plant in the wilderness the cedar (Isa 41:19). The shrub (saliuncula) from saliendo ("jumping"), which is called "hare thistle."

Third, he sets out the glory of God following from this: and the Lord shall be named, everywhere and forever glorious for your liberation, for an everlasting sign, to which they will flee as a sign of salvation, above: behold I will lift up my sign to the people (Isa 49:22).

Commentary on Isaiah