Isaiah 61

1–2

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. [Isaiah 61:1-2] And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

For inasmuch as the Word of God was man from the root of Jesse and son of Abraham, in this respect did the Spirit of God rest on him and anoint him to preach the gospel to the lowly. But inasmuch as he was God, he did not judge according to glory or reprove after the manner of speech. For “he needed not that any should testify to him of humanity, for he himself knew what was in humanity.” For he called all people who mourn, and granting forgiveness to those who had been led into captivity by their sins, he loosed them from their chains, of whom Solomon says, “Everyone shall be held with the cords of his own sins.” Therefore, did the Spirit of God descend on him, [the Spirit] of him who had promised by the prophets that he would anoint him, so that we, receiving from the abundance of his unction, might be saved. Such then [is the witness] of Matthew. … In the name of Christ is implied he who anoints, he who is anointed and the unction itself with which he is anointed. And it is the Father who anoints but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the unction, as the Word declares by Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me”—pointing out the anointing Father, the anointed Son and the unction, which is the Spirit.

Against Heresies 3:9.3, 3:18.3

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me.” Clearly this happened to those who thought that the Christ of God was neither a mere man nor an unfleshed and unembodied Word who did not take on a mortal nature. Instead they say he is both God and human, God in that he is the only-begotten God who was in the bosom of the Father, and man … from the seed of David according to the flesh. Thus, God the Word, who through the prophecy has been called Lord, speaks out this prophecy that is preeminent among other promises: “I am the Lord, and in the right time I will draw them together.” … Taking the chrism in the Holy Spirit, he, chosen from among all, appears as the only-begotten Christ of God. And the verse “he has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor,” he fulfilled in that time when he “was preaching the kingdom of heaven” and explaining the beatitudes to the disciples by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” … And for those nations then imprisoned in their souls by the invisible and spiritual powers he preached release to his newly encouraged disciples.… Therefore, he preached release to the prisoners and to those suffering from blindness who were those enslaved by the error of polytheism, and he creates a year that is acceptable, through which he made all time his own year. And from the passing years of humanity he provides days of created light for those close to him. He never kept hidden the age that is to come after the perfecting of the present. For that age will be a time much on the Lord’s mind, being an age and day of requiting. For he will grant a change of fortune or a year of favor to those struggling in the present life.

Commentary on Isaiah 2:51

What is there to wonder at, what to disbelieve, if the Lord who gives the Spirit, is here said himself to be anointed with the Spirit, at a time when, necessity requiring it, he did not refuse in respect of his manhood to call himself inferior to the Spirit?

Discourses Against the Arians 1.50

“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted,” that is, God anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, after being incarnated and clothed with a human body, as is said, he has received the Spirit and has been anointed with the Spirit, because he has received the Spirit for us and has anointed us with it.“The Spirit of the Lord is on me.” That Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and is his essence, is in me, who am the Word and the Son of the Father, and through my incarnation I received the anointment of the economy of salvation.

Commentary on Isaiah 61:1

To name Christ is to confess the whole, for it is to point to God [The Father] who has anointed the Son; and to the Son who has been anointed, and to the unction itself, which is The Spirit. This accords with Peter’s teaching in Acts: ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10.38) and with the teaching of Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me’ [Isaiah 61.1]. The Psalmist simply says, ‘Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness’ (Ps 45.7). - "On The Holy Spirit, 12"

We have shown by the clear evidence of the Scripture that the apostles and prophets were appointed, the latter to prophesy, the former to preach the gospel, by the Holy Spirit in the same way as by the Father and the Son. Now we add what all will rightly wonder at and not be able to doubt, that the Spirit was on Christ; and that as he sent the Spirit, so the Spirit sent the Son of God. For the Son of God says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has appointed me, he has sent me to preach the gospel.” And having read this from the book of Isaiah, he says in the Gospel, “Today has this Scripture been fulfilled in your ears,” that he might point out that it was said of himself.

On the Holy Spirit 3.1.1

Here is the one who says, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. If anyone wants to do his will, let him know about the teaching, whether it is from God or I am speaking by my own authority.” For one is teaching from God, the other is human teaching. Thus, the Jews, when they asked whether his teaching was taken from people, saying, “How has he known these writings without learning them?” Jesus replied, “My teaching is not mine.”

Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.9.79

1–2

(Chapter 61—Verse 1 and following) The Spirit of the Lord God (in the Vulgate it is "God") is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me: to bring good news to the meek, He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted (in the Vulgate it is "broken-hearted"), to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion: to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. LXX: The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. To whom the Psalmist had already said: You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps. 45:7). When "companions" are mentioned, understand the nature of the flesh, because God does not have companions of his own substance. And because it was a spiritual anointing, and by no means of the human body, as it was in the priests of the Jews, therefore it is mentioned that he was anointed above his companions, that is, above the other saints. Whose anointing was completed at that time, when he was baptized in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove, and remained in him (John 1). Of whom this same Prophet also said: A branch shall come forth from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up from his root, and the spirit of God, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, shall rest upon him (Isaiah 11:1, 2). And when the Savior came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, after being baptized in the Jordan, he entered, according to his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And when he had risen to read, the book of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. And opening the book, he found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. When He had rolled up the scroll, He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. Then He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all were speaking well of Him and marveling at the gracious words that were falling from His lips. They were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’” And He continued, “Truly I tell you that no prophet is accepted in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove Him out of the town, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw Him off the cliff. But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His way. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. He has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to proclaim good news to the poor or meek, saying to them in the Gospel: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And he was sent to heal those who are brokenhearted and say: A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Or according to Symmachus and Theodotion, to preach the remission of sins to captives, the ability for the blind to see, or the opening for the closed, which Symmachus interpreted more clearly as the release of the bound. As it is said above, or rather to whom it is said: Behold, I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out those who are bound, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison house (Isaiah 42:6-7). But understand that the acceptable year and day of retribution, the entirety of his preaching in which he was present in the flesh, refers to a specific time. This is also interpreted by the Apostle Paul in reference to the first coming of the Savior, saying: Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (1 Corinthians 6:2). We have spoken more fully about this above (Chapter 60). However, if retribution is understood not in the rewards of the good, but in the punishments of sins, then it should be understood in relation to the day of vengeance, which pertains to the Jewish people, upon whom immediately after his passion, the wrath of God came. He consoled all those mourning, saying: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matt. 5); so that he would console those who mourn for Zion and give them a glorious crown instead of ashes. Among them was also the Apostle Paul who mourned for Zion and said: I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish (Rom. 9): And again: I wished myself to be cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh, who are Israelites (Ibid., 3). And therefore, mourning and lamenting, they received the oil of joy, seeing that many of the Jews had believed, and received the most pure garment, instead of mourning clothing.

Commentary on Isaiah

Being God by nature, the Only Begotten is the holy of holies, and he sanctifies all creation and so originates from the holy Father with the Holy Spirit proceeding from him and sending in the power from above to those on earth who recognize him. How was he sanctified? For he is God and man equally; he gives the Spirit to creation but receives the Spirit on account of being human.…

Commentary on Isaiah 5:5.61:1-3

After completing these predictions, Isaiah now turns the prophecy to Christ the Master, who in the present life has given these things to the church and has promised the commonwealth to come.… We do not need many examples to explain the meaning of this prophecy. For the Master himself has made it clear to us. For, entering the synagogue he took the book, unrolled it … and he was anointed by the All-Holy Spirit, not as God but as man. For we have often made this manifest already in our other writings.…Isaiah calls “poor” those who have lost heavenly riches, “broken-hearted” those who have corrupted their reason, “blind” those who do not know God and who worship creation, “prisoner” those brought into the enemy’s camp and who have lost their original freedom.… Christ did not only give to us the forgiveness of sins and free us from the tyranny of the devil and reveal to us the divine light, but he also announced the future existence and warned of the righteous judgment. For I think that “the year of grace” means his first coming and “day of recompense” the day of judgment. To console all who mourn with the hope of the resurrection, he has tempered the despair of death.… “Perfume of joy,” which Theodotion and Symmachus translate by “oil of gladness,” refers to the mystical anointing through which those made worthy receive the cloak of glory; for “cloak” must be understood as spiritual clothing.… As the blessed David says, “This is the generation that seeks the Lord.” The three interpreters, instead of “the generations of justice,” have “the strong ones of justice, a plantation of the Lord for his glory.” In this way, the finest generals of godliness, as they roam the globe, remove impiety, and they plant in the desert the first plantations of the Lord.

Commentary on Isaiah 19:61.1-3

But afterward [the Spirit] came on him as he was baptized … and Jesus returned to Galilee. Considering all those things, we remember and acknowledge the Holy Spirit, who is one like the Father and the Son, without measure, and one who fills every creature and does the works that only God does, since one such cannot be sent from place to place since he is one who, we are taught, is immeasurable by nature.

Against Fabianus, Fragment 28:10-11

Do not fall into despair because of stumblings. I do not mean that you should not feel contrition for [your sins], but that you should not think them incurable. For it is more expedient to be bruised than dead. There is, indeed, a Healer for the person who has stumbled, even He Who on the Cross asked that mercy be shown to His crucifiers, He Who pardoned His murderers while He hung on the Cross. … For a brief moment of mourning He pardoned Simon, who had denied Him.… Christ came in behalf of sinners, to heal the broken of heart and to bandage their wounds. “The Spirit of the Lord,” He says, “is upon Me, to preach good tidings to the poor.” … And the Apostle says in his epistle, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”

Ascetical Homilies 64

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,” etc. These words are manifestly said with regard to Zerubbabel but actually with regard to our Lord, as he has testified by himself. “Today,” he said, “that Scripture has been fulfilled at your ears.”

Commentary on Isaiah 61:1

1073. The spirit of the Lord is upon me. Here he promises joy to the people. And this is divided into two parts:

in the first, he promises joy;

in the second, the people receive the promise and give thanks, where it says, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord (Isa 61:10).

Concerning the first, he does two things:

first, he accepts the office of announcing joy;

second, he foretells the reason or the matter of this joy: and they shall be called (Isa 61:3).

1074. Concerning the first, he does two things.

First, the gift of prophecy is treated: the spirit of the Lord is upon me, Isaiah, because the Lord has anointed me, filling me with the gift of prophecy: for prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21). Or, this concerns Christ, about whom it says above: the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa 11:2), and in Psalm 44:8[45:7], God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. This day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears (Luke 4:21).

1075. Second, the action of the prophet or Christ is treated, which is twofold:

to foretell rewards to the good, to preach to the meek: with meekness receive the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls (Jas 1:21);

and to bring remedy to the suffering, as to those who are dejected with pusillanimity: to heal the contrite of heart, by consoling them, or forgiving their sins, if this is referred to Christ: who heals the broken of heart, and binds up their bruises (Ps 146[147]:3); and as to those who were held in captivity, to whom he announces the benefit of liberation: and to preach a release to the captives, literal captives; or those captive under the devil and their own errors, above: that you might say to them that are bound: come forth (Isa 49:9).

1079. Note on the words, the Lord has anointed me (Isa 61:1), that God the Father anointed Christ,

first, with the oil of priestly dignity, as a priest to offer sacrifices: he anointed him with holy oil (Sir 45:18[15]);

second, with the oil of royal power, as a king to govern: I anointed you king (2 Sam 12:7) and prince of my people;

third, the oil of immense strength, as a boxer to fight: how was the shield of the valiant cast away, the shield of Saul as though he had not been anointed with oil? (2 Sam 1:21);

fourth, the oil of eminent gladness, as a liberal man to have mercy: glad is the man that shows mercy and lends (Ps 111[112]:5); God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows (Ps 44:8).

1080. Likewise, the devout servant anoints Christ:

first, with the tears of compunction: anoint your head, and wash your face (Matt 6:17);

second, with the ointment of devotion: but she with ointment has anointed my feet (Luke 7:46);

third, with the oil of pure intention: at all times let your garments be white, and let not oil depart from your head (Eccl 9:8);

fourth, with the oil of praise and thanksgiving: Jacob arising in the morning, took the stone . . . and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it (Gen 28:18).

Commentary on Isaiah

“Acceptable” is that year in which we were received, when we took kinship with him, having our sins washed away through holy baptism and becoming partakers of the divine nature through the sharing of the Holy Spirit. Or “acceptable” is the year in which he revealed his glory through the divine miracle attesting the message. We received the time for salvation gladly … the day of reckoning is none other than the time of his dwelling among us in which the reckoning has been given by him to those believing in him through the promise in hope.… For the Savior himself said, “Now is the judgment of this world, now is the prince of the world cast out.” The time of reckoning, then, is in this manner, when Christ illuminated the world.

Commentary on Isaiah 5:5.61:1-3

And the time of liberation: to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, as to the liberation of the Jews, and the day of vengeance, as to the Chaldeans; or the time of grace, in which he takes vengeance upon the devil, curbing his power: now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31); you shall bless the crown of the year of your goodness (Ps 64:12[65:11]); for the time is come (Ps 101:14[102:13]).

1076. And as to those who are consumed with sadness, to whom he announces joy: to comfort all that mourn, in general.

Commentary on Isaiah

3–5

(Verse 3-5) And they shall be called in her strong justices, the plantation of the Lord, to glorify. And they shall build the ancient places that were waste, and shall raise up the desolate cities, that were destroyed for generations and generations. And strangers shall stand and shall feed your flocks: and the sons of strangers shall be your husbandmen and your vinedressers. LXX: And they shall be called the generations of justice: the planting of the Lord to glory. And they shall build everlasting desolate places, which were previously deserted, they shall be raised up and renew deserted cities, desolate in generations, and foreigners shall come, and they shall feed your sheep, and the plowmen and vintners of other nations. After the Apostles, and the apostolic men have taken on the spirit of ashes and mourning, the oil of joy, and the garment, or according to the Septuagint, the robe of glory and praise: then they shall be called the generations of righteousness, the glorious planting of the Lord. Or according to the Hebrew, the strong ones, strong with the justice of God, or (according to Al. ut) the planting of the Lord for glorification: so that when they have been glorified, or they themselves have glorified the Lord, they shall build deserted cities from ancient times, and raise up ancient ruins, both the people of Judah and all the nations, who will have not only the knowledge of building and restoring cities, but they shall also be excellent shepherds, so that the old shepherds, to whom God had spoken through Ezekiel saying: O shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds feed themselves and not the sheep? (Ezek. 34:2) Let them hear with the apostle Peter: 'Feed my sheep' (John 21:17). And in a wondrous way, they shall move from being stone workers and shepherds to being farmers, that is, ploughmen and vintners, so that they may say with the Apostle: 'We are God's building, we are God's farm' (1 Corinthians 3:9). Finally, the Savior asks the scribes and Pharisees, the vintners and farmers of the Jews, what he should do to the evil vintners and farmers. And they answered: 'He will destroy the evil ones and give the vineyard to other farmers' (Matthew 21:41). He said to them: 'The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce its fruit' (ibid., 43). These matters do not require interpretation. For how many of the leaders of the Churches are from the Jews, not from foreigners and people of foreign nations? They, who formerly served idols and were strangers to the covenant of God and outsiders to his promises, now lead the Churches and tame the stubborn hearts of the gentiles, previously untamed, to bear the fruits of faith; so that they may multiply the sowing of the Lord's teaching through the abundance of good works.

Commentary on Isaiah

To appoint to the mourners of Zion, in particular: with a great spirit he saw the things that are to come to pass at last, and comforted the mourners in Zion (Sir 48:27); and the sign of joy, when the signs of sadness are turned to signs of gladness, and this is and to give them a crown for ashes, above: in that day the Lord shall be a crown of glory (Isa 28:5).

1077. And they shall be called. Here he foretells the matter of their joy. And first, as to the restoration of buildings, setting out the condition of the rebuilders: and they shall be called in it, namely, Jerusalem, by the command and permission of Cyrus, the mighty ones of justice, constant in doing justice, not shaken by the threats of their adversaries; or this can refer to the apostles: as the rose planted by the brooks of waters (Sir 39:17[13]).

Commentary on Isaiah

For the Savior cultivates us through the holy people of faith. And these are called God’s coworkers.… And the gladness will be everlasting; for we do not expect the reward to be in things of this age but in exceeding hope and life without limit for those who are noble concerning thought and speech.

Commentary on Isaiah 5:5.61:4-7

This is said to the holy apostles, “Do not be distressed when you are persecuted, tortured and disgraced among all and endure death of a thousand vanities. For through your sufferings the nations will gain salvation, and they will have a portion among those rejoicing.”

Commentary on Isaiah 19:61.7

And the restoration of buildings, and they shall build, these same men, or the apostles, above: and the places that have been desolate for ages shall be built in you (Isa 58:12).

Commentary on Isaiah

1078. Second, as to the keeping of their possessions: and strangers shall stand. This could be fulfilled literally, as some foreigners were employed in these menial services, like the Gabaonites: so let them live, as to serve the whole multitude (Josh 9:21); or mystically: the gentile preachers, flocks: the simple believers of the Church, and these keep and cultivate the Church herself by their merits and teaching.

Commentary on Isaiah

6–7

(Vers. 6, 7.) But you will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. It will be said to you: You will devour the strength of the nations, and in their glory you will boast. Instead of your shame, you will have a double portion, and instead of disgrace, they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs. For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. LXX: But you will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. You shall devour the strength of nations, and in their riches you shall be admired. Thus they shall possess the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. For I am the Lord, who loves justice, and I hate robbery and injustice. The builders of desolate cities and the shepherds of flocks, who themselves are the plowmen and vintners, that is, the sons of strangers, they too are the priests of God, to whom the Prophet now says: But you shall be called the priests of the Lord, and ministers of our God, it shall be said to you: doubtless it signifies the leaders of the churches. Certainly, it is to be understood about the Apostles that there is an order: When builders, shepherds, plowmen, and vine-dressers were appointed over the Churches from the Gentiles, you, about whom it is said: The remnants will be saved (Rom. IX, 27). And: Unless the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom, and similar to Gomorrah (Isai. IV, 9), you will be called priests and ministers of God, just as the sons of David were. Of whom the Scripture says: But the sons of David were the priests of God (2 Kings 8:18). They shall devour the strength of the nations, and on their riches they shall be admired. For the glory of children are their fathers, and the profit of the people, the feasts of the priests (Proverbs 17). Concerning such riches, Paul wrote to the Corinthians: I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because in everything you have been enriched in Him, in all speech and in all knowledge, as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you lack no gift in any grace (2 Corinthians 1:4-5). But the courage of the nations is the triumph of the Martyrs: and we are proud in their glory, not with the pride that is a vice, to which God resists, in order to give grace to the humble; but with the pride that is received for power and glory. Therefore, Moses had a horned face, who could say: With you we will scatter our enemies with a horn. And for the pride of glory, the Eagle interprets it as 'and you will be clothed in purple with glory', that is, you will be dressed in purple to show the insignia of royal beauty. And what follows: For their double confusion and shame, they shall praise their own part, which is not found in the Septuagint, seems to me to be explained as follows. Because you had a double confusion, both over the people of Judah, who had turned away from God, and over the nations, who served idols, you will see them converted to the fear of God, praising their own part. Without a doubt, the Lord, of whom he was speaking, is holy: The Lord is my portion (Ps. 73:26). However, no one can say this except those who do not have the other side. Therefore, since you have had double the confusion and shame of their sin, on which they themselves were not ashamed, for this reason, in their own land, that is, in the land of the meek and living, they will possess double: both for the present, and for the future. And they will have eternal joy. For which it is read in the Septuagint, they will possess the land a second time. And there will be eternal joy upon their heads, so that those who possessed the land in the narrowest boundaries of Judaea, afterwards may possess the entire world. Concerning this land, the Father speaks to the Savior: Ask of me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, and the ends of the earth as your possession (Ps. 2:8). But the Lord, who loves the truth of justice, has granted this, and he hates robbery in the burnt offering. For this reason, the Seventy translated it as 'robbery from injustice,' as if there is any robbery that does not consist of injustice. Therefore, what he says is this: God loves the poverty of the righteous more than the gifts of the wealthy, which are obtained through plunder and injustice.

Commentary on Isaiah

1081. But you shall be called the priests. Here he foretells the matter of joy as to the glory of men. And concerning this, he does three things.

First, he shows the perfection of their glory, because they are glorious in spiritual things: priests, as living a holy life worthy of priesthood, as 2 Kings 8:18 says of the sons of David: how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints (Wis 5:5); they are glorious, too, in temporal things: you shall eat the strength of the Gentiles, that is, you shall be refreshed and sustained by the strength of the Persians and Medes; you shall pride yourselves, you shall be exalted, above: when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to you, the strength of the Gentiles shall come to you (Isa 60:5). Mystically: the apostles are priests, as the teachers of the gentiles, and they delighted in the strength of the martyrs.

Commentary on Isaiah

About this twin glory it is written, “they will possess double in their own land.” This is written concerning the souls of the saints, for single white cloaks are given to them, and it is said that they might have rest a short time until the number of their colleagues and brothers is filled up. So they take now single cloaks, but they will have double cloaks on the day of judgment; for the first is in the way of souls only, but later they will rejoice in the glory of souls and bodies together.

Dialogues, Book 4, Chapter 25

1082. And he assigns the reason for the perfection: for your double confusion, as if to say: you had confusion from lack of spiritual and temporal things; they shall praise, that is, your neighbors, seeing, their part, the recompense of double goods, made to them by God: I will render you double as I declare today (Zech 9:12). Mystically: the Church receives rewards in the goods of soul and body for the double confusion from the faithlessness of the gentiles and the Jews.

1083. Second, he touches on the duration of their glory: everlasting joy. This is true as long as they remained in justice, as Jeremiah 18:7–10 explains, above: everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness (Isa 35:10).

Commentary on Isaiah

8–9

(Vers. 8, 9.) And I will give their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed will be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them, that they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed. LXX: And I will give their labor to the righteous, and I will establish an eternal covenant with them. And their seed will be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples. Everyone who sees them will recognize them, that they are the blessed offspring of God. O God, who loves justice and judgment, and detests violent holocausts (for whatever is stolen is considered as the wages of a prostitute, and the price of a dog), you will give labor to those who possess the land secondly and whom you will crown with double joy, to the righteous, or as it is better understood in Hebrew, in truth: so that it may not be like the shadow of truth in the Law, but that it may be the truth itself. And you will make an everlasting covenant, not like the one Moses gave, which has passed away, but the covenant of the Gospel, about which Christ speaks: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). And then the Apostolic seed will be known among the nations, and all future generations will receive the seed of the doctrine of God, not saying at all in which the people of circumcision previously erred, saying: For what else, except for the seed, does God seek? Anyone who sees them will recognize from the first appearance that they are the seed to whom the Lord has blessed. For who, from the order of life, gentleness, self-control, hospitality, and all virtues, does not understand the people of God? And who does not detest the bloody hands of the Israelis, against whom the Prophet curses, saying: Fill their faces with shame, O Lord (Ps. LXXXII, 17).

Commentary on Isaiah

“If you offer rightly, but do not reason rightly, have you not sinned?” For those offerings of fasts, which we extort without thought by violently wrenching our stomachs and fancy that we rightly offer to the Lord, he who “loves mercy and judgment” denounces, saying: “I the Lord love judgment, but I hate robbery in a burnt offering.” Similarly, those also who take the main part of their offerings, that is, their offices and actions, to benefit the flesh for their own use, but leave the remains as a tiny portion for the Lord, are also condemned as fraudulent workers by the Divine Word, saying: “Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord fraudulently.”

Conference 21:22

But it is one thing to show mercy for sins, another to sin for the sake of showing mercy, which cannot really be called mercy since it does not issue in sweet fruit, since it is embittered through the influence of a diseased root. For here the Lord rebukes such sacrifices through the prophet, saying, “I, the Lord, love justice and hate robbery with whole burnt offerings.” … Such people also often withdraw from the poor what they give to God. But the Lord shows how strongly he disowns and censures such conduct.

The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 21

And he assigns the reason: for I am the Lord. And this is the sense: because the Lord loves justice, he will grant to you that you will be just, that thus you may be pleasing to him, and he will make a covenant with you of everlasting joy; I hate robbery in a holocaust: he that offers sacrifice of the goods of the poor, is as one that sacrifices the son in the presence of his father (Sir 34:24); a perpetual covenant: and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah (Jer 31:31).

Commentary on Isaiah

1084. Third, the divulging of their glory: and they shall know their seed among the Gentiles. This refers either to the Jews who were known for their religious worship, or to the spiritual seed of the apostles: and their children for their sakes remain for ever (Sir 44:13).

Commentary on Isaiah

After these promises that the Son of God has made concerning his first advent, it is extremely fitting that the word here addresses the church of God as receiving good and blessed things in those in whom he labored. As if receiving the appropriate items to wear, she takes the fullness of those being saved and like a bride she is said to consist of one fine and fair body and to have clothed around her the beauty of her groom. She is a monument of light, flashing forth a body of divine resurrection that is called the body of the Savior. For it is no longer a body of death, as Paul confirms: “Who will save me from this body of death?” For this is salvation, to put a cloak of salvation on one’s soul and a tunic of righteousness. For each one by his deeds that are done according to righteousness puts on his own fine apparel.… For she who is the bride of the Word receives seeds from him and returns splendid and fresh fruit.

Commentary on Isaiah 2:52

10–11

(Vers. 10, 11.) I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall exult in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, and with the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bride adorned with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth her seed to shoot forth: so shall the Lord God make justice to spring forth, and praise before all nations. LXX: They shall be glad in the Lord, and shall rejoice in God. For he has clothed me with the garment of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of joy. Like a bridegroom adorned with a crown, like a bride adorned with her jewels, like the earth bringing forth its flower, like a garden with its seeds germinating: so the Lord God brings forth righteousness and praise in the sight of all nations. The beginning of the chapter according to the Septuagint, which says: They shall rejoice with joy in the Lord, is connected to the end of the previous chapter. But according to the Hebrews, the beginning of another chapter is introduced, in which the Church, responding to the words of Christ, says: I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God. Not at all among the fathers, as the Jews used to boast, saying: We are the seed of Abraham and have never been in bondage to anyone (John 8:33); but in God, as Scripture says: The multitude of believers had one heart and one soul (Acts 4:32). And he gives the reasons for joy: Because he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, and with the robe of righteousness and joy, which is called Mail in Hebrew, he has adorned and surrounded me. For as many as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ, and have the garment of righteousness: who has become sanctification, righteousness, and redemption unto us (Gal. I). And he sets forth the likeness of two groups in the Church, the perfect and the beginners (I Cor. I). He compares the perfect to the beauty of the bridegroom; he likens the beginners to the adornment of the bride. Paul was perfect, who, as a decorated bridegroom or, as Aquila translated, crowned priest, bearing the crown, spoke by the authority of Christ in himself, saying: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: from now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness (II Tim. IV, 7). And in another place: Therefore, let us be wise in how many soever are perfect (Philippians 3:15). But he begins by drawing a comparison of maturity, when speaking in the person of beginners: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child (1 Corinthians 13:11). And again: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away (ibid., 9). And for this reason, the bride is likened to adornment, which adorns the female world, whether, as others have translated, with vessels or with her jewels. And he sets forth examples of the comparison of each, the former of which refers to the bridegroom, the latter to the bride. Just as the earth brings forth its fruit, and is watered by the heavenly rains; and as a garden germinates its seed, which longs for the waters of fountains and rivers: so, he says, the Lord will bring forth righteousness and joy before all nations: not before Israel, so as to shake off the brow of the Jews; but before all nations, who are gathered in the Church.

Commentary on Isaiah

What is it that was said? “The two will be one flesh. This is a great sacrament, but I am speaking of Christ and the church.” … So that you may realize that these are in some sense two persons and yet again are one by the union of marriage, he speaks as one in Isaiah: “He has bound a headband on me like a bridegroom and clothed me with an ornament like a bride.” He called himself a bridegroom as the head, the bride as the body. So he speaks as one; let us hear him and let us also speak in him. May we be in his members, so that his voice can be ours also.

Explanations of the Psalms 74:4

Generously he lays his hands on them and in order to crown with many fine gifts those petitioning he says, “Everyone who sees them will recognize that they are a seed blessed by God” and adds, “And they will rejoice in the Lord.” And he immediately gives them joy. Here the person of the church is introduced full of joy as it sounds forth, “May my soul rejoice in the Lord, for he has clothed me in a cloak of salvation and a tunic of rejoicing.” The tunic of rejoicing means our Lord Jesus Christ. … They who have him like a garment gain not only salvation but also happiness and many joys. The Savior says, “The thief only comes to steal, but I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” … Christ is, therefore, the tunic that is from heaven and from above, which if anyone takes he or she will be crowned with all beauty (spiritually understood) and with the distinction of good work—like a groom wearing a mitre or as a bride clothed in all beauty. For those in Christ, fortified for the spiritual mastering, are well-equipped and ready for every aspect of virtue. They are like brides on account of their fruitfulness, with the many-splendored beauty that comes from the brilliance of virtues. Thus spoke one of the holy prophets, highlighting those who made straight the well-led life, “For the fear of you, Lord, we have conceived in the womb and labored and brought forth the spirit of salvation that you have given throughout the world.” Thus, the saints are compared with a bridegroom and bride on account of their fortitude and their fertility.… It shows that Christ shines out justice and gladness among the nations, just like flowers garland the earth.… For as the small and growing seed becomes a flower, just so was our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed before the nations when it says also in the Song of Songs, “I am flower of the field, a lily of the valleys.”

Commentary on Isaiah 5:5.61:10-11

Here in the person of the church he cries to its benefactor, … “May my soul rejoice.” … He calls the grace of baptism “the garment of salvation” and “the cloak of joy,” for “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” For in the Hebrew language the garment of salvation is called the garment of “Jeshua,” that is, of Jesus, like a young groom. … She both calls herself a bride, because she has been yoked to the bridegroom, and a bridegroom, because she has put on the bridegroom [Christ]. As for the mitre, the three interpreters translate it as “crown.” Of this adornment the blessed David comments, “The queen is here on your right, arrayed in a multicolored golden vestment.” The text means the multicolored gifts of the All-Holy Spirit.

Commentary on Isaiah 19:61.10

1085. I will greatly rejoice. Here the people receive the promise and give thanks. And concerning this, he does two things.

First, in the person of the people or of the Church, he expresses joy of heart: I will greatly rejoice: but I will rejoice in the Lord: and I will joy in God my Jesus (Hab 3:18).

Second, he confesses the divine benefit,

and first, under the likeness of clothing, inasmuch as the divine benefits protect them from sufferings: for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, above: put on the garments (Isa 52:1) of your joy.

Second, under the likeness of adornments, inasmuch as they adorn them: as a bridegroom. Mystically, as to the perfect in the Church, taking the place of Christ; and as a bride, as to the imperfect: I will clothe you with the double garment (Bar 5:2).

Commentary on Isaiah

It is the custom of prophets to foresee the things to come, to mourn and lament the disasters and then from their visions of favor to tell the people the good news, even when those listening reject them, to rejoice and raise their spirits, since the prophets are those who possessed a fixed intention concerning the vision of things signified. Now the prophet looks toward Christ as he puts him on as a garment. For all who are clothed in Christ have put on the garment of salvation and beautify his holy church. And this is a fuller version of that disposition that a young man is filled with toward a virgin, rejoicing and dancing in spirit, as one united with Christ, having put him on and having him as a tunic of rejoicing.

Fragments on Isaiah

The text signifies the seed-like words that are planted in the soul as in earth and as seeds grow in a garden. No seed from outside or of a different sort is let in, but it is like soil that has the word and yields to Christ. Just as the eyes in the body have a close connection with the light and when the sun rises we immediately see this link, so when the Savior will enlighten us, we will in turn illuminate that readiness for righteousness, which is mixed into us, putting aside the dark ways of our souls.

Fragments on Isaiah

Then Isaiah says, “Raise a standard to the nations.” For the Lord has made it to be heard to the end of the earth. Let no one think that this is said about the Jewish people. For he orders the standard to be raised to the ends of the earth.The nature of this audible sign that he has raised is his making known the word of faith, which we proclaim, or perhaps it is the symbol of the suffering of the Savior. For this is contained in the confession of faith. For it should be said that the Lord Jesus believed that God raised him from the dead. Now he instructs the daughter of Zion, who is clearly the church as it awaits salvation. For it is the daughter of those among the Jews who of old were a godly community. Now he speaks of the second coming, reminding [the church] that he is the one who formerly saved it, on whose account he acted and suffered.

Commentary on Isaiah 62:1-12

There are some who would explain the whole passage this way. It is prophetic custom to lament the bad things but to rejoice in the good. And this is what the prophet does here. For telling forth the good news of the coming of Christ and the salvation of all things, putting on Christ and being adorned and surrounded by him, he gives praise in the spirit, having the disposition of a young man with a virgin, as long as he is joined to Christ. And the “as the earth shoots forth its flower” represents those who receive in their souls the spermatic words that prepare the way for Christ. For their eyes have an affinity with the light. They see whenever light is present. So, too, when Christ arises we receive him through our preparedness for him and immediately turn away from darkness. It says that he appeared from the shoot of Israel as one openly rejoicing before the nations.And lest Israel seemed abandoned, I will not abandon my plan, which was made from the beginning, nor its dignity. For first of all Christ sent his disciples to the lost sheep of Israel.

Commentary on Isaiah 62:1-12

Therefore, those who had been scattered returned, preaching the word of God. Instead of “the dispersed,” the Greek text has “disseminated,” that is, scattered like seed, for they were those about whom Isaiah said, “their offspring in the midst of the peoples” and about whom the Lord in the parable of the Gospel said, “the good seed is those sons of the kingdom.” For this seed was disseminated throughout many regions, so that the harvest of faith that started in Jerusalem filled first Judea and Samaria and then the whole world. About these same ones, dispersed or rather disseminated through the next generations, it is said that they spoke the word not only to Jews but also to Greeks, and the noblest foundations of the new church in Antioch were planted through these.

Retractions on Acts 8:4

Third, under the likeness of buds, as to their fruits: for as the earth brings forth her bud, above: it shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise (Isa 35:2).

Commentary on Isaiah