Commentaria in Isaiam
Chapter Thirty-five. Synopsis of the Chapter
The Jews refer this to the restoration of Jerusalem and of the Jewish kingdom, under their Messias, whom they vainly expect. St. Thomas and Hugh refer it to the return of the Jews from captivity, and think that by it is foreshadowed the joy and glory of the nations delivered by Christ from the bondage of sin and the devil. But the Fathers generally, whom I shall cite at verse 4, and the Interpreters, take it in itself and properly of the golden age of the Gospel, and of the calling and glory of the nations. Where note: the Prophet is wont to join joyful things to sad. Since, then, in the preceding chapter he described the sad destruction of Idumea, and under it of the world and of the faithless, from here he passes to the time of the Gospel, and to the prophecy of the Church to be gloriously spread among the nations; hence he sets many good things in this chapter by antithesis against the evils which he threatened in the preceding chapter. First, then, he teaches that the nations, hitherto desert, to be cultivated by Christ, shall be fruitful, like Libanus, Saron and Carmel. Secondly, verse 5, he teaches that in the time of the Gospel the blind, deaf, lame and dumb are to be cured, and that there shall be among them neither dragons nor evil beasts, nor any unclean. Then, verse 10, he says they shall go into Sion to eternal joys.
1. The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily. 2. It shall bud forth and blossom, and shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is given to it: the beauty of Carmel, and Saron, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of our God. 3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees. 4. Say to the fainthearted: Take courage, and fear not: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: God himself will come and will save you. 5. Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness. 7. And that which was dry land shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. In the dens where dragons dwelt before, shall rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush. 8. And a path and a way shall be there, and it shall be called the holy way: the unclean shall not pass over it, and this shall be unto you a straight way, so that fools shall not err therein.
This most joyful prophecy, which is joined by contrast to the preceding one, full of sad tidings, as is usual with the Prophets, is to be referred to the faithful chosen from every nation and to the times of Christ, and indeed in the literal sense for the most part, so that hardly any other literal sense can be admitted which could suit the Jews, whether after the slaughter of Sennacherib or after the return from the Babylonian captivity.
First, the most joyful fruit of faith is foretold, to spring up most abundantly in lands of unbelievers, verses 1, 2.
Secondly, the preachers are roused, and it is shown how they ought to strengthen others, namely with this glad tidings, verses 3, 4.
Thirdly, miracles are promised that will confirm the faith, verses 5, 6.
Fourthly, both the very wide spread of the conversion is set forth, and how great a grace was long withheld, and at the same time from how great evils they shall be rescued, verse 7.
Fifthly, access to the Church is commended, first, for the holiness and uprightness of the ways, verse 8; secondly, for the safety and freedom of the journey, verse 9; thirdly, for the pleasantness of the end and its freedom from all sadness, verse 10.
9. No lion shall be there, nor shall any mischievous beast go up by it, nor be found there: but they shall walk there that shall be delivered. 10. And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and shall come into Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
1. The desert shall be glad.—The Hebrew is that is, they shall be glad in them, namely in the nations and the Idumeans, whom, in the preceding chapter, he said God would destroy, as if to say: Among the unbelieving nations and Idumeans who are to be destroyed, and therefore lamenting, the inhabitants of the desert that is to be converted to Christ will rejoice, namely the faithful Gentiles and Christians. Hence the Hebrew may plainly be rendered, as to the sense: The desert shall be glad: and the wilderness, the dry land also, shall exult, as Vatablus renders it; the desert, the wilderness and the dry land he calls Gentilism and the regions of the Gentiles, as if to say: Gentilism, hitherto deserted by God, by salvation, justice, true religion and the worship of God, shall become partaker and heir of holiness, of graces and of the joy that is in the Holy Ghost, through Christ. Hence the glory of Libanus shall be given to it, that is, it shall succeed to the glory of the Synagogue and of the Jews, so that it may be a faithful people, and a Church beloved of God. So St. Jerome, Cyril, Theodoret, Eusebius, book 6 of the Demonstration, chapter 12; Hilary on Psalm 65; Justin, Apology 25; Nazianzen, oration 4 against Julian. Indeed Eusebius, Theodoret, Cyril and Hilary think this oracle fulfilled when Jesus came from Galilee to the deserts of the Jordan to be baptized by John. Add St. Hilary and Justin above, Prosper, part 3 of the Predictions, chapter 13; Athanasius, book 1 On the Incarnation of the Word, who teach that Christ had regard to this when he was asked: “Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?” Matthew 11:3. For Christ answered them, saying: “Go and tell John what you have heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk,” etc. These things, here in verses 5 and 6, the Prophet foretells as to be done under Christ and by Christ.
Rufinus and Palladius refer this literally to Egypt in the time of St. Anthony and afterwards, abounding, and as it were luxuriating, in the faithful and in monks. Hear them; for citing this place of Isaias and explaining it, they say: “Although this was said of the Church, yet in the deserts of Egypt it has also been fulfilled by historical relation; where as great multitudes come to salvation throughout the cities as the deserts of Egypt have brought forth; as many peoples as there are in the cities, almost as many multitudes of monks are there in the deserts, so that where sin (of idolatry) abounded, there grace also may abound,” say Rufinus, book 2 On the Lives of the Fathers, chapter 7, and Palladius in the Lausiac History, chapter 53.
And shall flourish like the lily.—For the lily flowers with wondrous beauty. By the lily are signified the purity of life and the chastity of the Saints in the Church.
2. It shall bud forth.—The Church shall put forth new and abundant leaves, flowers and fruits, both of new believers, and of men, and of new virtues: for it shall bring forth swarms of virgins, martyrs, monks, etc. But who does this? Who shall bring such a joyful change upon the desert? Surely the same, Who weaves the painted meadows with flowers, and bids the lilies whiten in the ruddy fields, And who adorns the earth with the violet and the grass.
The glory of Libanus is given to it.—Libanus, although it was occupied by the Gentiles, yet belonged to the Jews, as is plain from Josue 13:6; and from Libanus they carried to Jerusalem incense, cedars, pines, and whatever was rare and excellent; Libanus therefore signifies the Jews and the Synagogue, as Saron does the most pleasant and fertile field of Judea, and Carmel its most fruitful mountain, as if to say: All the ornaments, riches and delights, natural and spiritual, of the Synagogue and of the Jews shall be transferred to the Church and the Gentiles. Hence Symmachus renders Saron by “plains,” says St. Jerome.
They shall see the glory of the Lord.—namely, the glorious miracles, the glorious Apostles, the glorious charisms of the Holy Ghost, the glorious Sacraments, ceremonies and worship of holy things.
3. Strengthen ye the feeble hands.—It is an apostrophe to the Apostles, that they rouse and encourage the nations, cast down, sluggish and fearful, through the Gospel, to zeal for faith, salvation and good works.
STRENGTHEN THE FEEBLE KNEES. In the fainthearted, when they are seized by fear or heavy dread, the knees give way and are as though dislocated, so that they stand astonished and cannot go forward, but totter and sway. The cause is that fear of itself, and the sadness that accompanies it, contracts the heart; and the heart, being afflicted, draws the vital spirits to itself to help itself. Hence in the outer limbs, especially those farthest from the heart, such as the hands and knees, there follow chill, trembling, and sometimes pallor, faltering of the tongue, unfitness for work, and now and then thirst. So teach Aristotle in the Problems, section 27, question 6; Macrobius, book 7; Gellius, book 19, chapter 6; and Fracastorius, book 1 On Sympathy, chapters 15 and 19. To the Gentiles: Do not be fainthearted, do not despair of belonging to the sons of Abraham; God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham; if you believe and obey Christ, you will be sons of Abraham. Though you be sons of idolaters, and have hitherto been idolaters, without God, without faith, without conscience, fornicators, perjurers, blasphemers, and so on, baptism will wash all this away, and will make you new men, nay angels of God. This, therefore, you shall be to God.