Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
In the preceding chapter he described the riches, peace, splendor, and happy lot of the children of the New Testament: now he invites each one to the same, so that by embracing the faith of Christ, they may enjoy them, having left behind their vain goods and hopes. Second, at verse 3, promising them a new covenant, he urges them to follow Christ as their leader and teacher. Third, at verse 10, he affirms that these promises of his will be firm, using the example of snow and rain. And therefore, at verse 12, he describes how great will be the joy, happiness, and glory of the faithful. Forerius, at the end of the chapter, thinks this chapter pertains to the Jews: for they are invited to Christ, and because they refuse to come, the Gentiles are substituted for them. For the Jews seemed to labor with a thirst for the coming of Christ, and were spending their money not for what satisfies, because they were seeking justice in sacrifices and empty ceremonies of the law, which do not satisfy the soul. He therefore urges them to seek it in Christ; wherefore, at verse 3, he promises them the new covenant of Christ. But because he foresaw that they would spurn Christ, he threatens at verse 4 that he will transfer Christ and this covenant to the Gentiles. Therefore, at verse 6, he urges the Jews to come to their senses in time, while they still have the opportunity. And lest they object that God's words and promises, made to them concerning the Messiah, cannot be empty and void: he responds at verse 10 that they are to be fulfilled in the Gentiles, to whom therefore, at verse 12, he promises all joyful and happy things. But there is nothing that forces us to restrict the general words of the Prophet to the Jews: he therefore invites both Gentiles and Jews to Christ.
Vulgate Text: Isaiah 55:1-13
1. "All you that thirst, come to the waters: and you that have no money, make haste, buy, and eat: come, buy wine and milk without money, and without any price. 2. Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and your soul shall delight in fatness. 3. Incline your ear, and come to me: hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies of David. 4. Behold I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and a commander to the nations. 5. Behold, you shall call a nation that you did not know: and nations that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you. 6. Seek the Lord while He may be found: call upon Him while He is near. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He is generous in forgiving. 8. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. 9. For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts. 10. And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11. So shall My word be, which shall go forth from My mouth: it shall not return to Me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it. 12. For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall sing praise before you, and all the trees of the country shall clap their hands. 13. Instead of the shrub shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the nettle shall come up the myrtle tree: and the Lord shall be named for an everlasting sign, that shall not be taken away."
Verse 1: 1. "All you that thirst." In Hebrew it is: "O all you who thirst, come to the waters." That is, as the Chaldean...
1. "All you that thirst." In Hebrew it is: "O all you who thirst, come to the waters." That is, as the Chaldean paraphrases, all who desire to learn and to quench the thirst of desire, all who are eager for truth and saving wisdom, come to the waters of Christ's doctrine and grace, draw from them and drink wisdom and the Evangelical spirit, and so quench the thirst of your soul, the thirst for truth, the thirst for heavenly and saving wisdom. To this Christ alluded in John 7:37: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." And Matthew 11:28: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you." And to the Samaritan woman in John 4:13, discoursing on this matter.
Gregory of Nazianzus says truly, in his oration on Holy Baptism (Oration 40): "The Lord thirsts to be thirsted for, and if we can possess so great a good without labor and most easily, namely by merely approaching the fountain, what madness it is to defer so great a good!" Therefore, inviting to the waters, He rouses and sharpens that thirst, so that He may quench the innate thirst of our desire — the thirst for vain knowledge, the thirst for honors, the thirst for gold and silver, the thirst for wine and feasting — with the thirst for true wisdom, the thirst for spiritual and heavenly honors, riches, and feasts. (Whence the Septuagint translates: "Woe"; others: "Alas, you who thirst," namely for vanities.) For the latter, not the former, can satisfy and fill the soul. So David thirsted, Psalm 41:3: "My soul has thirsted for God, the living fountain" (in Hebrew, "strong"). For Christ is the living fountain who never dries up, but pours forth perennial and abundant waters, springing up into eternal life. And St. John, Revelation 22:17: "And the Spirit and the bride say: Come. And let him who hears say: Come. And let him who thirsts come; and whoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Whence John himself, now old and desiring to be dissolved and to enjoy Christ, at verse 20, responding to this invitation, says: "Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" — that is: Come, my Jesus; come, my Love, my Joy, my Delight.
"And eat." Hence it is clear that God offers not only water for drinking, but also food for eating. Namely, the doctrine and grace of Christ is both food and drink for the soul, as are also His holy Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Whence He sent servants to call those invited to the lavishly prepared feast (Matthew 22:4).
"Buy without money." For "buy" the Hebrew is scibru, that is, "break" — that is, acquire food and bread to be broken, and buy it: for since the Hebrews used to break and divide bread when about to eat, they called bread sceber, that is, "breaking" or "food to be broken." Hence scabar, that is, "to break," by metalepsis signifies to acquire and buy the breaking, that is, bread. "Buy therefore without money," that is, acquire and receive freely. So St. Jerome and Cyril. Keenly and piously also St. Bernard, in Sermon 2 On the Resurrection of the Lord: "These things," he says, "must be bought with the coin of one's own will, so that what was private may become common. Now common will is charity." To this Christ alludes in Revelation 3:18: "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire."
What is this gold, and how is it purchased? I answer first: This gold is the pure and ardent charity of God, which bravely endures persecutions and adversities, even martyrdom. This is purchased, that is, acquired, at no other price than prayer, tears, repentance, and good works. "This gold," says Rupertus in the same place, "buy at the price of a pious confession and a constant remembrance of your own frailty, always remembering what you are of yourself and what you have received from God. So that you may become wealthy, that is, that grace may be added to you, and that you may be clothed in white garments, not from your own works, but from that same grace of generosity."
Ambrose adds, in his book On the Patriarch Joseph, chapter 7, that this gold is bought with silver — not our own (for a sinner can merit the first grace by no work or merit), but Christ's, namely at the price of Christ's blood. "Buy," he says, "without silver: for He did not seek a price from us, who paid the price of His own blood for us."
Third, Gregory of Nazianzus, in his oration on Holy Baptism, responds that God, on account of His immense goodness, by which He desires our salvation, considers our desire for grace and salvation as the price: "O wonderful swiftness of beneficence!" says Nazianzus. "O easy terms of contract! This good is offered to you to be bought at the sole price of willingness. God esteems the very desire as being of immense value. He thirsts to be thirsted for. He offers drink to those who wish to drink. When a benefit is sought from God, He considers that He Himself receives a benefit. His nature is ready, generous, and lavish. He gives more joyfully than others receive." Whence Nazianzus infers that this thirst must be sharpened and increased, so that we may draw and receive more graces from God: "Let us take care of this one thing," he says, "lest we incur the mark of a fasting and small-minded spirit, asking for little things, unworthy of God's generosity. Blessed is he from whom, as from that Samaritan woman, Christ asks for a drink, and gives a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." And Clement of Alexandria in his Exhortation to the Greeks: "'All you who thirst, come to the waters.' He exhorts," he says, "to the washing, to salvation, to illumination, crying out from close by and saying: I give you, O child, the earth, the sea, the heaven; only, O child, thirst for the Father, and God shall be shown to you freely."
Fourth, Abbot Joachim on Revelation 3: "God gives," he says, "grace for grace" (John 1:16); "let us therefore trade with the lesser grace of God, so that we may buy and acquire the greater." And Thomas the Englishman: "The purchase," he says, "is the disposition of free will." The word "buying" therefore signifies that a man must do great things and contribute much, in order to be fit to receive these gifts from God. So this purchase sharpens the industry of our free will. So in Proverbs 23 it is said: "Buy truth," that is, with great labor and effort, even at the cost of temporal goods, acquire wisdom; do anything, suffer anything, to attain it. So Pererius. And Denis the Carthusian: "Buy," he says, "at a price not fully equivalent, but fitting. For acts of faith, hope, repentance, and other good acts merit grace not by full equivalence, but by fittingness."
"Wine and milk." What he previously called waters and food, he here calls "wine and milk." By waters, therefore, he meant every drink, and from drink he left food to be inferred; whence he names here "milk," which serves both for eating and drinking. By wine and milk, therefore, understand every kind of food and drink. For wine is flavorful, warm, and strong; milk is sweet and rich. Hence by these two things Scripture signifies every kind of feast and delight. Just as wine and milk are, first, pleasing to the taste in color and flavor; second, they induce sweet sleep; third, they take away the sensation of other things: so the doctrine and gifts of the Holy Spirit are most efficacious and most sweet, they lull and calm the mind, and lead it away from vain desires and anxieties, and satisfy it so that it may never thirst again, says Forerius. Whence the Chaldean translates: "Come and hear without price, without money" (which students customarily give to teachers) "doctrine better than wine and milk."
Moreover, wine signifies the spiritual food and drink, namely the wisdom and grace of those who are advancing and perfect (whence wine is called "the milk of the aged"); milk, however, is for little ones and beginners: for to these belong simplicity, candor, and innocence. Hence from this passage of Isaiah, wine and milk were formerly given to the newly baptized, as Nazianzus teaches above. "This custom," says St. Jerome, "is preserved to this day in the Churches of the West, that wine and milk are given to those reborn in Christ." Just as in the primitive Church, honey and milk were given to the same, from what Isaiah said of the child Christ in chapter 7:15: "He shall eat butter and honey." See the commentary there. Most excellently, St. Dionysius the Areopagite, in his letter to Titus, teaches that divine wisdom provides nourishment to each according to his capacity, and that therefore divine and spiritual utterances are rightly compared to dew, water, milk, wine, and honey — since they have the power of giving life and making fruitful, as in water; of leading to growth, as in milk; of refreshing and strengthening, as in wine; and of purging and at the same time preserving, as in honey.
Clement of Alexandria treats at length of this milk and wine in Book I of the Pedagogue, chapter 6, where, first, he says: "The Word" (that is, Christ, who is the Word of the Father) "is in many ways allegorically called food, flesh, nourishment, bread, blood, milk, and wine."
Second: "The mixture of milk and wine is useful," he says, "for milk curdles and separates from wine, and whatever is adulterated in it is drawn off, as it were through an aqueduct. So faith, curdling carnal desires, draws man toward eternity, making him immortal by divine things."
Third, wine is, as it were, the warmth and soul of curded milk. So the Church consists of a body, namely faith, and a soul, namely hope, just as Christ consists of flesh and blood (for the ancients thought blood was the substance of the soul). For truly the blood of faith is hope, in which it is contained, just as faith is the soul. But when hope has expired, just as when blood has flowed out, the vital faculty of faith is dissolved. So therefore milk is faith, wine is hope, which is, as it were, the soul of faith.
The Septuagint, reading chalab (that is, milk) with different vowel points as cheleb (that is, fat), translates: "Buy wine and fat;" which St. Jerome, Cyril, Procopius, and Leo Castrius rightly refer to the sacrament of the Eucharist. For the Hebrews call "fat" or "richness" whatever is the choicest and best in any thing. Such in the New Law is the Eucharist, which is "the grain of the elect, and the wine that makes virgins blossom," as Zechariah says (chapter 9:17). Of which the Psalmist says in the mystical sense, Psalm 80:17: "He fed them with the fat of wheat."
Verse 2: 2. "Why do you spend money for that which is not bread" (that is, as follows), "and your labor for that which does not...
2. "Why do you spend money for that which is not bread" (that is, as follows), "and your labor for that which does not satisfy?" — that is, not for food and satisfying bread. It is a metonymy; for satisfying bread is called "satisfaction," because it produces it. So in chapter 56:12, drunkenness is called "intoxicating wine." Under "bread" understand every kind of food, according to the Hebrew idiom: for among all foods, bread, as it is the most common, so also it nourishes and satisfies the most, while other foods often only stimulate or dull the appetite. By "money" therefore he means labor, industry, efforts, studies, etc. The sense therefore is: Why, O mortals, do you pursue the vain goods of this world — riches, honors, pleasures, vain wisdom and eloquence — with such effort and cost, which cannot satisfy the mind? God alone, and God's grace, doctrine, and especially the Eucharist, is the bread that can refresh and satisfy the mind. Why do you neglect this and buy refuse at so high a price? Whence, groaning at this human madness, he says at verse 1: "Alas, all you that thirst, come" — as it is in the Hebrew.
Plato said the same thing in Book VI of the Republic, and he seems to have learned and received it from this passage of Isaiah. For he was himself a Moses of Athens: "He who is well born," he says, "and who is truly a lover of learning, will not cling to those goods which the common people admire, which truly do not satisfy; but he will continue to go forward, he will not grow weary, but united with true Being, that is, embracing with his mind true Being, that is God, he will truly live, truly be nourished, truly be satisfied." And in Book 11 he teaches that those goods which men, like cattle, desire and fight over, satisfy no more than feasting does for those who dream they are feasting lavishly: "For when they awake, they find themselves just as hungry as before." I heard a remarkable story from the Governor of the city of Utrecht in Belgium: He related that he and the leading nobles had been invited by another man to dinner: "I went," he said, "with the others; I found a splendid castle, an elegant dining room, a sumptuous table furnished with every kind of food and delicacy. They were all drinking and eating merrily. But when they departed, their empty stomachs immediately began to hunger and growl, as if they had eaten nothing."
Namely, by the work of some magician, all these things had been arranged and performed with the help of a demon, and they were mere illusions. For they seemed to themselves to be eating, but they were not really eating nor seeing real food. Such are all the goods of the world: they have the appearance, not the reality; entertainment, not satisfaction; they are a sport of the eyes, not nourishment of the soul. The reason is that the mind was created by God in the image of God; whence it is capable of infinite good, namely of God; therefore it cannot be filled and satisfied by anything finite, thin, and shadowy, such as all earthly things are. But when it has consumed one thing, it immediately, equally hungry, seeks another, and with mouth always open and gaping, like a most voracious dog, it yearns for one thing after another, and can never satisfy its insatiable gluttony. We see this in drunkards and wine-lovers, who the more they drink, the more they thirst and desire to drink, and they always say that verse from Proverbs 23:35: "When shall I awake, and find wine again?"
God alone therefore is the rest and satisfaction of our soul: and for this reason He is called in Hebrew Shaddai, about which I said more at Genesis 17:1 and Exodus 6:3.
"Hearken diligently" — that is, listen and pay attention carefully, not as idle hearers, but as doers of the word and message heard.
"Your soul shall delight in fatness." Vatablus translates: "in richness," that is, in that rich food which is more savory and more nourishing than lean food, such as milk, in which there is the richness of butter and cheese; likewise rich meat, rich bread, etc. Such is the Evangelical doctrine and grace, which fattens and enriches the mind.
Verse 3: 3. "I will make an everlasting covenant with you" (a new testament, about which at verse 6, namely) "the faithful...
3. "I will make an everlasting covenant with you" (a new testament, about which at verse 6, namely) "the faithful mercies of David," that is, stable and firm. This covenant, therefore, is the mercies promised by God to David concerning Christ, in whom his kingdom is to be perpetuated; and who will enrich and bless His followers, giving them in abundance the sweetest wine and the richest milk, meaning: the covenant that I will make with you is entirely milky and honeyed; it is entirely charity and mercy. Whence the Septuagint, and from them St. Paul in Acts 13:34, translates: "I will give you the holy" — namely, the covenants — "faithful things of David," meaning: I will faithfully and most certainly fulfill the covenant, namely the mercy promised to David, and the good things to be given through Christ. Moreover, this mercy and these good things are enumerated both elsewhere and in Psalm 88, which begins: "The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever;" whence that psalm is called by the Hebrews the "Mercy of David." So St. Jerome, St. Thomas, Hugh, and Forerius.
You ask: How does St. Paul, in Acts 13:34, cite these words and from them prove the resurrection of Christ? I answer: He does so rightly, from the fact that this covenant and the mercies promised to David concerning Christ are about blessed and eternal life, to be given to those who have believed and obeyed Christ as the victor over death, who, rising from the dead, was made the firstfruits, lord, and king of those who rise again. Whence, in Psalm 88:38, an eternal throne is promised to Christ; in which is included and presupposed the resurrection of Christ and of Christians to eternal life and kingdom. The same was clearly promised to David, who bore the type of Christ, in Psalm 15:10, where it is said: "For You will not leave My soul in hell; nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption." Leo Castrius admirably responds and explains: "I will give the holy things of David, faithful" — that is, I will give the Holy One of David, or the holy Body of the Lord, sprung from the line of David, "faithful," that is, incorruptible, which should not return to corruption.
Whence Enriquez, in Book IX on the Mass, chapter 9, number 5, letter H, in the gloss, by "holy things," that is, "the Holy One," understands the Sacred Body of Christ in the Eucharist, which, taken from the seed of David, is "faithful," that is, incorrupt and firm. But that these "holy things" are literally covenants is clear from what has been said. Whence Tertullian, in Book III Against Marcion, chapter 20, instead of "holy" reads "religious" (for the Greek osia signifies both), namely, treaties and covenants that must be kept holily and religiously, especially those that are sanctioned, that is, established, by God.
Verse 4: 4. "Behold I have given Him for a witness to the peoples." The word "behold" here designates the herald who brings...
4. "Behold I have given Him for a witness to the peoples." The word "behold" here designates the herald who brings about this covenant between God and men, and to whom the mercies of David pertain: for he says "Him," namely Christ, for the eyes of the Prophet were constantly directed and fixed upon Him. He therefore calls Christ a "witness," namely of the divine covenant and promise, as well as of faith and faithfulness. For Christ, coming into the world, testified to the world the things He had seen and heard in heaven — about God and the Most Holy Trinity, and especially God's benevolence, love, and mercy toward men, by which it pleased Him to redeem fallen men through Christ, and to enter this new covenant with them to give them glory and beatitude. Whence St. Jerome says: "He is the witness of all things that the Father promised and provided to the world." For Christ fulfilled what the Father promised to the world. Whence Christ Himself says in Matthew 24:14: "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all the nations." Whence He also delegated other witnesses, namely the Apostles, who would carry out and complete His testimony. This is what St. Augustine says: "Christ was the witness of God's charity toward men." Again, as St. Ambrose, Cyril, Hesychius, and from them Leo Castrius say: He was a witness that all the prophecies and promises of God had been fulfilled.
For He Himself carried out and completed the work of our redemption.
Second, Christ was a witness of the divine will. For He taught us what God wills to be done by us, so that we may please Him, and so that we may obtain from Him the salvation promised in the new covenant.
Third, He was a witness of truth, and of true, sound, and saving doctrine. Whence He Himself said to Pilate in John 18:37: "For this was I born, that I should give testimony to the truth." Hence Isaiah immediately adds that He was given as a leader and teacher to the nations.
Fourth, He was a witness of things future in eternity. For He testified before all that there would be a universal judgment, that there would be a resurrection, that there would be retribution for works both bad and good, that for the pious there would be eternal joys, and for the impious the flame of Gehenna and inextinguishable fire. So Theodoret. Hence He is not only a witness of these things, but also a guide on the way to blessed eternity, commanding the means and methods by which we may strive toward and reach it: namely, a pure and holy life, works of faith, hope, charity, penance, almsgiving, etc. Whence Joel, chapter 2:23, calls Him "the teacher of justice."
Fifth, John [of Freiburg], in the Alba Electorum, chapter 100, says "witness" means "ruler." Whence, explaining, he adds "leader." For among the Hebrews, a witness is sometimes called a judge, and a judge is called a ruler. So in Revelation 3:14, Christ is called "the faithful witness," that is, a stable judge, an eternal ruler. So Malachi, chapter 3:5, calls "a swift witness" a most severe judge. And Psalm 88:38: "The faithful witness in heaven," that is, the eternal ruler in heaven, as heaven is stable and eternal. It is a catachresis. For God and Christ is a judge who is not mortal, who is often deceived by false witnesses, but a certain and infallible one, as one who sees all things and is at once both witness and judge. Therefore He is rightly called the faithful witness. But why do the Hebrews call a witness a judge? I answer: by metonymy, because witnesses are the cause of the judgment — why this one is condemned, that one acquitted. For a judge must judge according to what is alleged and proved, namely according to witnesses; for God's law ordains: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word stand" (Deuteronomy 19:15). Therefore to testify against someone, or for someone, is in fact and in effect to condemn or acquit him. And so a witness is, as it were, a judge: for by his testimony he compels the judge to judge according to his testimony.
Verse 5: 5. "Behold, you shall call a nation that you did not know." It is a change of person: for he passes from the third to...
5. "Behold, you shall call a nation that you did not know." It is a change of person: for he passes from the third to the second person. By apostrophe therefore, addressing Christ, he says: You, O Christ, "shall call a nation that You did not know" — that is, which, being alien from You, You did not acknowledge as Your own, did not love, did not approve — and that nation, once called, "shall run to You because of the Lord your God," that is, because of the gifts and graces with which God will adorn You — God, that is, of Your humanity, not of Your divinity. So Christ says to the foolish virgins: "I do not know you," that is, I do not love, I do not approve of you. Moreover, those gifts of God, by which Christ drew the Gentiles to Himself, were wisdom, integrity, sanctity, miracles, the efficacy of His preaching, the glory of His resurrection, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the zeal and virtue of the Apostles. For these showed that Christ was God; whence when the Gentiles saw them, they flocked to Christ in crowds — as they still do when, in a worthy manner, the honor and glory of Christ and the sanctity of the Gospel are presented to them by the preachers of the Gospel.
To this Christ alluded in John 17:1: "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You." For this is the same as what Isaiah says here: "Because He has glorified You."
Verse 6: 6. "Seek the Lord while He may be found." He proposed a covenant with God at verse 3; here he proposes the conditions...
6. "Seek the Lord while He may be found." He proposed a covenant with God at verse 3; here he proposes the conditions of the covenant, the first of which is: "Seek the Lord while He may be found."
First, St. Jerome refers these words to the Jews who lived in Isaiah's time, meaning: You, O Jews, who will not listen to Christ and accept His covenant — listen to me and the other Prophets, who urge upon you repentance and a holy conversion of life, so that through it you may find God while you still have time for repentance and salvation.
Second, Forerius refers these words to the Jews who lived at the time of Christ and the Apostles, up to their destruction by Titus. For during this entire time Christ, who is God and salvation, was near them, meaning: Christ is near, for He lives and dwells among you; therefore listen to Him and accept Him, lest when He has passed, you seek Him in vain.
Third, and genuinely, the Prophet speaks to all men, both Gentiles and Jews. For Christ and salvation have been set before all by God. The time, therefore, during which these can be found and are near, is the time of the New Law, which the Apostle accordingly, in 2 Corinthians 6:2, calls "the acceptable time and the day of salvation," of which Christ also says: "The kingdom of God is within you." He also commanded the Apostles to preach this, saying: "Do penance, for the kingdom of God is at hand." Therefore the Church rightly uses these words of Isaiah during Lent, and with them daily admonishes the faithful to seek the Lord, whose passion, redemption, and resurrection are imminent and near.
Fourth, the Chaldean takes the time when God is near and can be found as the time of this life. For until death we can repent and be reconciled to God. For this entire time is a time of mercy; what follows will be a time of justice and judgment. "For then there will be no time for calling upon God, when God will be close to no one; but present to some, and to others exceedingly far away," says St. Bernard, Sermon 3 on Lent.
Mystically, Theodoret says: "While He is near," that is, while having obtained forgiveness of sins from God, you approach His friendship through grace. For thus God is near to the just, not to sinners — as if the Prophet here were exhorting the just to seek God and God's worship more deeply and constantly. But the following and preceding words indicate that the Prophet speaks more to the impious and unfaithful Gentiles: for he calls them to the faith and to Christ. Sinners and penitents therefore are here stirred up and invited to seek God. So the bride, having lost her bridegroom, seeking him and longing for him, says in Song of Songs 3:2: "I will rise and go about the city; in the streets and broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loves," etc.
So Mary Magdalene sought Christ and found Him in the house of Simon, where, washing Christ's feet with tears, drying them with her hair, kissing them with her mouth, she merited to hear: "Your sins are forgiven you."
Fittingly, St. Bernard, in Sermon 75 on the Song of Songs, citing these words of Isaiah — "Seek the Lord while He may be found" — says: "Note that there are three reasons why seekers are usually frustrated: either they do not seek at the right time, or not in the right way, or not in the right place. For without doubt there will come a time when He cannot be found, namely when the avenging Angels shall bar the impious from seeing the glory of God. In vain shall even the foolish virgins cry out: by no means does the bridegroom now come out to them, for the door is shut. Let those virgins therefore consider that this was said to them: 'You shall seek Me and shall not find Me' (John 7). But now is the acceptable time, now are the days of salvation, plainly the time both for seeking and for calling upon God. First, therefore, even in the midst of Gehenna expect salvation, which has already been accomplished in the midst of the earth."
Second, seek in the manner in which the bride seeks the bridegroom in the Song of Songs, saying: "I sought him whom my soul loves." She does not seek lukewarmly, or negligently, or perfunctorily; for she seeks with a burning heart and utterly tirelessly, plainly as is fitting.
Third, see that you do not seek where it is not fitting: "In my bed," says the bride, "I sought him whom my soul loves" — in the bed, I say, either of his immortality or of his sublimity. "You must be wise about the things that are above, not about the things below; but you must seek Christ above, where He sits at the right hand of the Father."
Verse 7: 7. "Let the wicked forsake his way." Here he gives the manner in which the Lord is to be sought and found, so that we...
7. "Let the wicked forsake his way." Here he gives the manner in which the Lord is to be sought and found, so that we may enter into friendship and covenant with Him: namely, if we leave behind our former way and life of vices, and devote ourselves to repentance and virtues. So did three thousand men on the day of Pentecost, who at the preaching of St. Peter, believing and repenting of Christ whom they had shortly before crucified, were received by Him into grace and the Church. So the prodigal son left the far country and the husks of the swine, and returning to his father said: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you." Whereupon the father immediately ran into his embraces and kisses, and instead of his torn and worn clothing, dressed him in a fine and noble robe, adorned him with a ring and bound him to himself, and welcomed him with a feast. Whence it is clear that "forsake" does not signify the mere abandonment of sin, or mere change of mind (which alone heretics consider to be repentance), but also sorrow and detestation, with the purpose of amendment and satisfaction.
"For He is generous in forgiving." Most excellently, St. Fulgentius, in Letter 7 to Venantius, chapter 4, says: "In this abundance, nothing is lacking, in which there is almighty mercy, and merciful almightiness" — and almighty goodness in God, so that there is nothing that He is unwilling or unable to forgive to the converted. And in chapter 3: "If our Physician is skilled, He can heal all infirmities. If our God is merciful, He can forgive all sins. Perfect goodness is not that which is not overcome by every evil; nor is perfect medicine that for which some incurable disease is found. But it is held as written in the sacred books: 'Wisdom is not overcome by malice;' and Psalm 102: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, etc., who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your infirmities.'"
Verse 8: 8. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts." These words clearly and fittingly cohere with what immediately precedes —...
8. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts." These words clearly and fittingly cohere with what immediately precedes — "For He is generous in forgiving" — meaning: Do not lose confidence in God's pardon and friendship; do not be terrified by the number, enormity, repetition, and persistence of your crimes: for God's mercy is greater than all of these, and He offers and promises it here to the penitent. For God, when offended, is not like a man who breathes threats and vengeance against his offender; but He differs from him as widely as heaven differs from earth, and breathes pardon and grace. Therefore His clemency and indulgence contend with our offense. So St. Cyril, St. Thomas, and Adamus.
Second, Sanchez refers these words to the preceding: "Let the wicked forsake his way," and thinks that God here contrasts His ways with the ways of men, meaning: your former ways are as far from Mine as heaven is from earth; therefore, if you wish to return from them to Me, great distances must be overcome, a great change of morals must be made, human thoughts must be laid aside and divine ones assumed: from earth to heaven you must strive and ascend in mind and manner of life.
Third, Forerius thinks these words can be referred to what follows, namely to the covenant at verse 3, meaning: Do not marvel that God appears among men as a man, to establish a new covenant by which we may prosper and live in delights and supreme happiness (and you will live thus if you seek God in Christ, having returned to Him from your former life. For this will not avert the covenant and God's benevolence, but rather will win and sharpen it, if you repent), since My thoughts are plainly unlike yours, and as much more sublime as heaven is more sublime than earth. Therefore I devised this new and wonderful covenant; by this one means I judged it fitting to come to the aid of men's afflicted affairs, and to show My immense and, to the world, paradoxical clemency toward them. Therefore do not scrutinize this divine counsel of Mine, but admire it and give thanks for it. So Forerius and St. Jerome.
The first sense is plainer; this is fuller and more sublime. In a similar way the Psalmist says in Psalm 102:11: "According to the height of heaven above the earth, He has strengthened His mercy toward those who fear Him," meaning: the proportion of God's mercy toward men is the same as that of heaven to earth — that is, of an immense circle to one point and center, meaning: the most exalted mercy of God immeasurably surpasses and embraces us and our merits, our thoughts, as well as our miseries, and always strengthens and confirms them.
10, 11. "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, etc., so shall My word be." St. Jerome, Cyril, Haymo, and Forerius explain this "word" in three ways, which nevertheless return to one and the same thing. For by "word" first they understand Christ, who, like rain and snow coming from heaven, made the earth of our hearts fruitful with good works; second, they understand the Gospel, through which Christ produces these fruits; third, and most plainly, this promise of God, meaning: this word of Mine, by which I have made such magnificent promises about the new covenant, about the Messiah, about grace and the good things to be given through Him to the world — namely, to those who believe in Him and repent — shall be most firm and most efficacious. For it shall bring it about that men, stirred by the hope of pardon, God's friendship, and salvation, shall produce worthy fruits of repentance and virtue, by which they shall in truth be reconciled to God, enter into covenant with Him, and become eternal friends of God, indeed His heirs and children. For so this word of God waters and makes fruitful the soul, just as rain and snow do the earth.
Verse 10: 10. "And returns no more thither" — namely, empty, meaning: it shall not be fruitless and barren, but shall bring an...
10. "And returns no more thither" — namely, empty, meaning: it shall not be fruitless and barren, but shall bring an abundant yield. For in Hebrew idiom, "to return" and "not to return" has this meaning. Otherwise this phrase would not fit the thing signified by the comparison. For it is well established that Christ returned to heaven, and that He transfers His elect, as the Lord's harvest, to the same, as to the Lord's barn. For "He who descended is the same who ascended above all the heavens." Nor would it fit the parable itself; for rain, after it has watered and made the earth fruitful, is dissolved into vapor and exhalation, and again ascends and returns to heaven. Beautifully, St. Bernard, in Sermon 71 on the Song of Songs, says: "The word of God shall not return to Me void or hungry, but as if prospering in all things, it shall be satisfied with the good deeds of those who rest in love for Him. Finally, in common usage, a word is said to be fulfilled when it has been committed to the affections; for it is, as it were, empty, lean, and in a manner hungry, until it is completed by action. But hear Him say with what food He is nourished: 'My food,' He says, 'is to do the will of My Father.'"
10. IT SHALL NOT RETURN THITHER — namely, empty; that is: It shall not be vain and barren, but shall bring forth a copious yield. For among the Hebrews, this is the meaning of returning and not returning; otherwise this expression would not fit the thing signified by the similitude. For it is established that Christ returned to heaven and transfers His elect, as the Lord's harvest, to the same place, as into the Lord's barn. For "He who descended is the same who ascended above all heavens." Nor would it fit the parable itself; for rain, once it has watered and fertilized the earth, is dissolved into vapor and exhalation, and again ascends and returns to heaven. St. Bernard puts it beautifully, Sermon 71 on the Song of Songs: "It shall not return," he says, "the word of God to Me empty, or hungry, but as if prospering in all things, it shall be satisfied with the good deeds of those who rest in love of it. Finally, in common usage, a word is said to be fulfilled when it has been given over to its intended effect; because indeed it is vain and lean, and in a way famished, until it is completed in action. But hear Him say with what food He is nourished: 'My food,' He says, 'is to do the will of My Father.'"
Verse 12: 12. "For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace." The word "for" gives the reason why this word of the...
12. "For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace." The word "for" gives the reason why this word of the divine covenant, promise, and benevolence shall not return void — namely because it shall bring it about that unbelievers and the impious, who were held captive, ensnared by the traps of the devil and sin, shall be freed from there and shall go out joyfully to Christ and the Church, and from there shall be led peacefully to heavenly beatitude. See Canon 17.
"The mountains and the hills shall sing praise before you," meaning: so great shall be the joy and congratulation of the Gentiles, coming from the worship of idols and the demon to Christ and the Church, that the mountains and hills shall seem to leap, jubilate, and applaud them. It is a hyperbolic personification. A similar one, indeed greater, is in Baruch chapter 5, throughout the chapter. See the commentary there. Add that by "mountains and hills" can be understood the inhabitants or watchmen of mountains and hills. He alludes to the joy of those returning from Babylon, and to the watchmen whom the Jews placed on mountains and in trees, as Sanchez rightly observes. For when they saw something joyful — for example, the return of their people from captivity — they would applaud, and by this would stir all the citizens and inhabitants to applause.
12. FOR YOU SHALL GO OUT WITH JOY, AND BE LED FORTH WITH PEACE. — The word "for" gives the reason why this word of the covenant, of promise, and of divine benevolence shall not return empty: namely, because it shall bring it about that unbelievers and the wicked, who were held captive, ensnared in the toils of the devil and sin, shall be freed from there, and shall go out with joy to Christ and the Church, and from there shall be peacefully led to heavenly beatitude. See Canon XVII.
THE MOUNTAINS AND THE HILLS SHALL SING PRAISE BEFORE YOU — that is: So great shall be the joy and rejoicing of the Gentiles, coming from the worship of idols and the devil to Christ and the Church, that the mountains and hills shall seem to leap up, to jubilate, and to applaud them. It is a hyperbolic personification. A similar one, indeed a greater one, is found in Baruch chapter 5, throughout the entire chapter. See what was said there. Both merits surpass and encompass our thoughts, just as the most lofty mercy of God always strengthens and fortifies our mysteries.
St. Jerome, however, makes some distinction between "name" and "sign": "It shall be," he says, "the Lord for a name and for an eternal sign, so that from His name they shall be called Christians, and shall be branded with the mark of His cross;" and shortly after: "Of whom He who is the sign says: 'When you shall see the sign of the Son of Man,' which shall not fail nor be changed by any end; but from the present manner of life it shall pass into the future." For the Cross of Christ shall be erected and shall shine in the heavens as an eternal trophy of Christ. St. Jerome seems to signify that the bodies of the blessed are to be marked with the stigmata of the cross, which eternity shall not erase; just as the stigmata of the cross and the five wounds shall remain forever in the very body of Christ, to be a perennial memorial of Him and of our redemption — unless you say that the cross, that is, the glorious stigmata and scars of each one's suffering, shall remain in the bodies of the Blessed. For that the shining signs of wounds shall remain in heaven in the bodies of the Martyrs, like trophies of victories, is taught by St. Augustine, book XXII of The City of God, chapter 20; St. Ambrose, sermon 57; Paludanus in IV, distinction 49, Question 8, article 4; John Major and others in the same place.
Third, Sanchez adds that this "sign" can be understood as a stone, or a title inscribed with the name or insignia of a master, which he himself would fix in a field or estate when he took possession of it, so that it would be clear to all that it was his and belonged to him: for thus Christ everywhere in churches fixes the title of the cross, which signifies that they belong to Christ crucified.
Fourth, others, whom Adamus seems to favor, understand by the sign the character of baptism; for this seals us to Christ and is indelible. But the first meaning is the most genuine.
Verse 13: 13. "Instead of the shrub shall come up the fir tree." Saliunca is a plant that immediately springs from the earth;...
13. "Instead of the shrub shall come up the fir tree." Saliunca is a plant that immediately springs from the earth; hence it is called saliunca from "leaping" (saliendo), about which Pliny says in Book 21, chapter 7: "Saliunca is indeed leafy, but short, and cannot be woven. It clings to a numerous root, more truly an herb than a flower, dense as if pressed by a hand, and briefly a turf of its own kind. Pannonia produces it, and the sunny slopes of the Norican Alps." Pliny adds that it nevertheless has a most noble fragrance and such sweetness that the Romans levied a public tax and revenue on it, as on a mine. The same author, in chapter 20, reports that its root boiled in wine stops vomiting and strengthens the stomach. The saliunca, therefore, is humble, lowly and abject, but fragrant. Whence Virgil, in Eclogue 5: "As much as the humble saliunca yields to crimson rose-beds, so much in our judgment does Amyntas yield to you." See Ruellius, Book II, chapter 7. Whence the Septuagint translates saliunca as stebe, that is, the most worthless stalk, says St. Jerome. Aquila and Theodotion translate it as myza, which according to Hesychius is cunilago, a garland herb, by syncope mysla, about which see Pliny, Book 21, chapter 9, and Dioscorides, Book IV, chapter 136. It restrains amorous impulses, says the scholiast on Theocritus, Idyll 7. Myrtle on the other hand promotes desire and fertility; whence it was formerly sacred to Venus. From this Delrio, in Adage 794, draws this sense, meaning: those who were formerly barren of virtues will now be fruitful in them. But the sense of our version is: the Gentiles and the souls of the Pagans, which, like dry, thorny, and barren ground, produced only thorns, shrubs, and nettles — that is, vain, worthless, harmful, and wicked works — now, watered and made fruitful by the rain of God's word and the preaching of the Gospel, shall produce fir trees, myrtles, etc. — that is, honorable, just, fruitful, and holy works. In a word, instead of vices, virtues shall be born; instead of pride, humility; instead of gluttony, sobriety; instead of lust, chastity; instead of theft, justice; instead of cruelty, mercy, etc. So say Procopius and St. Jerome.
Whence the Chaldean translates: "Instead of the impious, the just shall arise; and instead of sinners, those who fear God shall arise" — as Paul instead of Saul, the penitent Magdalene instead of the sinner, the Apostle Matthew instead of the tax collector, etc. Isaiah used a similar metaphor in chapter 41:19: "I will give in the wilderness the cedar, and the thorn, and the myrtle," etc. So Cyril, Theodoret, and others.
Hear St. Gregory, Book XVIII of the Moralia, chapter 12: "Instead of the shrub the fir tree comes up, when in the hearts of the Saints, in place of the abjection of earthly thoughts, the height of heavenly contemplation arises. Now the nettle is entirely of a fiery nature, but the myrtle is said to be of a tempering virtue. Instead of the nettle, therefore, the myrtle grows, when the minds of the just pass from the itch and heat of vices to the temperance and tranquility of thoughts — when they no longer desire earthly things, when they extinguish the flames of the flesh with heavenly desires." The same author, in Book 33, chapter 4, by nettles understands the itching of thoughts, and by thorns the stinging of vices.
Vatablus translates: "Instead of the thorn, or thorny bramble, the fir tree shall come up;" and explains it thus: those who were formerly thorny and harmed others shall cease to do injury to others. Hence Forerius also translates: "Instead of the thicket the ash tree shall spring up, and instead of the briar the myrtle shall grow."
"And the Lord shall be named for an everlasting sign." In Hebrew: "And it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign," meaning: this wonderful conversion and sanctification of the Gentiles accomplished through Christ shall be to Him for a name and for an eternal monument of glory and victory. For after a victory is won, signs or monuments are customarily erected. For the fact that all the faithful subdued and converted by Christ are called Christians, and profess with heart and mouth, indeed with their very name, that they are subjects of Christ, and will profess this forever: this shall be an eternal monument of Christ's glory. For just as the Emperors used to assume the name and title of conquered nations as a perpetual trophy of victory — for they were called Parthicus, Asiaticus, Adiabenicus, Sarmaticus, Illyricus, etc. — so likewise it is a perennial trophy of Christ that He is the ruler of all nations, to such an extent that all nations, as subjects of Christ, bear Christ's name and are called Christians from Him. Therefore the very name of Christ is a sign, that is, a trophy.
St. Jerome, however, makes some distinction between "name" and "sign": "It shall be," he says, "to the Lord for a name and for an everlasting sign, so that from His name they may be called Christians, and may be branded with the mark of His cross;" and shortly after: "Of whom He who is the sign Himself says: 'When you shall see the sign of the Son of Man' — which shall not fail nor be changed by any end, but from the present state of things shall pass into the future." For the cross of Christ shall be set up in heaven as an eternal trophy of Christ and shall gleam. St. Jerome seems to mean that the bodies of the blessed are to be marked with the stigma of the cross, which eternity shall not erase — just as the cross and the stigmata of the five wounds shall remain forever in the very body of Christ, as a perennial memorial of Him and of our redemption. Unless you say that the cross — that is, the stigmata and glorious scars of each one's sufferings — shall remain in the bodies of the blessed. For so in the bodies of the Martyrs, the signs of wounds shall remain in heaven, shining like trophies of victories, as St. Augustine teaches in Book 22 of the City of God, chapter 20; St. Ambrose in Sermon 57; Paludanus in Sentences IV, distinction 49, Question 8, article 4; John Major and others in the same place.
Third, Sanchez adds that this "sign" can be taken as a stone or marker inscribed with the name or insignia of the lord, which he himself would fix in a field or in his inheritance when he entered into its possession, so that it might be clear to all that it belonged to him and pertained to him. For so Christ everywhere in churches fixes the standard of the cross, which signifies that they belong to Christ crucified.
Fourth, others, whom Adamus seems to favor, by "sign" understand the character of Baptism; for this seals us for Christ and is indelible. But the first sense is most genuinely the correct one.
...is greater, Baruch chapter 5, throughout the entire chapter. See what was said there. Add that by mountains and hills, the inhabitants or watchers of the mountains and hills can be understood. He alludes to the joy of those returning from Babylon, and to the watchers whom the Jews stationed on mountains and in trees, as Sanchez rightly observes. For these, upon seeing a joyful event, for example, the return of their people from captivity, would give applause, and thereby would excite all the citizens and inhabitants to applause.
13. INSTEAD OF THE SALIUNCA THE FIR TREE SHALL COME UP. — The saliunca is an herb that springs up immediately from the earth; hence saliunca is so called from "leaping" (saliendo), of which Pliny, book XXI, chapter 7, says: "The saliunca indeed is leafy, but short, and such that it cannot be woven. It clings to a numerous root, more truly an herb than a flower, dense as if pressed by hand, and briefly a turf of its own kind. Pannonia produces this, as well as the sunny areas of Noricum and the Alps." Pliny adds that it is nevertheless of the most noble fragrance and such great sweetness that the Romans established a public tax and tribute on it, just as on erifodia. The same author, chapter 20, relates that its root boiled in wine stops vomiting and strengthens the stomach.
The saliunca is therefore humble, cheap and lowly, but fragrant. Whence Virgil, Eclogue 5: "As much as the humble saliunca yields to crimson rose gardens, so much does Amyntas yield to our judgment." See Ruelius, book II, chapter 7. Whence the Septuagint translate for saliunca, stoba, that is, the most worthless stem, says St. Jerome. Aquila and Theodotion translate amyza, which according to Hesychius is cunilago, a garland herb, by syncope myola, of which Pliny, book XXI, chapter 9, and Dioscorides, book IV, chapter 136, speak. It restrains lustful impulses, says the Scholiast of Theocritus, Idyll 7; myrtle on the contrary promotes desire and fertility; whence it was formerly sacred to Venus. From which Delrio, adage 794, draws this meaning, that is: those who were previously barren of virtues will now be fruitful in them. But the sense of our version is this: The Gentiles and souls of the Pagans who, like arid, thorny, and barren land, produced only thorns, saliuncas, and nettles, that is, vain, cheap, injurious, and wicked works — now watered and fertilized by the rain of God's word and the preaching of the Gospel, they will produce fir trees, myrtles, etc., that is, honest, just, fruitful, and holy works — that is, to say it in a word, instead of vices, virtues will arise: instead of pride, humility; instead of gluttony, sobriety; instead of lust, chastity; instead of robbery, justice; instead of cruelty, mercy, etc., say Procopius and St. Jerome.
Whence the Chaldean translates: Instead of the impious, the just shall arise, and instead of sinners, those who fear God shall arise, as Paul instead of Saul, the penitent Magdalene instead of the sinner, the Apostle Matthew instead of the publican, etc. Isaiah used a similar metaphor in chapter 41, verse 19: "I will give," he says, "in the wilderness the cedar, and the thorn, and the myrtle," etc. So Cyril, Theodoret, and others.
Hear St. Gregory, XVIII Moralia, chapter 12: "Instead of the saliunca the fir tree comes up, when in the hearts of the Saints, in place of the abasement of earthly thought, the height of heavenly contemplation arises. The nettle is indeed of an entirely fiery nature; but the myrtle is said to be of a tempering virtue. Instead of the nettle, therefore, the myrtle grows, when the minds of the just pass from the itching and burning of vices to the moderation and tranquility of their thoughts, since they no longer desire earthly things, since they extinguish the flames of the flesh with heavenly desires." The same author, book XXXIII, chapter 4, understands by nettles the itchings of thoughts, and by thorns the stings of vices.
Vatablus translates: instead of the thorn, or thorny bramble, the fir tree shall come up; and he explains it thus: Those who were previously thorny and injuring others, will cease to do injury to others. Hence Forerius also translates: Instead of the thicket, the ash tree shall grow up, and instead of the brier patch, the myrtle shall grow up.
AND THE LORD SHALL BE NAMED FOR AN ETERNAL SIGN. — In Hebrew: And it shall be to the Lord for a name, for a perpetual sign, that is: This marvelous conversion and sanctification of the Gentiles accomplished through Christ will be for Him a name and an eternal monument of glory and victory. For when a victory is won, signs or monuments are customarily erected. For the fact that all the faithful, subdued and converted by Christ, are called Christians, and with heart and mouth, indeed even with their own name, profess themselves to be subjects of Christ, and will profess this for eternity — this will be an eternal monument of Christ's glory. For just as Emperors assumed the name and title of conquered nations as a perpetual trophy of victory — for they were called Parthicus, Asiaticus, Adiabenicus, Sarmaticus, Illyricus, etc. — so likewise it is the perennial trophy of Christ that He is the ruler of all nations, so much so that all nations, as subjects of Christ, bear the name of Christ and are called Christians after Him. Therefore the very name of Christ is a sign, that is, a trophy.
10, 11. As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, so shall My word be. — St. Jerome, Cyril, Haymo, and Forerius explain this "word" in three ways, which nevertheless nearly all amount to one and the same thing. For by the word, first, they understand Christ, who, like rain and snow coming from heaven, made the soil of our heart fruitful with good works; second, they understand the Gospel, through which Christ produces these fruits; third, and most plainly, this promise of God, that is: This word of Mine, by which I have promised such magnificent things concerning the new covenant, and concerning the Messiah and grace, and the good things to be given through Him to the world, namely to those who believe in Him and repent — it shall be most firm and most efficacious; for it shall bring it about that people, stirred by hope of pardon, of God's friendship, and of salvation, shall produce fruits worthy of repentance and virtue, by which they shall truly be reconciled to God, allied with Him, and become eternal friends of God, indeed heirs and children. For thus this word of God waters and fertilizes the soul, just as rain and snow water and fertilize the earth.