He calls the churches islands, because they receive the assault of the waves of persecutors and because they are founded on the rock. He gives the title of princes to the heralds of truth, who have become changed from their [previous state] after their call: Follow me, says [the Scripture] and I will make you fishers of men.^[1] They have consequently taken on new strength: it was no longer fish drawn from a single lake, but humans drawn from the entire world that they made their catch.

Be you renewed, O islands, because, just like islands, we are surrounded on the sea of this world by waves of sin. These islands were renewed by the forgiveness of sins through the coming of the Lord.

For it was a work of right-eousness not only for the Jews but also for the other nations to be called to the knowledge of God. So who is raising up this righteousness from the dawn of the light? Who is calling all to follow him? Who is the one offering this to all the peoples so as to shock the kings of the nations and to confound the foremost among them? God resists and tames those who attack this work, sweeping away the fighters with a word of righteousness, as they are conquered by the righteousness of God. It also serves to win over those who follow this word. He makes a rough way for the feet of the enemies of righteousness. He makes smooth a path for the feet of those who walk in peace.

The wonder of God is not only found rightly in the magnificent work he did in the creation. For he has done nothing less than save the inhabitants of the earth, delivering the human race from death and destruction and the devil’s snare. For he has condemned the sin that had become master through our sins, so that he has justified through faith those who are able to be with him. He became for us righteousness and redemption and sanctification before God the Father.^[1]

Of this righteousness, the blessed Paul has said in his turn: It is from God that we have been given wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.^[1] When this righteousness arose and pervaded the world, kings were dismayed, tyrants were conquered, all kinds of torments were suppressed; the persecuted overcame their persecutors, and, as if rejoicing in great peace, they ran the course that was set before them.^[2] However, the words it will not come are not to be found in the Septuagint. . . . They show clearly that righteousness will not come for all but [only] for believers; for the ungodly did not even desire to pay attention to divine messages.

His feet will not trod the path, that is, he will not feel the labor of life or any fatigue from human weakness, but he will drink from the torrent on the way, and therefore, will lift up his head.^[1] . . . That which we interpreted as referring to the person of Christ, some refer to Cyrus, the king of the Persians, . . . while some of the Jews think this is said about Abraham.

From the beginning, [Isaiah] says, God has made announcements concerning righteousness. He made the covenant with Abraham in these terms: All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in your seed,^[1] and he [renewed] the covenant with Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David. This is what he has likewise announced through other prophets. I, God, I AM the first, and I AM the future. The One who gave the Old Testament, he says, is not different from the One who established the New. The divine nature is one, always the same and unchanging.

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

[Where] do you get those fortresses of yours, ingenerate and unoriginate, from—or where the term immortal? Show us the express words, or we cross them out as unscriptural, and you will be dead as a result of your own principles, since the words, the wall of defense you trusted in,^[1] will have been destroyed. Is it not plain that these terms derived from passages that imply, without actually mentioning them? Which passages? What about I am the first, and I am hereafter,^[2] and Before me there is no other God and after me there shall be none,^[3] for everything that exists [God is saying] is mine, without beginning or ending?^[4] You have taken the truths that there is nothing before God and that he has no prior case, and you have given him the titles unoriginate and ingenerate. The fact that there is no halt to his ongoing existence means he is immortal and indestructible. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 5(31).23.^[5]

41:6 EVERYONE HELPS A NEIGHBOR

GOD’S SALVATION EXTENDS TO CHARITABLE PAGANS. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA: You, Jacob, now ponder such things, the Savior of everything did not privilege you over the salvation of other human beings but chose the things that suited you, while to the rest of the nations he announced an exchange, summoning them all to knowledge of him. . . . He calls islands the churches from all the nations, since those partially submerged under the evil of life are like those islands in the sea. . . .

For it is not only those who are called who come to salvation, but also those nearby according to the laws of neighbor love (philanthropy). So they say these things to those worshiping God nearby, who would like to be their brothers and friends yet who are still out of place. There was a time when our own craftsman prevailed, beating out idols, and the smith struck with a hammer his gods. But now we know that they are nothing and recognize the illusion of our fore-fathers.

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

The meaning of this is as follows: They have approached and come together, no longer staying apart, not alienated from each other through sin but as if brought close through spiritually taking possession, are joined into one faith and a common spirit. For once they tasted of the Lord and understood that he is good^[1] and began to wonder at the beauty of his truth, they did not only keep the gift for themselves but each one generously came to the aid of his brother and his friend. ^[2] THE FOOLISHNESS OF IDOLATRY. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: By mocking those who make the idols, [Isaiah] says, The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, who strikes with the hammer. That is, even though they know that their hands have made them and that they fasten them with nails, they are not ashamed to adore them. ^[1]

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

Since the seed of Abraham is spread over all the earth, he speaks about this. . . . In the same way Paul the apostle shows the Jews, first it was necessary that the word be proclaimed to you, but since you turn away, we are going to the Gentiles.^[1] Isaiah addresses those among them, therefore, who would obey the calling and the Gospel word that is handed on: You whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners. Many from the Jews, during the apostolic times, handed on the word of Christ, not only to the land of Judah but also to the rest of the nations. For the seed of Abraham rises quickly, until the time when God remembers the election of the apostolic chorus, and he says to them, you are my son, or, according to the other interpretations, you are my servant; I have chosen you and not abandoned you. Probably the divine apostle equates the servant with himself, made present as one worthy of the honor of being a servant of the Savior, since also from the first the word proclaimed this, saying, great to you are those called ‘my servant.’^[2]

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

He adds that he is to strengthen and sustain those undergoing afflictions at the hands of those [who oppose God] with the vision of the goal that awaits them. He encourages with good news of God speaking to you without deceit: I am the Lord and God, and I strengthen your right arm, and I say to you, Do not fear, I will help you. In the Septuagint, I will help you, do not fear, you worm Jacob, does not appear. This one who was after the former people called chosen is now called worm through its worm-like subjection to the cities of the unbelieving nations and all of their polytheistic errors. In addition, what is perfect and special in the apostolic preaching will destroy and remove the demonic energies from the depth of human thinking. Indeed, the Savior called himself a worm, saying I am a worm and no man,^[1] a disgrace among people and an object of their contempt. Since there were only a few who were the Savior’s disciples, there being twelve apostles, therefore the Septuagint says, Israel, the very few.

For to none other than to God does it belong to implant courage in the fearful, saying to the fainthearted, Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, as says the psalmist, Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.^[1]

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

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

When we hear the prophet say, You, Israel, my child, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, whom I have loved,^[1] we do not think, do we, that the Jews are only flesh and not complete human beings composed of bodies and rational souls? . . . And [don’t we think] that the seed of Abraham is not without a soul and not without a mind but that it possesses everything that belongs to Abraham’s nature? . . . We confess one Son, who, according to the divine apostle,^[2] took hold of the seed of Abraham and brought about the salvation of human beings.

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

This shows clearly that the prophetic text applies to those who have believed in the Lord. It is a small part of Israel that believed, while the major part refused to. That is why Paul said that even at the present time there remains a remnant according to God’s gracious election. . . .^[1] As for the name worm, it fits very well. In the first place, this remnants’ appearance was contemptible. In fact, this is what the divine apostle meant when he said, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise.^[2] But Isaiah calls them worms for another reason. The worm that lodges in wood of poor quality will in a short time wear it down. Similarly, those who are athletes of the truth will, while hidden and imperceptible, destroy the error of the idols.

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

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

God is not offering his services as a water manager or a farmer when he says, I will open rivers in a dry land; I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the box tree.

He refers in this way to those who have been entrusted with the grace of instruction. For he has said in the holy Gospels: He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.^[1] I will make the desert pools of water and a parched land springs. He gives the name desert to the Gentiles; this promise had been made to them similarly in the preceding passages.

All these [types of trees] are equally placed in solitude, lest even one chord from the harp of the Lord and any virtue of the graces of the church seem to be missing. They are planted in the desert so that all might understand and recognize with a common mind that the hand of the Lord has accomplished all these things, so that in the desert of the nations there came rivers of virtues and in a land once a desert and full of salty water the cedar and cypress and other trees may grow, whose height and stature rush to the skies. The olive tree is the same tree that supplies both light and relaxation after working.

The water was not life-giving. For they were not able to satisfy those who longed for truth from their teachings. Their tongues remained parched from thirst. But I will hear them, says the God of Israel, and I will not abandon them. For he had mercy on the mass of those who strayed and did not leave them without gifts from above, but rather he gave to them in fullness, and this in such a way as is finely described in the verses that follow. . . . The desert and the land short of water is the region of the Gentiles. The desert that will run dry and barren of any flowering growth, meaning spiritual growth, is the way of shriveling, where the wild trees are those useful only for burning in fire. The water allows the nations to bear fruit. To those who were once thirsty he says, I will make rivers flow on the mountains, that is, holy people who are enriched by the divine word from above and pour out like flowing streams to the thirsty.

To the expression your judgment draws near, Symmachus has given the following interpretation: Present your case, the Lord has said; bring up your solid supports, the king of Jacob has said. Become judges, he says, between myself and the idols; produce your solid props or, according to Theodotion, your firm supports, that is to say, the idols. Let them reveal the future; let them inform us of [the things] that have happened from the beginning. I, for my part, have not ceased to do the one and the other. Through my servant Moses, I have even taught what took place before the creation of humanity. As for the future, I have revealed it through [Moses] and through the other prophets.

Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. . . . It is a further sign that the idols are not gods that they can do neither good nor evil. It is not saying that the idols or the demons inhabiting idols do not do evil frequently, but that unless God permits them to have power they cannot do so. So in the Gospel demons ask that they might have power over a herd of pigs,^[1] and in Job we read that without the Lord’s command the devil is not able to destroy livestock or goods.^[2]

If you do not want to demonstrate your personal strength from your knowledge or prescience, then do so through a demonstration of your power. Demonstrate your power, whether it be kind or punishing. It is I who will put to death and I who will bring to life, I who will strike down and I who will heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hands.^[1] But because you are lacking in knowledge and in power, I will now expose your emptiness. They have dug you from the ground as an abomination. For whether they are wooden or from gold, silver or bronze, they all have their origin from the earth.

This is spoken against the idols and those who after the coming of Christ still refused to abandon them but maintained them in their error. And he says that he will raise up a people of nations from the north. . . . But this will be the response of all, all those who follow vanity and winds and adore the works of their own hands. What we have said about the idols and the peoples we can refer to the teachings of corruption and to their princes, the heresiarchs, that when Christ announced peace to the church and showed it the way of truth, they followed error so as to be like wind and a whirlwind.

He threatens the idols with destruction. He calls the one who comes from the east the righteousness that has awakened, concerning which he had earlier said, Who has roused righteousness from the east?^[1] And he calls the one from the north the church drawn from the nations, toward which came the one from Theman or from the rainy country, according to the other translators. For God came from Theman,^[2] that is, from the south. It is to this church that the Master Christ has revealed himself, finding it scattered by the deceit of the idols. He warmed [the church] with the southern rays and led it to life. Its leaders, priests and teachers have trampled the idols under their feet.

And what has been accomplished confirms the text: the oracles spread through all parts of the earth and of the sea have ceased to speak, and those who used to attend to them open-mouthed have now turned away from them to learn the truth.

I will give a leader to Zion, and I will console Jerusalem as I go. . . . Again the multitude of those going astray is promised the revealing of the Savior, through whom each one under heaven has been saved and is summoned to the recognition of the truth. So that we could have a guide who would be able and skilled to lead us along the path of salvation, the only-begotten Son of God became a human being. And though he was King by nature in that he is considered to be God and from God the Father and ruler of all things with all creation under his feet, he is said to be elected king among us.

I want you to know, God is saying, I have intended from the beginning of everything to give authority to my church over all things, and the authority of my kingdom I shall give to my Zion. And I shall stir up my Jerusalem, preparing it as the road on which are all those who labor in it towards the thrice-blessed goal—to the God over all and his heavenly kingdom.

It is in a perfectly appropriate way that he both shows the stupid nature of the idols and accuses of impiety those who have fashioned them. For if the idols are inanimate, their makers are full of stupidity and impiety.