By saying, Rejoice, O barren one, who did not bear he meant us, for our church was barren before being given children. And by saying, Cry aloud, you who have not been in travail, he means this, to offer up our prayers in simplicity to God and not grow weary like women in labor. And by saying, For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her that is married, he meant that our people seemed to be abandoned by God, but now, having believed, we have become more numerous than those who seemed to have God. 2

All the Gentiles were desolate of the true God, serving the works of [human] hands. But Jews and Samaritans, having the word from God given them through the prophets and constantly looking for Christ, did not recognize him when he came, except only for a few, whose salvation the holy prophetic Spirit predicted through Isaiah.

So when he was not a desert or a land made dry to Israel, he was, with respect to what is particular, a desert and land made dry to the pagan nations. But when he turned away from Israel and became to that Israel like a desert and land made dry, then grace was poured forth on the pagan nations, and Jesus Christ became now to us not a desert but abundance, and not a land made dry but one that bears fruit.^[1]

Who is this who before was barren and desolate? Clearly it is the church of the Gentiles, which was before deprived of the knowledge of God. Who is she who has the husband? Plainly the synagogue. Yet the barren woman surpassed her in the number of her children, for the other embraces one nation, but the children of the church have filled the country of the Greeks and of the barbarians, the earth and the sea, the whole habitable world.

And through these prophecies, the God of the universe declares that in his overflowing love for human beings he is not only Lord and Father but that he also calls himself husband and groom. This prophecy teaches that the woman who was deserted produced more children than the one who had a husband.

After the birth of the Savior and the sequence of life and miracles, the passion of the cross and the glory of resurrection, when laying down his life he saw his progeny lengthened and as righteous he justified many by his knowledge and divided the spoils of the strong and prayed for transgressors, giving a place for penance; the text then switches to the calling of the nations and describes in plain words those who would believe in him.

The church, then, is that sterile city which, because of the bad condition of the waters before the coming of Christ (that is to say, because of the sacrilege of the Gentile peoples), was unable to conceive children for God in its sterility. But when Christ came, taking on a human body like a clay vessel, he cleansed the bad condition of the waters; that is to say, he cut off the sacrileges of the peoples, and immediately the church, which used to be sterile, began to be fruitful.

Here is the spiritual sense. Anyone who is in a tent does not have a secure and everlasting dwelling but is always changing places and hurrying on to the next. . . . For the end of living in tents is the taking possession of the eternal home, whose foundations do not shift nor are moved around. Those planted in the house of God, in his very atrium, flower so that from the blooms they may come to bear fruit and be able to say, I am like an olive tree bearing fruit in God’s house.^[1]

He accordingly bids the barren one to fill the world with houses of prayer and to make them left and right, that is to say, in the south and the north. One is not, however, mistaken if one gives the name of stakes to the holy prophets, to the apostles and to the martyrs, hidden in the earth, as the tent stakes are; these are the ones who maintain the tabernacle of the church, holding it upright with their doctrines as if with ropes. They are also called foundations.^[1]

We have been justified in Christ, and not from works of righteousness that we have done but according to his mercy. But this is also what the supremely wise Paul has written. For we have been set free from the darkness, deceit and wickedness, which have been inherited from our ancestors. . . . [Therefore,] do not fear that you will be put to shame. For just as a parent looks after children, the Lord will look after those who fear him. Your sins will be as far removed from you as the east is from the west. How necessary is it, then, that you not stumble again but reject those same sins in fear. Remember the grace of our justifying God, and do not bear malice or demand justice from those who sin against you.

He makes clear how he makes the shame of widowhood disappear, saying that it is the Lord who makes you, the Lord of hosts is his name. He is making you rather than creating you, transferring us into another type of citizenship and beautiful life. For we are being transformed in Christ into the newness of the holy and evangelical life, ascending to his own beautiful form through the Spirit so that others see us as different from the rest [of humanity].

It is clear that in no way is this said to Jerusalem, which never ruled over the whole world, but to the church of Christ whose inheritance is the whole world.

The Lord left [the church] for a brief moment, momentarily hiding his face; then he took it up in his everlasting mercy and changed its former sadness into joy. This is how it is said in the Hebrew. Yet according to the Septuagint it says that [the church] is not like an abandoned and faint-hearted woman summoned by God and is not like a wife despised from her youth, and accordingly he had left her and turned away from her only for a brief period, that he might take pity on her in eternity. If the Jews and those of a Judaizing tendency among us say that here is Israel abandoned for a brief period and that God takes pity on her in the coming of the Messiah, and understand a brief period in comparison with the whole eternity, why do they not allow us to say that the brief period is the time for which the nations were abandoned, who were rejected of God during adolescence, but who later in old age pursued his eternal mercy, especially when in the calling of the time of Israel the crowd of Gentiles were never shut out, but a door of returning was opened to them as proselytes? It appears we are excluded from their calling only for a short time, if by their eternal exclusion we are allowed a return to God. For we have spoken of an eternal exclusion if they do not act penitently. . . . The sinful soul was rejected by God, not because of God’s hatred, but because of his timing, so that, weighed down with a load of evils she might return to her former husband and not despair of having lost the substance of the father’s kindness.

I seem, indeed, to hear that voice from him who gathers together those who are broken and welcomes the oppressed. . . . The measure of his kindness exceeds the measure of his discipline. The former things were owing to our wickedness, the present things to the adorable Trinity, the former for our cleansing, the present for my Glory.

And by my eternal^[1] mercy I will have mercy on you. For the season of anger is short and brief in comparison with the measure of the boundless loving-kindness given to us from God. He rescued us out of the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of his love in light. It is appropriate to think greatly of the mercy that is through Christ, who cleanses us from every stain and takes away the accusation of justice. He restores us to a relationship with him through holinesss and gives the garlands of the glory of sonship to those whom he establishes in the kingdom of heaven.

The sense that the Septuagint gives is confused and all things are disordered, so that what is said is hard to understand. It is not that I do not know what that very wise man^[1] has said on this chapter but rather that it does not satisfy my mind. For he takes it to be about a figurative flood that means the Savior’s baptism . . . that in baptism he removed all sins. . . . In this figure the water cleanses us, not washing away the dirtiness of flesh but by the appeal of a good conscience to God.^[2] The mountains and the hills are those saints who were not moved in the flood of this sort, having accepted the eternal covenant, although in the previous flood they were moved, but they left their weakness behind.

He says, Remember the covenants made with Noah and recognize their truth. I have promised never again to destroy the earth in such a way. Having the first covenant as a pledge, believe that you will always enjoy my love, and I will firmly guard your peace, and I will never dissolve this marriage.

We should understand all these things of which Isaiah speaks as worthy and precious souls, with whom God commits himself to build the heavenly citizenry. He compares them with sapphire on the grounds of its likeness to the color of heaven. Their intercourse is heavenly and angelic, as Paul teaches, saying, Our citizenship is in heaven.^[1] In Ezekiel the place under the throne of God is said to be like sapphire. . . . And the parapets of this new Jerusalem would be of jasper or, in Symmachus’s translation, karchēdonion, a special, shining stone. This means those who belong to the church, whom in a spiritual manner strengthen their faith and are like the battlements of the heavenly citizenry, destroy every obstacle raised against the knowledge of God^[2] and refute any false opinion contrary to the truth. Since parapets are designed to resist the enemy, those who in the church are equipped with wisdom may be rightly called parapets. Alongside these others is a comparison drawn with crystals, with which he foretells that the gates of the city will be built and denotes the clarity and purity of sure faith of those who believed the foundational and elementary doctrine. Isaiah also declares that the wall of the new city of God will be made from special stone. Such are they who through their prayers surround and confirm, just like an enclosure, the city’s edifice and its great, precious and worthy building. ^[3] THE JOY FOR THE RETURN. ISHO‘DAD OF MERV: Behold, I will transform your stones into beryl, that is, the place is stony, and God will transform the ordinary stones into beryl, both in reality and for the fact that this is imagined as a consequence of their great joy. ^[1]

Some think that Jesus is here called coal since he was placed as a foundation in Zion and those who believe in him will not be ashamed.^[1] Similarly Amos calls him adamantine in these words, I will place adamantine in the middle of the people of Israel.^[2] And Zachariah, Look, I will give the dawn over my servant. And the stone that I will give before the face of Joshua, on that stone there are seven eyes.^[3] For Christ is the all-seeing one. This coal, he says, is also the support and the foundation stone, to which, since they approximate to it, the apostles, too, are here called foundations and are spoken of as marked out by the name of sapphire, as in the seventeenth psalm, which says, The springs of waters are uncovered and the foundations of the earth are revealed at your chastisement and from the breath of your Spirit, O Lord.^[4] For those in Israel were shaken by what the apostles dared to do through Christ, when purification through water first appeared. The disciples of the Savior receive this title, but the prophets are also called foundation, as Paul says, building on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.^[5] Sapphire is the color of heaven, and again Paul tells us that this denotes the citizenship of heaven.^[6] . . . But anthracite [coal], according to another interpretation that has been handed down, refers to stones that adorn, just as the sainted martyrs who have been tested by fire adorn with stimei [a type of eyeliner] the eyes of the bridegroom of Christ.^[7]

I will place you as a carbon stone. It is fitting to want to signify Jesus through this stone that was set, the Scriptures say, as the foundation of Zion. If anyone trusts in this foundation, he will not be ashamed. He calls him a foundation stone among them. And he is also mentioned by the holy prophets. For he says through the voice of Amos, Look, I am setting a diamond^[1] in the middle of my people Israel.^[2] And through the voice of Zechariah, Behold, I will bring my servant the sunrise.^[3] I have placed a stone before the face of Jesus; on the one stone there are seven eyes.^[4] For the all-seeing one is Christ who is able to survey all things everywhere. For the carbon is placed to be a stone and a fixed foundation of the holy city. On it are the stones of sapphire, which perhaps signify the ranks of the apostles who are set. For they were very close to Christ, and when they followed him they became foundations in the earthly realm.

It seems to me also that that fancy of Plato, that those stones that we call precious stones which derive their luster from a reflection, as it were, of the stones in that better land, is taken from the words of Isaiah in describing the city of God: I will make your battlements of jasper, your stones shall be crystal and your borders of precious stones.

All except the Septuagint translate, I will cover your stones in eye paint, in the likeness of an adorned woman who paints her eyes with mascara, thus signifying the beauty of the city . . . inducing him to come and descend in person and build on earth the heavenly Jerusalem, which in the Apocalypse of John is called the bride and wife of the lamb,^[1] containing light like a precious stone such as jasper and crystal and a great wall. . . . O the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God.^[2] . . . From which it is clear under the dispensation of righteousness that we ought to seek the name of virtue and also the other virtues in the building up of the church. . . . For these words illustrate that which is said in Proverbs, More precious than all most precious stones.^[3] For if Christ is the virtue of God and the wisdom of God, then it is stupid to have Christ compared with inanimate stones . . . for God is the builder and founder of the city. . . . Many Greek and Latin authors have written on the nature of the twelve stones and gems. From these I will name only two, bishop Epiphanius of holy and venerable memory . . . and Pliny the Younger. . . . Coal that is prepared or is spread out in an orderly manner seems to me to be the word of doctrine that ignites, which when error is dispelled enlightens the hearts of those who believe . . . sapphire, which is put in foundations, resembles the sky and the air above us. . . . The bulwarks of the Lord’s city, that is, the pinnacles of the walls, are strengthened with jasper; these are able to destroy all pretension that raises itself against God’s knowledge, to convince it and subject falsehood to truth. In such disputation the strongest bulwark of the church is reinforced with the testimonies of the holy Scriptures. . . . We should be acquainted with the worldwide spiritual graces in the church, with which he who has them puts empty fears to flight and can say with the bride, My kinsman is white and red.^[4] . . . This city is to be sought not on earth but in heaven, which, situated on the mountain that is Christ, cannot be hidden.

And the surest sign that you have been taught of God is that you put into practice what you have been taught. Of that character are all who are called according to God’s purpose, as it is written in the prophets, They shall be all taught of God. The person, however, who has learned what ought to be done but does not do it, has not yet been taught of God according to grace but only according to the law, not according to the Spirit but only according to the letter. There are many who appear to do what the law commands through fear of punishment, not through love of righteousness, and such righteousness as this apostle calls his own which is after the law^[1]—a thing as it were commanded, not given. . . . When the free person keeps a commandment, he does it readily. And whosoever learns his duty in this spirit does everything that he has learned ought to be done.

Symmachus translated, The Lord who takes pity on you says, lowly one, who has not been comforted, I have mercy for you. For I have seen you wandering aimlessly, as if surrounded by the spirits of deceit that have restless thoughts. . . . He calls godly public behavior a city. The marks of the saints are various. But all are equally pleasing in God’s sight. For that reason he calls them all precious stones, even if they have various characters. By coal is symbolized God’s burning love. Sapphire represents the person who hides his virtue, for the hue of sapphire is a deep one. By jasper . . . is designated, I think, the luster of miracle working. . . . Then Isaiah leaves the figurative way of speaking to put things more clearly: All your sons shall be taught of the Lord. He has called figuratively stones, the appearance of virtue. The peace of God is here promised. Paul refers to this construction when he says, Like a skilled architect I laid the foundation.^[1]

In the same way He wrote through the prophets, for He put His laws into their minds and He wrote them on their hearts,^[1] so that they should all be taught of God.

If we now set aright our disgraceful lives with the aid of writings on account of the rationality that our nature received from the beginning, how much shall we turn aside from God if we show contempt for the natural book of the heart, the book written by Moses and the prophets, and the light of our Savior’s Gospel of life! Hence we shall bring capital punishment upon ourselves if we gain no help from the hidden book, or from the visible one, or from the Gospel of the life-giving commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Not even the man who toils and exerts himself in prayer, reading, divine vision, and insight, will make progress in the truth and gain an illumined intellect, unless he aims the intention of his mind toward the strength of what is written by the Spirit on the book of his heart.

The veil of the passions that overlays our heart prevents us from truly beholding that which is written on our heart by the Spirit. When we pray, read, and sing praises, we float over the surface of our heart without truly perceiving what lies within. But if we raise the veil of the passions by observing the commandments, then with the eye of the spirit we shall see the truth that is imprinted in our heart.

I promised to you by grace beforehand—if you no longer struggle with these promises—that no fear of attack by war would touch you. Therefore rejoice in my commandments, for if you do so, these kinds of fears will not affect you—unless you do not guard the commandments and fall into the fear of human reproach. And so, I testify to you and say, You will be far from oppression, and you will not fear. Terror shall not come near you. Rather, you will remain close to me and will act in a godly way according to the following words of Isaiah: the proselytes will come to you. But they will not come apart from my will, for it says they also will come through me.

And then Isaiah adds, and you will be built up in righteousness. For with the utmost rightness the architect and builder of the whole is the wisdom of God, fitting the living and smooth stones to the building. Some he uses for towers, others for foundations and others for walls; some for the building of the temple of the city and others for the surrounding area. And with the rest he builds up the rest of the city, not in the human way by discriminating between types of people or evaluating them, but allowing all in, free and slave, poor and rich, so that they whose lives were unknown receive honor. And then God promises that he will give the church further orders, to step back from evil so that terror shall not come near. He instructs them in the mystery. Formerly the bride was encouraged by the prophets to advance to communion, summoning her through holiness and righteousness. By the kisses of Christ’s mouth we have been kissed. He has appeared in the flesh, speaking mouth to mouth to us. He says that no enemy will prevail against [the church] if it cultivates righteousness.

I, who created the smith who blows the fire of coals, that is, the devil of all evil arts, was not forced by nature to create him but freely chose to do so. I created the Adversary, not to cause people’s ruin but in order to provide a moral struggle. Those who lose that struggle lie in ruins, but I reward those who triumph in the struggle. . . . Now the following seems to be the sense as the Septuagint has it: I your creator have not made you in the way that the devil, that most evil craftsman with an unclean spirit, fills vessels of iniquity and carries them into perdition. It should be known that vessels of this kind do not have a prosperous road ahead but are destroyed en route. . . . But the inhabitants of the church will be righteous to the Lord. For everyone who does right is born of God. To them the Lord says, Be holy, since I am holy.^[1]

Therefore, it is good for us if we flee to the mercy of him whose justice we are incapable of escaping. The justice of God is such that it condemns those who turn away and saves those who turn to him. So he says, Be converted to me, and I will save you.^[1] [God] is always delighted by our conversion, nor has he set a time for a human being, so long as he is in this life, at which time he cannot be merciful to the one who turns to him; on the contrary, the whole time of the present life is known to have been destined for our conversion. For the blessed Peter says, The Lord does not delay his promise as some regard ‘delay,’ but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.^[2]

Behold, I have created the blacksmith, who made the vases in his work, that is, I elected the apostles and the disciples of the apostles, who perfectly instruct the peoples through the doctrine of truth. I have also created the destroyer. I did not prevent the liars and the persecutors from rising against the church at the time of the apostles.

This the Lord has taught in turn in the holy Gospels: Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world. He gives it to those who provide proof of the righteousness that he has established by his laws: For I was hungry, he says, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink and the rest.^[1]