Thomas Aquinas Commentary Isaiah 41:1-29

"Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the peoples renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak; let us come near together to judgment. Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot? he giveth nations before him, and maketh him rule over kings; he giveth them as the dust to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow. He pursueth them, and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet. Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the first, and with the last, I am he. The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come. They help every one his neighbor; and [every one] saith to his brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, [and] he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that is should not be moved. But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away; Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that are incensed against thee shall be put to shame and confounded: they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, and shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contend with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I, Jehovah thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made thee [to be] a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in Jehovah, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. The poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, Jehovah, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together: that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring forth, and declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come. Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. I have raised up one from the north, and he is come; from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name: and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the potter treadeth clay. Who hath declared it from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, [He is] right? yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that showeth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. [I am the] first [that saith] unto Zion, Behold, behold them; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings. And when I look, there is no man: even among them there is no counsellor, that, when I ask of them, can answer a word. Behold, all of them, their works are vanity [and] nought; their molten images are wind and confusion." — Isaiah 41:1-29 (ASV)

1. Let the islands keep silence before me. Here the prophet begins to strengthen the people for a firm expectation based on the love of the promising God. This section is divided into three parts:

   • First, he shows divine love through the benefits He gave to their fathers.

   • Second, he shows it through the Son, whom He promised to them: behold my servant (Isaiah 42).

   • Third, he shows it through the consolations He foretells amid various difficulties: and now thus says the Lord (Isaiah 43).

   Now, through the benefits first given to them, he intends to strengthen the Jews and refute the idols, which did not give such things to their worshipers. Therefore, the first part is divided in two:

   • First, he disputes against the worshipers of idols.

   • Second, he disputes against the idols themselves, where it says, bring your cause near (Isaiah 41:21).

   The first of these is divided in two:

   • First, by the benefits given to the Jews, he convicts their adversaries.

   • Second, by the same benefits, he strengthens the Jews: but you Israel, are my servant (Isaiah 41:8).

2. Concerning the first point, he does three things.

   1. First, he calls the nations to judgment, following the proper order of a trial: that they should be silent to hear, and then they may respond. Let the nations renew their strength; that is, let them strengthen themselves as if renewed in power to dispute with me. Let the mountains hear the judgment of the Lord (Micah 6:2).

   2. Second, he speaks of the benefits given to them. Who has called, where he speaks of the multitude of benefits regarding divine election. The just one, Abraham, from the east, that is, from Chaldea (Genesis 12). My foot has followed his steps (Job 23:11); as the girdle sticks close to the loins of a man, so have I brought close to me all the house of Israel (Jeremiah 13:11); I saw their fathers like the first fruits of the fig tree in the top thereof (Hosea 9:10).

      Regarding the power granted to them: he shall give the nations in his sight, that is, when he liberated Lot by fighting against the four kings (Genesis 14). Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind drives from the face of the earth (Psalms 1:4). Regarding the ease of pursuit: he shall pass in peace, that is, without labor. No path shall appear in his feet, as one who walks so lightly that he leaves no footprints behind; or because the labor of the journey, the evidence of travel, was not left in his feet. As it says above: they shall run and not labor (Isaiah 40:31).

      He seeks the author: who has wrought this, and who was calling the generations from the beginning in eternal foreknowledge? As it says below: the Lord has called me from the womb (Isaiah 49:1). And he presents the response: I the Lord. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8). This is also explained literally of Cyrus, and mystically of Christ.

   3. Third, he presents the response as if from the Gentiles, who believed they were defended by idols.

      • First, he touches on their stupor at the wonders they had heard of or seen: the islands saw it. The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you: and they were afraid (Psalms 77:16). They drew near to resist.

      • Second, he describes their mutual encouragement: every one. They stick one to another (Job 41:8).

      • Third, he describes the making of idols: the coppersmith striking the iron with the hammer encouraged him that forged it, who formed the idol’s figure, saying: it is ready for soldering, to make the idol solid. Setting it in a wall, and fastening it with iron .

3. But you Israel. In this part, he strengthens the Jews with the same benefits.

   First is presented the repetition of past benefits in the election of their fathers, Jacob and Abraham, in whom they were distinguished from all others: Jacob whom I have chosen. O you seed of Abraham his servant; you sons of Jacob his chosen (Psalms 105:6); that the purpose of God according to election might stand: not of works, but of him that calls, it was said to her: the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written: Jacob I have loved: but Esau I have hated (Romans 9:11–13).

   Second, the promise of future benefits is presented. Regarding freedom from evils, he excludes fear because of God’s presence: fear not, for I am with you. Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with you (Jeremiah 1:8). He excludes fear because of the righteousness of their fathers: I upheld you, as the promised seed, with the right hand of my just one, Abraham; or, alternatively, I upheld you, my righteous one, Cyrus, to defend you. In their hands they shall bear you up: lest you dash your foot against a stone (Psalms 91:12).

   He also describes the removal of enemies, first regarding their confusion: behold all that fight against you shall be confounded. Let them be confounded that persecute me (Jeremiah 17:18). Then regarding their destruction: they shall be as nothing, as it says above: to destroy the nations unto nothing (Isaiah 30:28). And he describes the impossibility of their restoration: you shall seek them. I have seen the wicked highly exalted. And I passed by, and lo, he was not (Psalms 37:35–36). He also shows the reason for their destruction: for I am the Lord. Put forth your hand from on high (Psalms 144:7).

4. Second, regarding an abundance of goods.

   • First, concerning slavery, he points out the very yoke of slavery: fear not, you worm. This is as if to say: you who were considered vile and trampled on like a worm, and were counted as dead. I am a worm, and no man (Psalms 22:6). He also points to divine help, as it says below: I have helped you (Isaiah 41:13).Rather, this is the text from this verse. . He also describes the benefit of exaltation regarding the subjugation of enemies: I have made you as a new thrashing wain. As it says above: Moab shall be trodden down under him, as straw is broken in pieces with the wain (Isaiah 25:10). This was perhaps fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees. And regarding their own exaltation: and you shall exult. We will exultExultabimus. DR: “be glad.” and rejoice in you (Song of Solomon 1:4).

   • Second, concerning poverty, he first describes its disadvantage: the needy and the poor. As it says above: their nobles have perished with famine (Isaiah 5:13). Then, he states the divine intention: I the Lord will hear them. He shall call upon me and I will hear him (Psalms 91:15).

5. Third, he describes the benefit regarding an abundance of waters in high places: I will open rivers in the high hills, as it says above: there shall be upon every high mountain rivers of running waters (Isaiah 30:25); and in desert places: I will turn the desert, that is, your land, which was formerly a desert. He has turned a wilderness into pools of waters (Psalms 107:35). And regarding the beauty of the trees: I will plant in the wilderness. His branches were multiplied (Ezekiel 31:5).

6. Fourth, he presents the fruit of this benefit: that they may see. That they may know that there is no God beside you, and that they may show forth your wonders .

7. Bring your cause near. Here he presents the disputation against the idols themselves.

   First, he presents the disputation; second, the pronouncement of the sentence: and I saw, and there was no one (Isaiah 41:28).

   Concerning the first part, he does two things:

   • First, he disputes against the idols with universal reasons.

   • Second, he disputes by a reason taken from a particular event: I have raised up (Isaiah 41:25).

   Concerning the first of these, he does three things.

   • First, he calls them to judgment: bring your cause near, that is, come near to me that we may be judged together. You, idols or idolaters, bring hither, that is, allege, if you have anything to prove that you are gods. God has stood in the congregation of gods: and being in the midst of them he judges gods (Psalms 82:1).

   • Second, he presents a twofold argument:

     • One is taken from divine knowledge, which knew all things fully, past and future, and which the idols do not have: tell us the former things what they were. For all things were known to the Lord God, before they were created .

     • The other is taken from divine power, which can punish and impart benefits: do also good or evil, if you can. And whether it be evil that one doth unto them, or good, they are not able to recompense it .

   • Third, he deduces their defect regarding their material cause: behold, you, idols, are of nothing, created out of matter. Regarding the formal cause, your work, that is, the artificial form, fashioned in you a divinity, which does not exist. And regarding the efficient cause: an abomination, that is, abominable. Alternatively: you (the artists), your work (that is, the idols), and he that has chosen you (the worshipers) are an abomination. We know that an idol is nothing (1 Corinthians 8:4); every artist is confounded in his graven idol (Jeremiah 10:14).

8. I have raised up. Here he takes up a particular event to argue against the idols.

   First, he foretells a future event: someone from the north (Chaldea) and from the rising of the sunOr “from the east” (ab oriente). (Persia), who subjugated various lands and princes to himself, like a potter (plastes)—plasma, a thing produced. Mystically, the one who comes from the north signifies the Gentile people; the one who comes from the rising of the sun signifies Christ. I shall bring them to naught, like the dirt in the streets (Psalms 18:42).

   Second, from this, he presents an argument in the form of a question: the one who can foretell this is justly called God, and the one who cannot is not. Who has declared this? As it says below: assemble yourselves together, all you, and hear (Isaiah 48:14).

   Third, he denies any proof of divinity from the idols: there is none among you gods that shows this, nor any of your worshipers that hears your words. They have eyes and see not; they have ears and hear not (Psalms 115:5–6).

   Fourth, he shows the sign of divinity belongs to the true God: the first, that is, the only one, our God, says: behold I am here to help, and I give evangelists announcing things to come. Verily, your God is the God of gods (Daniel 2:47). Alternatively, the first refers to a prophet of the Lord speaking in the person of God; or it refers to the first, the firstborn Son of God. He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists (Ephesians 4:11).

9. And I saw. Here, from the disputation presented above, he deduces the pronouncement of the sentence, and it is self-evident: they are vain things, and a ridiculous work (Jeremiah 10:15 and 51:18).

10. Christ passed in peace in several ways:

    • From the flesh toward the spirit, which he possessed: you shall know that your tabernacle is in peace (Job 5:24).

    • From man toward his neighbor, which he taught, as it says below: how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, and that preaches peace (Isaiah 52:7).

    • From the world toward the Lord, which he established: making peace, and reconciling both to God (Ephesians 2:15).

11. What moves one to preach :

    • The instigation of faith: I have believed, therefore have I spoken (Psalms 116:10; 2 Corinthians 4; Revelation 22).

    • The spur of zeal: there came in my heart as a burning fire (Jeremiah 20:9).

    • The greatness of the reward: he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19).

12. Christ upheld us in several ways:

    • As a conqueror holds a captive to liberate him: to the prey, my son (Genesis 49:9); bring my soul out of prison (Psalms 142:7).

    • As a physician supports a sick man to heal him: who forgives all your iniquities: who heals all your diseases (Psalms 103:3).

    • As an advocate supports a defendant to plead for him: we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1).

    • As a strong man supports a weak man to defend him, as it says below: I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save (Isaiah 63:1); the Lord will fight for you (Exodus 14:14).

    • As a husband supports his wife to rejoice with her: I will espouse you to me (Hosea 2:19).

13. There are several kinds of water :

    • The water of tears poured out: who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? (Jeremiah 9:1).

    • The water of baptismal purity: unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

    • The water of spiritual grace: he that believes in me: out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38).

    • The water of divine wisdom: I, wisdom, have poured out rivers .

    • The water of internal joy: drink water out of your own cistern (Proverbs 5:15).