Thomas Aquinas Commentary Isaiah 42:1-25

"Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God Jehovah, he that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up [their voice], the villages that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto Jehovah, and declare his praise in the islands. Jehovah will go forth as a mighty man; he will stir up [his] zeal like a man of war: he will cry, yea, he will shout aloud; he will do mightily against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: [now] will I cry out like a travailing woman; I will gasp and pant together. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; in paths that they know not will I lead them; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things will I do, and I will not forsake them. They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I send? who is blind as he that is at peace [with me], and blind as Jehovah`s servant? Thou seest many things, but thou observest not; his ears are open, but he heareth not. It pleased Jehovah, for his righteousness` sake, to magnify the law, and make it honorable. But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all of them snared in holes, and they are hid in prison-houses: they are for a prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil, and none saith, Restore. Who is there among you that will give ear to this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come? Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not Jehovah? he against whom we have sinned, and in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient unto his law. Therefore he poured upon him the fierceness of his anger, and the strength of battle; and it set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart." — Isaiah 42:1-25 (ASV)

1. Behold my servant. Here he shows the divine love of the Son, whom He promised: God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son (John 3:16).

   From this benefit, he shows first, the love of God, and second, the perversity of the Jews: these things have I done to them (Isaiah 42:16).

   Concerning the first point, he does three things:

   1. He foretells the coming of the Son of God.
   2. He foretells the fall of the wicked: the Lord shall go forth as a mighty man (Isaiah 42:13).
   3. He foretells the resurrection of the good: and I will lead the blind (Isaiah 42:16). As it is written, behold this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel (Luke 2:34).

   Concerning the coming of the Son, he does three things:

   1. He describes the condition of the one who is to be sent.
   2. He foretells the sending: thus says the Lord God (Isaiah 42:5).
   3. He invites us to thanksgiving: sing to the Lord (Isaiah 42:10).

2. Concerning the first point—the condition of the one sent—he shows three things. First, he shows His fullness of grace regarding the grace of union: I will uphold him; my servant, according to His human nature, for he has upheld Israel his servant (Luke 1:54). Regarding the grace of the head: my elect, that He may be the head of the Church, chosen out of thousands (Song of Solomon 5:10), and blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken to you (Psalms 65:4). My soul delights in him, as in, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 17:5). Regarding habitual grace, which was in Him alone: I have given my spirit, as stated above: the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isaiah 11:2).

3. Second, he shows the equity of His judgment in three ways:

   1. The authority to judge: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, as in give to the king your judgment, O God (Psalms 72:1), for the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). To this he joins His meekness: he shall not cry, for the words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of a prince among fools (Ecclesiastes 9:17).

   2. The impartiality of the judge: nor have respect to person, for God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). To this he joins His piety in coming to help: neither shall his voice—the voice of His preaching—be heard abroad, that is, outside Judea, so that He should first come to the aid of those to whom He was sent (Matthew 15:24). As it is written, to day if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Psalms 95:8). And in His forbearance: the bruised reed, namely, the kingdom of the Jews, and the smoking flax of the priests, for that which was broken you have not bound up (Ezekiel 34:4).

   3. The truth of His judgment: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth, for he shall judge the world with justice, and the people with his truth (Psalms 96:13). To this he joins His pleasantness: he shall not be sad in his heart, nor troublesome in his face, for He was always cheerful and pleasant, keeping an evenness of mind. Even if, in His sensory part, there was the suffering of sadness, it was not of necessity but of will. Thus, He said, my soul is sorrowful even unto death (Matthew 26:38), for there is also the joyfulness of the heart .

4. Third, he shows the power of the Lord: till he set the final judgment, or His precept, by the preaching of the Apostles. His law is the Gospel, for he shall be the expectation of nations (Genesis 49:10), and as it says below, for, the islands wait for me (Isaiah 60:9). Others explain these things as referring to Darius, the king of the Persians, who was meek, just, and peaceful, and whom the Lord chose to liberate the Jews.

5. Thus says the Lord God. Here he foretells the sending.

   1. First, he sets out the power of the one who sends regarding the creation of heavenly things: that created the heavens; the disposition of earthly things: that established the earth; and the animation of living things: that gives breath of natural life, and spirit freely. As it is written, the Lord, who stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit of man in him (Zechariah 12:1).

   2. Second, he foretells the sending, setting out the exaltation of the one sent: I the Lord have called you, my Son, predestining from eternity to the unity of the divine person, in justice, that is, so that I may be just by fulfilling my promise: who was predestined the Son of God (Romans 1:4). And taken you by the hand, regarding His works: the Father who abides in me, he does the works (John 14:10). And preserved you, lest you be detained by death: nor will you give your holy one to see corruption (Psalms 16:10), and below: I have called him and brought him (Isaiah 48:15).

      He also sets out the injunction of His office: and I have given you for a covenant, as a mediator, just as I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant (Genesis 9:13); and for a light, as an illuminator, as stated above: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen (Isaiah 9:2), for that was the true light (John 1:9).

      He also shows the purpose of His office is to work against faithlessness: that you might open the eyes of the blind, for for judgment I am come into this world: that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind (John 9:39); and against the slavery of sin: and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, for you also by the blood of your testament have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit (Zechariah 9:11).

   3. Third, from the sending he deduces the singularity of the divine majesty regarding power: I the Lord, as in make a way for him who ascends upon the west: the Lord is his name (Psalms 68:4), and my name Adonai (Exodus 6:3). My glory, by which I am called Lord: glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14). And regarding knowledge: the things that were first, etc., and below: I foretold you of old (Isaiah 48:5). They also refer this to Darius.

6. Sing to the Lord. Here he invites us to thanksgiving.

   1. First, he enjoins praise, especially upon the rustic, whether because of the distance of their home: from the ends of the earth, as above: from the ends of the earth we have heard praises (Isaiah 24:16); or because they are confined by the sea: you that go down to the sea, namely, sailors, and the fullness thereof, that is, of the sea, meaning let everything with which it is filled praise God: they that go down to the sea in ships (Psalms 107:23–24).

      Or praise is enjoined because their way of life is in the desert: let the desert, that is, its inhabitants, especially the Ishmaelites, raise its voice in praise of God. Cedar, the son of Ishmael, shall dwell in houses, according to the custom of other nations, for they were formerly wanderers through the desert, as above: the land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice (Isaiah 35:1). Or praise is enjoined because their home is in the mountains: give praise, you inhabitants of Petra, the city in Palestine built in the rocks, or any mountain, as below: the mountains and the hills shall sing praise (Isaiah 55:12). He invites these who seem least likely to be turned to praising God.

   2. Second, he foretells the spreading of divine praise: they shall give glory to the Lord in others, not only in themselves, as below: I will send of them that shall be saved, to the Gentiles (Isaiah 66:19). Mystically, all this refers to the conversion of the Gentiles to the faith.

7. The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man. Here he foretells the coming fall of the wicked through the coming of Christ. Concerning this, he sets out four things.

   1. Power: the Lord shall go forth as a mighty man to fight against the Jews through the Romans, for the Lord is as a man of war (Exodus 15:3). And zeal for vengeance: the zeal and rage of the husband will not spare in the day of revenge (Proverbs 6:34).

   2. Wrath: he shall shout through the tribulations which He sends upon them. This is against what is said above, he shall not cry (Isaiah 42:2), for He first shows meekness when He comes, but He shows indignation to those who disdain Him: he shall thunder with the voice of his majesty (Job 37:4).

   3. Justice: for it is just that when He has long waited for the impenitent, He should swallow them all up at once. I have always held my peace, as in have I not dissembled? Have I not kept silence? (Job 3:26). I have been patient, as above: therefore the Lord waits that he may have mercy on you (Isaiah 30:18). As a woman in labor, I will bring forth hidden pain, as a woman brings forth the infant she has conceived; or, as a woman in labor, I will be pained at such a grave penalty.

   4. Punishment: regarding men, I will lay waste the mountains (the great), hills (the middle ranks), and grass (the common people), as in and I will make mount Seir waste and desolate (Ezekiel 35:7). And regarding the removal of all teaching or consolation, I will turn rivers into islands, for he has turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry ground (Psalms 107:33). This can also be referred to the destruction of the enemies of the Jews by Darius.

8. And I will lead. Here he sets out the resurrection of the good in three ways:

   1. The restoration of action: I will lead the blind, namely, the Gentiles, into the way, which is Christ, or the precept of the law. Or, according to another explanation, the Jews: I will lead you by the paths of equity (Proverbs 4:11).

   2. The illumination of the intellect: I will make darkness light before them, as in to enlighten them that sit in darkness (Luke 1:79).

   3. The direction of the affections: and crooked things, namely, their hearts, straight, as above: the crooked shall become straight (Isaiah 40:4).

9. These things have I done to them. Here he shows the perversity of the Jews.

   First, he shows that they are ungrateful for His benefits; second, that they are hard-hearted toward His precepts: hear, you deaf (Isaiah 42:18); and third, that they are obstinate amid scourges: who is there among you (Isaiah 42:23).

   Concerning the first point, he does two things:

   1. He shows their ingratitude: these things, namely, the aforementioned benefits. They are turned back from me: you have forsaken me, says the Lord, you are gone backward (Jeremiah 15:6).

   2. He calls down confusion on them: let them be greatly confounded, as in let all them be confounded (Psalms 25:4).

10. Hear, you deaf. Here he shows that they are hard-hearted or disobedient toward His precepts.

    1. First, he shows their hard-heartedness, calling them deaf and blind together, for for their own malice blinded them , though they may have the eyes and ears of the body. This shows that those who see should take heed and those who have the ears of their hearts open should obey. He that is sold refers to one who is a slave of sin for love of temporal good: you are sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord (1 Kings 21:20). You that have ears open, as in hear, O foolish people, and without understanding: who have eyes, and see not: and ears, and hear not (Jeremiah 5:21), and above: blind the heart of this people, and make their ears heavy (Isaiah 6:10).

    2. Second, he shows the foolishness of the hard-hearted, because the Lord intended what is found in the precepts for their own advantage. Hence he sets out the intention of the Lord: and the Lord was willing to sanctify him, the people, both that the people themselves should magnify the law of God in their hearts by keeping it, and that the Lord should exalt the people: for this is the will of God, your sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

       He also shows their contradiction, because they sinned against themselves: but this is a people that is robbed by demons through various sins, and therefore they are wasted by enemies, as above: from a people rent and torn in pieces (Isaiah 18:7). They are also robbed by others who furnished the occasion of sin: the snare, that is, the occasion of sin, of young men, the foolish: you have been a snare to them (Hosea 5:1). And because they hid their sins in the houses of prisons, that is, in the secret of their hearts: with a double heart have they spoken (Psalms 12:2).

    3. Third, he sets out the punishment: they are made a prey, and there is none to deliver them by the power of wars, and there is none that says, in the insistence of prayer: they compassed me on every side, and there was no one that would help me . Or the punishment begins where it says: in the houses of prisons, so that this is explained literally.

11. Who is there among you. Here he shows that they cannot be corrected by scourges, because they do not even recognize the cause of the scourges. Concerning this, he does three things.

    1. First, he seeks those who perceive rightly, intimating their scarcity, concerning the things to come, which I foretell about your punishments: who is wise, and he shall understand these things? (Hosea 14:10).

    2. Second, he determines the truth regarding the doer of the punishment: who has given Jacob for a spoil, for the Lord kills and makes alive (1 Samuel 2:6). Regarding the fault: has not the Lord himself, against whom we have sinned, for and they have not known his justices, nor walked by the ways of God’s commandments . And regarding the punishment: and he has poured out, as in pour out your indignation upon them (Psalms 69:24); “pouring out” signifies its abundance.

    3. Third, he excludes knowledge of the truth: and has burnt him, namely, with material fire through the wasting by their enemies, and he knew not that he was punished by God for his sins: they have not known nor understood (Psalms 82:5).

12. There is the cry :

    • of devout prayer: with a strong cry and tears (Hebrews 5:7);
    • of attentive preaching: and on the last festival day, Jesus cried (John 7:37);
    • of strife and contention, as above: I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isaiah 5:2).

    Christ is given for a covenant :

    • of preserving salvation: I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of my covenant (Genesis 9:13);
    • of fulfilling the promise: for all the promises of God are in him (2 Corinthians 1:20);
    • of divine love: God so loved the world (John 3:16);
    • of the law to cease: burnt offering and sin offering you did not desire (Psalms 40:7).