Isaiah 35 · The Lantern

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.

This, too, was fulfilled, was clearly fulfilled, by our Savior's miraculous works after John's preaching. Notice therefore how he bears good tidings to the desert, not generally or to any desert but to one particular desert by the bank of the Jordan.

(Chapter 35, verses 1, 2) The desolate and impassable will rejoice, and solitude will exult and flourish like a lily. It will sprout and blossom; with joy and praise it will exult. The glory of Lebanon has been given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord and the splendor of our God.

In this part, he sets out the effect of prosperity resulting for the Jews from the destruction of their enemies. And this is divided into two parts: in the first, a consoling promise is set out; in the second, a strengthening exhortation: strengthen the feeble hands (Isa 35:3). Concerning the first, he does three things.

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice, even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, [and] the excellence of our God.

I believe the passage, "And my people shall see the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of God," refers to the presence of our Savior at the baptism, because it was there that the glory of the Savior was seen.

Because a multitude of Gentiles followed it after Judah came to faith in the Lord's incarnation and an astonished partaker of the same grace hastened its own unexpected conversion, Judah exclaimed in surprise, "Who is this that ascends from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon my beloved?" The church of the Gentiles ascends from the desert because the one who was des…

Second, he promises the fertility of the land: the glory of Libanus, that is, the fertility of various things, which is the glory of these places, will be found in the promised land: his glory shall be as the olive tree: and his smell as that of Libanus (Hos 14:7).

Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; [Isaiah 35:3] And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Therefore the traders came from Gilead, that is, from their possessions of or dwelling in the law, and brought their wares to the church, so that that balm might heal the sins of the nations. Of them it is said, "Be strong, you hands that are feeble and you knees that are without strength." The balm is unspoiled faith.

Here a strengthening exhortation is set out, and concerning this, he does three things. First, he sets out the enjoining of the office of exhortation: strengthen the hands, which are weak for working, and confirm the trembling knees, which are weak for supporting: lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees (Heb 12:12).

Say to them [that are] of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come [with] vengeance, [even] God [with] a recompense; he will come and save you.

The actions of Christ must be seen alongside the rule of the Scriptures. Unless I am mistaken, we see that Christ's work consisted of two actions: preaching and power. Let us look at each of these in the order we have just listed them. First, Christ was announced as a preacher. Isaiah said, "Cry out loud, and do not hold back.

"This is the will of my Father," he said, "that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life." But notice that he who was sent also came by his own will, as the prophet Isaiah said: "Be encouraged, you who are lowly of soul, and do not fear. Behold, our God will bring judgment. God himself will come and save us."

Second, the strengthening itself is set out: say to the fainthearted: fear not, little flock (Luke 12:32). Third, the reason for the strengthening is assigned, and first, as to the removal of evils, in liberating them from their enemies: behold your God will bring the revenge of recompense: he will revenge the blood of his servants (Deut 32:43).

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Isaiah also alludes to him: "There shall go forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow up from his root." The same also when he says, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son." He refers to him when he enumerates the healings that were to proceed from him, saying, "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear.

And Isaiah went on to tell of other marvels and showed how Christ cured the lame, how he made the blind to see, and the mute to speak: "Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, then will the ears of the deaf hear." And thereafter he spoke of the other marvels: "Then will the lame man leap like a stag, and the tongue of those with impediments of speech will be clear and distin…

And in healing their infirmities, then shall the eyes of the blind be opened. And these are metaphorical expressions, if they are referred to the time after the destruction of the Assyrians, so that they are understood as spiritual ills, as above; or they can be understood literally, if they are referred to the coming of Christ, as it says in Matthew 11:5: the blind see, the la…

Then shall the lame [man] leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

And that it was predicted that our Christ should heal all diseases and raise the dead, hear what was said. There are these words: "At His coming the lame shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the stammerer shall be clear speaking: the blind shall see, and the lepers shall be cleansed; and the dead shall rise, and walk about." And that He did those things, you can learn from…

Isaiah bears witness to him when he sets before us the works of healing that were to be done by him.

Second, as to the gathering of goods, four things. First, as to the abundance of the waters: for waters are broken out, metaphorically, in the desert, for consolations; or because it will rain much, so that there will be great fertility: he has turned a wilderness into pools of waters (Ps 106:34[107:35]).

And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, [shall be] grass with reeds and rushes.

But since I have not quoted to you such Scripture as tells that Christ will do these things, I must necessarily remind you of one such: from which you can understand, how that to those destitute of a knowledge of God, I mean the Gentiles, who, 'having eyes, saw not, and having a heart, understood not,' worshipping the images of wood, [how even to them] Scripture prophesied that…

The Lord promises concerning holy Church through another prophet, saying: "There shall spring up in her the greenness of the reed and the rush." I remember having explained this in another place, that by the reed we should understand writers, and by the rush, hearers.

Second, as to the beauty of the fields: in the dens where dragons dwelt before, that is, the land, which formerly was desert, so that these animals lived in it, will be cultivated; the verdure of the reed and the bulrush, which spring up verdant places: he sleeps under the shadow, in the covert of the reed (Job 40:16).

And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it [shall be] for those: the way-faring men, though fools, shall not err [therein].

No lion shall be there, nor [any] ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk [there]:

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

"Everlasting joy," says Isaiah, "shall be upon their heads." Well, there is nothing eternal until after the resurrection. "And sorrow and sighing," he continues, "shall flee away." The angel echoes the same to John: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes," from the same eyes indeed which had formerly wept and which might weep again if the loving kindness of God did…

When death is swallowed up in victory, therefore, there will be no corruption of body or soul, for when all iniquity has been removed from us, no infirmity will remain. Indeed, it is about such matters that Isaiah said, "They will obtain joy and gladness; and pain and moaning will flee from them."

And he sets out the frequentation of the ways: and the redeemed, those redeemed from the preceding dangers: for behold your children come, whom you sent away scattered (Bar 4:37).

Isaiah35