Early Church Fathers Scripture Index : Texts

Isaiah 54

There are 62 footnotes for this reference.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 180, footnote 8 (Image)

Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus

Justin Martyr (HTML)

The First Apology (HTML)

Chapter LIII.—Summary of the prophecies. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1879 (In-Text, Margin)

... other human races are called Gentiles by the Spirit of prophecy; but the Jewish and Samaritan races are called the tribe of Israel, and the house of Jacob. And the prophecy in which it was predicted that there should be more believers from the Gentiles than from the Jews and Samaritans, we will produce: it ran thus: “Rejoice, O barren, thou that dost not bear; break forth and shout, thou that dost not travail, because many more are the children of the desolate than of her that hath an husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] For all the Gentiles were “desolate” of the true God, serving the works of their hands; but the Jews and Samaritans, having the word of God delivered to them by the prophets, and always expecting the Christ, did not recognise Him when He came, ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 268, footnote 5 (Image)

Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus

Justin Martyr (HTML)

Dialogue with Trypho (HTML)

Chapter CXXXVIII.—Noah is a figure of Christ, who has regenerated us by water, and faith, and wood: [i.e., the Cross.] (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2479 (In-Text, Margin)

“You know, then, sirs,” I said, “that God has said in Isaiah to Jerusalem: ‘I saved thee in the deluge of Noah.’[Isaiah 54:9] By this which God said was meant that the mystery of saved men appeared in the deluge. For righteous Noah, along with the other mortals at the deluge, i.e., with his own wife, his three sons and their wives, being eight in number, were a symbol of the eighth day, wherein Christ appeared when He rose from the dead, for ever the first in power. For Christ, being the first-born of every creature, became again the chief of another race ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 268, footnote 5 (Image)

Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus

Justin Martyr (HTML)

Dialogue with Trypho (HTML)

Chapter CXXXVIII.—Noah is a figure of Christ, who has regenerated us by water, and faith, and wood: [i.e., the Cross.] (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2479 (In-Text, Margin)

“You know, then, sirs,” I said, “that God has said in Isaiah to Jerusalem: ‘I saved thee in the deluge of Noah.’[Isaiah 54:9] By this which God said was meant that the mystery of saved men appeared in the deluge. For righteous Noah, along with the other mortals at the deluge, i.e., with his own wife, his three sons and their wives, being eight in number, were a symbol of the eighth day, wherein Christ appeared when He rose from the dead, for ever the first in power. For Christ, being the first-born of every creature, became again the chief of another race ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 331, footnote 8 (Image)

Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus

Irenæus (HTML)

Against Heresies: Book I (HTML)

Chapter X.—Unity of the faith of the Church throughout the whole world. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2797 (In-Text, Margin)

... how it is that God has made the Gentiles, whose salvation was despaired of, fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers with the saints; and discourse how it is that “this mortal body shall put on immortality, and this corruptible shall put on incorruption;” and proclaim in what sense [God] says, “That is a people who was not a people; and she is beloved who was not beloved;” and in what sense He says that “more are the children of her that was desolate, than of her who possessed a husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] For in reference to these points, and others of a like nature, the apostle exclaims: “Oh! the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” But [the superior skill ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1, page 564, footnote 14 (Image)

Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus

Irenæus (HTML)

Against Heresies: Book V (HTML)

Chapter XXXIV.—He fortifies his opinions with regard to the temporal and earthly kingdom of the saints after their resurrection, by the various testimonies of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel; also by the parable of the servants watching, to whom the Lord promised that He would minister. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4763 (In-Text, Margin)

... servants in Jerusalem. Behold, a righteous king shall reign, and princes shall rule with judgment.” And with regard to the foundation on which it shall be rebuilt, he says: “Behold, I will lay in order for thee a carbuncle stone, and sapphire for thy foundations; and I will lay thy ramparts with jasper, and thy gates with crystal, and thy wall with choice stones: and all thy children shall be taught of God, and great shall be the peace of thy children; and in righteousness shalt thou be built up.”[Isaiah 54:11-14] And yet again does he say the same thing: “Behold, I make Jerusalem a rejoicing, and my people [a joy]; for the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. Also there shall not be there any immature [one], nor an old man ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 174, footnote 4 (Image)

Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria (HTML)

Exhortation to the Heathen (HTML)

Chapter I.—Exhortation to Abandon the Impious Mysteries of Idolatry for the Adoration of the Divine Word and God the Father. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 873 (In-Text, Margin)

... voices which heralded the Lord’s—that of the angel and that of John—intimate, as I think, the salvation in store for us to be, that on the appearance of this Word we should reap, as the fruit of this productiveness, eternal life. The Scripture makes this all clear, by referring both the voices to the same thing: “Let her hear who has not brought forth, and let her who has not had the pangs of childbirth utter her voice: for more are the children of the desolate, than of her who hath an husband.”[Isaiah 54:1]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 198, footnote 1 (Image)

Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria (HTML)

Exhortation to the Heathen (HTML)

Chapter X.—Answer to the Objection of the Heathen, that It Was Not Right to Abandon the Customs of Their Fathers. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 979 (In-Text, Margin)

... and pass from ignorance to knowledge, from foolishness to wisdom, from licentiousness to self-restraint, from unrighteousness to righteousness, from godlessness to God. It is an enterprise of noble daring to take our way to God; and the enjoyment of many other good things is within the reach of the lovers of righteousness, who pursue eternal life, specially those things to which God Himself alludes, speaking by Isaiah: “There is an inheritance for those who serve the Lord.”[Isaiah 54:17] Noble and desirable is this inheritance: not gold, not silver, not raiment, which the moth assails, and things of earth which are assailed by the robber, whose eye is dazzled by worldly wealth; but it is that treasure of salvation to which we must ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 198, footnote 2 (Image)

Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria (HTML)

Exhortation to the Heathen (HTML)

Chapter X.—Answer to the Objection of the Heathen, that It Was Not Right to Abandon the Customs of Their Fathers. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 980 (In-Text, Margin)

... is dazzled by worldly wealth; but it is that treasure of salvation to which we must hasten, by becoming lovers of the Word. Thence praise-worthy works descend to us, and fly with us on the wing of truth. This is the inheritance with which the eternal covenant of God invests us, conveying the everlasting gift of grace; and thus our loving Father—the true Father—ceases not to exhort, admonish, train, love us. For He ceases not to save, and advises the best course: “Become righteous,” says the Lord.[Isaiah 54:17] Ye that thirst, come to the water; and ye that have no money, come, and buy and drink without money. He invites to the laver, to salvation, to illumination, all but crying out and saying, The land I give thee, and the sea, my child, and heaven too; ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 2, page 354, footnote 1 (Image)

Hermas, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Clement of Alexandria

Clement of Alexandria (HTML)

The Stromata, or Miscellanies (HTML)

Book II (HTML)
Chapter VI.—The Excellence and Utility of Faith. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2216 (In-Text, Margin)

... Lord terminate in us, being divine benevolence, and benevolence resulting in beneficence. And if to Abraham on his believing it was counted for righteousness; and if we are the seed of Abraham, then we must also believe through hearing. For we are Israelites, who are convinced not by signs, but by hearing. Wherefore it is said, “Rejoice, O barren, that barest not; break forth and cry, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than of her who hath an husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] “Thou hast lived for the fence of the people, thy children were blessed in the tents of their fathers.” And if the same mansions are promised by prophecy to us and to the patriarchs, the God of both the covenants is shown to be one. Accordingly it ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 151, footnote 7 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Tertullian: Part Fourth. (HTML)

Appendix (HTML)

Five Books in Reply to Marcion. (HTML)
Of the Harmony of the Fathers of the Old and New Testaments. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1461 (In-Text, Margin)

Barren, giv’n birth:[Isaiah 54:1] now a new people, born

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 624, footnote 1 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

Book VII (HTML)
Chapter XXX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4745 (In-Text, Margin)

It seems to me also that the fancy of Plato, that those stones which we call precious stones derive their lustre 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 thy battlements of jasper, thy stones shall be crystal, and thy borders of precious stones;”[Isaiah 54:11] and, “I will lay thy foundations with sapphires.” Those who hold in greatest reverence the teaching of Plato, explain this myth of his as an allegory. And the prophecies from which, as we conjecture, Plato has borrowed, will be explained by those who, leading a godly life like that of the prophets, devote all their time to ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 624, footnote 1 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

Book VII (HTML)
Chapter XXX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4745 (In-Text, Margin)

It seems to me also that the fancy of Plato, that those stones which we call precious stones derive their lustre 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 thy battlements of jasper, thy stones shall be crystal, and thy borders of precious stones;”[Isaiah 54:12] and, “I will lay thy foundations with sapphires.” Those who hold in greatest reverence the teaching of Plato, explain this myth of his as an allegory. And the prophecies from which, as we conjecture, Plato has borrowed, will be explained by those who, leading a godly life like that of the prophets, devote all their time to ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4, page 647, footnote 6 (Image)

Tertullian (IV), Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen

Origen. (HTML)

Origen Against Celsus. (HTML)

Book VIII (HTML)
Chapter XIX (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4881 (In-Text, Margin)

... and prophets, Jesus Christ our Lord being the chief cornerstone.” And there is a similar hidden allusion in this passage in Isaiah, which is addressed to Jerusalem: “Behold, I will lay thy stones with carbuncles, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy battlements of jasper, and thy gates of crystal, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established.”[Isaiah 54:11-14]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 55, footnote 7 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Hippolytus. (HTML)

The Refutation of All Heresies. (HTML)

Book V. (HTML)
Further Exposition of the Heresy of the Naasseni; Profess to Follow Homer; Acknowledge a Triad of Principles; Their Technical Names of the Triad; Support These on the Authority of Greek Poets; Allegorize Our Saviour's Miracles; The Mystery of the Samothracians; Why the Lord Chose Twelve Disciples; The Name Corybas, Used by Thracians and Phrygians, Explained; Naasseni Profess to Find Their System in Scripture; Their Interpretation of Jacob's Vision; Their Idea of the “Perfect Man;” The “Perfect Man” Called “Papa” By the Phrygians; The Naasseni and Phrygians on the Resurrection; The Ecstasis of St. Paul; The Mysteries of Religion as Alluded to by Christ; Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower; Allegory of the Promised Land (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 425 (In-Text, Margin)

... revolves as it were, and goes round himself. Moreover, also, cities in which we dwell, because we turn and go round in them, are denominated “Poleis.” In this manner, he says, the Phrygians call this one “Aipolis,” inasmuch as he everywhere ceaselessly turns all things, and changes them into their own peculiar (functions). And the Phrygians style him, he says, “very fruitful” likewise, “because,” says he, “more numerous are the children of the desolate one, than those of her which hath an husband;”[Isaiah 54:1] that is, things by being born again become immortal and abide for ever in great numbers, even though the things that are produced may be few; whereas things carnal, he says, are all corruptible, even though very many things (of this type) are ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 512, footnote 12 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

The Treatises of Cyprian. (HTML)

Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. (HTML)
Book I. (HTML)
That the Church which before had been barren should have more children from among the Gentiles than what the synagogue had had before. (HTML)CCEL Footnote 3892 (In-Text, Margin)

... many more are the children of the desolate one than of her who hath an husband. For the Lord hath said, Enlarge the place of thy tabernacle, and of thy curtains, and fasten them: spare not, make long thy measures, and strengthen thy stakes: stretch forth yet to thy right hand and to thy left hand; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and shall inhabit the deserted cities. Fear not; because thou shalt overcome: nor be afraid because thou art cursed; for thou shalt forget thy eternal confusion.”[Isaiah 54:1-4] Thus also to Abraham, when his former son was born of a bond-woman, Sarah remained long barren; and late in old age bare her son Isaac, of promise, who was the type of Christ. Thus also Jacob received two wives: the elder Leah, with weak eyes, a ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 5, page 592, footnote 12 (Image)

Hippolytus, Cyprian, Caius, Novatian, Appendix

Cyprian. (HTML)

Treatises Attributed to Cyprian on Questionable Authority. (HTML)

Exhortation to Repentance. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4897 (In-Text, Margin)

Also in the same: “For a very little season I have forsaken thee, and with great mercy I will pity thee. In a very little wrath I turned away my face from thee; in everlasting mercy I will pity thee.”[Isaiah 54:7-8]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, page 393, footnote 1 (Image)

Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius

Methodius. (HTML)

Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna On the Day that They Met in the Temple. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3104 (In-Text, Margin)

... degrees, and itself as wax being melted, by that fire which the Lord, when He came, sent upon the earth. Hail to thee, thou Catholic Church, which hast been planted in all the earth, and do thou rejoice with us. Fear not, little flock, the storms of the enemy, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom, and that you should tread upon the necks of your enemies. Hail, and rejoice, thou that wast once barren, and without seed unto godliness, but who hast now many children of faith.[Isaiah 54:1] Hail, thou people of the Lord, thou chosen generation, thou royal priesthood, thou holy nation, thou peculiar people—show forth His praises who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; and for His mercies glorify Him.

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 435, footnote 4 (Image)

Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)

Book IV (HTML)

Sec. I.—On Helping the Poor (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2953 (In-Text, Margin)

... neither should you. Nay, when Simon the magician offered money to me Peter and John, and tried to obtain the invaluable grace by purchase, we did not admit it, but bound him with everlasting maledictions, because he thought to possess the gift of God, not by a pious mind towards God, but by the price of money. Avoid therefore such oblations to God’s altar as are not from a good conscience. For says He: “Abstain from all injustice, and thou shalt not fear, and trembling shall not come nigh thee.”[Isaiah 54:14]

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 466, footnote 31 (Image)

Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (HTML)

Book VII. Concerning the Christian Life, and the Eucharist, and the Initiation into Christ (HTML)

Sec. I.—On the Two Ways,—The Way of Life and the Way of Death (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3398 (In-Text, Margin)

... class="sc">V. Thou shalt not be an hypocrite, lest thy “portion be with them.” Thou shalt not be ill-natured nor proud: for “God resisteth the proud.” “Thou shalt not accept persons in judgment; for the judgment is the Lord’s.” “Thou shalt not hate any man; thou shalt surely reprove thy brother, and not become guilty on his account;” and, “Reprove a wise man, and he will love thee.” Eschew all evil, and all that is like it: for says He, “Abstain from injustice, and trembling shall not come nigh thee.”[Isaiah 54:14] Be not soon angry, nor spiteful, nor passionate, nor furious, nor daring, lest thou undergo the fate of Cain, and of Saul, and of Joab: for the first of these slew his brother Abel, because Abel was found to be preferred before him with God, and ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7, page 517, footnote 15 (Image)

Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, 2 Clement, Early Liturgies

The Second Epistle of Clement (HTML)

The Homily (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3863 (In-Text, Margin)

“Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for she that is desolate hath many more children than she that hath an husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] In that He said, “Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not,” He referred to us, for our Church was barren before that children were given to her. But when He said, “Cry out, thou that travailest not,” He means this, that we should sincerely offer up our prayers to God, and should not, like women in travail, show signs of weakness. And in that He said, “For she that is desolate hath many more children than she that ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 251, footnote 9 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

The Epistles of Clement. (HTML)

The Second Epistle of Clement. (HTML)

The Church, Formerly Barren, is Now Fruitful. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4337 (In-Text, Margin)

“Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for she that is desolate hath many more children than she that hath an husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] In that He said, “Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not,” He referred to us, for our church was barren before that children were given to her. But when He said, “Cry out, thou that travailest not,” He means this, that we should sincerely offer up our prayers to God, and should not, like women in travail, show signs of weakness. And in that He said, “For she that is desolate hath many more children than she that ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 406, footnote 1 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

Epistle to Gregory and Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John. (HTML)

Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John. (HTML)

Book X. (HTML)
The Promises Addressed to Jerusalem in the Prophets Refer to the Church, and are Still to Be Fulfilled. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5131 (In-Text, Margin)

... from the captivity are spoken of as happening after the captivity and the destruction of the temple, we must say that we are now the temple and the people which was carried captive, but is to come up again to Judæa and Jerusalem, and to be built with the precious stones of Jerusalem. But I cannot tell if it be possible that, at the revolution of long periods of time, things of the same nature should take place again, but in a worse way. The prophecies of Isaiah which we mentioned are the following:[Isaiah 54:11-14] “Behold I prepare for thy stone carbuncle and for thy foundation sapphire; and I will make thy battlements jasper, and thy gates stones of crystal, and thy outer wall choice stones; and all thy sons shall be taught of the Lord, and in great peace ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 406, footnote 4 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

Epistle to Gregory and Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John. (HTML)

Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John. (HTML)

Book X. (HTML)
The Promises Addressed to Jerusalem in the Prophets Refer to the Church, and are Still to Be Fulfilled. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5134 (In-Text, Margin)

... thee an everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be fulfilled.” These prophecies clearly refer to the age still to come, and they are addressed to the children of Israel in their captivity, to whom He was sent and came, who said, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Such things, though they are captives, they are to receive in their own land; and proselytes also are to come to them at that time through Christ, and are to fly to them, according to the saying,[Isaiah 54:15] “Behold, proselytes shall come to thee through Me, and shall flee to thee for refuge.” And if all this is to take place with the captives, then it is plain that they must be about their temple, and that they must go up there again to be built up, ...

Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 9, page 430, footnote 1 (Image)

Gospel of Peter, Diatessaron, Apocalypses, Visio Pauli, Testament of Abraham, Acts of X/P, Zosimus, Aristides, Clement, Origen

Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. (HTML)

Origen's Commentary on Matthew. (HTML)

Book X. (HTML)
The Withdrawal of Jesus. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 5329 (In-Text, Margin)

... umpire, then Jesus withdraws from the place in which prophecy was attacked and condemned; and He withdraws to the place which had been barren of God among the Gentiles, in order that the Word of God, when the kingdom was taken from the Jews and “given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof,” might be among the Gentiles; and, on account of it, “the children of the desolate one,” who had not been instructed either in the law or the prophets, “might be more than of her who has the husband,”[Isaiah 54:1] that is, the law. When, then, the word was of old among the Jews, it was not so among them as it is among the Gentiles; wherefore it is said that, “in a boat,”—that is, in the body—He went to the desert place apart, when He heard about the killing ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 2, page 376, footnote 7 (Image)

Augustine: The City of God, Christian Doctrine

City of God (HTML)

A parallel history of the earthly and heavenly cities from the time of Abraham to the end of the world. (HTML)

What Things are Predicted by Isaiah Concerning Christ and the Church. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1164 (In-Text, Margin)

But let us now hear what follows about the Church. He says, “Rejoice, O barren, thou that barest not; break forth and cry, thou that didst not travail with child: for many more are the children of the desolate than of her that has an husband.”[Isaiah 54:1-5] But these must suffice; and some things in them ought to be expounded; yet I think those parts sufficient which are so plain that even enemies must be compelled against their will to understand them.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 222, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin. (HTML)

On the Grace of Christ. (HTML)

The Righteousness Which is of God, and the Righteousness Which is of the Law. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1816 (In-Text, Margin)

... brethren, ye need not that I write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.” And then, by way of proving that they had been taught of God, he subjoined: “And indeed ye do it towards all the brethren which are in all Macedonia.” As if 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 accord ing to God’s purpose, as it is written in the prophets: “They shall be all taught of God.”[Isaiah 54:13] The man, however, who has learned what ought to be done, but does it not, has not as 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. Although there are many ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 5, page 408, footnote 5 (Image)

Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings

A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians. (HTML)

Book III. (HTML)

Why One of the Covenants is Called Old, the Other New. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2732 (In-Text, Margin)

... bondmaid; but if for the sake of God Himself, so that in the life eternal God may be all things in all, it is a free service belonging to the children of the freewoman, who is our mother eternal in the heavens—who first seemed, as it were, barren, when she had not any children manifest; but now we see what was prophesied concerning her: “Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for there are many children of the desolate more than of her who has an husband,”[Isaiah 54:1] —that is, more than of that Jerusalem, who in a certain manner is married in the bond of the law, and is in bondage with her children. In the time, then, of the old testament, we say that the Holy Spirit, in those who even then were the children of ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 40, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. (HTML)

On the Latter Part of Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Contained in the Sixth and Seventh Chapters of Matthew. (HTML)

Chapter VI (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 283 (In-Text, Margin)

... kingdom of God, when His Only-begotten shall come from heaven, not only in a way to be apprehended by the understanding, but also visibly in the person of the Divine Man, in order to judge the quick and the dead. And after that judgment, i.e. when the process of distinguishing and separating the righteous from the unrighteous has taken place, God will so dwell in the righteous, that there will be no need for any one being taught by man, but all will be, as it is written, “taught of God.”[Isaiah 54:13] Then will the blessed life in all its parts be perfected in the saints unto eternity, just as now the most holy and blessed heavenly angels are wise and blessed, from the fact that God alone is their light; because the Lord hath promised this also ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 46, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. (HTML)

On the Latter Part of Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Contained in the Sixth and Seventh Chapters of Matthew. (HTML)

Chapter X (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 336 (In-Text, Margin)

... this same thing which is called daily bread be meant spiritual bread, or that which is visible in the sacrament or in this sustenance of ours, it belongs to the present time, which He has called “to-day,” not because spiritual food is not everlasting, but because that which is called daily food in the Scriptures is represented to the soul either by the sound of the expression or by temporal signs of any kind: things all of which will certainly no more have existence when all shall be taught of God,[Isaiah 54:13] and thus shall no longer be making known to others by movement of their bodies, but drinking in each one for himself by the purity of his mind the ineffable light of truth itself. For perhaps for this reason also it is called bread, not drink, ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 85, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

The Harmony of the Gospels. (HTML)

Book I (HTML)

Of the Fact that the God of the Hebrews, Although the People Were Conquered, Proved Himself to Be Unconquered, by Overthrowing the Idols, and by Turning All the Gentiles to His Own Service. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 558 (In-Text, Margin)

21. Here indeed we have a wonderful fact, which is not remarked by those few pagans who have remained such,—namely, that this God of the Hebrews who was offended by the conquered, and who was also denied acceptance by the conquerors, is now preached and worshipped among all nations. This is that God of Israel of whom the prophet spake so long time since, when he thus addressed the people of God: “And He who brought thee out, the God of Israel, shall be called (the God) of the whole earth.”[Isaiah 54:5] What was thus prophesied has been brought to pass through the name of the Christ, who comes to men in the form of a descendant of that very Israel who was the grandson of Abraham, with whom the race of the Hebrews began. For it was to this Israel also ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 6, page 97, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Sermon on the Mount, Harmony of the Gospels, Homilies on the Gospels

The Harmony of the Gospels. (HTML)

Book I (HTML)

The Fulfilment of the Prophecies Concerning Christ. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 635 (In-Text, Margin)

... which the prophet spake; nor had the King of Christians yet appeared to the nations, although from these Gentile nations a much more fruitful and numerous multitude of saints has now proceeded. It is in this manner, therefore, that Isaiah speaks, commencing with the humility of Christ, and turning afterwards to an address to the Church, on to that verse which we have already instanced, where he says: And He who brought thee out, the same God of Israel, shall be called the God of the whole earth.[Isaiah 54:5] Behold, says he, my Servant shall deal prudently, and shall be exalted and honoured exceedingly. As many shall be astonied at Thee; so shall Thy marred visage, nevertheless, be seen by all, and Thine honour by men. For so shall many nations be ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 163, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm XLVII (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1539 (In-Text, Margin)

... by Him surely were all things made? Who can say that He is not his God? But not all men acknowledged Him their God; and where He was acknowledged, there only, so to say, He was God. “In Judah is God known.” Not yet was it said to the sons of Korah, “O clap your hands, all ye nations.” For that God known in Judah, is King of all the earth: now by all He is acknowledged, for that is fulfilled which Isaiah saith, “He is thy God who hath delivered thee, the God of the whole earth shall He be called.”[Isaiah 54:5] “Sing ye praises with understanding.” He teacheth us and warneth us to sing praises with understanding, not to seek the sound of the ear, but the light of the heart. The Gentiles, whence ye were called that ye might be Christians, adored gods made ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 239, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LIX (HTML)

Part 1 (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2239 (In-Text, Margin)

10. “And Thou, Lord God of virtues, God of Israel.” Thou God of Israel, that art thought to be but God of one nation, which worshippeth Thee, when all nations worship idols, Thou God of Israel, “Give heed unto the visiting all nations.” Fulfilled be that prophecy wherein Isaiah in Thy person speaketh to Thy Church, Thy holy City, that barren one of whom many more are the sons of Her forsaken than of her that hath a husband. To Her indeed hath been said, “Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not,”[Isaiah 54:1] etc., more than of the Jewish nation which hath a Husband, which hath received the Law, more than of that nation which had a visible king. For thy king is hidden, and more sons to thee there are by a hidden Bridegroom.…The Prophet addeth, “Enlarge ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 239, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LIX (HTML)

Part 1 (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2241 (In-Text, Margin)

... indeed hath been said, “Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not,” etc., more than of the Jewish nation which hath a Husband, which hath received the Law, more than of that nation which had a visible king. For thy king is hidden, and more sons to thee there are by a hidden Bridegroom.…The Prophet addeth, “Enlarge the place of Thy tabernacle, and Thy courts fix thou: there is no cause for thee to spare, extend further thy cords, and strong stakes set thou again and again on the right and on the left.”[Isaiah 54:2] Upon the right keep good men, on the left keep evil men, until there come the fan: occupy nevertheless all nations; bidden to the marriage be good men and evil men, filled be the marriage with guests; it is the office of servants to bid, of the Lord ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 239, footnote 7 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LIX (HTML)

Part 1 (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2245 (In-Text, Margin)

... place of Thy tabernacle, and Thy courts fix thou: there is no cause for thee to spare, extend further thy cords, and strong stakes set thou again and again on the right and on the left.” Upon the right keep good men, on the left keep evil men, until there come the fan: occupy nevertheless all nations; bidden to the marriage be good men and evil men, filled be the marriage with guests; it is the office of servants to bid, of the Lord to sever. “Cities which had been forsaken Thou shall inhabit:”[Isaiah 54:3] forsaken of God, forsaken of Prophets, forsaken of Apostles, forsaken of the Gospel, full of demons. For Thou shalt prevail; and blush not because abominable Thou hast been. Therefore though there have risen up upon thee strong men, blush not: when ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 247, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LX (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 2314 (In-Text, Margin)

... was wearing: not yet was there honour, censure there was then: when therefore not honour, but censure there was, then was made a heap of witness; and through the heap of witness was the Love of Christ enlarged; and through the enlargement of the Love of Christ, were the Gentiles possessed. There followeth, “And mine is Manasses;” which is interpreted forgotten. For to Her had been said, “Confusion for everlasting Thou shalt forget, and of the reproach of Thy widowhood Thou shalt not be mindful.”[Isaiah 54:4] There was therefore a confusion of the Church once, which now hath been forgotten: for of Her confusion and of the “reproach” of Her widowhood now She is not mindful. For when there was a sort of confusion among men, a heap of witness was made. Now ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 299, footnote 27 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LXIX (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 2900 (In-Text, Margin)

... hath leavened three measures, that is, the whole round world repeopled by the three sons of Noe: for from East and West and North and South shall come they that shall sit down with the Patriarchs, while those shall have been driven without, that have been born of their flesh and have not imitated their faith. Unto his glory then of Christ’s Church our eyes we have opened; and that barren one, for whom joy was proclaimed and foretold, because she was to have more sons than she that had the husband,[Isaiah 54:1] her we have found to be such an one as hath forgotten the reproaches and infamy of her widowhood: and so we may perhaps wonder when we chance to read in any prophecy the words of Christ’s humiliation, or our own. And it may be, that we are less ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 333, footnote 10 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LXXII (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3247 (In-Text, Margin)

20. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath done wonderful things alone” (ver. 18). Contemplating all things above spoken of, a hymn bursteth forth; and the Lord God of Israel is blessed. For that is being fulfilled which hath been spoken to that barren woman, “and He that hath delivered Thee, the God of Israel, shall Himself be called of the whole earth.”[Isaiah 54:5] “He doeth” Himself “marvellous things alone:” for whosoever do them, He doth Himself work in them, “who doeth wonderful things alone.” “And blessed be the name of His glory for everlasting, and for age of age” (ver. 19). For what else should the Latin interpreters have said, who could not have said for everlasting, ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 382, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LXXIX (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3693 (In-Text, Margin)

4. But now in that which followeth, “they have made Jerusalem for a keeping of apples;” even the Church herself is rightly understood under this name, even the free Jerusalem our mother, concerning whom hath been written, “many more are the sons of the forsaken, than of her that hath the husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] The expression, “for a keeping of apples,” I think must be understood of the desertion which the wasting of persecution hath effected: that is, like a keeping of apples; for the keeping of apples is abandoned, when the apples have passed away. And certes when through the persecuting Gentiles the Church seemed to be forsaken, unto the celestial ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 382, footnote 3 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LXXIX (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3695 (In-Text, Margin)

6. “They have poured forth their blood like water,” that is, abundantly and wantonly, “in the circuit of Jerusalem” (ver. 3). If we herein understand the earthly city Jerusalem, we perceive the shedding of their blood in the circuit thereof, whom the enemy could find outside the walls. But if we understand it of that Jerusalem, concerning whom hath been said, “many more are the sons of her that was forsaken, than of her that hath the husband,”[Isaiah 54:1] the circuit thereof is throughout the universal earth. For in that lesson of the Prophet, wherein is written, “many more are the sons of her that was forsaken, than of her that hath the husband:” a little after unto the same is said, “and He that hath delivered thee, shall ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 382, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LXXIX (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3696 (In-Text, Margin)

... outside the walls. But if we understand it of that Jerusalem, concerning whom hath been said, “many more are the sons of her that was forsaken, than of her that hath the husband,” the circuit thereof is throughout the universal earth. For in that lesson of the Prophet, wherein is written, “many more are the sons of her that was forsaken, than of her that hath the husband:” a little after unto the same is said, “and He that hath delivered thee, shall be called the God of Israel of the universal earth.”[Isaiah 54:5] The circuit then of this Jerusalem in this Psalm must be understood as followeth: so far as at that time the Church had been expanded, bearing fruit, and growing in the universal world, when in every part thereof persecution was raging, and was ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 392, footnote 5 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LXXXI (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 3796 (In-Text, Margin)

... Joseph He made that” (ver. 5). Look you, brethren, what is it? Joseph is interpreted augmentation. Ye remember, ye know of Joseph sold into Egypt: Joseph sold into Egypt is Christ passing over to the Gentiles. There Joseph after tribulations was exalted, and here Christ, after the suffering of the Martyrs, was glorified. Thenceforth to Joseph the Gentiles rather belong, and thenceforth augmentation; because, “Many are the children of her that was desolate, rather than of her that hath the husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] “He made it, till he should go out of the land of Egypt.” Observe that also here the “fifth of the sabbath” is signified: when Joseph went out from the land of Egypt, that is, the people multiplied through Joseph, he was caused to pass through the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 440, footnote 1 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm LXXXIX (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 4224 (In-Text, Margin)

39. “Remember, Lord, the rebuke that Thy servants have” (ver. 50). Even while Christ was living, and while He was sitting on His Father’s right hand, reproaches were cast against the Christians: they long were reproached with the name of Christ. That widowed one who brought forth, and whose children were more than those of the married wife,[Isaiah 54:1] heard ill names, heard reproaches: but the Church, multiplied as she is, extending right and left, no longer remembers the reproach of her widowhood. “Remember, Lord,” in the memory of whom there is abundant sweetness. “Remember,” forget not. Remember what? “the rebuke that Thy servants have: and how I do bear in my bosom the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 501, footnote 2 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm CII (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 4632 (In-Text, Margin)

... let us expound it each way. How did “His praise” answer Him? When they who are called by Him thank Him. For He calleth, we answer; not by our voice, but by our faith; not by our tongue, but by our life.…From His elect and holy men, Jerusalem also answereth Him. For Jerusalem also was called: and the first Jerusalem refused to hear, and it was said unto her, “Behold, thy house shall be left unto the desolate.” …But that Jerusalem, of whom it was written, “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear,”[Isaiah 54:1] “She hath answered Him.” What meaneth, “She hath answered Him”? She despiseth Him not when He called. He sent rain, She gave fruit.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 626, footnote 7 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm CXXXV (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 5662 (In-Text, Margin)

... people. They come I know not whither, roused up by I know not whom. How shall I say, I know not by whom? I know indeed by whom, because He says, “No one cometh to Me, save whom the Father draweth.” They come suddenly from the woods, the desert, the most distant and lofty mountains, to the Church; and many of them, nay, near all hold this language, so that we see of a truth that God teacheth them within. The prophecy of Scripture is fulfilled, when it says, “And they shall all be taught of God.”[Isaiah 54:13] We say to them, What do ye long for? And they answer, To see the glory of God. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” They believe, they are sanctified, they will to have clergy ordained for them. Is it not fulfilled, “and He ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 8, page 627, footnote 4 (Image)

Augustine: Expositions on the Psalms

Expositions on the Book of Psalms. (HTML)

Psalm CXXXV (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 5668 (In-Text, Margin)

16. Let us also with one voice say what follows: “Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwelleth in Jerusalem” (ver. 21). Out of Zion is Jerusalem too. Zion is “watching,” Jerusalem the “vision of peace.” In what Jerusalem will He dwell now? In that which has fallen? Nay, but in that which is our mother, which is in the heavens, of which it is said, “The desolate hath more children than she which hath a husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] For now the Lord is from Zion, because we watch when He will come; now as long as we live in hope, we are in Zion. When our way is ended, we shall dwell in that city which will never fall, because the Lord dwelleth in her, and keepeth her, which is the vision of peace, the eternal ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Volume 9, page 387, footnote 5 (Image)

Chrysostom: On the Priesthood, Ascetic Treatises, Select Homilies and Letters, Homilies on the Statutes

The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch. (HTML)

Homily VI (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1317 (In-Text, Margin)

... was to be dreaded; but that if they were guilty of impiety, they should undergo the extremes of misery. It is the greatest punishment to commit sin, though we may remain unpunished; as on the other hand, it is the greatest honour and repose to live virtuously, though we may be punished. For sins separate us from God; as He Himself speaks; “Have not your sins separated between you and Me?” But punishments lead us back to God. As one saith, “Give peace; for Thou hast recompensed us for all things.”[Isaiah 54:8] Suppose any one hath a wound; which is the most deserving of fear, gangrene, or the surgeon’s knife? the steel, or the devouring progress of the ulcer? Sin is a gangrene, punishment is the surgeon’s knife. As then, he who hath a gangrene, although ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 1, page 376, footnote 9 (Image)

Eusebius: Church History from A.D. 1-324, Life of Constantine the Great, Oration in Praise of Constantine

The Church History of Eusebius. (HTML)

Book X (HTML)

Panegyric on the Splendor of Affairs. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2893 (In-Text, Margin)

... confounded because thou hast been rebuked; for thou shalt forget the former shame, and the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou remember no more.’ ‘Not as a woman deserted and faint-hearted hath the Lord called thee, nor as a woman hated from her youth, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercy will I have mercy upon thee; in a little wrath I hid my face from thee, but with everlasting mercy will I have mercy upon thee, saith the Lord that hath redeemed thee.’[Isaiah 54:6-8]

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 1, page 377, footnote 3 (Image)

Eusebius: Church History from A.D. 1-324, Life of Constantine the Great, Oration in Praise of Constantine

The Church History of Eusebius. (HTML)

Book X (HTML)

Panegyric on the Splendor of Affairs. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2901 (In-Text, Margin)

... he has supplied the brilliant gold, again the refined and unalloyed silver, and the precious and costly stones in all of you, so that again is fulfilled for you in facts a sacred and mystic prophecy, which says, ‘Behold I make thy stone a carbuncle, and thy foundations of sapphire, and thy battlements of jasper, and thy gates of crystals, and thy wall of chosen stones; and all thy sons shall be taught of God, and thy children shall enjoy complete peace; and in righteousness shalt thou be built.’[Isaiah 54:11-14]

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 62, footnote 10 (Image)

Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters

The Incarnation of the Word. (HTML)

On the Incarnation of the Word. (HTML)

The numerous oracles,--fancied apparitions in sacred places, &c., dispelled by the sign of the Cross. The old gods prove to have been mere men. Magic is exposed. And whereas Philosophy could only persuade select and local cliques of Immortality, and goodness,--men of little intellect have infused into the multitudes of the churches the principle of a supernatural life. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 340 (In-Text, Margin)

... this was strong and active among Egyptians, and Chaldees, and Indians, and inspired awe in those who saw it; but that by the presence of the Truth, and the Appearing of the Word, it also has been thoroughly confuted, and brought wholly to nought. 5. But as to Gentile wisdom, and the sounding pretensions of the philosophers, I think none can need our argument, since the wonder is before the eyes of all, that while the wise among the Greeks had written so much, and were unable to persuade even a few[Isaiah 54:13] from their own neighbourhood, concerning immortality and a virtuous life, Christ alone, by ordinary language, and by men not clever with the tongue, has throughout all the world persuaded whole churches full of men to despise death, and to mind the ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 4, page 341, footnote 8 (Image)

Athanasius: Select Writings and Letters

Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)

Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) (HTML)

Discourse I (HTML)
Texts Explained; Thirdly, Hebrews i. 4. Additional texts brought as objections; e.g. Heb. i. 4; vii. 22. Whether the word 'better' implies likeness to the Angels; and 'made' or 'become' implies creation. Necessary to consider the circumstances under which Scripture speaks. Difference between 'better' and 'greater;' texts in proof. 'Made' or 'become' a general word. Contrast in Heb. i. 4, between the Son and the Works in point of nature. The difference of the punishments under the two Covenants shews the difference of the natures of the Son and the Angels. 'Become' relates not to the nature of the Word, but to His manhood and office and relation towards us. Parallel passages in which the term is applied to the Eternal Father. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 2186 (In-Text, Margin)

... And then, from Adam unto Moses death reigned; but the presence of the Word abolished death. And no longer in Adam are we all dying; but in Christ we are all reviving. And then, from Dan to Beersheba was the Law proclaimed, and in Judæa only was God known; but now, unto all the earth has gone forth their voice, and all the earth has been filled with the knowledge of God, and the disciples have made disciples of all the nations, and now is fulfilled what is written, ‘They shall be all taught of God[Isaiah 54:13].’ And then what was revealed was but a type; but now the truth has been manifested. And this again the Apostle himself describes afterwards more clearly, saying, ‘By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament;’ and again, ‘But now hath He ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 30, footnote 6 (Image)

Jerome: Letters and Select Works

The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)

To Eustochium. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 482 (In-Text, Margin)

21. The old law had a different ideal of blessedness, for therein it is said: “Blessed is he who hath seed in Zion and a family in Jerusalem:” and “Cursed is the barren who beareth not:”[Isaiah 54:1] and “Thy children shall be like olive-plants round about thy table.” Riches too are promised to the faithful and we are told that “there was not one feeble person among their tribes.” But now even to eunuchs it is said, “Say not, behold I am a dry tree,” for instead of sons and daughters you have a place forever in heaven. Now the poor are blessed, now Lazarus is set before Dives in his purple. Now he ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 136, footnote 6 (Image)

Jerome: Letters and Select Works

The Letters of St. Jerome. (HTML)

To Pammachius. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 1936 (In-Text, Margin)

... Christians; now many wise powerful and noble are not Christians only but even monks. And among them all my Pammachius is the wisest, the mightiest, and the noblest; great among the great, a leader among leaders, he is the commander in chief of all monks. He and others like him are the offspring which Paulina desired to have in her life time and which she has given us in her death. “Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child”;[Isaiah 54:1] for in a moment thou hast brought forth as many sons as there are poor men in Rome.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 6, page 370, footnote 9 (Image)

Jerome: Letters and Select Works

Treatises. (HTML)

Against Jovinianus. (HTML)

Book I (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 4482 (In-Text, Margin)

... fasting in the temple of God. If the life, and good works, and fasting without virginity can merit the advent of the Holy Spirit, she might well have been the mother of our Lord. Let us hasten to the rest: “The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and laughed thee to scorn.” To her whom he called daughter the prophet also gave the title virgin, for fear that if he spoke only of a daughter, it might be supposed that she was married. This is the virgin daughter whom elsewhere he thus addresses:[Isaiah 54:1] “Sing, O barren, thou that dost not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate, than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.” This is she of whom God by ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 206, footnote 6 (Image)

Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen

Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen. (HTML)

In Defence of His Flight to Pontus, and His Return, After His Ordination to the Priesthood, with an Exposition of the Character of the Priestly Office. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 2565 (In-Text, Margin)

... thrust around the holy table, as if they thought this order to be a means of livelihood, instead of a pattern of virtue, or an absolute authority, instead of a ministry of which we must give account. In fact they are almost more in number than those whom they govern; pitiable as regards piety, and unfortunate in their dignity; so that, it seems to me, they will not, as time and this evil alike progress, have any one left to rule, when all are teachers, instead of, as the promise says, taught of God,[Isaiah 54:13] and all prophesy, so that even “Saul is among the prophets,” according to the ancient history and proverb. For at no time, either now or in former days, amid the rise and fall of various developments, has there ever been such an abundance, as now ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 7, page 388, footnote 9 (Image)

Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen

Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen. (HTML)

The Last Farewell in the Presence of the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops. (HTML)

CCEL Footnote 4332 (In-Text, Margin)

7. I seem indeed to hear that voice, from Him Who gathers together those who are broken, and welcomes the oppressed: Enlarge thy cords, break forth on the right hand and on the left, drive in thy stakes, spare not thy curtains.[Isaiah 54:2] I have given thee up, and I will help thee. In a little wrath I smote thee, but with everlasting mercy I will glorify thee. 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, Who will glorify them that glorify Me, and I ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 127, footnote 8 (Image)

Ambrose: Select Works and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)

On the Holy Spirit. (HTML)

Book II. (HTML)
Chapter IX. A passage of St. Paul abused by heretics, to prove a distinction between the Divine Persons, is explained, and it is proved that the whole passage can be rightly said of each Person, though it refers specially to the Son. It is then proved that each member of the passage is applicable to each Person, and as to say, of Him are all things is applicable to the Father, so may all things are through Him and in Him also be said of Him. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1144 (In-Text, Margin)

97. Now let us consider whether we can teach that anything is through the Father. But it is written: “Paul the servant of Christ through the will of God;” and elsewhere: “Wherefore thou art now not a servant but a son, and if a son an heir also through God;” and again: “As Christ rose from the dead by the glory of God.” And elsewhere God the Father says to the Son: “Behold proselytes shall come to Thee through Me.”[Isaiah 54:15]

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 368, footnote 2 (Image)

Ambrose: Select Works and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)

Concerning Virgins. (HTML)

Book I. (HTML)
Chapter VI. St. Ambrose explains that he is not speaking against marriage, and proceeds to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the single and married state. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3190 (In-Text, Margin)

... father, but by the Spirit. She bears us not with pain, but with the rejoicings of the angels. She, a virgin, feeds us, not with the milk of the body, but with that of the Apostle, wherewith he fed the tender age of the people who were still children. For what bride has more children than holy Church, who is a virgin in her sacraments and a mother to her people, whose fertility even holy Scripture attests, saying, “For many more are the children of the desolate than of her that hath an husband”?[Isaiah 54:1] She has not an husband, but she has a Bridegroom, inasmuch as she, whether as the Church amongst nations, or as the soul in individuals, without any loss of modesty, she weds the Word of God as her eternal Spouse, free from all injury, full of ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 393, footnote 10 (Image)

Ambrose: Select Works and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)

Concerning Widows. (HTML)

Chapter III. St. Ambrose returns to the story of the widow of Sarepta, and shows that she represented the Church, hence that she was an example to virgins, married women, and widows. Then he refers to the prophet as setting forth Christ, inasmuch as he foretold the mysteries and the rain which was to come. Next he touches upon and explains the twofold sign of Gideon, and points out that it is not in every one's power to work miracles, and that the Incarnation of Christ and the rejection of the Jews were foreshadowed in that account. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3324 (In-Text, Margin)

15. This is assuredly that widow of whom it was said: “Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not, break forth and cry, thou that availest not with child; for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her who hath an husband.”[Isaiah 54:1] And well is she a widow of whom it is well said: “Thou shalt not remember thy shame and thy widowhood, for I am the Lord Who make thee.” And perchance therefore is she a widow who has lost her Husband indeed in the suffering of His body, but in the day of judgment shall receive again the Son of Man Whom she seemed to have lost. “For a short time have I forsaken thee,” He says, in ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 394, footnote 1 (Image)

Ambrose: Select Works and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)

Concerning Widows. (HTML)

Chapter III. St. Ambrose returns to the story of the widow of Sarepta, and shows that she represented the Church, hence that she was an example to virgins, married women, and widows. Then he refers to the prophet as setting forth Christ, inasmuch as he foretold the mysteries and the rain which was to come. Next he touches upon and explains the twofold sign of Gideon, and points out that it is not in every one's power to work miracles, and that the Incarnation of Christ and the rejection of the Jews were foreshadowed in that account. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3325 (In-Text, Margin)

15. This is assuredly that widow of whom it was said: “Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not, break forth and cry, thou that availest not with child; for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her who hath an husband.” And well is she a widow of whom it is well said: “Thou shalt not remember thy shame and thy widowhood, for I am the Lord Who make thee.”[Isaiah 54:4] And perchance therefore is she a widow who has lost her Husband indeed in the suffering of His body, but in the day of judgment shall receive again the Son of Man Whom she seemed to have lost. “For a short time have I forsaken thee,” He says, in order that, being forsaken, she may the more gloriously keep her ...

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 10, page 394, footnote 2 (Image)

Ambrose: Select Works and Letters

Dogmatic Treatises, Ethical Works, and Sermons. (HTML)

Concerning Widows. (HTML)

Chapter III. St. Ambrose returns to the story of the widow of Sarepta, and shows that she represented the Church, hence that she was an example to virgins, married women, and widows. Then he refers to the prophet as setting forth Christ, inasmuch as he foretold the mysteries and the rain which was to come. Next he touches upon and explains the twofold sign of Gideon, and points out that it is not in every one's power to work miracles, and that the Incarnation of Christ and the rejection of the Jews were foreshadowed in that account. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 3326 (In-Text, Margin)

... forth and cry, thou that availest not with child; for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her who hath an husband.” And well is she a widow of whom it is well said: “Thou shalt not remember thy shame and thy widowhood, for I am the Lord Who make thee.” And perchance therefore is she a widow who has lost her Husband indeed in the suffering of His body, but in the day of judgment shall receive again the Son of Man Whom she seemed to have lost. “For a short time have I forsaken thee,”[Isaiah 54:7] He says, in order that, being forsaken, she may the more gloriously keep her faith.

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Volume 13, page 395, footnote 5 (Image)

Gregory the Great II, Ephriam Syrus, Aphrahat

Selections from the Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian and from the Demonstrations of Aphrahat the Persian Sage. (HTML)

Aphrahat:  Select Demonstrations. (HTML)

Of Persecution. (HTML)
CCEL Footnote 1110 (In-Text, Margin)

... shall fall, and shall not rise. And lo! unto this day does it continue in desolation, and will do so for ever. And also about Jerusalem he said:— The virgin of Israel shall fall, and shall not rise again.  She is forsaken upon the ground and there is none to raise her up. For if the prophecy is true which Jeremiah spoke about Babylon, also that about Jerusalem is true and worthy of faith. And Isaiah said unto Jerusalem:— I will not again be wroth with thee, nor will I reprove thee.[Isaiah 54:9] Of a truth He will not again be wroth with her, nor will He reprove her for ever; for that which is in desolation He will not reprove, nor will she provoke him to wrath.

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