Isaiah 51:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The people cried in anguish due to their suffering: “I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sorrows” (Exodus 3:7). What God achieved through Moses, the prophet attributes to the people. Can you see how powerful is the one who submits to God, in contrast to the one who stands in opposition? It is not from your own might, nor due to any weakness of yours that these current hardships have come upon you; rather, the former challenges were bestowed upon you for your righteousness, while the latter arose from your transgressions. Take note of what he states: they faced destruction due to their arrogance, driven by a hope that bore no fruit. If those were vanquished on account of their pride, how then could these equally misguided individuals be saved? God not only annihilated them but also subjected them to mockery and shame. Just as falling demonstrates the frailty of those who topple, the Egyptians, having drowned the children in the waters, similarly met their demise in the same waters. Remember, he instructs, your past glory; recognize, if you wish, that great virtue resides within you. Have you not dried up the sea? Do not claim that you have defeated nations on par with yourself—when you have triumphed over nature itself. Nature was altered; you nearly held dominion over all creation when the Lord of creation, who bore no envy, supported you; as a true friend, you commanded the creatures of a friend. You turned the depths of the sea into a passage for the redeemed. You have afflicted your adversaries and have established a new way. The prophet, therefore, recounts these astonishing blessings, aiming to rekindle within them a love for God and to inspire them to return to the Lord as before. He is, he affirms, your God.

He who guided them through the sea and revealed the path of salvation to the delivered will, by His divine power, avert the troubles that may come upon them, as it is written, "All who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim. 3:12). Thus, God inquires of Jerusalem, "Are you not the one who devastates the sea?" However, the significance of these words can be understood in another light. After Jerusalem had been summoned to recognize Christ through the declarations of God and the Father saying, "Arise, O Jerusalem, and put on the strength of your arm," and after it had experienced a renewal and a recollection of its might, He addresses it, asking, "Are you not the one who brings ruin to the sea, the depths of the waters, who makes a way for the exiled and delivers them, revealing the route through the waves?" The reality of their past experiences reveals that He who guides them through the sea will indeed still the storms of this life and render the chaotic distractions of worldly matters powerless, ensuring that the souls of the called will not be encumbered by worldly anxieties; rather, He will lead the redeemed through every trial, so that they may glorify Him and proclaim: "Sing a new song unto the Lord; how marvelous are the works of the Lord! His right hand has secured victory for him, and His holy arm" (Ps. 97:1). No one other than our Lord Jesus Christ can be the right hand and arm of God the Father.

The Lord encouraged those who believe in Him, saying, Do not fear the scorn of men, nor be dismayed by their slander, and He assured them of His salvation and everlasting righteousness as their support, which is none other than Christ, the strength of the Lord, of whom it is stated, And in My strength the tribes shall place their hope. Therefore, the people implore the Lord’s arm, seeking its arrival, and plead for the promised assistance, saying, Awaken, awaken, don Your might, O Lord's arm. Arise as in days of old, and reveal all Your power, so that You, who have rescued Your saints from peril throughout the ages, may also safeguard us by Your might. For You have brought down mountains, and struck the dragon, identified as Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, whom Ezekiel calls the great dragon. You have dried up the Red Sea, enabling Your people to pass through those tumultuous depths and evade the Egyptians in pursuit. Therefore, bring back those redeemed and rescued by Your blood to Zion and to the heavenly Jerusalem, or to the Church, which You have prepared through Your sacrifice, where they shall rejoice with everlasting joy, and proclaim, Lord, as a weapon of grace, You have crowned us. They shall rejoice greatly at the absence of sorrow and sighing, in accordance with the Hebrew text. Yet, the Seventy refer to Jerusalem, the soul burdened with sin, urging her to regain her strength and recall the works of old, as she existed before the fall, when she walked in light. For it is said, you have traversed the wide path leading to death, and shattered the dragon, the writhing serpent, of whom it is also written in the Psalms: You have smashed the heads of the serpents in the waters. Remember your former strength when you tread down the sea of this present age, making it desolate, forging a path through the waves. The apostle Peter also crossed the sea of this age toward the Lord, and while he walked by faith, he began to sink due to disbelief, had not the right hand of the Lord upheld him. Just as the initial victory was attained through the Lord's assistance, so too for those who return after repentance, the Lord declares, He who falls shall not rejoice, and Return, O sons of God who return, and I will restore your brokenness. He extends His hand and leads them back to Zion and to the heights of virtue, filled with joy and eternal gladness, bestowing upon them praise and cheerfulness. For the eyes of the wise are focused ahead, and they shall receive this crown and adorn themselves with this diadem, to rejoice and continually honor the Lord, as joy has taken the place of sorrow, grief, and sighing.