Isaiah 51:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

If we consider these words in relation to God the Father, we can affirm that He names the Son His righteousness, for we have been justified in Him—not due to our own righteous deeds, but because of His abundant mercy. He did not enter this world to condemn it but to bring salvation. The world finds salvation exclusively through His great mercy, as He proclaimed: I am the one who wipes away your transgressions and chooses to remember them no more. And you, O Israel, do not forget me. Behold, I have removed your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins are but a shadow. David sang, proclaiming, O Lord, you have shown favor to your land; you have restored Jacob’s fortunes, pardoned the iniquities of your people, and covered all their sins. Thus, through the righteousness of God the Father, found in Christ, we are redeemed, sanctified, and cleansed from sin's defilements. If we attribute "My righteousness is drawing near" to Christ, we must understand righteousness as either the grace that justifies through Him or the gospel and heavenly proclamation that teaches us the way of righteousness pleasing to Him, guiding us toward our finest deeds, as stated in the Psalms: Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light to my path. Furthermore, He calls truth salvific, rightly so; it liberates us from all evil and frees us from death, guiding us toward everlasting life. He also promises that the nations shall place their hope in my strength, asserting that even the distant lands wait for Him. Once, the multitude of Gentiles was bound by sin, held captive by the relentless grip of the evil one, facing dire circumstances without anyone to deliver them from such dire straits. They were like prisoners without hope, utterly lacking in every good work, living in ignorance of their true Lord, as the blessed Paul noted. Yet those who once felt weak and downtrodden will find a sudden spring of hope for salvation through my strength. Scripture consistently identifies the Son as the Father’s power, for He embodies His might. To grasp the power of the Son, who holds the nations’ hope for salvation, one must envision His astonishing strength, through which He defeated Satan and the rulers of this age, bringing deliverance to the Gentiles. Christ Himself stated: How can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. David remarked: You brought low the proud, you destroyed your foes with the might of your strength. Therefore, Christ became the hope and means of salvation not just for the Israelites but for all nations; even the distant lands shall look to Him. He symbolizes the Gentile churches as islands, situated amidst the sea and buffeted by the waves of trials, yet through patience they earn the crown of glory, for patience brings about character, and character produces hope; and hope does not disappoint. Thus, to wait for God signifies striving to please Him through perseverance and patience, assured of receiving His love and care, as it is written: I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me.

Alternatively, some interpret this nation as the remnant of believers in Israel, while the tribes refer to the faithful drawn from the multitude of Gentiles, as Moses states in the song of Deuteronomy, "The Gentiles shall rejoice with His people" (Deuteronomy 32:43). Theodotion translated "tribe" as "genus," Symmachus as "tribe," and the Seventy as "kings." We belong to both, being of the Lord's lineage, which is both noble and priestly, like Abraham, who was called a king, and many saints, concerning whom it is written, "Touch not my anointed ones" (Psalm 104:15).

What should we listen to? From me shall emerge my law and my judgment that will shine upon the nations. This refers to the spiritual law of the Gospel that will flow from Zion, distinct from that given to Moses at Sinai; my judgment is illuminated among the tribes, affirming His will to save them all. To prevent any delay in expectation, He reassures us that His righteousness is imminent, or the truth is close. For Christ has been made by the Father to us wisdom and redemption (1 Cor. 1), sanctification and righteousness, encompassing all that embodies virtue. It is beautifully declared that the truth will prevail—that not just a single tribe, but the entire world will find salvation. The Savior, named Jesus in Hebrew, is recognized as the Son of God, sent by the Father, as proclaimed by Simeon while holding the child: "Now lettest thou thy servant go, O Master; for my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all men, a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:29-32).

Furthermore, "My arm shall judge the nations," or as the Seventy translates, "Upon my arm shall the tribes hope," conveys that all will be judged by His strength, or that all nations shall come to believe in Christ, who embodies the arm and might of God. It is stated again, "Thy strength with power: let Thy arm be strengthened, and Thy right hand exalted" (Psalms 88:14), and "Sing a new song unto the Lord: His right hand shall save Him, and His holy strength" (Psalms 97:1). The Lord's right hand and strength represent Him who has saved those who were lost, ensuring none of those entrusted to Him by the Father would be lost (John 17). The reference to islands may signify either the souls of saints, who, during worldly trials, have developed a steadfast faith in God, or the many churches among the Gentiles, a theme we have elaborated upon frequently. Just as we understand the Lord's arm as the Savior, we may also interpret His arm, which will judge the nations, to signify all the saints through whom God will execute judgment upon the world.

Of this very new covenant, God declares through Jeremiah: “Behold the days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not such a covenant as I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt” (Jer 31:31-32).