Augustine of Hippo : What is it that was said? "The two will be one flesh. This is a great sacrament, but I am speaking of Christ and the church." … So that you may realize that these are in some sense two persons and yet again are one by the union of marriage, he speaks as one in Isaiah: "He has bound a headband on me like a bridegroom and clothed me with an ornament like a bride." He called himself a bridegroom as the head, the bride as the body. So he speaks as one; let us hear him and let us also speak in him. May we be in his members, so that his voice can be ours also. — EXPLANATIONS OF THE Psalms 74:4 Cyril of Alexandria : Generously he lays his hands on them and in order to crown with many fine gifts those petitioning he says, "Everyone who sees them will recognize that they are a seed blessed by God" and adds, "And they will rejoice in the Lord." And he immediately gives them joy. Here the person of the church is introduced full of joy as it sounds forth, "May my soul rejoice in the Lord, for he has clothed me in a cloak of salvation and a tunic of rejoicing." The tunic of rejoicing means our Lord Jesus Christ. … They who have him like a garment gain not only salvation but also happiness and many joys. The Savior says, "The thief only comes to steal, but I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." … Christ is, therefore, the tunic that is from heaven and from above, which if anyone takes he or she will be crowned with all beauty (spiritually understood) and with the distinction of good work—like a groom wearing a mitre or as a bride clothed in all beauty. For those in Christ, fortified for the spiritual mastering, are well-equipped and ready for every aspect of virtue. They are like brides on account of their fruitfulness, with the many-splendored beauty that comes from the brilliance of virtues. Thus spoke one of the holy prophets, highlighting those who made straight the well-led life, "For the fear of you, Lord, we have conceived in the womb and labored and brought forth the spirit of salvation that you have given throughout the world." Thus, the saints are compared with a bridegroom and bride on account of their fortitude and their fertility.… It shows that Christ shines out justice and gladness among the nations, just like flowers garland the earth.… For as the small and growing seed becomes a flower, just so was our Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed before the nations when it says also in the Song of Songs, "I am flower of the field, a lily of the valleys." — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 5:5.61:10-11 Eusebius of Caesarea : After these promises that the Son of God has made concerning his first advent, it is extremely fitting that the word here addresses the church of God as receiving good and blessed things in those in whom he labored. As if receiving the appropriate items to wear, she takes the fullness of those being saved and like a bride she is said to consist of one fine and fair body and to have clothed around her the beauty of her groom. She is a monument of light, flashing forth a body of divine resurrection that is called the body of the Savior. For it is no longer a body of death, as Paul confirms: "Who will save me from this body of death?" For this is salvation, to put a cloak of salvation on one's soul and a tunic of righteousness. For each one by his deeds that are done according to righteousness puts on his own fine apparel.… For she who is the bride of the Word receives seeds from him and returns splendid and fresh fruit. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 2:52 Jerome : (Vers. 10, 11.) I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall exult in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, and with the robe of justice he hath covered me, as a bride adorned with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth her seed to shoot forth: so shall the Lord God make justice to spring forth, and praise before all nations. LXX: They shall be glad in the Lord, and shall rejoice in God. For he has clothed me with the garment of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of joy. Like a bridegroom adorned with a crown, like a bride adorned with her jewels, like the earth bringing forth its flower, like a garden with its seeds germinating: so the Lord God brings forth righteousness and praise in the sight of all nations. The beginning of the chapter according to the Septuagint, which says: They shall rejoice with joy in the Lord, is connected to the end of the previous chapter. But according to the Hebrews, the beginning of another chapter is introduced, in which the Church, responding to the words of Christ, says: I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God. Not at all among the fathers, as the Jews used to boast, saying: We are the seed of Abraham and have never been in bondage to anyone (John 8:33); but in God, as Scripture says: The multitude of believers had one heart and one soul (Acts 4:32). And he gives the reasons for joy: Because he has clothed me with the garment of salvation, and with the robe of righteousness and joy, which is called Mail in Hebrew, he has adorned and surrounded me. For as many as have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ, and have the garment of righteousness: who has become sanctification, righteousness, and redemption unto us (Gal. I). And he sets forth the likeness of two groups in the Church, the perfect and the beginners (I Cor. I). He compares the perfect to the beauty of the bridegroom; he likens the beginners to the adornment of the bride. Paul was perfect, who, as a decorated bridegroom or, as Aquila translated, crowned priest, bearing the crown, spoke by the authority of Christ in himself, saying: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: from now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness (II Tim. IV, 7). And in another place: Therefore, let us be wise in how many soever are perfect (Philippians 3:15). But he begins by drawing a comparison of maturity, when speaking in the person of beginners: When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child (1 Corinthians 13:11). And again: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away (ibid., 9). And for this reason, the bride is likened to adornment, which adorns the female world, whether, as others have translated, with vessels or with her jewels. And he sets forth examples of the comparison of each, the former of which refers to the bridegroom, the latter to the bride. Just as the earth brings forth its fruit, and is watered by the heavenly rains; and as a garden germinates its seed, which longs for the waters of fountains and rivers: so, he says, the Lord will bring forth righteousness and joy before all nations: not before Israel, so as to shake off the brow of the Jews; but before all nations, who are gathered in the Church. — Commentary on Isaiah Theodoret of Cyrus : Here in the person of the church he cries to its benefactor, … "May my soul rejoice." … He calls the grace of baptism "the garment of salvation" and "the cloak of joy," for "as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." For in the Hebrew language the garment of salvation is called the garment of "Jeshua," that is, of Jesus, like a young groom. … She both calls herself a bride, because she has been yoked to the bridegroom, and a bridegroom, because she has put on the bridegroom [Christ]. As for the mitre, the three interpreters translate it as "crown." Of this adornment the blessed David comments, "The queen is here on your right, arrayed in a multicolored golden vestment." The text means the multicolored gifts of the All-Holy Spirit. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 19:61.10