Jerome : (Verse 18) Therefore the Lord waits, to have mercy on you, and therefore he will be exalted in showing mercy to you, because the Lord is a God of justice: blessed are all they that wait for him. Great is the mercy of God, that he waits for our repentance, and until we turn away from our vices, he restrains his mighty hand, so as not to be forced to strike. But he shows mercy and spares, so that his mercy may be exalted, and the goodness of the Creator may be known to all. Certainly, as it is said in the Gospel (John 12:32): 'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.' Therefore, he is lifted up on the cross, so as to spare all. He himself is the God of judgment; and blessed are all who wait for the Lord, waiting for his conversion. But whose conversion it is, and what that conversion is, the following words will show. — Commentary on Isaiah John Cassian : For he calls and invites us, when he says, "All the day long I stretched forth my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people"; and he is invited by us when we say to him, "All the day long I have stretched forth my hands unto you." He waits for us, when it is said by the prophet, "Therefore the Lord waits to have compassion upon us"; and he is waited for by us, when we say, "I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined to me," and "I have waited for your salvation, O Lord." — CONFERENCE 13:12