Lip-service and dissimulation.
I. THE SEMBLANCE WITHOUT THE REALITY OF RELIGION. To "draw men" is a Scripture phrase full of expressiveness for true worship. To draw near to God is to assume our holiest mood of feeling; it is to humble one's self in the presence of the Highest and Holiest. The distance between ourselves and the Supreme is not to be overcome by an effort of thought; it is in the sphere of intelligence that that distance is most deeply felt, which mere thought and study only increase. In the region of feeling only can that distance be diminished or made to disappear. As we kneel in our weakness and abandon all our self-supports, the heavens seem to stoop to us, and the arms of the Almighty are thrown about us. Pride, dishonesty, low self-seeking,—these throw the soul far, far asunder from its God. From the reverent and the obedient he is never far off. But so beautiful is this action of drawing near to God, so truly ennobling to our manhood, it is certain, like all the genuine moods and acts of religion, to be mimicked and counterfeited. All hypocrisy is a testimony to the grandeur of that which is copied or caricatured. This imitation of true religion may be carried out in speech. Nothing more easy than to learn by heart the great phrases of Scripture concerning spiritual religion, and to repeat them; and make the verbal not express, but hide the absence of, the real. And so magical is-the effect of sacred and beautiful words on the ear and on the heart, for the time they may create an illusion, and it may seem that we have really felt what we have done little more than utter. Again, respect for mere custom may take the place of respect for God. "Their fear of me is nothing but a commandment of men, which is taught." Religion is part of social institutions—it is decorous, it is advantageous to pay it outward respect, unsafe to contemn it. Thus fear of men and self-interest may really pass under the outward guise of the fear of God and his Law.
II. THE DEALING OF JEHOVAH WITH THE PEOPLE. It will be "wonderful, very wonderful." Inconceivable, as it seems, running counter to all his ancient covenant-promises. Already the Assyrian invasion had broken in on them; and the visitation was not to cease, but to continue. These judgments will baffle their intelligence. The wisdom of the wise will perish, and the understanding of the intelligent be obscured. The politicians think to hide their thoughts and deeds from Jehovah, "to throw the veil of secrecy over their pursuit of worldly alliances. The prophet divines their purpose and exposes its perversity. The favorite comparison of the potter is introduced (cf. Isaiah 45:9; Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 18:6; Romans 9:20)" (Cheyne). Hiding from Jehovah means here the same thing as hiding from the prophet of Jehovah. They did not wish to listen to Isaiah's reproof. We seem to see them watching the prophet (cf. Isaiah 8:12). And he, from amidst the light of the higher or eternal policy, sees through their time-serving intrigues. "They think they can dispense with Jehovah, and yet they are his creatures; they attribute cleverness to themselves, and practically disown him, as if the pot should say to the potter who has turned it, 'He does not understand it'" (Delitzsch). The great lessons aye:
1. The short-sightedness of worldly wisdom. It sees so clearly the immediate interest to be gained, it ignores the distant future, and falls headlong into fallacy.
2. The far-sightedness of conscience. The prophet represents conscience. What is now right is profitable now and ever will be. And only the real and the sincere is the right. Men may be deceived and mocked for a time; but "be not deceived: God is not mocked."—J.