Chapter XVIII

Chapter XVIII.—Isaiah I. 3 Explained.

“From the circumstance that Isaiah said, in the person of God, 1396 ‘But Israel hath not known me, and the people hath not understood me,’ it is not to be inferred that Isaiah indicated another God besides Him who is known; 1397 but he meant that the known God was in another sense unknown, because the people sinned, being ignorant of the just character of the known God, and imagined that they would not be punished by the good God. Wherefore, after he said, ‘But Israel hath not known me, and the people hath not understood me,’ he adds, ‘Alas! a sinful nation, a people laden with sins.’ For, not being afraid, in consequence of their ignorance of His justice, as I said, they became laden with sins, supposing that He was merely good, and would not therefore punish them for their sins.