Therefore the Lord said,
Since this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
All Commentaries on Isaiah 29:13 Go To Isaiah 29
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
“See, Lord, I will not keep my lips sealed, you know it.” My lips speak, and I will not restrain them. My lips speak to the ears of men and women, but you know my heart. “Lord, I will not keep my lips sealed, you know it.” A human being hears one thing, but God perceives something else. This is emphasized because our proclamation must not be with our lips only, so that it could be said of us, “Do what they tell you, but do not imitate what they do.” Nor must it be said of us, as it was said of that people who praised God with their mouths but not their hearts, “This people honors me with its lips, but its heart is far from me.” Sing with your lips, but draw near to him with your heart, for “the faith that issues in righteousness is in the heart, and the confession that leads to salvation is made with the lips.” This was true of the thief who hung on the cross with the Lord and from the cross acknowledged the Lord. Others failed to recognize the Lord even as he performed miracles, but this man recognized him as he hung upon the cross. The thief was nailed securely in all his limbs: his hands were immobilized by nails, his feet were transfixed, and his whole body fastened to the wood. That body had no use of its other members, but his heart had the use of his tongue. With his heart he believed, and with his lips he made confession. “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” he said. He hoped for salvation as a distant prospect and would have been content to receive it after a long delay; his hope stretched toward a far-off future, but the day was not delayed. He prayed, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom,” but Christ replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
