John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 10:25

"Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation." — Jeremiah 10:25 (ASV)

The Prophet confirms his prayer with this reason: that God had sufficient ground for executing His vengeance on the wicked and ungodly nations who were alienated from Him. There is no doubt that he was mindful of the promise to which we have referred, for the Prophet knew that what had once been said to David was promised to the whole Church throughout all ages.

Therefore, he reminds God, as it were, of the difference He had made between His own people and foreigners, as if he had said, “O Lord, though it is right and also useful for our salvation to be chastised by Your hand, yet You do not indiscriminately visit with vengeance the sins of men. For You have promised paternally to chastise Your children; but as for aliens, You are their judge, so that they may be completely destroyed.”

“Now then, O Lord, show that this has not been said in vain; and as You have been pleased to adopt us as Your peculiar people, forgive us according to Your paternal kindness.” Therefore, we see that the Prophet did not pour out his prayer carelessly into the air, but was mindful of God’s promise, and referred to that difference which God Himself was pleased to make between His Church and unbelievers.

He then says, Pour forth thy wrath on the nations who know not thee: and he emphasizes his point by adding that Jacob had been devoured by these heathen nations as if by wild beasts. It is as if he had said, “We have indeed sinned, O Lord; but (do You show Yourself to be the Judge of the world for our destruction, and yet spare the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans, who have so cruelly distressed us; indeed, who have not only torn us, but have also completely devoured us? (For he uses the word ‘devour’ twice; and then he adds, They have consumed him; and lastly, His tents have they laid waste.) Since then they have so atrociously raged against Your people, are they to go unpunished, when You cast us down, who are Yours? Even if we had given You ever so great a cause for punishing us, still Your adoption should avail us; and You might in the meantime execute Your judgment on the heathen nations.”

There is no doubt that the Prophet, or whoever composed Psalm 79, borrowed the words used here, for it is said there:

Pour forth thy wrath on the nations who know not thee, and on the kingdoms which have not called on thy name; for they have consumed Jacob and his inheritance. (Psalms 79:6–7)

It may be that Jeremiah himself wrote that Psalm, after he had been driven into Egypt, when that city had been destroyed. It was, however, suitable to the time when a dreadful scattering had occurred, for the Psalm seems to have been composed for the benefit of the miserable and, as it were, lost Church. It is even more probable that it was written under the tyranny of Antiochus, or at the time when the cruelty of God’s enemies raged against His people. Whatever the case may be, the author of that Psalm wished to repeat what is contained here.

It may now be asked whether it is right to pray for evil to come upon the ungodly and wicked while we are doubtful and uncertain about their final doom. For as God has not made it known how He ultimately intends to deal with them, the rule of charity, on the contrary, ought to lead us in another direction—that we are to hope for their salvation and pray for God to forgive them. But the Prophet consigns them only to destruction, and he is not speaking according to his own private feelings but dictates a prayer for all the faithful to use.

To this I answer that we are not to pronounce a sentence on any particular person individually, and our prejudging would be presumptuous if we were to consign individuals to eternal death and pray for evil to come upon them. However, we may use this form of prayer generally with regard to the obstinate enemies of God, while still referring the certainty of the outcome to Him. Yet we are not to lump together all those whom we currently know to be ungodly, for this, as I have said, would be presumptuous.

It would then be more fitting for us to pray for the good of all, to wish for their salvation, and, as far as we can, to promote it. Yet even while we entertain love toward every individual, we may still pray in general terms that God would lay prostrate, consume, scatter, and reduce to nothing His enemies.

There is then no doubt that the Prophet here turns his own thoughts to God’s judgment, as if he had said, “Lord, it was Your work to make a distinction between Your own people and outsiders; it has pleased You to adopt this people. What now remains, but that You should deal mercifully with them, since You maintain toward them the character of a Father? As for the heathen nations, since they are alien to You and do not belong to Your flock, destruction awaits them; therefore, let them perish.”

Now, the Prophet, in speaking this way about heathen nations, does not anticipate God’s judgment so as to restrain God from doing what He pleased. Instead, as I have already said, he only mentions what he derived from God’s Word—that some are elected, and that others are reprobate. He infers God’s election from His calling or His covenant; and, on the other hand, he regards as reprobate all those on whom God has not been pleased to bestow the privilege of His paternal favor.

The question, then, is now solved. Therefore, it becomes clear how it is lawful for us to pray for the destruction of the reprobate and of those who despise God: our prayers ought not to anticipate God’s judgment, and we are not to make determinations about individuals. We must only remember this distinction: God acts as a Father toward His elect, and as a Judge toward the reprobate.

Pour forth then thy wrath: As he had subjected himself and the whole people to God’s chastisements, so he says, Pour forth thy wrath. This means, “Deal with them with strict justice, but yet moderate Your wrath toward us, lest, like a deluge, it should swallow us up.” For the words “pour forth” convey this meaning.

By saying, on the nations which know not thee, which have not called on thy name, he uses words that ought to be carefully noticed, for we are taught by them that the beginning of religion is the knowledge of God. He then mentions the fruit or the effect, which is invocation, or prayer.

These two things are connected, but we must also bear in mind the order, for God cannot be invoked unless the knowledge of Him previously shines on us. Indeed, everyone everywhere calls on God; even unbelievers commonly cry out to Him when urged by danger. However, they do not rightly address their prayers to Him, nor offer them as legitimate sacrifices.

How so? How can they call on Him, says Paul, in whom they have not believed? Therefore, it is necessary, as I have said, that God Himself should show us the way before we can pray rightly. And so, where there is no knowledge of God, there can be no way of praying to Him.

But when God has once given us light, then a way of access is open to us. Invocation, then, is always the fruit of faith, as it is an evidence of religion; for all who do not call on God seriously prove that they have never known anything of religion. If, then, we desire to pray correctly, we must first learn what God’s will is toward us. We must also know that we only advance as we ought in attaining salvation when we flee to God and exercise ourselves in prayer.

He lastly adds, For they have consumed Jacob, they have consumed him, they have consumed him, and his tents have they laid waste. Two things are to be observed here. First, we see how sad and miserable the state of the Church was. For he does not say that the Israelites had suffered many wrongs, or had been treated violently and reproachfully, but that they had been devoured by the nations—and he repeats this twice. Then he adds that they had been consumed, and that their tents had been laid waste.

Since, then, we see how cruelly afflicted God’s children were formerly, let us not wonder if the Church today is exposed to the most grievous calamities. Let us not be frightened as if it were something new and unusual; but as the same thing happened formerly to our fathers, let us bear such trials with a submissive mind.

The other thing to be observed is that, as the Prophet was not led to pray here by the impulse of his flesh but by the guidance of the Spirit, we may therefore conclude with certainty that though the enemies of the Church triumph today and think that they have everything in their own power while they cruelly treat the innocent, they shall at last be punished. For the Spirit who guided the tongue of the Prophet intended this form of prayer to be like a promise to us, so that we may feel assured that the more atrociously the ungodly rage against God’s children, the heavier punishment is near them as the wages of their cruelty.

They indeed devour today like wild beasts, but God will sooner or later put forth His hand and show how precious to Him is the blood of His people.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God: since we are so sluggish in our sins that, unless You rouse us, we fail to profit from the severe warnings with which You formerly stimulated Your ancient people; and since we have also already been warned by many signs of Your wrath to seek repentance with increasing diligence—O grant that we may earnestly persevere in this course and so submit to You that with patient and calm minds we may bear Your corrections. May we in the meantime be fully assured that You will ever be our Father, and never hesitate, even in death itself, to flee to Your mercy, until You pour forth Your wrath on the ungodly and the profane despisers of Your name, and show such compassion toward us that we may know that You have not in vain promised that Your chastisements would ever be kind and paternal when You address the sins of those who hope in You, through Christ our Lord. Amen.