John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 10:6

"There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might." — Jeremiah 10:6 (ASV)

Just as the truth concerning the gods of the pagans—that they are mere figments—would be useless and of no importance if the knowledge of the true God were not added, the Prophet now introduces God Himself. And there is another reason: no one could know that these wooden and stone gods are of no significance if the truth concerning the true God did not shine forth. Whoever does not understand that there is a God, and does not know who or what He is, can never be truly influenced by this truth: that the gods of the pagans are demons and that all their superstitions are sacrilegious.

We now perceive then why the Prophet turns to the true God: it was so that the brightness of God’s glory might dissipate the darkness in which the Gentiles were involved, and also, so that true religion might truly influence the hearts of people. In this way, by acknowledging the one true God, to whose power we should submit, they might not only despise and repudiate all idols, but also hate and abhor them. The rest tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since You have made heaven and earth for our sake, and have testified by Your servant Moses that the sun, as well as the moon (to which foolish pagans attribute divinity), are to serve us, and that we are to use them as if they were our servants—O grant that we may, by Your many blessings, have our minds raised upward to contemplate Your true glory. May we faithfully worship You only, and surrender ourselves so entirely to You, that while we enjoy the benefits derived from all the stars and also from the earth, we may know that we are bound to You by so many favors. In this way, may we be more and more roused to attend to what is just and right, and thus endeavor to glorify Your name on earth, so that we may at last enjoy that blessed glory which has been provided for us by Christ our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We began yesterday to explain the sixth verse, in which Jeremiah says, From no time has there been found any like the true God, for He is great, and great is His name in power. This sentence appears, indeed, meaningless or very common in its idea, in negating the notion that there has been anyone like God in all the ages. But as the world by its figments has always obscured the glory of the true God, this sentence contains what is of great importance, for it says that God possesses His own unique dignity and shines far above all fictitious deities.

The same view is to be taken of the second clause, Thou art great. Who will not concede greatness to God? Yet He is deprived of it by most people; for when anyone devises a god for himself, he robs the true God of His own greatness and makes Him, as it were, one among many other gods.

If we bear in mind how people depreciate God’s glory, it is easy for us to see that He is not uselessly called great here, as He is in many other places. But I only touch on these things briefly here, as I have elsewhere discussed them more fully.

He says that God’s name is great in power; for idols had a celebrated name among all nations but had no power. Though many things have been related about their idols by the Greeks and Italians, as well as by Eastern peoples, yet it is certain that no proof has been given to show that they worshipped true gods. Hence the Prophet declares here that greatness belongs to God alone, as His power has been made known and has fully manifested His own unique glory.