John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 15:17

"I sat not in the assembly of them that make merry, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation." — Jeremiah 15:17 (ASV)

Here the Prophet more fully declares that he was hated by the whole people because he pleased God. He indeed denounces the impiety of those who then ruled; he does not here so much rebuke the common people as the chief men, who exercised authority and administered justice. For when he speaks of the assembly of the ungodly, he no doubt refers to wicked rulers, as the word סוד, sud, which means a secret, also means a council.

And David (or whoever was the author of the sixty-ninth Psalm) says, not that he was a laughingstock to the common people, but that he was derided by those who sat in the gate (Psalms 69:12), which means that he was reproachfully treated by wicked judges, who possessed the chief authority. So also in this place, Jeremiah says that he did not sit in the council of mockers. It is not the same word as in the first Psalm; and סוד, sud, is sometimes taken in a good sense, but here in a bad sense, for Jeremiah speaks of the profane despisers of God, who ridiculed everything that was announced in the name of God.

Now it was necessary for the holy man to exasperate these impious men in this way, for they were in favor, credit, and authority with the people. We know that those who are in power tend to dazzle the eyes of the common people with their splendor. Since they then deceived the simple in this way, the Prophet removed the mask and exclaimed that he did not sit in their council nor exult with them.

In denying that he was connected with them, he intimates what their conduct and manners were. He therefore shows that whatever their dignity might be, they were still the impious despisers of God and were only mockers.

The same is the case with us today; we are under the necessity directly to expose those masked rulers, who are inflated with their own power and fascinate the people. For buffoons in drinking houses and taverns do not so wantonly mock God as those courtiers who, while consulting about the state of the whole earth and deciding on the affairs of all kingdoms, seem as though they themselves possessed all the power of God. We also know that they are profane mockers.

Hardly any piety or reverence for God is to be found in the courts of princes; indeed, especially at their councils, the devil reigns, as it were, without control. We are therefore compelled often to speak very strongly against such unprincipled men, who falsely assume the name of God and by this pretense deceive the common people. By this necessity Jeremiah was compelled to declare that he had not been in the assembly of such men.

He then adds, On account of your hand (from the presence of your hand) I sat apart, because with indignation you have filled me. Here Jeremiah confesses that he had departed from the people, but he did so because he could not have otherwise obeyed God. Some consider hand to mean prophecy, and others, a stroke; and so it is often taken metaphorically. But I am disposed to take it for command, “On account of your hand;” that is, because I attended to what you have commanded, nor did I have any other object but to obey you. Hence, On account of your hand, because I regarded you and wished wholly to submit to your will, I sat apart.

This passage is especially noteworthy, for the Prophet was at Jerusalem among the priests and was one of them, as we found at the beginning of this book. Though he was then a priest, he was compelled to separate himself and to renounce all connection with his colleagues and brethren.

Since this was the case with the holy Prophet, why do the Papists try to frighten us by criticizing us for our separation, as though it were a most heinous crime? They call us apostates because we have departed from their assemblies. Truly, if Jeremiah was an apostate, we need not be ashamed to follow his example, since he was approved by God, though he separated from the whole people and also from the ungodly priests.

Let us today openly and boldly confess that we have separated. There is then a separation between us, and one indeed irreconcilable; and accursed would we be if we sought a union with the Papists. We are therefore compelled plainly and openly to repudiate them and to move heaven and earth rather than to agree with them.

We see that there is a rule here prescribed to us by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Jeremiah. To refute then the calumnies of those who object to our separation, this very passage is sufficient.

I sat apart, and it was indeed true; but no one can say this today, for the Lord has gathered to Himself many teachers and many disciples. So those who now profess the gospel do not sit apart as Jeremiah. But though all had forsaken him, he yet did not hesitate to separate himself from all.

But if it were necessary for everyone of us to become separated and to live apart, if God were to scatter each of us through all the regions of the world, so that no one were to strengthen and encourage another, we should still stand firm, under the conviction that we sat apart on account of God’s hand.

Let the Papists then complain as they please that we are proud and that we disturb the peace of the whole world, provided we have this answer to give—that we sit apart on account of God’s hand, because we seek to obey God and to follow his call. We can therefore boldly and safely despise and scorn all the reproaches with which they falsely load us.

He afterwards adds, For you have filled me with indignation. He confirms what he said in the previous verse—that he had eaten the word of God, that he had not been slightly moved, but had been inflamed with zeal for God. For we cannot really execute the commission given to us unless we are filled with indignation, that is, unless zeal for God burns inwardly, for the prophetic office requires such a fervor. He then adds—