John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 15:18

"Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou indeed be unto me as a deceitful [brook], as waters that fail?" — Jeremiah 15:18 (ASV)

Before we proceed, we will briefly refer to the meaning of the passage. Jeremiah has previously shown that he possessed heroic courage in despising all the splendor of the world and in regarding as nothing those proud men who boasted that they were the rulers of the Church. But he now confesses his infirmity, and there is no doubt that he was often agitated by different thoughts and feelings; this necessarily happens to us, because the flesh always fights against the spirit.

For although the Prophet announced nothing human when he declared the truth of God, he was not wholly exempt from sorrow, fear, and other feelings of the flesh. For we must always distinguish, when we speak of the prophets and the apostles, between the truth—which was pure, free from every imperfection—and their own persons, or, as is commonly said, themselves.

Nor were they so perfectly renewed that some remnant of the flesh did not still continue in them. So Jeremiah, in himself, was disturbed with anxiety and fear, affected by weariness, and wished to shake off the burden which he felt so heavy on his shoulders.

He was then subject to these feelings, that is, personally; yet his doctrine was free from every defect, for the Holy Spirit guided his mind, his thoughts, and his tongue, so that there was in it nothing human.

The Prophet, then, has until now testified that he was called from above, that he had cordially undertaken the office entrusted to him by God, and had faithfully obeyed Him. But now he comes to himself and confesses that he was agitated by many thoughts, which indicated the infirmity of the flesh and were not free from blame. This, then, is the meaning.

He says, Why is my grief strong, or hard? He intimates that his grief could not be eased by any soothing remedy. He alludes to ulcers, which by their hardness repel all softening remedies.

And for the same purpose he adds, And my wound weak, as some render it, for it is from אנש anesh, to be feeble; and hence is אנוש anush, which means man; and it expresses his weakness, as אדם adam shows his origin, and איש aish intimates his strength and courage. Others render the words, “and my wound full of pain;” and others, “strong,” as he had before called his grief strong.

He afterwards thus explains what he meant by the terms he used: It refuses to be healed. There is no doubt, as I have already intimated, that the Prophet here honestly expresses the perturbations of his own mind and shows that he, in a way, vacillated; the wickedness of the people was so great that he could not so perseveringly execute his office as he ought to have done.

He adds, Thou wilt be to me as the deception of inconstant waters. I wonder why some render the words, “Thou wilt be to me deceptive as inconstant waters.” The word may indeed be an adjective, but it is undoubtedly to be rendered as a substantive: “Thou wilt be to me as the deception,” and then, “of unfaithful waters”—that is, of such as do not flow continually.

For faithful or constant waters are those which never fail, just as the Latins call a fountain inexhaustible whose spring never dries. So the Hebrews call a fountain faithful or constant which never fails, either in summer or in drought.

On the contrary, they call waters unfaithful which become dry, as when a well that has no perennial veins is made dry by great heat; this is also often the case with large streams.

We now see the significance of this comparison, but the words are apparently very striking. For the Prophet expostulates with God as if he had been deceived by Him: “Thou wilt be to me,” he says, “as a vain hope, and as deceptive waters, which fail during great heat, when they are most needed.” If we take the words at face value, they seem to border on blasphemy. For God had previously testified, and not without reason, that He is the Fountain of living water; and He had condemned the Jews for having dug for themselves broken cisterns and for having forsaken Him, the Fountain of living water.

Undoubtedly, He had been found to be such by all who trusted in Him. What then does Jeremiah mean here by saying that God was to him like a vain hope, and like waters that do not continue to flow?

The Prophet, undoubtedly, referred to others rather than to himself, for his faith had never been shaken nor removed from his heart. He then knew that he could never be deceived, for relying on God’s word, he greatly magnified his calling, not only before the world but also in his own estimation.

And his glorying, which we have already seen, proceeded only from the inward feeling of his heart. The Prophet then was always fully confident, because he relied on God, that he could not be put to shame. But here, as I have said, he was speaking with others in mind. We have already seen similar passages, and similar expressions will follow later.

There is no doubt that it was often triumphantly asserted that the Prophet was a deceiver: “Let him go on and set before us the words of his God; it has already appeared that his boasting is vain in saying that he has until now spoken as a prophet.” Since the ungodly thus harassed the Prophet, he might have justly complained that God was not to him like perennial springs, because they all thought that he was deceived. And we must always bear in mind what I said yesterday—that the Prophet does not speak here for his own sake, but rather that he might reprove the impiety of the people.