John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 16:19

"O Jehovah, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, [even] vanity and things wherein there is no profit." — Jeremiah 16:19 (ASV)

What the Prophet has said until now might appear contrary to God's promises and wholly subversive of the covenant He had made with Abraham. God had chosen one people for Himself from the whole world. Now, when this people were trodden underfoot, what could even the most perfect of the faithful suppose? They could only think that the covenant was nullified, since God had resolved to destroy the Jews and obliterate their name. This, then, was a most grievous trial, sufficient to shake the strongest minds. The Prophet, therefore, now returns to the subject and counters this temptation. Seeing people in despair, he turns to God and speaks of the calling of the Gentiles. This calling was sufficient to completely remove the stumbling block I mentioned concerning the apostasy and ruin of the chosen people. We now perceive the Prophet’s meaning.

When anyone reads the whole chapter, they may think that Jeremiah abruptly turns to address God. But what I have stated should be kept in mind, for his purpose was to fortify himself and the faithful against the thought I mentioned, which would have otherwise shaken the faith of them all. And he shows what is best to do in a troubled and dark state of affairs. For Satan seeks nothing more than to involve us in various and intricate disputes; he is an acute debater, indeed, and a sophist. We are also very ready to accept what he may suggest. Thus it happens that the thoughts we either conceive ourselves or too readily accept when offered by Satan's schemes often overwhelm us. There is then no better remedy than to break off such disputes and to turn our eyes and all our thoughts to God. This the Prophet did when he said, O Jehovah, to you shall the Gentiles come.

We now see that Jeremiah sets the conversion of the Gentiles in opposition to the destruction he had previously denounced. For God's truth and His mercy were so connected with the salvation of the chosen people that their destruction seemed to obliterate them. Therefore, the Prophet contrasts this with the conversion of the Gentiles, as though he had said, "Though the race of Abraham perishes, yet God’s covenant does not fail, nor is there any diminution of His grace, for He will convert all the Gentiles to Himself." If anyone objects, saying that even if the Gentiles are converted, God's covenant could not have been valid and perpetual unless Abraham's posterity were heirs of the grace God had promised him, to this there is a ready answer. When God turned the Gentiles to Himself, He was mindful of His promise to gather a Church for Himself from both Jews and Gentiles. We also know that Christ came to proclaim peace to those far off and to those who were near, according to what Paul teaches (Ephesians 2:17). Jeremiah then includes in the calling of the Gentiles what is said elsewhere: A remnant according to the election of grace (Romans 9:5).

It is an argument from the greater to the less: "God will not retain only a few people, but will gather to Himself those who now seem dispersed throughout the whole world. How much more, then, shall all those of Abraham's race who are chosen by God be saved? And though the great body of the people perish, yet the Lord, who knows His own people, will not allow them to perish even in the worst state of things."

But as the struggle was difficult, he calls God his strength, his fortress, and his refuge. He says עזי ומעזי, ozi vemozi, ma force et forteresse, for the two words come from the same root, and we cannot so aptly translate them in Latin. He then calls God his strength and his fortress, but both words are derived from a verb that means to be strong.

He then adds, my refuge in the day of affliction. We see here that God, according to circumstances, is adorned with names suitable for giving us confidence and, as it were, arming us to sustain all the assaults of temptations. For there was not sufficient force and power in that plain declaration, "O Jehovah, the Gentiles shall come to you." But as the Prophet was reduced to the greatest distress, and, as I have said, his faith must have been greatly tried, he calls God his strength, his fortress, and his refuge in the day of affliction. It is as though he had said, "Now is the time when I find how necessary Your protection, Your strength, and Your power are. For though my present miseries and the approaching ruin dishearten me, yet You will be a refuge to me."

But he says that the Gentiles would come from the ends of the earth. A contrast is to be observed here also. For the Jews at first worshipped God, as it were, in an obscure corner; but he says, "When that land shall cast out its inhabitants, all nations shall come, not only from neighboring countries, but also from the extremities of the earth." He adds that the Gentiles would say, Surely falsehood left our fathers possessed; it was vanity, and there was nothing profitable in them. To possess, here, means the same as to inherit, for we know that one’s own inheritance is valuable to him, and people are, as it were, fixed in their farms and fields.

Since the Gentiles, before they were enlightened, thought their chief happiness lay in their superstitions, the Prophet says here, by way of concession, that they possessed falsehood. It is as though it was said, "Our fathers thought themselves blessed and happy when they worshipped idols and their own inventions." It was therefore their heritage; that is, they thought nothing better or more to be desired than to embrace their idols and their errors. But it was falsehood, he says. That is, when they thought they had a glorious inheritance, it was only a foolish imagination. It was, in short, vanity, and there was nothing useful or profitable in them. This confession proves the conversion of the Gentiles by external evidence.

When we offend God, not only secretly but also by bad examples, repentance requires confession. Hence, the Prophet shows a change in the Gentiles, for they would, of their own accord, acknowledge that their fathers had been deceived by superstitions. For while they thought they were acting rightly, they were only under the influence of illusions and deceptions.

Undoubtedly, the Prophet here indirectly condemns the Jews because they had not departed from their fathers' sins, though they had often been admonished. The Gentiles then shall come, and their fathers' ignorance shall not prevent them from confessing that they and their fathers were guilty before God. Therefore, since the hindrance that, arising from deliberate wickedness, held the Jews fast would not prevail with the Gentiles, it became evident how great was the contumacy of that people, who could not be persuaded to forsake their fathers' bad examples. We now understand what the Prophet means and for what purpose he introduced this prayer.