John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 17:14

"Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise." — Jeremiah 17:14 (ASV)

Here the Prophet, as though terrified, hides himself under the wings of God, for he saw that apostasy and every kind of wickedness prevailed everywhere throughout the land. He saw that the principal men of his nation were wicked despisers of God, and that they vainly boasted of their own descent, while still lacking all concern for justice and uprightness.

Therefore, when he saw that the land was thus infected, so that fainting would not overcome him, he presents himself to God, as though he had said, “What will become of me, Lord? For I am here surrounded with wickedness; wherever I turn I find nothing but what allures and leads me away from true religion and the sincere worship of your name.”

“What then will happen if you forsake me? I will be immediately seized, and it will be all over with me, for there is no safety in the whole land, and no healing. It is as though pestilence prevailed, so that no one can go out for fear of encountering some contagion.” Thus the Prophet in this passage, on seeing the whole land so polluted with crimes that there was not a corner free from them, flees to God for help, and says, “O Lord, I cannot be safe unless you keep me; I cannot be pure unless my purity comes from you.” We now understand the Prophet's purpose and how this verse is connected with the preceding verses.

He says first, Heal me, and I will be healed; as though he had said that he was now diseased, having contracted a taint from corrupt practices. He therefore seeks healing from God alone, and through his gracious help. And for the same reason he adds that only then would he be safe when saved by God.

We are taught by these words that whenever stumbling blocks come in our way, we should call on God with increasing ardor and earnestness. For every one of us must be well aware of our own infirmity; even when we do not have to fight, our own weakness does not allow us to stand uncorrupted. How then will it be with us when Satan assails our faith with his most cunning devices?

Therefore, while we now see all things in the world in a corrupted state, so that we are allured by a thousand things from the true worship of God, let us learn by the Prophet's example to hide ourselves under the wings of God. Let us pray that he may heal us, for we will not only be apparently vicious, but many corruptions will immediately devour us, unless God himself brings us help.

Hence, the worse the world is, and the greater the licentiousness of sin, the more necessary it is to pray for God to keep us by his wonderful power, as it were, in the very regions of hell.

A general truth may also be gathered from this passage: that it is not in human power to stand or to keep oneself safe, so as to be preserved, but that this is the special kindness of God. For if humans had any power to preserve themselves, so as to continue pure and unpolluted in the midst of corruptions, no doubt Jeremiah would have been endowed with such a gift. But he confesses that there is no hope of healing and of salvation except through the special favor of God.

For what else is healing but purity of life? It is as though he had said, “O Lord, it is not in me to preserve that integrity which you require.” And hence he says, Heal me, and I will be healed. And then, when he speaks of salvation, he no doubt intended to testify that it is not enough for the Lord to help us once or for a short time, unless he continues to help us to the end. Therefore, the beginning, as well as the whole progress of salvation, is here ascribed by him to God.

It follows from this that all that the sophists vainly talk about free will is reduced to nothing. They indeed confess that it is not in human power to save oneself; but they afterwards pull down and subvert what they seem to confess, for they say that the grace of the Spirit concurs with free will, and that a person saves himself while God is co-operating with him.

But all this is mere trifling, for the Prophet here not only implores help and prays God to aid his weakness, but he confesses that it is God’s work alone to heal and to save him.

And this he further confirms by saying, You are my praise. For he thus declares that he accomplished nothing, but that all the praise for his salvation was due to God alone. For how can God be said to be our Praise, except when we glory in him alone, according to what is said in the ninth chapter? If people claim even the least thing for themselves, they cannot call God their praise.

The Prophet then acknowledges here that he contributed nothing towards the preservation of his purity, but that this was wholly the work of God. And then he confirms his own hope, as he did not doubt that he would be heard by God, for he asks of him whatever was necessary for his salvation.

We have then this general rule: if we desire to obtain from him the beginning and the end of our salvation, his praise must be given to him, so that we may glory in him alone.

If then we acknowledge ourselves to be destitute of all power, and flee to God under the consciousness of such a want, we will doubtless obtain whatever is necessary for us. But if we are inflated with the conceit of our own power, or of our own righteousness, the door is closed against us.

So now we see the benefit of this confirmation: it assures the faithful that they will find in God whatever they may want, for they do not obscure the glory of God by transferring to themselves what uniquely belongs to him, but confess that in him dwells what they cannot find in themselves.

The rest I defer until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that we may learn, whether in want or in abundance, so to submit ourselves to You, that it may be our only and perfect joy to depend on You and to rest in that salvation, the experience of which You have already given us, until we reach that eternal rest, where we will enjoy it in all its fullness, when made partakers of that glory, which has been procured for us by the blood of Your only-begotten Son. Amen.