John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 18:19

"Give heed to me, O Jehovah, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me." — Jeremiah 18:19 (ASV)

As the Prophet saw that his labor regarding men was useless, he turned to God, as we find he had done often before. This way of speaking, no doubt, had more force than if he had continued to address the people. He might indeed have said, “Miserable men! Where are you rushing headlong? What does this madness mean? What at last do you think will be the end, since you are resisting God, being obstinate against His Spirit? For you cannot extinguish the light by your perverseness or by your insolence.”

The Prophet might have thus reproved them; but it signifies more vehemence when he leaves men and addresses God Himself. This apostrophe then should be carefully noticed, for from this we gather that the madness of the Jews was condemned, since the Prophet did not see fit to contend with them. But he nevertheless said, “As they do not attend, attend thou, Jehovah, to me.” He saw that he was despised by God’s enemies, and by this prayer he intimates that his doctrine was in force before God, retained its own importance, and could not fail. Hence he says, Jehovah, regard me, and hear the voice of those who contend with me.

Here Jeremiah asks two things — that God would undertake his cause, and that He would take vengeance on the malice of his enemies. This passage deserves special notice, for it is a support which can never fail us when we know that our service is approved by God. As He prescribes to us what to say, so what proceeds from Him will always possess its own weight; and the ingratitude of the world cannot cause any portion of the authority of celestial truth to be destroyed or diminished.

Whenever, then, the ungodly deride us and evade or neglect the truth, let us follow the example of the Prophet and ask God to look upon us. However, this cannot be done unless we strive with a sincere heart to carry out what He has committed to us. Then a pure conscience will open a door for us, so that we may confidently call on God as our guardian and defender whenever our labor is despised by men.

He asks, in the second place, that God would hear the voice of those who contended with him. We therefore conclude that the wicked gain nothing by their pride, for they provoke God more and more when they thus oppose His pure doctrine and contend against His prophets and faithful teachers. Since, then, we see that the ungodly accomplish nothing except to kindle God’s wrath all the more, we should go on more courageously in the discharge of our office. For even when for a time they suppress God's truth by their great clamor, He will yet check them, and do so in such a way that the doctrine, which is now subverted by unjust slanders, may shine forth more fully. He afterwards adds —