John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 29:7

"And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." — Jeremiah 29:7 (ASV)

Jeremiah goes still further, even saying that the Jews had been led to Babylon on the condition of rendering willing obedience to the authority of King Nebuchadnezzar, and of testifying to this by their prayers. He not only commands them to patiently endure the punishment laid on them, but also to be faithful subjects of their conqueror. He not only forbids them to be seditious, but he wanted them to obey from the heart, so that God might be a witness of their willing subjection and obedience.

He says, Seek the peace of the city; this may be understood in terms of prayers, for דרש, daresh, often means to pray. However, it may suitably be taken here, as I think, in reference to the conduct of the people, as if he had said that the Jews were to do what they could, to exert themselves to the utmost, so that no harm might happen to the Chaldean monarchy, for they are afterwards directed to pray. It may indeed be that the same thing is repeated in other words; but if anyone considers the subject more fully, they will, I think, agree with what I have stated: that in the first clause the Prophet commands them to be faithful to King Nebuchadnezzar and to his monarchy. Seek, then, the peace of the city: by peace, as is well known, is to be understood prosperity.

But he was not satisfied with external efforts; he also wanted them to pray to God that all things might turn out prosperously and happily for the Babylonian king, even until the end of their exile. For we must bear in mind that the Prophet always had that time in view. Thus we learn that he exhorted the exiles to bear the yoke of the king of Babylon during the time allotted to the captivity, because to attempt anything rashly was to fight against God, and that he therefore commanded them to quietly bear that tyrannical government.

He repeats again what he had said (though I had passed it by): that they had been carried away captives. For he had spoken of it, all the captivity which, he says, I made to migrate, or removed, or led captive, from Jerusalem. Now, again, he repeats the same thing, that he had carried them away captives, אשו הגליתי, asher egeliti; and he said this so that they might not regard only the avarice, or the ambition, or the pride of King Nebuchadnezzar, but that they might raise their eyes to heaven and acknowledge Nebuchadnezzar as the scourge of God, and their exile as a chastisement for their sins.

God thus testified that he was the author of their exile, so that the Jews might not think that they had to do with a mortal man, but on the contrary, understand that they were kicking against the goad if they murmured and complained because they lived under the tyranny of a foreign king. So that they might not then be agitated with vain thoughts, God comes forward and says that the exile was imposed on them by his just judgment, in order that they might know that they would gain nothing by their perverseness, and that they might not be disturbed by anxious unease, nor dare to attempt anything new, for this would be to resist God, and, as it were, to carry on war with heaven. I will finish here.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that we may be more and more accustomed to rendering obedience to you, and that whenever you chastise us with your scourges, we may examine our own consciences, and humbly and earnestly pray for your wrath to be averted, and never doubt that you will be gracious to us, after having chastised us with your fatherly hand. May we thus rely on your fatherly kindness, that we may always look forward with peaceful minds until the end appears, which you have promised to us. And when the warfare of this present life is finished, may we reach that blessed rest which has been prepared for us in heaven, through Christ our Lord. — Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

In the last lecture, we did not finish the seventh verse, in which the Prophet says that the Jews, as long as God intended for them to be exiles, were to be so settled in Babylon that they ought to have deemed their union such that it was as though they were of the same body. For by saying that their peace would be in the peace of Babylon, he intimates that they could not be considered as a separate people until the time of seventy years was completed. He therefore commanded them to pray for the prosperity of Babylon.

At first glance, this may seem hard, for we know how cruelly that miserable people had been treated by the Chaldeans. To then pray for the most savage enemies might have appeared unreasonable and by no means suitable. But the Prophet lessens the difficulty of this requirement by saying that it would be profitable for them to pray for the prosperity of Babylon, since their own fortune was tied to its fate. We know how much the prospect of benefit helps to persuade us, as we generally do not undertake anything unless we believe it will be successful. For this reason, then, the Prophet teaches the Jews that they ought not to refuse what was required from them when God commanded them to pray for Babylon, because the prosperity of that kingdom would be for their benefit; he also intimates, as I have already hinted, that they were so connected with

Babylon, that they could not expect to be exempt from all trouble and annoyance if any adversity happened to Babylon, for they were, as it were, of the same body. We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet.

From this we may deduce a very useful doctrine: that we ought not only to obey the kings under whose authority we live, but we ought also to pray for their prosperity, so that God may be a witness of our voluntary subjection. For if it was the duty of the Jews to pray for the well-being of the Chaldeans for the reason that they were for a certain time under their authority, there is no excuse for us if we live under any legitimate ruler (and not just for a few days), unless we testify to our voluntary submission before God.

And the one who prays to God for the well-being of the country in which he lives will surely not neglect his other duties. The main thing indeed is to testify before God what our true feeling is; and then other things must be added, such as promptness in performing all duties of obedience and everything of a similar kind.