John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 3:25

"Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God." — Jeremiah 3:25 (ASV)

As the Israelites say nothing new here, but continue the same subject, I propose only to touch briefly on the words, so that I am not too tedious. They say then that they were lying in their miseries; and why? Because they had dealt wickedly with God. We see that they are explaining what they had confessed—namely, that the labor of their fathers had been consumed by their shame, that is, by their wickedness; and they ascribe to themselves what might have been put to the account of their fathers, because they knew that they were heirs of their iniquity.

We have lain, they say, in our shame. Here they briefly confess that they were deservedly miserable and that they could not accuse God of cruelty, as if He afflicted them too severely. How so? Because they were lying in their own shame, and their own disgrace covered them; as if they were saying that the cause of all their evils was to be found in their sins, and that it was not to be sought anywhere else.

Because we and our fathers, they say, have done wickedly. By these words they indicate that they had acted this way not for a day only, but had been so perverse that from early life they had imbibed the iniquity of their fathers, and thus added evils to evils. They had said before that the labor of their fathers had been consumed from their childhood, thus signifying the continuance of their punishment; for God had not chastised them for only a day, but had often repeated His scourges, yet without any benefit. Now they add, “As we have from our childhood dealt wickedly towards our God, so also He has warned us from our childhood to return to Him; and it has been our fault that we have not returned, for He called us; but as we were obstinate, so also God has justly executed His vengeance on us.”

They afterwards say, even to this day; by which they confirm what I have already stated—that they had been so perverse as not to cease from their vices. At the same time, the prophet points out the source of all their wickedness: they hearkened not to the voice of Jehovah.

Had they gone astray, and had God been silent, their fault might have been extenuated. But as God had daily sent prophets to them, who never ceased to cry in their hearing, and yet they continued deaf, their perversity in their sinful ways was inexcusable.

We then see that their sin was increased by the fact that they refused to hear the voice of God. It is as if the prophet were saying that God had done His part in calling them back from the way of ruin, but that they had been so obstinate as to disregard His favor, and thus they justly suffered, not only for their impiety, but also for their ingratitude and perverse wickedness.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not cease, though favored with many blessings, to provoke You by our misdeeds, as though we openly carried on war against You—O grant that we, being finally warned by those examples by which You invite us to repentance, may restrain our depraved nature, and in due time repent, and so devote ourselves to Your service that Your name may be glorified through us; and that we may strive to bring into the way of salvation those who seem to be now lost, so that Your mercy may extend far and wide, and that thus Your salvation, obtained through Christ Your only begotten Son, may be known and embraced by all nations. Amen.