John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 30:17

"For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; because they have called thee an outcast, [saying], It is Zion, whom no man seeketh after." — Jeremiah 30:17 (ASV)

When God promised favor to the Jews, He referred to their enemies; for it would have been a severe temptation—which otherwise would have not only disturbed and depressed their minds but also extinguished all faith—to see their enemies enjoying everything they could wish for and succeeding in everything they attempted, had this consolation not been granted them—that their enemies would eventually have to give an account for the wickedness in which they gloried.

But now the main point is expressed here: that God, when reconciled to His people, would heal the wounds He had inflicted; for only He who inflicts wounds on us can heal us. He exercises judgment in punishing; He afterwards undertakes the office of a Physician to deliver us from our afflictions.

Therefore, it is as if the Prophet had said, "When the appointed time, which God has fixed for His people, concludes, deliverance is to be hoped for with certainty; for the Lord has decreed to punish His people only for a time and not to destroy them completely."

I will bring you healing, He says, and I will heal you of your wounds. And this admonition was very necessary, for the Jews had nearly languished in their exile when God delivered them. They might then have been overwhelmed with despair countless times; but God commands them here to lift their minds upward, so as to expect help from heaven, for there was none on earth.

And He adds, because they called you, Zion, an outcast whom no one seeks; that is, for whom, or for whose welfare, no one is concerned. He confirms what I have said before: that the extreme afflictions of the people would be no hindrance when God came to deliver them but, on the contrary, would be the future occasion for favor and mercy.

Therefore, when the people should become so sunk in misery that everyone considers their deliverance hopeless, God promises that He would then be their Redeemer. And this is what we should carefully note: for we look around us here and there whenever we hope for any help, but God shows that He will then be especially favorable to us when we are in a hopeless state according to common human opinion.