John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 31:12

"And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of Jehovah, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all." — Jeremiah 31:12 (ASV)

He says that they would come to sing praises on the height of Zion; by these words Jeremiah promises the restoration of the Temple. Otherwise, the return of the Jews to their own country would have been of no great importance.

Indeed, it would have been better for them to have remained in Chaldea if they only regarded quietness, wealth, and pleasures, for we know how great the fertility and pleasantness of Chaldea was.

Therefore, concerning the benefits of an earthly and fading life, dwelling there would have been more advantageous to the Jews. But their return to their own country was to be sought chiefly so that they might be separated from Gentiles, and might rightly worship God, and so dwell in the promised inheritance as strangers in the world, looking toward their heavenly rest.

What then has been previously said of the people’s return would have been unimportant if this promise concerning the restoration of God’s worship had not been added.

At the same time, he exhorts the Israelites to gratitude by showing them the purpose for which they were to be made free: namely, that they might sing praises on the height of Zion. We, indeed, know that the Temple was built on the top of that hill.

But the Prophet mentions the height or high place because gratitude was freely expressed when the Jews returned to their own country; for while they lived in exile they were like mute persons. Thus it is said in the Psalms,

“How shall we sing a song to God in a foreign land?”
(Psalms 137:4)

And they might have still been fearful after their return if full liberty had not been granted to them. This, then, is the benefit to which the Prophet refers when he says that they would celebrate this favor on the high place of Zion, not in an obscure corner, but so that their voice might be heard far and wide.

He adds, and they shall flow together to the goodness of Jehovah, to the wheat, vine, and oil. This manner of speaking, common among the Prophets, ought to be specially noticed.

They describe the kingdom of Christ in a way suitable to the comprehension of a simple people, and therefore they set before them external images.

For when Christ’s kingdom is the subject, mention is made of gold, of silver, of every kind of wealth, and also of great splendor and great power, because we know that what is beyond and above the world cannot be immediately comprehended by the human mind.

We are here enclosed, as it were, in prisons—I speak not of our bodies; but while we sojourn on earth, we cannot raise our minds upward so as to penetrate to the heavenly glory of God.

Since, then, the kingdom of Christ is spiritual and heavenly, it cannot be comprehended by human minds, unless He raises up our thoughts, as He does, by degrees.

This, then, is the reason why the Prophets have presented the kingdom of Christ by comparing it to earthly kingdoms.

We also know that there was a peculiarity in the Old Testament, when God covered with shadows what was afterwards clearly revealed in the Gospel; in Christ the heavens are opened to us.

Therefore, this way of stating the truth would now be not only superfluous for us, but even injurious, as it would draw us back from the enjoyment of heavenly things.

For we should distinguish between our state and that of the ancient people. Paul reminds us that they were children under a schoolmaster, being under the Law, but that we have grown up, and therefore, the bondage under which the Fathers lived has come to an end through the coming of Christ (Galatians 3:23–25).

Though David was endowed with a singular gift of the Spirit, yet he confined himself within his own limits; for he knew that God intended to rule His church at that time in such a way that the manner of teaching should be suitable for children.

But now, after we have grown up in Christ, the figures and external images have ceased.

For though godliness has promises concerning the present as well as the future life, as Paul testifies (1 Timothy 4:8), we should still rise above that doctrine which is elementary.

Therefore, when the Prophets promise wine, oil, and wheat to the faithful, their object is to raise up their minds by degrees and gradually to higher things, according to the condition and comprehension of childhood.

And this ought to be carefully noticed, for many irreligious men, when they read such sentences, think that the people were addicted only to present pleasures, and that all the Jews were slaves to their appetites and were fed by God like pigs or oxen.

But such an opinion must be utterly abhorred.

For those who entertain it not only greatly wrong the Fathers—whose hope was the same as ours, as they always looked forward to an eternal inheritance, being strangers in this world, as the Apostle tells us (Hebrews 11:13)—but they also divide the body of the Church.

Furthermore, they extinguish the grace of God, which was granted previously through many ages, even though it was only at the coming of Christ that God began to proclaim His eternal salvation to men.

But we must bear in mind that the holy Fathers were not so unspiritual in their minds that they confined their thoughts to this world; for they knew that they had been adopted by God so that they might at last enjoy a heavenly life. Therefore, they called themselves sojourners.

Jacob, who had long lived in the land of Canaan, says that his whole life had been a continual pilgrimage (Genesis 47:9).

And the Apostle wisely notices this when he says that they were acknowledged by God as His children because they were strangers in this world (Hebrews 11:13).

Thus, the holy fathers had the same hope that we now receive from the Gospel, as they also had the same Christ.

But the difference is that God then presented His grace under visible figures, and it was, therefore, more obscure; but now, figures and types have ceased, and Christ has come forth and has appeared to us more clearly.

I have therefore said that this doctrine ought to be wisely applied for our use, so that we do not seek to be merely fed and crammed when God invites us to participation in His grace.

But we should know that, of all people, we are the most miserable if our hope is confined to this world. And yet, at that time this way of teaching was very necessary, for the return of the people, as has been stated, required it.

Now, then, let us understand that by saying, they shall flow together to the goodness of Jehovah, to wine, oil, and wheat, something better and more excellent than food and material abundance is promised, and that what is spiritual is conveyed through these figures, so that the people might, by degrees, ascend to the spiritual kingdom of Christ, which was still involved in shadows and obscurity.

He afterwards adds, their soul shall be as a watered garden. He implies that their abundance would be perpetual.

When a fruitful year occurs, fruits then, indeed, abound, and the quantity of wine and wheat is more than the demand; but after a fertile year, barrenness often follows, which consumes the previous abundance.

And so it often happens, because people through their ingratitude, as it were, drive away God’s blessing, so that it does not flow to them continuously.

But God promises here that the souls of the people would be like watered gardens, because they were not to be satisfied only for a short time, but were never to be exposed to want, famine, or any deficiency.

He says further, they shall again mourn no more. He confirms the same thing by using various forms of expression; but what he essentially means is that when God’s people were set free, God’s blessing would be continued to them, so that the faithful would not be subject to common human miseries.

For we know what our condition is in this world, for every hour, indeed, almost every moment, our joy is turned into sorrow, and our laughter into tears.

But God promises here that He would be so gracious to His Church that it would have a perpetual cause for rejoicing.

Now, how this happens we do not easily comprehend; for though God in Christ has plainly revealed to us the treasures of heavenly life, yet we always creep on the earth.

Thus it is that we do not attain what is contained in these statements which speak of the true and real happiness of the godly.

However, we should, for the most part, regard our joy as perpetual; for whatever evils may happen to us, yet God shines on us by His grace, and thus all things work together for our good and are aids to our salvation, as Paul tells us in Romans 8:28.

And thus we do not cease to glory in hardships and afflictions, as he also teaches us in the fifth chapter; and we dare to triumph over cold and heat, over nakedness and all other evils, and even over death itself.

But we must bear in mind that Christ’s kingdom only begins in us here, and in the rest of the world; it is, then, no wonder that we taste so little of the benefits which the Prophets praise in such lofty terms.

When, therefore, a temptation of this kind creeps in, when God treats us more harshly than we desire— “What does this mean? If you were one of God’s children, would He not deal with you indulgently as He has promised? Where is that abundance of wheat, wine, and oil, for you are often in want? You always live in poverty, nor does there appear to be anything better for you tomorrow, as you are now robbed and have come to a barren country?” —now when such a temptation as this creeps in, one that may draw you to despair, let this doctrine come to your mind: “Is the kingdom of God made perfect in you?”

Now, if hardly any of us have more than barely entered into God’s kingdom, it is no wonder that we are not partakers of all the good things which God has promised to His people.

For if Christ’s kingdom is weak and feeble in us, it is only right that we should live, as it were, in that poverty which tempts us to distrust God; the same is true for the whole world.

There is, then, no reason to wonder that God does not fulfill what He has promised under Christ’s kingdom when people are not capable of receiving so great a kindness; for it is written,

“Open thy mouth and I will fill it.” (Psalms 81:10)

But we are straitened in ourselves; thus it is that scarcely the smallest drops of God’s bounty come to us.