John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 4:2

"and thou shalt swear, As Jehovah liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory." — Jeremiah 4:2 (ASV)

Here the Prophet continues with the same subject, for he exposes these flatteries by which they thought that God could be appeased. For when they had his name in their mouth, they thought it sufficient for their defense, asking: "What! Do we not call upon God? Do we not ascribe to him his due honor when we swear by his name?" In the Prophet’s words, a part is given for the whole, for swearing is to be taken for the whole of God’s worship. Therefore, when the Israelites made a profession of God’s name, they thought themselves absolved from all guilt.

Hence the Prophet says, You shall swear truly in the name of God. That is, "You are indeed self-confident because an external profession of religion seems to you to be a sort of expiation whenever you seek to contend with God. You boast that you are Abraham’s seed and swear by the name of God, but you are sacrilegious when you thus falsely profess God’s name." Swear then, he says, in truth.

We hence see how the words of the Prophet harmonize. He had said that Israel had until now dealt falsely with God because they had not performed what they had promised in words, for they went astray. And now he adds that it availed the Israelites nothing that they openly called on God and showed themselves to be his people by an external worship. This, he says, is nothing, unless you worship God in truth and in judgment and in righteousness.

Truth is no doubt to be taken here for integrity, as we shall see in the fifth chapter. It is as if he had said that God is not rightly worshipped unless the heart is free from all guile and deceit. In short, he means that there is no worship of God without sincerity of heart. But the truth of which the Prophet speaks is especially known by judgment and righteousness; that is, when people deal faithfully with one another, render to all their right, and do not seek their own gain at the expense of others. Therefore, when equity and uprightness are thus observed by people, then what is required here by the Prophet is fulfilled. For then they do not worship God fallaciously, nor with vain words, but really show that they, without disguise, do fear and reverence God.

Interpreters explain what follows in various ways. However, I have no doubt that the Prophet here indirectly reproves the Israelites. He does so because God’s name had been exposed to many reproaches and mockeries when the heathens said that there was no power in God to help the Israelites, and when the people themselves expostulated with God as though they had a just cause for contending with him, asking: "What! God has promised that we should be models of his blessing, but we are exposed to the reproaches of the heathens. How can this be?"

Since the Israelites thus deplored their lot and cast the blame on God, the Prophet gives this answer: Bless themselves shall the nations and glory in him. Some refer this to the Israelites, but not correctly.

It had indeed been said to Abraham, In your seed shall all nations be blessed, or, shall bless themselves. But this blessing had its beginning, as the Prophet notes here. For we must look for the cause or the fountain of this blessing: How could the nations bless themselves through the seed or the children of Abraham, unless God, the author of the blessing, manifested his favor towards the children of Abraham?

Very aptly, then, the Prophet says here, Then bless themselves in God shall all the nations, and in him shall they glory.

That is to say, "You are to be blamed that God’s curse is upon you and renders you objects of reproach to all people, and also that heathens disdain and despise the name of God. For your impiety has constrained God to deal more severely with you than he wished, as he is always ready to show his paternal clemency. What then is the hindrance, that the nations do not bless themselves in God and glory in him? What prevents pure religion from flourishing throughout the whole world, and all nations from coming to you and uniting in the worship of the only true God? The hindrance is your impiety and wickedness. This is the reason why God is not glorified, and why your blessedness is not celebrated everywhere among the nations."

We now perceive the Prophet's meaning: that the Jews groundlessly imputed blame to God because they were oppressed by so many evils. For they had brought all their calamities upon themselves and, at the same time, gave occasion for heathens to profane God’s name by their reproaches.