John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 6:16

"Thus saith Jehovah, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way; and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls: but they said, We will not walk [therein]." — Jeremiah 6:16 (ASV)

The Prophet teaches us here that the fault of the people could not be lessened as if they had sinned through ignorance, for they had been warned more than necessary by God. The same sentiment is found in Isaiah:

This is your rest; but they would not hear (Isaiah 28:12).

But our Prophet in greater detail condemns the Jews, for God had commanded them to stand in the ways, to look, and to inquire concerning all the old paths. The Prophet uses an analogy: and we ought not to doubt concerning the way, since it has been shown to us by the mouth of God.

But the impiety of the people is exposed and reproved because they did not even open their eyes when God showed them the way and allowed them a free choice. For the Prophet introduces God here, not strictly as one who commands, but as one who shows so much indulgence that the people were free to choose the way they approved and thought best. When God deals so kindly with people, and so condescendingly sets before them what is useful and expedient, it is the most vile ingratitude to reject such kindness on God’s part.

So now we understand the Prophet’s design in saying that God had commanded them to stand in the ways and to consider what was best to be done. Consider, God says, and you shall find rest—that is, so that you may find rest (for the conjunction here denotes the purpose)—to your souls.

Here the Prophet means that it depended only on the Jews to secure prosperity and a quiet state; for if they had obeyed the counsel of God, rest would have been provided for them. In short, he means that they were miserable through their own willfulness, for God had set before them the prospect of a happy condition, but this favor had been despised by them, and flagrantly despised, as these words intimate: And they said, We will not walk in it.

We see that the people’s perversity is revealed here, because they could have otherwise objected and said that they had been deceived, and that if they had been warned in time, they would have obeyed good and wise counsels. To preclude this objection, Jeremiah says that from deliberate wickedness they had rejected the rest offered them by God: They have said, We will not walk in it. This resolution clearly shows that they obstinately remained in their sins, so that the rest, which was within their reach, was not chosen by them.

This passage contains a valuable truth—that faith always brings us peace with God. This is not only because it leads us to rest in God’s mercy and thus, as Paul teaches us (Romans 5:1), produces this as its lasting fruit, but also because the will of God alone is sufficient to calm our minds. Whoever then embraces from the heart the truth as coming from God is at peace, for God never allows His own people to be unsettled while they rely on Him, but shows them how great stability belongs to His truth.

If it was so under the Law and the Prophets, as we have seen from Isaiah, how much more shall we obtain rest under Christ, provided we submit to His word. For He Himself has promised it: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. And you shall find rest to your souls, He says here. This passage then serves to commend this celestial truth: that it serves to pacify consciences, so that there is no perplexity nor doubt.