John Calvin Commentary Lamentations 3:10

"He is unto me as a bear lying in wait, as a lion in secret places." — Lamentations 3:10 (ASV)

Harsh is the complaint when Jeremiah compares God to a bear and a lion. But we have said that the apprehension of God’s wrath so terrified the faithful that they could not adequately express the severity of their calamity. And it must also be borne in mind, as we have stated, that they spoke according to the judgment of the flesh, for they did not always moderate their feelings so well that they avoided uttering things worthy of blame.

We should not, then, treat as a rule for religious expression all the complaints of holy men when they were pressed down by God’s hand; for when their minds were in a state of confusion, they uttered much that was intemperate. But we should, on the other hand, acknowledge how great our weakness must be, since we see that even the strongest have fallen in this way when God dealt severely with them.

Though, then, it does not seem that it was said with due reverence that God did lie in wait like bears for travelers, or like lions in their dens; yet, if we consider how much the faithful dreaded the signs of God’s wrath, we will not be surprised at this excess. It is then certain that the Prophet presents to us here not only evidence of the fear of God, of religion, and humility, but also of the corrupt feelings of the flesh; for it is inevitable that human weakness will reveal itself in extreme trials. He adds what is to the same effect: