John Calvin Commentary Lamentations 3:17

"And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace; I forgat prosperity." — Lamentations 3:17 (ASV)

By saying that his soul was remote from peace, he means that no good remained; for by peace, as is well known, the Hebrews understood every kind of prosperity. He explains himself with another clause: that he had forgotten every good. This forgetfulness should be understood, so to speak, as real or complete.

For if there had been any reason for rejoicing, it would not have been forgotten, since all are naturally pleased with what is pleasant; indeed, they eagerly seek what delights them. It would then be contrary to nature for us to forget good and pleasant things.

But the Prophet here means a privation. Therefore, the forgetfulness of which he speaks is nothing else but alienation from everything good, as though he had said (as the previous clause shows) that he was removed from every hope of peace.

But the expression is much more emphatic when he says that his soul was far removed from peace. By 'soul' he does not mean himself only (for that would be weak), but he understands by it all things connected with him, as though he had said, “Wherever I look around me, I find no peace, and no hope appears to me.” Therefore, all the faculties of his soul were far removed from all experience of good things.