John Calvin Commentary Lamentations 3:30

"Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him; let him be filled full with reproach." — Lamentations 3:30 (ASV)

Here he mentions another fruit of patience: that the faithful, even when wronged by the wicked, should still be calm and resigned.

For many people submit to God when they perceive His hand. For instance, when someone is afflicted with a disease, they know it is a chastisement that comes from God. When pestilence or famine occurs due to the severity of the weather, God's hand is apparent to them, and many then respond suitably.

But when an enemy confronts them, and they are injured, they instantly say, “I have nothing to do with God now; that wicked enemy is treating me disgracefully.”

It is for this reason, then, that the Prophet shows that the patience of the godly should extend to injuries of this kind. And so he says, He will give the cheek to the smiter, and will be filled with reproaches. There are two kinds of injuries; for the wicked either treat us violently or assail us with reproaches. Reproach is the most bitter of all things and inflicts a very grievous wound on all noble minds. The Prophet, then, declares here that the children of God should meekly endure when they are violently assailed, and not only that, but also when they are treated reproachfully by the wicked. This, then, is what he says about patience. Now follows another confirmation—