John Calvin Commentary Micah 7:20

"Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, [and] the lovingkindness to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old." — Micah 7:20 (ASV)

The faithful confirm here the former truth: that God had deposited his covenant with them, which could not be made void. And from this also shines forth more clearly what I have said before: that the faithful do not learn by their own understanding what kind of Being God is, but embrace the mercy which he offers in his own word. Unless God speaks, we cannot form in our own minds any idea of his grace that is not uncertain and fleeting; but when he declares that he will be merciful to us, then every doubt is removed. This is the course the Prophet now pursues.

He says, You will give truth to Jacob, mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers; as if he said, “We do not presumptuously invent anything from our own minds, but receive what you have once testified to us; for your will has been made known to us in your word. Relying then on your favor, we are persuaded of your gratuitous pardon, though we are in many respects guilty before you.” We now understand the Prophet's design.

Regarding the words, it is not necessary to dwell on them, for we have elsewhere explained this manner of speaking. There are here two expressions by which the Prophet characterizes the covenant of God. Truth is mentioned, and mercy is mentioned. In terms of order, the mercy of God precedes, for he is not induced to adopt us by anything other than his goodness alone; but just as God, of his own will, has received us with such great kindness, so he is true and faithful in his covenant.

If then we desire to know the character of God’s covenant, by which he formerly chose the Jews, and today adopts us as his people, these two things must be understood: that God freely offers himself to us, and that he is constant and true. He does not repent, as Paul says, regarding his covenant. Paul says, The gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29), and he refers to the covenant by which God adopted the children of Abraham.

He says now, You will give, that is, show in reality; for this “to give” is, as it were, to exhibit in effect or really. You will then give, that is, openly show, that you have not been in vain so kind to us and ours, in receiving them into favor. How so? Because the effect of your goodness and truth appears to us.

You have then sworn to our fathers from the days of old. The faithful take for granted that God had promised to the fathers that his covenant would be perpetual; for he did not only say to Abraham, I will be your God, but he also added, and of your seed forever.

Since, then, the faithful knew that the covenant of God was to be perpetual and inviolable, and also knew that it was to be continued from the fathers to their children, and that it was once promulgated for this purpose, that the fathers might deliver it, as if by hand, to their children, they therefore did not doubt that it would be perpetual.

How so? For you have sworn to our fathers; that is, they knew that God not only promised, but that having interposed an oath, by which God designed to confirm that covenant, he greatly honored it, so that it might be unhesitatingly received by the chosen people. Since the faithful knew that God had, in a way, bound himself to them, they confidently entreated him to truly show himself to be as he had declared he would be to his own elect.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we abound in so many vices, by which we daily provoke your wrath, and as by the testimony of our consciences, we are justly exposed to everlasting death, yes, and deserve a hundred and even a thousand deaths—O grant, that we may strive against the unbelief of our flesh, and so embrace your infinite mercy, that we may not doubt that you will be propitious to us, and yet not abuse this privilege by taking liberty to sin, but with fear, and true humility, and care, so walk according to your word, that we may not hesitate daily to flee to your mercy, that we may thereby be sustained and kept in safety, until at length, having put off all vices, and being freed from all sin, we come to your celestial kingdom, to enjoy the fruit of our faith, namely, that eternal inheritance which has been obtained for us by the blood of your only-begotten Son. Amen.

End of the Commentaries on Micah.

Commentary on Nahum

Preface

Calvin’s Preface to Nahum

The time in which Nahum prophesied cannot with certainty be known. The Hebrews, ever bold in conjectures, say that he fulfilled his teaching role under Manasseh, and that the name of that king was suppressed, because he was unworthy of such an honor, or because his reign was unfortunate, since he had been led into captivity. When anyone asks the Jews for a reason, they only say that it seems so to them. Since there is no reason for this conjecture, we must turn to what seems probable.

Those who think that he prophesied under Jotham are no doubt mistaken, and can easily be disproved; for he here threatens ruin to the city Nineveh because the Assyrians had cruelly laid waste the kingdom of Israel; and it is for these wrongs that he proclaims vengeance. But under Jotham the kingdom of Israel had not been laid waste.

We indeed know that the Assyrians were enlisted by Ahab, when he found himself unable to resist the attacks of two neighboring kings, the king of Syria, and the king of Israel. It was then that the Assyrians penetrated into the land of Israel, and in the course of time, they desolated the whole kingdom. It was at this period that Nahum prophesied; for it was his object to show that God cared for that kingdom, on account of his adoption and covenant. Though the Israelites had perfidiously separated themselves from the people of God, yet God’s covenant remained in force. His purpose then was to show that God was the father and protector of that kingdom. Since this was the Prophet’s object, it is certain that he taught either after the death of Ahab, under Hezekiah, or around that time.

He followed Jonah after some time, as we may easily learn. Jonah, as we have already seen, pronounced a threat on the city Nineveh; but the punishment was remitted, because the Ninevites humbled themselves, and humbly pleaded against the punishment which had been announced. They afterwards returned to their old ways, as is usually the case. Therefore, God became less inclined to spare them. Although they were indeed foreigners, yet God was pleased to show them favor by teaching them through the ministry and labors of Jonah; and their repentance was not altogether feigned. Since then they were already endowed with some knowledge of the true God, their cruelty was less excusable when they sought to oppress the kingdom of Israel. They indeed knew that that nation was sacred to God: what they did then was, in a way, an outrage against God himself.

We now understand at what time it is probable that Nahum fulfilled his teaching role; though nothing certain, as I have said at the beginning, can be known. Therefore, I condemned the Rabbis for rashness on the subject, for they are bold enough to bring anything forward as a truth, about which there is no certainty.

I have already partially stated the Prophet's purpose. The summary of it all is this: When the Assyrians had for some time troubled the kingdom of Israel, the Prophet arose and exhorted the Israelites—that is, those who continued to be the servants of God—to patience, because God had not entirely forsaken them, but would take up their cause, for they were under his protection. This is the essence of it all.

With regard to Nineveh, we have already stated that it was the capital of the empire as long as the Assyrians ruled; for Babylon was a province. That is, Chaldea, whose metropolis was Babylon, was one of the provinces of the empire. The kingdom was afterwards taken away from Merodach-Baladan.

Some think that Nebuchadnezzar was the first monarch of Chaldea. But I do not spend much effort on this subject. It may be that Merodach-Baladan had two names, and this was very common; as we know that the kings of Egypt were called Pharaohs, so the Assyrians and Chaldeans, though initially called by other names, might have taken a common royal name. Now Nineveh was so celebrated that another kingdom could not have been established by the Babylonians without demolishing that city. We indeed know that it was very large, as we have stated in explaining Jonah. It was, as secular writers have recorded, nearly three days’ journey in circumference. Its walls were then one hundred feet high, and so wide that chariots could pass one another without touching; there were one thousand five hundred towers. From this, we see that it was not without reason that this city was once so celebrated.

They say that Ninus was its founder, but this is proved to be a mistake by the testimony of Moses in Genesis 10. They also imagine that Semiramis was the first queen of Babylon, and that the city was built by her: but this is a fable. It may have been that she enlarged the city, but it was Babylon many ages before she was born. So also Ninus may have increased and adorned Nineveh, but the city was founded before his birth. Secular authors call it Ninus, not Nineveh; probably the Hebrew name was corrupted by them, as is often the case. Be that as it may, it is evident that when Merodach-Baladan, or his son who succeeded him, wished to fix the seat of the empire at Babylon, he found it necessary to destroy Nineveh to prevent rivalry. Thus it happened that the city was entirely demolished. Of this destruction, as we shall see, Nahum prophesied.

Commentary on Nahum