Commentary on Jeremiah Volume 1 John Calvin
COMMENTARY ON JEREMIAH
therefore expressly said, If thou wilt take away thy abominations from my sight For hypocrites ever regard display and seek to be approved by men, and are satisfied with their approbation; but God calls their attention to himself. It must at the same time be observed, that he cannot be deceived; for he is the searcher of hearts. It follows ---
Jeremiah 4:2
2 And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
2. Et jurabis, vivit Jehova, in veritate, in judicio et in justitia; et benedicent se in eo gentes et in eo gloriabuntur.
Here the Prophet goes on with the same subject; for he denudes these flatteries, by which they thought that God could be pacified: for when they had his name in their mouth, they thought it sufficient for their defense, --- ``What! do we not call upon God? do we not ascribe to him his due honor, when we swear by his name?''
There is in the Prophet's words a part given for the whole; for swearing is to be taken for the whole of God's worship. When therefore the Israelites made a profession of God's name, they thought themselves absolved from all guilt.
Hence the Prophet says, Thou shalt swear truly in the name of God; that is, ``Ye are indeed self --- confident, because an external profession of religion seems to you to be a sort of expiation, whenever ye seek to contend with God: ye boast that you are Abraham's seed, and swear by the name of God; but ye are sacrilegious, when ye thus falsely profess God's name.'' Swear then, he says, in truth
We hence see how the words of the Prophet harmonize together: he had said, that Israel had hitherto dealt falsely with God, because they had not performed what in words they had promised, for they went astray; and now he adds, that it availed the Israelites nothing, that they openly called on God and shewed themselves to be his people by an external worship: this, he says, is nothing, except ye worship God in truth and in judgment and in righteousness
Truth is no doubt to be taken here for integrity, as we shall see in the fifth chapter: it is the same as though he had said, that God is not rightly worshipped, except when the heart is free from all guile and deceit; in short, he means that there is no worship of God without sincerity of heart. But the truth, of which the Prophet speaks, is especially known by judgment and righteousness; that is, when men deal faithfully with one another, and render to all their right, and seek not their own gain at the expense of others. When therefore equity and uprightness are thus observed by men, then is fulfilled what is required here by the Prophet: for then they worship not God fallaciously, nor with vain words, but really shew that they do, without disguise, fear and reverence God.
What follows is variously explained by interpreters; but the Prophet, I have no doubt, does here indirectly reprove the Israelites, because God's name had been exposed to many reproaches and mockeries, when the heathens said, that there was no power in God to help the Israelites, and when the people themselves expostulated with God, as though they had a just cause for contending with him, --- ``What!
God has promised that we should be models of his blessing; but we are exposed to