Jonah 2:7














The contrast which Jonah depicts between his own conduct and that of the heathen with whom he came in contact is very unfavourable to himself. He appears as a coward fleeing from his duty, and cruel enough to prefer that the Ninevites should be destroyed rather than that his accuracy should be impugned. But the idolatrous sailors prayed in the storm as best they could, and they were humane enough to try to save him, even after they had been told to cast him overboard (Jonah 1:13). It is not only noteworthy that Jonah wrote thus, but also that a book which compared a Jew so disadvantageously with the heathen should have been preserved by the Jewish people, who were notoriously proud and bigoted. Describe the event narrated in the preceding chapter. Point out the use our Lord made of it to typify his own death and resurrection. Pass on to apply the prophet's experience to what is represented by it among ourselves.

I. THE NEGLECT OF APPOINTED SERVICE IS A SIN. The command given to Jonah was plain enough, but he wilfully disobeyed it. Some of the excuses he may have made to conscience may be profitably suggested.

1. "I have already done my share of service; let another undertake this. He had faithfully conveyed his message to King Amaziah, and had doubtless proved his fidelity on other occasions, but he shrank from this new summons from God. Past service does not relieve us of present responsibilities. The indolence or the failure of others will not justify us in ignoring duty.

2. It is useless to preach to the Ninevites; they would laugh me to scorn. Ignorant of the true God as they were, it certainly was hardly to be expected that they would humble themselves before him at the bidding of a stranger preaching in their streets. Yet often those we deem to be the most hopeless are the most ready to listen. Even if they were not, it is at our peril that we refuse to obey a God-given impulse to speak to them.

3. These Ninevites are the foes of my country; let one of their own citizens be raised up to warn them. National hostility and personal prejudice have done much to hinder God's work in all ages.

II. SUCH SIN IN GOD'S PEOPLE IS FOLLOWED BY CHASTISEMENT.

1. Chastisement does not always follow sin. Sometimes it precedes and prevents it. Paul's thorn in the flesh was sent, not because he was exalted above measure, but lest he should be. But often an affliction is intended to bring a sinner to a right state of mind about sin already committed.

2. Chastisement gives us time to think. Jonah acted on impulse, and hurriedly fled to Joppa. When cast into the sea he imagined that all was over with him; but when he was miraculously preserved he had opportunity to reflect on his own wrong doing and on God's marvellous mercy. So the ill health which prevents work, the family affliction which keeps us within doors, the failure which sets us free from an accustomed sphere, - give us time to think of neglected duties and to recover strength by prayer.

3. In chastisement God is near. Jonah felt that he was not beyond Divine help. My prayer came in unto thee." Compare Peter in prison, and Paul in the storm, and John in Patmos, and Bunyan in jail. Listen to the words of Bradford, "I thank God more of this prison and of this dark dungeon than of any parlour, yea, than of any pleasure ever I had; for in it I find God, my sweet God always." Jonah was cast out as Adam was from Paradise, and as Job was from his home, that he might learn, through prayer, to suffer and be strong.

III. CHASTISEMENT, RIGHTLY RECEIVED, BRINGS ABOUT REPENTANCE.

1. In order to this it was necessary for Jonah to recognize God's hand in this event. He felt it was not the result of chance nor of human action. Hence he does not say, "The sailors cast me into the deep," but "thou" (ver. 3); nor does he speak of "the waves and billows of the sea," but "thy billows and thy waves (ver. 3). We too must learn to look beyond second causes, such as an unfortunate step or a man's injustice, and see God as the Disposer of all events.

2. This thought led Jonah to true repentence. He did not despair, although there seemed no hope of deliverance. He did not pray to be delivered from danger, but earnestly thanks God for his rescue from the sea, and praised him in the belly of the whale that he had been so good and merciful. The reality of his repentance was shown in this, that he gratefully and bravely did the work he had formerly refused. His vow made in trouble was faithfully kept. Pliny advised one who wished to please the gods to be the same when well as he had vowed to be when sick. A lesson for us.

IV. SUCH REPENTANCE UNDER CHASTISEMENT LEADS TO ACCEPTABLE PRAYER. His prayer shows that he had not given up hope, that he still believed that Jehovah was his God, and would do what was best with him. Strangely and soon the prayer was answered.

CONCLUSION. We may obtain mercy as Jonah did. We may find that the very instrument of death becomes the preserver of life, as the great fish proved an ark of safety to Jonah; and as he was cast upon the shore, so a trouble may cast us on the shore of duty, and death will cast us on the shore of heaven. - A.R.

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord.
It is interesting to mark the workings of a soul when struggling with the strong billows of affliction, especially if that affliction has come in the immediate train of backsliding, and appears as the net in which God has caught a wanderer from the fold, or the rod by which He would bring him back to wisdom and obedience.

1. The altered feeling toward God of which Jonah was now conscious, as compared with that state of mind which tempted him to go astray. Now, it is the bitterest part of his complaint that he was far from God. It must be a sanctified trouble which disposes the soul to feel thus toward God.

2. It was but the natural consequence of this state of mind in Jonah, though it may be noted as another mark of his sanctified affliction, that he poured out his heart in prayer: the spirit of Sonship was again revived in him, and it led him to cry, Abba, Father.

3. Mark the workings of faith here, sanctified affliction being always characterised by the degree in which faith is called into exercise.Notice the peculiar views and feelings which are expressed in this prayer.

1. The exercise of faith in regard to the appointment of the visitation: "Thou hast cast me," etc.

2. The confidence and hope in God not extinguished, but rather roused into action by the extremity of his distress. Faith always is, in proportion to its clearness and strength, fertile in resources.

3. There is a further manifestation of faith in the words of Jonah, although it lies less upon the surface than those already noticed. It is the use made of the earlier portions of God's Word, and the recorded experiences of former times.

4. The last thing to notice in the prayer, as a mark of sanctified affliction, is the purpose of amendment it expresses.

(Patrick Fairbairn.)

People
Jonah
Places
Joppa
Topics
Fainted, Fainting, Feebleness, Holy, Kept, Memory, Overcome, Prayer, Remembered, Rose, Soul, Temple, Within
Outline
1. The prayer of Jonah.
10. He is delivered out of the belly of the fish.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Jonah 2:7

     8640   calling upon God
     8670   remembering

Jonah 2:1-9

     8609   prayer, as praise and thanksgiving

Jonah 2:2-7

     5300   drowning

Library
Salvation of the Lord
By salvation here we do not merely understand the special salvation which Jonah received from death; for according to Dr. Gill, there is something so special in the original, in the word salvation having one more letter than it usually has, when it only refers to some temporary deliverance, that we can only understand it here as relating to the great work of the salvation of the soul which endureth for ever. That "salvation is of the Lord," I shall this morning try to show as best I can. First, I
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

The Fainting Soul Revived
WHEN man was first made, there was no fear of his forgetting God for it was his highest privilege and delight to have communion with his Maker. "The Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day," and Adam was privileged to hold fellowship with God, closer, perhaps, than even the angels had in heaven. But the spell of that sacred harmony was rudely broken by man's disobedience and his dreadful fall. Ever since our first parent tasted of the forbidden fruit, which brought death into our world,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

The Soul.
Man as we behold him is not all there is of man. He is a wonderful being. He stands in the highest order of God's creation. He Is A Compound. Man was created a physical and spiritual organism. He possesses an animal and a spiritual life. Thus he is connected with two worlds. The physical creation is termed the "outward man," and the spiritual, the "inward man." "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." 2 Cor. 4:16. "For we know
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

An Address to a Soul So Overwhelmed with a Sense of the Greatness of Its Sins, that it Dares not Apply Itself to Christ with Any
1-4. The case described at large.--5. As it frequently occurs.--6. Granting all that the dejected soul charges on itself.--7. The invitations and promises of Christ give hope.--8. The reader urged, under all his burdens and fears, to an humble application to him. Which is accordingly exemplified in the concluding Reflection and Prayer. 1. I have now done with those unhappy creatures who despise the Gospel, and with those who neglect it. With pleasure do I now turn myself to those who will hear me
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

The Sovereignty of God in Salvation
"O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgements, and His ways past finding out" (Rom. 11:33). "Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9); but the Lord does not save all. Why not? He does save some; then if He saves some, why not others? Is it because they are too sinful and depraved? No; for the Apostle wrote, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Whether the Fire of Hell is Beneath the Earth?
Objection 1: It would seem that this fire is not beneath the earth. For it is said of the damned (Job 18:18), "And God shall remove him out of the globe [Douay: 'world']." Therefore the fire whereby the damned will be punished is not beneath the earth but outside the globe. Objection 2: Further, nothing violent or accidental can be everlasting. But this fire will be in hell for ever. Therefore it will be there, not by force but naturally. Now fire cannot be under the earth save by violence. Therefore
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Revelation of the Old Testament in Writing.
"Then I said, I will not speak any more in His Name. But His word was in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones: and I was weary with forbearing, but I could not."--Jer. xx. 9. Altho the miracles performed for and in the midst of Israel created a glorious life-center in the midst of the heathen world, yet they did not constitute a Holy Scripture; for this can not be created except God speak to man, even to His people Israel. "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

But Though Prayer is Properly Confined to Vows and Supplications...
But though prayer is properly confined to vows and supplications, yet so strong is the affinity between petition and thanksgiving, that both may be conveniently comprehended under one name. For the forms which Paul enumerates (1 Tim. 2:1) fall under the first member of this division. By prayer and supplication we pour out our desires before God, asking as well those things which tend to promote his glory and display his name, as the benefits which contribute to our advantage. By thanksgiving we duly
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

God's Sovereignty and Prayer
"If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (1 John 5:14). Throughout this book it has been our chief aim to exalt the Creator and abase the creature. The well-nigh universal tendency now, is to magnify man and dishonour and degrade God. On every hand it will be found that, when spiritual things are under discussion, the human side and element is pressed and stressed, and the Divine side, if not altogether ignored, is relegated to the background. This holds true of very much of the
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

The Pilgrim's Progress
FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME. THE SECOND PART. DELIVERED UNDER THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM. WHEREIN IS SET FORTH THE MANNER OF THE SETTING OUT OF CHRISTIAN'S WIFE AND CHILDREN, THEIR DANGEROUS JOURNEY, AND SAFE ARRIVAL AT THE DESIRED COUNTRY. By JOHN BUNYAN. 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Nathaniel Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, near the Church, 1684. THE AUTHOR'S WAY OF SENDING FORTH HIS SECOND PART OF THE PILGRIM. Go now, my little book, to every
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Jonah
The book of Jonah is, in some ways, the greatest in the Old Testament: there is no other which so bravely claims the whole world for the love of God, or presents its noble lessons with so winning or subtle an art. Jonah, a Hebrew prophet, is divinely commanded to preach to Nineveh, the capital of the great Assyrian empire of his day. To escape the unwelcome task of preaching to a heathen people, he takes ship for the distant west, only to be overtaken by a storm, and thrown into the sea, when, by
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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