NOW JONAH CHAPTER I OW the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. This is the same 'Jonah, the son of Amittai, the Prophet' who (2 Kings xiv. 25) foretold the partial restoration of Israel by the might of King Jeroboam II. It was the supreme hour of God's people Israel, their end as a nation drew near. Yet they were granted, before the Captivity came, one more gleam of success, one more interval of peace. And Jonah was the herald of this to Israel. No doubt he, like the rest of the goodly fellowship of Prophets,' had warned, entreated, pleaded with his own apostate nation. Hosea and Joel give us some idea of what he might have said. But of all this we are told nothing; only how God sent him on a mission far from home to a great heathen city. O wonderful! he had to leave God's people in their last day of grace, to give up warning them, and to go afar off to heathens! He alone of all Prophets of God! What! he was to neglect his own nation, who greatly needed his ministry, and devote himself to unbelievers ! 3. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. No wonder that he fled. He, like Moses (Exodus xxxiii. 10), refused to take the headship of a great nation' while Israel were 'consumed.' Rather would he be blotted out' of God's Book rather (as fervent Paul desired) be himself accursed from God' than desert his own people. He was like those Jewish Christians who found it hard to believe that God had 'granted unto the Gentiles repentance unto life' (Acts xi. 18). Do not think that his flight was merely caused by unbelief or petulance. No, he VER. 12.] What meanest thou, O Sleeper? 89 knew and marvelled at God's mysterious dealings, the opening wide of His compassion over the Gentiles; but he could not cast in his lot anywhere but with Abraham's seed. He was wont to minister to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,' and could not stretch his compassions further, 4. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. 5. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 6. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. Here is a righteous man under God's wrath. He is pursued by all God's waves and storms. Meanwhile he appears as one insensible or stupefied. This great roar of winds and waves about to overwhelm the sinking ship, this stir and outcry of agonised suppliants, cannot arouse him. This sleeper is dumb and overpowered by calamity, as one who 'opens not his mouth.' Who is this charged with apparent disobedience to God, who bears on his shoulders a weight of guilt, around whom all storms rage, who has thoughts into which none of those who voyage with him can enter, yet whose devotion and self-sacrifice are to rescue them all? 7. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. 8. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? 9. And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. 10. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. II. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. 12. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm 90 One giving his Life for many [JON. I. unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. This man is destined to be 'a light to the Gentiles.' He is their Apostle sent from God to revive true religion in the heathen world. When sinners ask him how an angry God can be appeased, he is able to tell them. It is round his head, most of all, that the great tempest howls. Though plunged in a common calamity and ' reckoned among transgressors,' yet the path through the depths can be trodden by none but him. Surely I hear a voice saying (S. John xi. 50), 'It is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.' Surely I discern here, in dim figure, that Prophet who should come into the world,' voyaging with us through the waves of mortality, sharing our storms, but yet devoting Himself to still them. In my Lord's Agony He felt what we feel in prospect of death, and yet there was a burden all His own, a weight which we cannot comprehend. 13. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 14. Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. 15. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. O wonderful mystery of Substitution! The Innocent appears guilty and is treated as guilty, yet by His condemnation 'many are made righteous.' The fear of death, the burden of remorse, the anguish of lonely hearts are lightened by the devotion of this One Man who has voluntarily gone down into depths of woe for others' sake. In this, no less than in the Prophet's wonderful deliverance, do I see the sign of the Prophet Jonah.' Here I apprehend the reason of that strange abandonment of Christ Jesus in His Agony and on the Cross. Here I see how the servants have, after their Master's pattern, devoted themselves, according to their measure, for their brethren's sake, and have been heard. When my turn comes to enter the dark and swelling waters, may I have that Divine Prophet with me, over whose head they once went in all their bitterness! 16. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows. All our Glory be to God, for that He has accepted the Sacrifice! life we pay thanks and praise to Him for this devotion of Christ II. 3] De Profundis 91 Jesus which has given us new hope. What is each Eucharist but the offering of praise and thanks from all those who voyage in the ark of Christ's Church, for the work of their Divine Friend who laid down His life for them? In the presence of the Cross false worships disappear. My heart finds here alone the satisfaction of its needs. I learn from the expiation which Christ wrought, how to pray, how to praise God aright. 17. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 6 So Joseph says to his brethren, 'It was not you that sent me hither, but God.' So the Apostolic Church says to God concerning Christ's enemies, that they were gathered together for to do whatsoever Thy Hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done.' Man's passions brought to pass only what God had prepared' from all eternity. God, when He framed the seas of this troubled world, framed also that Leviathan, Death, 'to take his pastime therein.' The monster thinks only to satisfy his insatiable maw, but that Just One' finds a refuge prepared for Him even amidst the shadows of death. 'As in the pit his father's darling lay, Beside the desert way,' He so our Master lies hidden from sight but for a brief interval. TH CHAPTER II HEN Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, 2. And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 3. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Here is the righteous Prophet cast into lowest depths; yet he 'offered up prayers and supplications unto Him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared' (Heb. v. 7). He descended into the lower parts of the earth,' not for 92 Thou hast Thyself been there [JON. II. Himself, but for us. He bore about with Him an unfailing trust, a persevering hope. He went through unfathomed depths to make them passable for other souls. Through such experiences, O Lord, have Thy saints gone, following Thy track. When my time comes to pass into the dark waters, to be swallowed by the all-devouring monster, I shall have hope. 4. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. 5. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. 6. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God. 'Save me, O God,' he prays; 'for the waters have come in even unto my soul' (Ps. lxix. 1). Yet again, 'Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption' (Ps. xvi. 10). He says, 'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?'; and yet again, Father, into Thy Hands I commend My spirit.' That Divine Prophet, whom Jonah represented, felt what sinners feel, was as one cast out and condemned, drank the bitter cup of agony; but was still one with God, and was fulfilling His Heavenly Father's gracious will. He that descended was the same also that ascended far above all heavens' (Ephes. iv. 10). In these verses I am reminded of Paul, who 'had the sentence of death on himself,' who was 'pressed out of measure, above strength, so that he despaired even of life' (2 Cor. i. 8); yet all through was comforted of God' and able to comfort others. I am reminded of many saints who 'passed through fire and water' before God brought them out into a place of rest at last. Do Thou, Lord, join us with them after whatever experiences life and death may bring ! 7. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. 8. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. 9. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord. Another Prophet says (Lamentations iii. 54, 55), 'Waters flowed over my head; then I said, I am cut off. I called upon Thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon'; and again (iii. 21), 'This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.' This Sufferer will not always be an outcast from God's Face, but will again behold it in brightness. Curses from without, pangs of body, desolation of soul, overtook Him; but these are the way whereby |