Cry For Mercy

 

"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.    

     "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. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.  

     "Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 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. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.  

     "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.    

     "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly, 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.

                                                                           

 

          "For Thou hadst cast me into the deep,

            In the midst of the seas;

           And the floods compassed me about:

            And Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me.

 

 

          "Then I said, I am cast out of Thy sight;

            Yet I will look again toward Thy holy temple.

           The waters compassed me about,

            Even to the soul:

 

 

          "The depth closed me round about,

            The weeds were wrapped about my head.

           I went down to the bottoms of the mountains;

            The earth with her bars was about me forever:

 

 

          "Yet hast Thou brought up my life from corruption, O

              Lord my God.

            When my soul fainted within me I remembered the

              Lord:

           And my prayer came in unto Thee,

            Into Thine holy temple.

 

 

           "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

            But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving;

            I will pay that that I have vowed.

              Salvation is of the Lord."

                                      Verse 7 to 2:9.   

     At last Jonah had learned that "salvation belongeth unto the Lord." Psalm 3:8. With penitence and a recognition of the saving grace of God, came deliverance. Jonah was released from the perils of the mighty deep and was cast upon the dry land.    

     Once more the servant of God was commissioned to warn Nineveh. "The word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee." This time he did not stop to question or doubt, but obeyed                                                                            unhesitatingly. He "arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord." Jonah 3:1-3.     

     As Jonah entered the city, he began at once to "cry against" it the message, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Verse 4. From street to street he went, sounding the note of warning.   

     The message was not in vain. The cry that rang through the streets of the godless city was passed from lip to lip until all the inhabitants had heard the startling announcement. The Spirit of God pressed the message home to every heart and caused multitudes to tremble because of their sins and to repent in deep humiliation.    

     "The people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he causeth it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything: let them not feed, nor drink water: but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?" Verses 5-9.   

     As king and nobles, with the common people, the high and the low, "repented at the preaching of Jonas" (Matthew 12:41) and united in crying to the God of heaven, His                                                                            mercy was granted them. He "saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that He had said that He would do unto them; and He did it not." Jonah 3:10. Their doom was averted, the God of Israel was exalted and honored throughout the heathen world, and His law was revered. Not until many years later was Nineveh to fall a prey to the surrounding nations through forgetfulness of God and through boastful pride.  PK 268-270