Warning ſo many Days e're it come, unleſs it be to try us we willraſt, pray, repent and amend ? and though Fonah had
FONAH.
po | | | whether } nab forgets himſelf and his God. » Tn a peeviſh Humour #5246; no Com-
miſhon to promiſe them a Deliverance, yet *tis very like he acquain- them with the merciful and gracious Nature of his God, This Speech of theirs, vid. Joel 2. 14. and 2 Sam, 12. 22. it includes both Faith. and Doubr, yet. Faith prevailing to Uſe of Means. 4a If we return-by Kepentance, to which God would now call us by this minatory Admo- nition, he may perhaps return to us in Mercy, and by the Event ſhew *rwas Not an irrevocable Sentence pals'd againſt us. b Forbear to exe- cute that terrible Menace of overthrowing us in his juſt and hot Dil- picaſure againſt our Sins ; this explains that which he had called Re-
penting be'ore ;
which being here, as elſewhere *ftis, attributed to
God atter the manner of Man's ſpeaking, mult be interpreted as be- cometh his Immutability and Majcſty. c Suddenly, exemplarily, tem- porally and eternally, all which impenitent Sinners deſerve, Nnevites were in Danger of, and the provoked Juſtice of God would have
brought upon them if they had not repented.
10 4 And God ſaw d their works e, that they turned from their evil way f, and God repented of g the evil that he had ſaid i that he would do unto them k, and he
did rt not 1.
4 Not only with naked and fingle Intuition, but he ſaw and appro- ved, was fingularly well pleaſed with that he ſaw. e Works, not Words, are ſure Signs of what Men are, humbling themſelves to the Duſc, extraordinary Faſting, and crying unto God ;, theſe were ſome of their Works, but God ſaw more than theſe 'external profeſſing
Works,
f Vid: ver. $, let. u. they did heartily, preſently and univer-
fally turn from the Ways of Impiety againft God, of Injuſtice q- gainſt Man, from the Ways of Luxury and Pride, from all their Vio- lence againſt Man ; wit:out thisall the reſt had been not worth the obſcrving, nor would God have regarded it. -g This is ſpoken as be- | fore, ver. 9. let. &. (and as his Seeing is attributed to him) after the manner ot Man, and muſt be applied unto our unchangeable God, fo as may not reflett any Blemiſh upoa his Truth, Conftancy or Immu- tability. Thovgh he is ſaid to repent, *tis not as Man doth, who may through Frailty of his Naturelie ; but our God js not a Man, or as
the Son of Man, that he ſhould change or lie. þ Of Luniihment,
z
Threatned by Fonab's Mouth. & To finning_ Nzmevites, who did. rightly conjecture that 'twas poſſivie this dreadful hieflage might be a minatory Warning, aad might be big of a merci:ul Condition of Far- don if they repented, and there was no other way to make the Diſ-:
Ccovery of this but that they took.
] For he will not deal with peni- tent Sinners as with impenitert; though his Juſtice would nat have
ſpared unrepenting Citizens, his Mercy is ſo great he will not deſtroy
*
repenting Sinners.
CHAP. IV.
Jonah diſpleaſed at God's ſparing the Ninevires, complaineth of it to him, Li 3» God reproves bim for it, and by 4 gourd inſirufterh and con-:
vinceth him, 4. IIs
I BY! a it b difpleaſed c Jonah exceedingly d, and he
was very angry e.
4 And Heb. b The Divine Forbearance ſparing the great and ſinful Nineveh. © Was very unagreeable to Fonal”s haſty and fierce Tem- per, to his Love of his own <redir, and it afflicted him to ſee Nime-
veb ſurvive the forty Days limitcd for their Continuance.
4 *Twasa
great Afictjon to him, fo highly diſtemper'd is F5a4þ at Goa's Good-
nels toa repenting City,
e This kindled a Fire in his Breaſt, which 3
was made up of tnvy. Indiznation and Grief, for that it was not
done, and dctire that yct ir may be done.
Fa4h would yet have Nz.
meveh a Sacrifice to God's Juſtice, and an cternal Monument of his
Truth, who foretold its Ruine.
2 And he prayed f unto the LORD, and ſaid pg, I pray thee, O LORD þb, was not this my ſaying z?, when | was yet in my own Country k ? Therefore I fied 1 before unto
Tarſhiſh m2 :
for | knew 7 that thou art a * gractcus o
Joel 2.12, God 2nd merciful p, flow to anger q, and of great kinaneſs
* 1 Kings
I 90 4 7 , * Yer. $.
7, and repentelſt thee of the evil 5.
f In ftrarge diſtempere:!! Humour ſets about this Work, and ac- cordingly manageth ir; when he deſigns to pray, his turbulent Af- fections hurry him into unſeemly Conteſts and Quarrcls with God, yet ſince he fell on his Knees with purpoſe to pray to God, the Scrip- tures report it a& his Prayer to the Lord. g Either ſpake 1: out in Words, or elſe thus reaſoned within himſelf, and now leaves ic record-
ed what were hi: Words or his Thoughts. plaint or Quarrel againſt the Lord,
þ This begin3 his Com- 7 Did I not think of this? was I
not apprehentfive that it would be [o? I ſhould preach avenging Ju- | ſtice, and thou wonldſt exerciſe pardoning Mercy ; thy Pardon would | contradidt my Preaching. & Either in Canaan, or Galilee, or in Gath- |
Hepber, where had I died, and never ten a Prophet to Ninzv.h, Thad
ever had the Reputation of a true Prophet, but now at Nizevea 1
ſhall be reportei a faiſ> Dreamer. [
I There was Reaſon tor what I did.
when I declined the Meſſage, and fled away from thy Preſence ; he ſeems to juſtify that Flight which God condemn=d in him by a mira- |
culous Puniſhment inflicted on him. # 74, ch. 1. v. 3.let. p.
2 He
might know-1t by God's Dealings with ſo exorbitantly paſhonate a |
Man as Fora% himielt was, but he knew it trom God's Account of |
himſelt, Exod. 34.6, 7. and many other Places of the Scripture.
Who hath Bowels of Compeſhon, a Heart that is a Fountain of-tender | Mercy. p Readily expreffing his Compatiion toward Sinners that need and ſue for Mercy. q Who doſt weit long tor the Sinner's Return, and doft not haften thy Executions. 'r And when provoked thou art yet of an infinite Gooinels, Lenity and Kindneſs, and forgiveft the
Sinner that repenteth. $s Vid. ch. 3. v. 9g. let. 4. and V. 10. let. ge
3 * Thereforz t now «, © LORD s, take, I beſeech :t 5 better & for me todie
thee, my life from me y ; for * than to live a.
t And Heb, « Now preſently, let no time flip. x Who art, as cn- Ir Author, ſo tle great Arbiter of Life. The mighty and eternal God ; lis S0\crcienty was enongh to command 7onah's Reverence,: byt Jo-
0|
.made zt to come vp o over Jonah, that it might bea ſz
3 WEAs
ry of his Life, and prays for Death, yet in. this Requeſt ſcme Mixture
there is of Grace with Paſſion, ſomewhat of Mercy from God to ge