Jonah the Messenger of Ninevehs Repentance, Part 1
IONAH THE MESSENGER OF NINEVEHS Repentance. Set forth in his Calling, Rebellion, and Puniſhment.
By H. S.
LONDON, Printed by G. M. for G E. and are to be ſold at the Grey-hound in Pauls Church-yard. 1637.
GOD ſends the Prophet Ionah to proclaime
His wrath, againſt the proud Affirian Dame,
Arm'd him with thundring threats: the trembler ſailes
Soone towards Tharſis, but the ſtorme prevailes
And wreſts the barke, whileſt ſleepy Ionah lies
Secure: the jarring Saylors doe adviſe
Who caus'd the tempeſt: 'twas for Ionahs ſin,
They caſt him o're: the ſeas grow calme agin;
(When we caſt off our ſins how ſoone our God
Will calme our waies and burne his angry rod)
The Whale receiv'd him (thus did God contrive)
Then ſpu'd the three-daies priſoner our alive,
(O Lord if by thy Spirit thou wilt dwell
With us, we ſhall be ſafe although in Hell)
Now to the great Metropolis he goes,
Proclaimes his meſſage, vents the diſmall woes
That ſhould befall within twiſe twenty daies,
Yet all repent, and ſo the judgement ſtaies
(True contrite prayers, and ſuch hea'nly charmes
Are ropes ſo ſtrong to tie th' Almighties armes)
Now peeviſh Ionah frets, and needs would die
As if God ſent him for to vent a lie.
His pettiſh tricks are chek'd: and then the Lord
Convinceth him of folly by his Gourd.
THE CALLING OF IONAH.
IONAH 1. 1, 2.
The word of the Lord came unto Ionah the Sonne of Amittai, ſaying,
Ariſe, go to Nineveh that great City, and cry againſt it: for their wickedneſſe is come up before me.
I Shall not need to ſhew the authority of Prophets, but concerning their differences they were of three ſorts. 1. Such as prayed for the people and received an anſwer, theſe were called Seers. Such was Samuel, 1 Sam. 10. 9. 2. Such as expounded the Law, as Iſaiah, Ieremy and the reſt. 3. Such as were ſince Chriſts time, as Agabus, Acts 11. 28. Ionah was of the ſecond ſort.
I might well chuſe this Story, for (beſides the compendiouſneſſe and perſpicuity) it beſt ſuites the ſtate of this ſinnefull age.
Ionah lived in the time of wicked Ieroboam the Sonne of Ioaſh, 2 King. 14. 24. Yet kept his integrity.
His name Ionah, a Dove, teacheth Innocency, and his Fathers name Amittai, truth, that truth ſhould bee every Preachers Father.
This Hiſtory containes, Firſt, Gods great mercy.
1. To the Ninevites in ſending a Prophet to convert them that they might be ſpared.
2. To Ionah in preſerving him notwithſtanding his diſobedience.
3. To the Mariners, in preſerving them that they were then and for ever ſaved.
Secondly, Ionahs fall and riſing againe.
In his fall obſerve
1. His ſinne.
2. His puniſhment.
1. His ſin, in
Flying from God Murmuring.
Iuſtifying himſelfe.
2. His Puniſhment
Manifold feares Caſting into the Sea.
Swallowed of a Whale.
Reproofe and conviction.
In his riſing conſider,
1. His Repentance.
2. His Preſervation.
3. His Faithfull diſcharge of his duty.
The word of the Lord came, &c.
Ionah went not without a ſpeciall call and Commiſſion.Obſ. None ſhould goe before they are ſent, they muſt have their warrant as Aaron had, Heb. 5. 4. None may aſcend to Moſes chaire that have not Moſes rod and Moſes ſpirit.
Came.
The Prophets had not alwaies the Word with them,Obſ. as Nathan ſpake of himſelfe, 2 Sam. 7. 1 Chron. 17. and Eliſhaes ignorance of the Shunamites griefe, 2 King. 4. and Dan. 2. 30.
Ariſe
God findes us all ſleeping, Obſ.we had need bee wakened.Obſ. They that call on others ſhould firſt ariſe themſelves, Luke 22. 30. Not like Taylors that deck others and goe bare themſelves, but they muſt ſay follow me.
Goe.
God would not have any people untaught,Obſ. Pſal. 19. 1, 2, 3. Rom. 1. 19. Therefore he ſent Noah to the old world, Lot to Sodome, Moſes to Iſrael, and here Ionah to Nineveh.
To Nineveh.
They that greive the Spirit quench the Spirit.Obs;. The Word was in Samaria, they refuſing it, it went to Nineveh. The Goſpell was at Epheſus, it is now come to England and it may depart from England, 1 Cor. 10. 12. The Prophets thus departing from Samaria to Nineveh, was 1 To ſhake off the duſt of his feet againſt them for their obſtinacy. 2 To ſhew them that Gentiles were more righteous then they; for they repented at the voice of, 1 Prophet and 1 Sermon. 3 To prefigure their rejection and the Gentiles calling.
Great Citty.
Nineveh had 1500. towers and 120000. little children in it,Jonah 4. 1 as is noted in the end of this Story; but the greater the more ungodly. Multitude being oftentimes a meanes of ſeducing one another.
And cry againſt it.
Every Prophet is a Cryer,Obſ. as the Lord bids Iſaiah, Iſa. 48. 1. Lift up his voice. They muſt be plaine and bold as if they ſate in judgement. Iohn Baptiſt was not onelyonly a voice but the voice of a Cryer, Luke 3. therefore Acts 2. the Holy Ghoſt came downe in fiery tongues, but this fire is now quenched and theſe tongues tied up, but men though they cannot ſpeake, can ſee a benefice when it falls though it be an 100. miles off; and Pharaoh had more care of his ſheepe, then they of ſoules.
If people were not deafe and dull of hearing Miniſters need not cry, but are not yee commanded to heare as well as we to cry. The Cock crowes when men are aſleepe. Yea the Cocke crowes and Peter ſtill denies his Maſter, Mat. 26. 70, 72, 74.
It is ſinne and ſinne onelyonly that provokes God to cry againſt us. Our ſinnes doe buffet God on every ſide as the Iewes did Chriſt, therefore hee will not leave till hee have by crying ſlaine either you or your ſinnes. When God therefore cryes we ſhould weepe, conſidering wherefore he cries.
Reproofe is the neceſſarieſt office yet moſt abhorred, as if he hated us that reproves us. Yet God ſaith, Lev. 19. 7. Thou ſhalt not hate thy brother but reprove him. So that to flatter any in ſinne is a manifeſt ſigne of hatred, what love ſoever wee pretend, ſince it tends to the hurt of their ſoules and offence of God. Yea if a Preacher reproove ſinne hee is thought to do it of hatred or ſome particular grudge, expecting hee ſhould preach the Goſpell, and bid him keepe his Text, as if no Text in Scripture did reprove ſinne: but let him preach darke myſteries, odd conceits, or braineſicke dreames he is well come. Balaams aſſe never ſpake but once and then he reprooved, then if Balaams aſſe reproved Balaam, how much more ought Balaam to reproove aſſes. But perſwade your ſelves though we ſeeme angry, wee preach the Law to bring you to the Goſpell, wee preach Iudgement that ye may finde Mercy, we preach Hell to bring you to Heaven.
Thus wee have heard Ionahs charge to cry, But what ſhould he cry? The Papiſts ſay it was for their neglect of traditions, which they gather out of the New Teſtament, Ioh. 16. 12. Ioh. 21. 25. Acts 1. 3. 1 Tim. 6. 20. 2 Tim. 1. 13. & 22. But his charge is expreſſed, Chap. 3. 2. O that none would cry but what God had commanded.
But what did God command him to cry? even this, Yet forty daies and Nineveh ſhall bee deſtroyed, yea ancient Nineveh, faire Nineveh, proud Nineveh muſt bee deſtroyed.
No man ſits ſo high but deſtruction ſits above him. Iuſtice would have come without crying; but the mercifull God cryes to them, that they hearing his cry, might cry themſelves and God hearing their cry againe tooke pitty on them. Iſaiah was commanded to cry. Iſa. 40. 6, 7. And Iohn was commanded in the ſpirit ofMat. 7 3. Eliah to cry; and Ionah was commanded to cry, and he cryed. And all Preachers are commanded to cry aloud and not to ſpare, and to be faithfull in their meſſage, 1 Cor. 4. 4. and woe to them that love the pleaſures of ſinne more then the glory of God.
For their wickedneſſe is come up.
Wee have heard the charge given, heavie newes. Now the cauſe is, Nineveh hath followed her luſts, ſatisfied her deſires, forgotten Gods lawes, let her therefore prepare for deſtruction.
When God ſends cryes unto a people it is a manifeſt ſigne their wickedneſſe is come up before him.Obſ. And then if they will not repent while God continues crying amongſt them, the Lord of Hoſts will riſe up in armes againſt them.
Nineveh was as full of ſinne as people, proſperity, and ſecurity kiſſed each other, Nah. 2. 8.
Is come up.
Sinne mounts up on high and carries us up as the Tempter did Chriſt to the top of a pinacle to behold all the pleaſures of the world at once:Obſ. but a grievous thing it is to conſider, what a man is doing while hee ſinnes, and what ſinne is doing at the barre of Gods juſt judgement, for nothing can ſtay ſinne once committed from aſcending up before the face of the Eternall God. An arrow is ſwift, the Sun is ſwifter, but ſinne is ſwifteſt of all, for in a moment it is committed on earth, comes before God and is condemned to hell. For though Nimrod could not climbe to Heaven, yet his ſinnes flew up. When wee ſinne wee are like the ſhell-fiſh which the Eagle carries into the ayre, lets fall upon the rockes, daſheth in peeces and ſo devours it. So the wrath of God throwes us low upon the rockes of ſhame and contempt and terror of conſcience, and then the grave and hell that double death devoures us.
Is come before me.
By ſinnes comming before God is meant Gods beholding and ſeeing it. Wee faſt as before him, we pray as before him, and doe every good duty as before him, becauſe wee doe it freely not caring who lookes upon us, but we ſinne as behind him, as loath to bee ſeene, and we ſuppoſe we ſinne behind him, as if he ſaw us not, ſaying as Eliphaz accuſed Iob to have ſaid Iob 2. 12, 13, 14. Is not God in the height of the heavens, and ſee the highneſſe of the Starres how high they are, therefore how could God know it, &c. but then chiefly wee thinke
God beholds us not when men cannot ſee us, but be not deceived, God ſeeth not as man ſeeth. Man ſees onelyonly the outward act, but God ſeeth the ſecreteſt imaginations of the heart. Againe, Man ſeeth but one thing at once, and cannot ſee before and behind him with one looke, but God ſeeth all things at all times: for when wee ſpeake evill hee is all eares to heare us, when wee doe evill he is all eyes to ſee us. Ananias might have gained by his craft if God had not ſeene his heart, Acts 5. Gehezi might have profited by his lye, and gained a bribe for his labour if God had not ſeene his fetches and turned his bribe into a Leproſie, 2 King. 5. The man that bad his ſoule bee merry, might have injoyed his pleaſure many yeares had not God eſpied his ſecurity, Luke 12. Achan might have kept his gold had not God ſeene him. Achan would never have ſtollen, nor Gehezi taken bribes had they thought God beheld them; will any ſteale the owner looking on, will any ſpeake treaſon the King hearing it: Therefore marke but this part of my Sermon. Say when thy hand is at a ſinne, I will not doe it becauſe the Lord ſees me. And as hee is all eyes to ſee ſinne, and all hands to puniſh it, ſo if wee repent, hee is all mercy to forgive it. Now therefore repent of thy ſinne, hye thee faſt to the throne of Grace, and try if thy repentance will not as powerfully cry for pardon, as thy ſinnes did vehemently cry for puniſhment. The Angell cryed not ſo loud Babylon is fallen, Revel. 18. 2. as the Spirit of truth ſhall aſſure thee thy ſinnes are forgiven thee, Rom. 6. 14. Psal. 91. 10. 34. 10. 84. 11. Rom. 8. 28. Repent therefore and truly repent by flying all ſinne with the occaſion and appearances, and love the truth, and as much as is in you, have peace with all men, that the God of peace may give you peace in Chriſt. All this is grounded on this that God ſeeth whatſoever we doe. So Rev. 2. 2-9-13. and 3-1-8. I know thy workes, is ſpoken to incourage the Sardians and Laod ceans to repentance knowing that God is a liberall rewarder of them that ſeeke him, Heb. 11. 6.
Is come before me.
Sinne once committed comes preſently before God: but the carnall hearted man like the faint Spies of Canaan, thinkes the way to Heaven hard and the journey further then hee is able to goe all his life: but when you ſend Faith, Hope and Love, thoſe meſſengers of truth and peace, they will tell you that your faſhions, pride, love of the world and other ſins muſt be put off, as unbeſeeming the faſhion of that countrey, ſo that ere we come thither wee muſt leave them, like the ſhadow when we goe into the doore, wee muſt ſhake hands with them and bid them farrewell.