Paraphrase of the Hard Texts of Scripture, Scripture 28
IONAH.
CAP. I.
ARise; goe to Niniveh, the great city of the Assyrians,2 Arise, goe to Niniveh that great citie, and cry against it, for their wickednesse is come up before me. and denounce my judgements against it; for their wickednesse is growne to that height, that I can no longer forbeare it.
But Jonah, fearing that the mercy of God in sparing the city would leave him suspected of a false prediction,3 But Ionah rose up to flee unto Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord, and went downe to Ioppa and he found a ship going to Tarshish, so he paid the fare thereof. bent his course another way, and going downe to Joppa and finding a ship, ready bound for her passage, into the Mediterranean sea, he put himselfe into her, and paid the fare thereof, &c.
Then, when Jonah had told the men, both his nation,10 Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, why hast thou done this? for the mē knew that hee fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. and his religion, and his profession, and his haynous sin, in fleeing from the charge that God had laid upon him; they were exceedingly afraid; as being strickē both with the sense of their owne danger, and of compassion towards a person of such quality, who had so freely confessed himselfe, and his offence.
Then the men were struck with an awfull feare of the power, and majesty of that God,16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, & made vowes. whereof they saw such proofe, before their eyes; the sight whereof being added to the religious sermon of Jonah wrought so with them, that disclaiming all their Idoll gods, they offered a sacrifice to the only true God, and made vowes to him (which they would carefully performe upon their returne) to worship him at Jerusalem.
CAP. II.
THen Jonah spent that time of the three daies (wherein he was thus wofully imprisoned,1 Then Ionah prayed unto the Lord his God, out of the fishes belly. in the belly of the Whale) in his earnest prayers unto God, and in his humble, and hearty confessions of his great sinne, against his God.
2 And said, I cried by reason of, &c.And after, when he was by the power of God delivered from that death, he uttered, and penned this song of thanksgiving, for so wonderfull a mercy, &c.
—out of the belly of hell cryed I, and thou heardest my prayer.Out of that place of unspeakable horror, wherein I was for the time buried, as in the belly of a living and moving grave; I then failed not to cry unto thee, and thou heardest me.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deepe, in the midst of the seas, and the floods compassed me about: all thy billowes and thy waves passed over me.It was not the act of the mariners, Lord, it was thy just act to cast me into the deepe; there I was by thine appointment in the midst of many seas; (for so did that fearefull monster carry me from one sea to another) and the floods compassed me about.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight: yet I will looke againe toward thy holy Temple.Then said I; Lord, I am justly cast out of thy sight, into this place of horror; yet since thou still givest me life, and being, I will trust in thy mighty power, and infinite mercy, that thou hast reserved me for some further service to thee, in thy Church.
6 I went downe to the bottomes of the mountaine: the earth with her bars was about me for ever.I went downe, in the maw of that vast and dreadfull beast, to the bottome of the sea, even to the lowest foundations of the mountaines; the earth with all her rocks and hils was over my head, beyond all naturall possibility of recovery, &c.
8 They that observe lying vanities, forsake their owne merciemercy.Those foolish men that worship vaine Idolls, (which are nothing but lies and falsehood;) forsake all the benefit of thy mercifull protection, and deliverance.
But I, &c.
10 And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Ionah upon the dry land.And the Lord commanded the Whale, and it accordingly did cast up Jonah upon the drie land.
CAP. III.
4 And Ionah began to enter into the city a daies journey, and he cryed and said, yet forty daies, and Niniveh shall be overthrowne.ANd when Jonah had spent one day in his preaching, and had gone through one third part of the city crying and saying, There are but yet fourty dayes to come, ere Niniveh (except it repent) shall be destroyed.
5 So the people of Niniveh beleeved God, and proclaimed a fast.The people of Niniveh beleeved that word of God, delivered to them by his Prophet, &c.
Let not the very beasts feed, nor drinke water; that the men may be the more moved with that woefull moane,7 Let them not feed, nor drinke water. which those dumbe creatures must needs make in their extremity.10 And God repented, &c.
See Amos 7.3.
CAP. IV.
DOst thou thinke this is a just cause for thee to be moved with anger, for that I have spared the Ninivites?
And he said, in much weaknesse, and rash passion;4 Then said the Lord, dost thou wel to be angry? I doe well to be angry, and thinke that I have just cause to be so fretted with this, which thou hast done, as to wish,9 I doe well to be angry, even unto death. in the bitternesse of my soule, to be rid of my life.
Then said the Lord, I have done this purposely to shew thee thine owne error, and weakenesse; thou hadst pitty on a sorry plant, which cost thee no labour,10 Then said the Lord, thou hast had pitty on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow, which came up in a night, and perished in a night. which received no life from thee; which suddainly came up, & suddainly vanished.
And should not I spare Niniveh, that great city, wherin are sixe score thousand infants, that have not lived to offend, and much cattle which are not capable of offence? how much are these better then the senselesse plants of the earth? and these are the worke of my hands,11 And should not I spare Niniveh that great city, wherein are more then sixe score thousand persons, that cannot discerne between their right hand, and their left hand, and also much cattle? and have cost me much care and regard; and such as require time, and leisure for their perfection; bethinke thy selfe therefore how just reason I have to be angry at thy unmercifulnesse, which art angry at my forbearance of Niniveh.