Jonah 4:2

And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. AND HE PRAYED UNTO THE LORD ... O LORD, WAS NOT THIS MY SAYING? - my thought or feeling. THEREFORE I FLED BEFORE UNTO TARSHISH - I anticipated, by fleeing, the disappointment of my hope (that Nineveh should fall), through thy long-suffering mercy. FOR I KNEW THAT THOU ART A GRACIOUS GOD, AND MERCIFUL, SLOW TO ANGER, AND OF GREAT KINDNESS, AND REPENTEST THEE OF THE EVIL. Jonah here has before his mind Exodus 34:6, where the Lord proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness...

It seems by no means befitting that Jonah should have said here that he prayed; for prayer ought to be calm; but he confesses that his mind was in a state of excitement. As then anger was burning within the Prophet, how could he come before God and utter a suitable prayer? And further, what is the end of praying, but to confess that whatever good is to be obtained resides in God, and is to be sought humbly from him? But Jonah here, on the contrary, expostulates and clamors against God; for he seems in a manner to be contending that he had a just reason for his flight, and also that God ought not to have pardoned the Ninevites. He then accuses God, that he might free himself from every blame. But all this is foreign and remote from what is required in prayer. How then must we understand this passage, in which he says that he prayed? My answer is — that the faithful often in a disturbed st...

1-4 What all the saints make matter of joy and praise, Jonah makes the subject of reflection upon God; as if showing mercy were an imperfection of the Divine nature, which is the greatest glory of it. It is to his sparing, pardoning mercy, we all owe it that we are out of hell. He wishes for death: this was the language of folly, passion, and strong corruption. There appeared in Jonah remains of a proud, uncharitable spirit; and that he neither expected nor desired the welfare of the Ninevites, but had only come to declare and witness their destruction. He was not duly humbled for his own sins, and was not willing to trust the Lord with his credit and safety. In this frame of mind, he overlooked the good of which he had been an instrument, and the glory of the Divine mercy. We should often ask ourselves, Is it well to say thus, to do thus? Can I justify it? Do I well to be so soon angry...

Verse Jonah 4:2. _I KNOW THAT THOU_ ART _A GRACIOUS GOD_] Exodus 34:6....

AND HE PRAYED UNTO THE LORD - Jonah, at least, did not murmur or complain of God. He complained to God of Himself. He expostulates with Him. Shortsighted indeed and too wedded to his own will! Yet his will was the well-being of the people whose prophet God had made him. He tells God, that this it was, which he had all along dreaded. He softens it, as well as he can, by his word, “I pray Thee,” which expresses deprecation anti-submissiveness. Still he does not hesitate to tell God that this was the cause of his first rebellion! Perilous to the soul, to speak without penitence of former sin; yet it is to God that he speaks and so God, in His wonderful condescension, makes him teach himself. I KNEW THAT THOU ART A GRACIOUS GOD - He repeats to God to the letter His own words by Joel Joel 2:13. God had so revealed Himself anew to

EXPOSITION JONAH 4:1 JONAH'S DISPLEASURE AND ITS CORRECTION. JONAH 4:1 1_. Jonah is grieved at the sparing of Nineveh, the expectation of which had led to his former flight, and complains of God's clemency._ JONAH 4:1 IT DISPLEASED JONAH EXCEEDINGLY; literally, _it was evil to Jonah, a great evil. _It was more than mere displeasure which he felt; he was vexed and irritated. The reference is to what is said in the last verse of the preceding chapter, viz. that the predicted destruction was not inflicted. How the knowledge of this re

AND HE PRAYED UNTO THE LORD,.... But in a very different manner from his praying in the fish's belly: this was a very disorderly prayer, put up in the hurry of his spirit, and in the heat of passion: prayer should be fervent indeed, but not like that of a man in a fever; there should be a warmth and ardour of affection in it, but it should be without wrath, as well as without doubting: this is called a prayer, because Jonah thought it to be so, and put it up to the Lord as one. It begins in the form of a prayer; and it ends with a petition, though an unlawful one; and has nothing of true and right prayer in it; no celebration of the divine Being, and his perfections; no confession of sin, ore petition for any blessing of providence or grace; but mere wrangling, contending, and quarrelling with God: AND SAID, I PRAY THEE, O LORD, [WAS] NOT THIS MY SAYING, WHEN I WAS YET IN MY COUNTRY? in...

Jonah 4:1. _But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry._ A nice prophet this! Jonah was a man of a somewhat ugly disposition, yet I think he has been misunderstood. He was the true child of Elijah, the prophet of fire. Elijah was a rough, stern servant of the Lord, who felt that the indignities which had been done to Jehovah deserved instant and terrible punishment; and he seemed almost to wish to see that punishment inflicted, as he accused the people unto God, saying, «the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.» He was bravely stern for God, and Jonah was cast in a similar mold. He seemed to feel, «I have been sent of God to tell these people that they will be destroyed for their sin. Now, if they are not destroyed, it will be th...

CHAPTER 4 Jonah's Discontent and Correction _ 1. Jonah's discontent (John 4:1) _ 2. The correction (John 4:4) John 4:1. All that had happened displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry. Did he feel that he had lost his prestige as a prophet, having announced the overthrow of Nineveh, when it did not happen? What he feared had come true; God had been merciful to this great city and they were now enjoying what he considered Israel's exclusive inheritance. Instead of rejoicing in the great exhibition of God's mercy towards such a wicked city, he was angry. Like Elijah, in the hour of despondency he requests to die. “Therefore, now, O LORD, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die t

JONAH 4. JONAH'S INTOLERANCE REBUKED AND GOD'S MERCY VINDICATED. God's clemency to Nineveh made Jonah very angry. It was not, as we might be tempted to suppose, that he felt his professional credit as a prophet to be ruined by the failure of his prediction. The mischief lay deeper than that. For it was patent enough even to the Ninevites that the message left a loophole of escape, and might have for its object to bring them to repentance. While the prediction had failed, its failure was the highest tribute of success to the prophet's mission; there was no cause for wounded vanity in the case of a man who had converted a whole city; and Jonah's reproach to God is not that in His incalculable caprice He has sent him on a fool's errand and made him ridiculous in the sight of the heathen. He suffers from a darker disease than wounded vanity, and has suffered from it all along; it was the rut...