_Now the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah._ JONAH, THE RUNAWAY PROPHET The commission may be viewed-- I. In its source. It is-- 1. Supreme, as the Word of the Lord. 2. Peremptory; it is absolute, imperative, final. 3. Honourable. As associating the commissioned with the commissioner. Investin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it._ THE COMPARATIVE CORRUPTION OF GREAT CITIES PROPOSITION That though by no means exclusively, yet in cities that are great and luxurious, integrity is exposed to peculiar snares, and depravity cherished to an extraordinary growth. I. Explain thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish._ THE REFUSAL TO OBEY A GOD-GIVEN CHARGE Jonah sullenly resolved not to obey God’s voice. What a glimpse into the prophetic office that gives us! The Divine Spirit could be resisted, and the prophet was no mere machine, but a living man who had to consent wi... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord sent out a great wind into the sea._ THE DIVINE DISPLEASURE There is a religious side to storms. Tempests have done what spiritual teachers could not do. 1. Disobedience ensures punishment. No man can sin with impunity. There is an absolute necessity for moral wrong to be judiciously de... [ Continue Reading ]
_The mariners were afraid, and cried every one unto his god._ FEAR DRIVING MEN TO GOD We see how in dangers men are constrained to call on God. Though, indeed, there is a certain impression by nature on the hearts of men as to God, so that everyone, willing and unwilling, is conscious that there is... [ Continue Reading ]
_So the shipmaster came to him._ A MODEL SEA-CAPTAIN The shipmaster was a good workman. The spirit and manner in which he went about his work deserve our imitation. He was intensely in earnest. At any risk he wished to arouse this slumbering passenger to a sense of duty. Death was staring them in... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us._ CONDITIONS TO BE OBSERVED IN CASTING LOTS 1. We must never fall to lottery but when necessity enforceth us: all other lawful means must be first assayed. 2. We must use great reverence and religiousness in the action. Holy... [ Continue Reading ]
_What is thine occupation?_ WHAT IS THINE OCCUPATION? In secular life God intends every man to have an occupation. So too in the Christian life. The world of sin inquires of the Church, “What is thine occupation?” A religion that cannot give a valid reason for existence will and ought to die. God’... [ Continue Reading ]
_I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord._ JONAH’S CONFESSION I. The advantage of being born and educated in some countries above others. Consider them both in a natural and in a spiritual sense. Some countries place their inhabitants under serious disabilities. The conditions are most deplorable when... [ Continue Reading ]
_I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you._ INTELLIGIBLE PROVIDENCES It is certain that in all general adversities God has some purpose to accomplish with all those that suffer. But it is no less true that individual persons may be particularly aimed at. A few years ago the great stea... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights._ THE CRUX OF THE MIRACLE The real miracle was that Jonah should survive so long in his strange prison. “That violates the laws of nature.” But let us once understand Christ’s profound saying about a Father who “worketh hitherto” ... [ Continue Reading ]