Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, Ver. 1. _Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God_] _i.e._ Praised God with this _Canticum eucharisticum,_ this gratulatory song, as Tremellius calleth it. That he prayed in the ship, in the sea, in the whale's belly, we doubt not; but... [ Continue Reading ]
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, [and] thou heardest my voice. Ver. 2. _And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction_] His lips did not move in affliction, like a creaking door or a new cart wheel, with murmuring and... [ Continue Reading ]
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Ver. 3. _For thou hadst cast me into the deep_] A graphic description of his woeful condition, which yet he remembereth now as waters that are past, and i... [ Continue Reading ]
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. Ver. 4. _Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight_] Thus those straits brought him to these disputes of despair, as they did likewise David, Psalms 31:22, the Church in the Lamentations, Lamentations 4:22, and oth... [ Continue Reading ]
The waters compassed me about, [even] to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. Ver. 5. _The waters compassed me about, even to the soul_] That is, _usque ad animae deliquium,_ till I laboured for life, and was as good as gone. _ The depth closed me round a... [ Continue Reading ]
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars [was] about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. Ver. 6. _I went down to the bottoms of the mountains_] That is, of the promontories or rocks of the sea, where the waters are deepest. Thus... [ Continue Reading ]
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. Ver. 7. _When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord_] And could say, as the Church in Isaiah 63:16, when at lowest, "Doubtless thou art our father, our redeemer, thy name is fro... [ Continue Reading ]
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Ver. 8. _They that observe lying vanities_] That listen to sense and reason in matters of God, and make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof, as Jonah had done to his cost, till, having paid for his learning, he descried them... [ Continue Reading ]
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay [that] that I have vowed. Salvation [is] of the LORD. Ver. 9. _But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving_] _q.d._ Let others do as they think good; let them make a match with mischief till they have enough... [ Continue Reading ]
And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry [land]. Ver. 10. _And the Lord spake unto the fish_] He spake the word and it was done: he is the great centurion of the world, that saith to his creature, Do this, and he doth it. _Dei dicere est facere_ (Aug.). Yea, he is the... [ Continue Reading ]