While you're finding your spot in Jonah, I'll just explain a little bit of how we're preaching through these books.
So we've been going through the gospel according to John, the fourth gospel.
We've paused that now as we go into the summer months.
I'm really excited to preach through the Psalms.
So the plan is that every Sunday of the summer we'll tackle one psalm.
So next week we'll begin that with Psalm chapter 1, if you want to read that and study it this week.
And then we've been going to one Old Testament book about once a month.
We're halfway through Jonah after today.
And we'll resume Jonah again in the fall, you know, with the book of John again.
But we'll pause and look at Psalms.
So we're going to start our reading a couple of verses before Jonah chapter 2.
And we'll end it a couple of verses after the end of chapter 2 as well.
So turn back now to Jonah chapter 1, starting at verse 14.
As I read from the book of Jonah, and as you follow along, remember this is God's inspired,
inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient word.
This is God's very own word for you, his people.
After we're done reading our sermon text for today, I'll say this is the word of the Lord,
and we'll respond, thanks be to God.
So Jonah chapter 1, starting at verse 14.
Therefore they, this is the pagan sailors, called out to the Lord,
O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood.
For you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from raging.
Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah.
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Now notice what Jonah chapter 2 is.
What is it?
It's his prayer.
All of chapter 2 is Jonah's prayer.
So Jonah chapter 2, verse 1.
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord, his God, from the belly of the fish, saying,
I called out to the Lord out of my distress, and he answered me.
Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me.
All your waves and billows passed over me.
Then I said, I am driven away from your sight.
Yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.
The waters closed in over me to take my life.
The deep surrounded me.
Weeds were wrapped around my head at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever.
Yet you brought up my life from the pit.
Oh, Lord, my God.
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you into your holy temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you.
While I have vowed, I will pay, salvation belongs to the Lord.
Isn't that a great prayer?
Then we're told, the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah up, out upon dry land.
We'll read the first four verses of chapter three to see what happens.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,
Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth.
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey, and he called out,
Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
You may be seated.
Would you pray with me?
Oh Lord, teach us to hope in you.
Without hope we perish.
When we put our hope on anything less, we are disappointed.
Help us to put our hope in you alone, and hear from you through your word,
to strengthen our hope once again today for your glory.
For Christ's sake we pray.
Amen.
Let me read this quote.
This is from J.C. Ryle in the 1800s in Liverpool, England, to his congregation at the time.
Quote,
I have a question to offer you.
It is contained in three words.
Do you pray?
This question is one that none but you can answer.
Do you pray?
There is no duty in religion so neglected as prayer.
I ask whether you pray because prayer is absolutely needful to a man's salvation.
I cannot find that without prayer anybody will be saved.
No man or woman can expect to be saved who does not pray.
Do you pray?
Ryle goes on to argue that without prayer, not only can you not be saved without prayer, you cannot grow.
He writes,
Diligence in prayer is vital for growth in holiness.
There is a vast difference among true Christians.
All Christians are in God's army.
They are all fighting the same good fight,
but how much more valiantly some fight than others.
They are all doing the Lord's work,
but how much more some do than others.
They are all running the same race,
but how much faster some get on than others.
They all love the same Lord and Savior,
but how much more some love Him than others.
Ryle asks,
What accounts for such a difference among true Christians?
And his answer,
prayer.
Do you pray?
Only Christians that pray,
and keep praying through adversity,
will be saved,
and will grow.
Now, you remember in Jonah chapter 1,
I know it was a while back,
but do you remember where Jonah was?
He was fleeing from the Lord.
He was going to the belly or the ribs of the ship,
and he was asleep.
And Jonah was,
he was like an illustration of the state,
the spiritual state of all of Israel.
The waters are raging all around this little ship,
and there is Jonah.
He's not praying.
He's escaping,
and he's trying to escape into slumber.
He's escaping God.
He's not a man of prayer.
God's people in Israel,
they had turned to these vain idols.
Look at our sermon text for today,
chapter 2, verse 8.
Those who pay regard to vain idols,
they forsake their hope of steadfast love.
You're going to throw your prayers toward an idol.
You are going to have no hope.
Now, in chapter 2,
God teaches this man who flees God and who does not pray,
He teaches this man to pray.
That's what happens in chapter 2.
Jonah learns to pray.
Look at chapter 2, verse 2.
Jonah says,
I cried out in my affliction unto the Lord,
and He heard me.
I love how the Geneva Bible of 1599 puts it.
Out of the belly of hell,
I cried out,
and you heard my voice.
Here's my proposition for you today
from Jonah chapter 2.
Distress.
Distress drives you to see God's character more clearly.
When you see God's character more clearly,
you cry out to Him.
You pray.
Pray.
And He restores your hope.
When you're trying to remember what was this sermon about,
what was the point?
The point is,
do you pray?
In your distress,
do you see the character of God?
And by seeing His character,
your hope in praying to this God
is restored.
It puts you on your knees
to pray.
And in this passage that we read today,
I want to walk us through eight reasons
that we can pray with hope in God's character.
Reason number one,
pray with hope in God's justice.
We learned this from those pagan sailors.
The sailors,
they appeal to God in their prayer.
They appeal to God's justice.
Look at chapter 1, verse 14.
Those pagan sailors cried unto the Lord,
and they said,
We beseech Thee, O Lord,
we beseech Thee.
Let us not perish for this man's life.
So they're looking at Jonah,
and the storm is raging all around.
They say,
If this man is guilty,
well,
it would be unjust of you to punish us.
He's the guilty one.
But then they see the other side of it.
They say,
Lay not upon us innocent blood.
Now what if Jonah's innocent,
and we're going to cast him over the seas?
Don't hold us now,
you know,
guilty for killing an innocent man.
Either way,
God is just,
and we're praying to you, God,
in your justice,
do the right thing.
We don't know.
Only you know the heart of man.
So we beseech Thee,
we pray to you
to show your justice now
and not kill us
over this wicked man, Jonah.
They confess,
You have done as it pleased you.
In chapter 1, verse 15,
they took Jonah,
they grabbed him,
lifted him up,
and they cast him forth
into the sea.
Now notice the justice of God
being satisfied.
What happens in chapter 1, verse 15?
The sea ceased from her raging.
The sea ceased from her raging
as wicked Jonah's body
splashes into the ocean.
The wrath of God is satisfied.
His justice is appeased.
Then, verse 16,
the men feared the Lord exceedingly
and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord
and made vows.
These pagan sailors learned,
we can pray to this God
and we can appeal to Him
because He truly is just.
He could have wiped us out.
Instead, He was satisfied.
His justice was satisfied
by taking Jonah
and sparing us.
They prayed to Him
with hope in God's justice.
The Bible talks of God's justice
in every book.
Here's one example.
Deuteronomy 23, verse 4.
He, the same Lord and God,
He is the rock.
His work is perfect
for all His ways are just.
A God of truth
and without iniquity,
just and right is He.
When you think of God,
think of His justice.
Our distress,
like these sailors,
it drives us to see more clearly
God's true character.
And when we see God's character,
we cry out to Him.
We appeal to His character
like they appeal to His justice.
And God restores our hope to pray.
So in your distress,
cry out to the Lord
and pray knowing that He will hear you.
Remember God's character
and pray with hope in His justice.
Jeremy read for us Psalm 33,
verse 22 of which says,
Let Your steadfast love, O Lord,
Your character,
Your otherworldly love
be upon us
even as we hope in You.
Do you pray?
Pray with hope in God's justice.
Do you pray?
Number two,
pray with hope in God's providence.
Pray with hope in God's providence.
Look at chapter 1, verse 17.
Now the Lord had prepared,
the Lord had appointed,
the Lord had provided
a great fish to swallow up Jonah.
It was God's providence
to spare Jonah using this great fish.
And Jonah was in the belly of the fish
three days and three nights.
It was God's providence
to preserve Jonah in the belly of hell
for three days and three nights.
Not one day more,
not one day less.
Jonah chapter 2, verse 1.
Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God
out of the fish's belly.
He says,
I cried out in my affliction,
in my distress,
I cried out unto the Lord,
and he heard me.
He heard me out of the belly of hell
as I cried.
You, O Lord, have heard my voice.
In distress,
Jonah saw God's providence.
Try to put yourself in Jonah's skin.
These pagan sailors lift you up,
bring you to the very edge.
The foam, the wind,
the vapor of the sea,
they throw you in.
And then you go down.
You splash.
And you think,
this is my death.
And I'm glad for it to all be over.
He was so miserable,
trying to hide from the Lord God,
the inescapable God.
And as he's dying,
suffocating,
salt,
salty water in his nostrils,
thinking this is the end for sure.
The Lord prepared.
The Lord appointed.
The Lord provided
for this great fish to swallow him.
So he goes brushing past the teeth
and the inner parts of the mouth
of this great fish.
When he thought his last
times to intake something
through his nose and mouth,
when he thought it was going to be salt water,
he finds himself now having something to breathe.
Somehow getting oxygen now
preserved inside the stomach
of this great fish.
And it's the most miserable picture
of a man we can imagine.
He's sitting in
what would feel like vomit
and decaying fish bits
and seaweed
and stomach acid.
Turning all of the hairs on his body white.
That's why he describes this
as the belly of hell.
And he thinks he's going to die.
This is the end.
But notice what he does.
From that pit,
he cries out to the Lord.
Because he sees,
I could have died in the ocean.
But God provided for me.
He's providing oxygen for me to breathe.
Think about that.
Even to cry out to God,
it takes having some air in his lungs.
There's no air in the bottom of the ocean.
Even the air for him to cry out
was provided for him by God
inside this great fish
that the Lord appointed
to preserve Jonah.
Our Orthodox catechism asks this question,
what do you understand by providence?
And the answer is this,
providence is the almighty
and ever-present power of God
by which he upholds
as with his hand,
heaven and earth and all creatures.
And so rules them
that leaf and blade,
rain and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food and drink,
health and sickness,
prosperity and poverty.
All things, in fact,
come to us,
not by chance,
but from his fatherly hand.
By his providence,
Jonah cries out to God.
God.
God gets our attention in distress.
And God makes you,
he shakes you and says,
are you a believer or not?
What assurance do you have in your life
to claim to be a true believer?
I don't see a lot of evidence
in Jonah's life
of whether or not he was a believer
up to this point in the story.
Do you?
Do you think Jonah was a believer?
Well,
there's one thing Jonah does
is he prays.
He prays.
He cries out to the Lord.
Notice how J.C. Ryle
makes this connection.
Practice of prayer
is one of the surest marks
of a true Christian.
Just as the first sign
of the life of an infant
when born into this world
is the act of breathing,
so the first act of men and women
when they are born again
is praying.
God teaches Jonah to pray.
And if he's praying
in this time of distress,
that can be a comfort to him
that God hears him
and that God saves.
Distress drives you to see
the character of God more clearly.
Jonah would never have gotten
to see God's providence
to this extreme
if it weren't for this distress
that the Lord threw him into.
And when you see God's character,
you cry out to him
because his character,
his providence,
restores your hope
to pray.
In your distress,
do like Jonah.
No matter how bad
your situation is,
it cannot be worse than his.
You do like him
and you cry out
to the Lord
and you pray.
And you pray knowing
that he will hear you.
Not because of your merit,
but because of God's character.
And you pray with hope
in who God is.
And we can pray,
Lord,
let not your steadfast love
forsake us.
Be upon us once again,
Lord,
with your steadfast love,
even as we hope in you.
So you pray with hope
in God's providence.
Do you pray?
Pray.
Number three,
pray with hope
in God's sovereignty.
Sovereignty means
that nothing happens
except through God
and by his will.
Not only does he use
secondary means
and provide for you that way,
that's his providence.
It was his will
to use those means
over you.
Look at verse three,
chapter two,
verse three.
For you
have cast me
into the deep.
Who was it
that cast Jonah
into the deep?
It was God,
the sovereign God,
the creator,
Lord of all.
In the midst of the seas
and the floods
that encompass me about,
I'm going to read this
in the King James,
all thy billows
and thy waves
passed over me.
Whose billows were they?
Thine.
Whose waves
passed over Jonah?
God's waves.
It was God's decree
for Jonah's life
that these
undulating
masses of water
would bury him.
And it was God's will
that these waves
would pile on,
pushing him
lower and lower
and lower.
That was God's decree
for Jonah.
God was teaching Jonah
a high view
of God's sovereignty.
Second London Confession
of 1689
states it this way,
what the Bible teaches,
that God
has decreed
in himself
from all eternity
by the most wise
and holy counsel
of his own will,
freely
and unchangeably
all things
whatsoever
come to pass.
All Christians
go through distress
in this life
by God's decree,
by God's sovereign will.
But only Christians
who pray,
who cry out to God
from that distress
will grow from it.
We sing this truth
from an orthodox catechism.
What is your only hope
in life and in death?
And the answer is
that I am not my own,
but I belong
body and soul
to my faithful Savior
Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid
for all my sins
with his precious blood
and has set me free
from the tyranny
of the devil.
Listen to God's sovereignty.
He watches over me
in such a way
that not a hair,
not even a white
stomach acid dyed hair
can fall from Jonah's head
without the will
of the Father in heaven.
And he cares for you
as his child.
And he puts his Holy Spirit
in you
to assure you
of eternal life.
And that Holy Spirit
makes you willing
and ready
wholeheartedly
from now on
to live for him.
Notice how it's
the sovereignty of God
that drove Jonah
to that pit of hell
and it's the sovereignty
of God
that will restore him
and make him willing
and ready
from now on
to live for God.
That's a high view
of God's sovereignty.
Our distress,
it makes us run empty.
We see we got nothing.
We turn to the sovereign God.
Our distress makes us
cry out to God
and pray with hope
in his character.
He is a God
who is sovereign.
We remember his character
and we pray with confidence
in who he is.
And we ask,
let your steadfast love,
O sovereign Lord,
be upon us
even as we hope in you.
Do you pray
to this sovereign God?
Do you pray?
Number four,
pray with hope
in God's grace.
Yes, God is just.
God is sovereign.
God is showing
his providence
to his children,
but God is a God
of grace
through it all.
Look at verse four.
Chapter two, verse four.
From the mouth of Jonah,
then I said,
I am cast out
of thy sight.
Jonah is saying,
from the belly of hell,
I could not be further
from your will.
I am a rebel.
I deserve the banishment
I got.
Yet,
yet,
I will look again
toward thy holy temple.
Jonah is learning
God's grace.
In the face of death,
the only place
I want to think of again,
Jonah says,
is your presence,
your holy temple,
the meeting point
between the holy God
and sinners on earth.
That's all I want
to think about.
I want to be at the temple
and I want to see
the high priest
on behalf of all the people,
including me,
put his hands
and put my sin
on that scapegoat.
And I want him to see
him shed the blood
of that lamb
because that ceremonial law
is how God has agreed
to have a covenant
with sinners like me.
And I want to picture
my sin being washed away
and my conscience made clean.
I want to be
at your holy temple.
I can't bear for my soul
to feel this way.
I need your grace.
I need to be back
at the place
where you promised
to show your grace to me.
Look at verse 5.
The waters compassed me about
even to my soul.
The depth closed me round about.
The weeds were wrapped
about my head.
What's going on
to Jonah physically
is perfectly describing
the state of his inner man.
He says,
it's my head.
It's my soul
that are drowning,
that are wrapped
in the weeds
of the ocean
and the stomach
of this great fish.
In verse 6,
he says,
I went down
to the bottoms,
to the roots
of the mountains.
The earth with the bars,
with her bars,
was about me forever.
Yet you brought up
my life
from corruption,
O Lord my God.
Verse 7,
When my soul fainted
within me,
I remembered the Lord
and my prayer
came unto thee,
into,
into the very presence
of your holy temple.
When a person dies,
what do we do
with their body?
We dig a hole
under the grass,
sometimes next to a tree.
We place them down there.
We pile on dirt on top.
The roots of the trees,
the roots of the grass
have their way.
Jonah says,
I'm so far below
the surface of the earth.
I'm down to the roots
of the mountains,
under the water,
the very picture
of chaos and death.
And I'm behind the bars
like a prisoner.
And I'm here forever.
He's describing
the state of his soul
and his mind.
But yet,
look at how he trusts
in God's grace.
Look at verse 7.
Even as my soul
is fainting within me,
I'm hopeless.
I remember the Lord.
I remember the grace
of the sovereign Lord.
And I can see
so much grace in God
that I could not
describe my helplessness
and my hopelessness
in stronger terms.
Yet, even from that state,
my prayer goes all the way
inside the holy temple
of God.
And God hears me.
That's a beautiful description
of God's grace.
From the Second London Confession
of 1689 again.
God, before the foundation
of the world was laid
according to his eternal
and immutable purpose
and the secret counsel
of his good pleasure,
of his will,
he has chosen in Christ
a people.
He chose Jonah,
the most miserable,
pathetic, ugly person
on the face of the earth.
That's of grace.
Jonah gets zero credit
for any grace
he's going to receive.
It's worse than that.
He has demerited.
He's in the negative.
And God chose
and predestined
and purchased
and brought
into everlasting glory
out of God's free grace
and love
without any other thing
in the creature
as a condition
or cause
that would move God
to show that kind of grace.
God is sovereign
and God is gracious.
And his grace to you
is a sovereign grace.
We sang that
when darkness veils
his lovely face.
See, that's always
who God is.
He's always lovely.
He's always gracious.
But the darkness
of my distress
sometimes veils that
from my eyes.
And when darkness
veils his lovely face,
I rest
on his
unchanging
grace
in every
high
and stormy
gale
my anchor
holds
within the veil.
It's the distress
that drives us
to cry out
to this
gracious
God.
We pray
knowing
that he is
a God of grace.
Your prayer
goes all the way
inside
of his holy
temple.
It's his character
that makes him
hear your prayer
when you cry out
to him.
And we can pray
let your
steadfast
gracious
love, O Lord,
be upon us
even as we
hope in you.
Do you pray
to this
gracious
God?
Do you pray?
Number five,
pray with hope
in God's
salvation.
Not only is
he gracious
and capable
of showing
grace,
he is the
God who
saves.
Salvation
is of the
Lord.
Pray with hope
in God's
salvation.
Look at
verse 8,
chapter 2,
verse 8.
They that
observe
lying vanities
forsake their
own mercy.
They forsake
the steadfast
love of God
who turned
to idols.
That's the
nation of
Israel.
They're missing
out on the
loving kindness
of God.
Jonah is
getting it
from the
pit of
hell.
And Israel,
the nation,
is missing
out.
Verse 9,
he says,
I will
sacrifice
unto you
with the
voice of
thanksgiving.
What God
desires is
the heart
and the
mind of
Jonah,
to be
filled with
gratitude
and to
cry out
with prayers
of thanksgiving.
And he
says,
I will pay
what I have
vowed.
Out of my
gratitude,
I will
obey.
And he
declares,
salvation
is of the
Lord.
Jonah,
he knew,
he's behind
the bars
of death
forever.
But salvation
is of the
Lord.
If he's to
be saved,
it will be
from God.
He cannot
save himself.
You won't
get to
experience
God's
salvation
until God
gets you
to that
point.
I cannot
save myself.
Salvation
is of the
Lord alone.
Verse 10,
God not
only promises
salvation,
he makes
it happen
in history.
He actually
saves,
he actually
redeems.
In verse
10,
the Lord
spoke to
the fish
and the
fish vomited
out Jonah
upon dry
land.
Jonah was
cast from
the ship
into the
sea to
satisfy God's
justice.
Jonah was
buried for
three days
inside the
belly of
hell.
And now
God
saves.
God
saves.
This
same
man
now
stands
on the
beach
breathing
fresh air,
the sand
coming up
between his
toes,
a living
ugly
man,
stinky.
He's alive
though.
Jonah was
saved.
God
actually saved
him in
history.
This is no
mythology.
This is no
story or
tale.
Our Lord
Jesus himself,
listen to how
he describes
this in
Matthew
chapter 12
verse 40.
Jesus said,
John Gill
commented,
Jonah's
deliverance
was a
shadow of
our Lord's
resurrection
from the
dead.
What God
did to
Jonah,
it was a
pledge,
a promise,
a guarantee.
It was a
hope-building
picture for
you and for
me.
Of our
resurrection,
with Christ
one day.
If God
can do
this,
which he
did,
of course,
God can
raise the
dead.
That's why
we can
pray with
hope in
the God
who actually
saves.
And we
can call to
one another
to trust in
this God
of salvation.
Salvation
belongs to
him.
We sing,
come,
oh sinner,
come and
mourn.
For he,
Jesus Christ,
calls your
sin his
own.
Do you
feel the
weight of
justice
served?
He,
Jesus Christ,
suffered the
wrath that
you deserved.
Jonah was
cast into
the ocean
and the
wrath of
God was
satisfied,
but that
was for
Jonah's
own sin.
Jesus Christ
was cast
into the
belly of
hell and
he was
there for
three days
and three
nights,
yet he
was sinless.
Why did
he do
that?
He did
that to
atone for
your sin
because God
is just
and God
is a God
of salvation
and this
is God
showing you
I came
to save
you.
You can
sing now,
for my life
Jesus bled
and died.
For my life
justice has
been satisfied
and we have
the hope
now we
will be
raised with
him to
endless life.
Why?
Because it
is the
Lord
himself
from
beginning
to
end
who
holds
you
fast
and
he
will
hold
you
fast
through
your
distress.
He will
use that
distress
to break
you down
to make
you turn
to him
alone
again
for
salvation
so you
will cry
out to
him
trusting
in God's
character
with hope
that he
is the
God
who
saves
and you
will
pray
let
your
steadfast
love
oh
Lord
once again
be upon
me
even as
I put
my
hope
in
you
the
God
of
salvation
do
you
pray
to
the
God
of
salvation
do
you
pray
number
six
pray
with
hope
in
God's
word
pray
with
hope
in
God's
word
look
at
Jonah
chapter
3
verse
1
and
the
word
of
the
Lord
came
to
Jonah
the
second
time
the
word
of
the
Lord
came
to
Jonah
this
time
around
when
he
hears
the
word
of
the
Lord
look
what
he
does
in
verse
2
the
word
of
the
Lord
says
arise
Jonah
go to
Nineveh
that
great
city
and
preach
unto
it
preach
what
I
will
bid
thee
to
preach
so
there's
Jonah
standing
at
the
beach
and
there's
the
Mediterranean
sea
I
believe
the
great
fish
vomited
him
up
right
there
on
the
beach
somewhere
the
hypothesis
that
great
fish
would
have
taken
him
all
the
way
to
Nineveh
it
would
have
taken
months
unless
the
Lord
made
it
go
extra
fast
but
logically
it
was
just
right
there
three
days
three
nights
and
now
he's
standing
on
the
sand
and
the
word
of
the
Lord
comes
as
if
echoing
across
the
ocean
waters
notice
how
Psalm
29
3
says
the
voice
of
the
Lord
is
upon
the
waters
the
God
of
glory
thunders
the
Lord
is
upon
many
waters
the
voice
of
the
Lord
is
powerful
the
voice
of
the
Lord
is
full
of
majesty
and
the
Lord
sits
upon
the
flood
yea
the
Lord
sits
as
king
forever
to
the
landlocked
Israelites
the
ocean
the
waters
was
a
picture
of
death
and
fear
and
chaos
it's
the
waters
of
judgment
yet
the
Lord
sits
enthroned
over
the
waters
and
the
word
of
the
Lord
comes
to
Jonah
even
if
it
came
as
a
whisper
he's
picturing
death
itself
in
these
oceans
and
he
looks
back
across
now
on
the
land
and
he
sees
all
of
Israel
and
to
get
to
Nineveh
where
the
word
of
the
Lord
is
telling
him
to
go
he
has
to
travel
all
the
way
across
this
land
of
Israel
I
wonder
if
this
is
even
how
he's
composing
this
beautiful
poem
and
prayer
if
that's
where
we
get
you
know
the
seeds
of
Jonah
chapter
2
is
him
marching
from
the
coast
all
the
way
across
Israel
to
Nineveh
pray
with
hope
in
God's
word
we
hope
in
God's
promises
that
he
gives
us
in
his
word
so
when
you
pray
to
the
Lord
you're
praying
not
your
own
thoughts
or
your
own
ideas
you're
taking
what
God's
word
himself
has
given
you
his
promises
flow
to
you
and
when
you
take
his
word
and
you're
taking
his
word
to
hold
on
to
his
promises
it's
like
drinking
from
his
crystal
stream
the
promises
of
God
and
in
your
distress
you
cry
out
to
the
Lord
you
cry
out
to
the
God
who
has
not
been
silent
or
distant
he's
brought
himself
near
by
his
word
and
you
don't
need
to
wonder
who
God
is
you
have
his
word
who
reveals
God
to
you
pray
that
God
will
help
us
to
grasp
the
heights
from
his
word
of
his
plans
for
us
like
we
sing
he
teaches
us
truths
unchanged
from
the
dawn
of
time
that
will
echo
down
through
eternity
and
it's
through
his
word
that
we
know
of
the
grace
in
which
we
stand
on
his
promises
so
you
pray
with
hope
in
God
and
your
hope
is
anchored
on
his
word
what
he
has
revealed
number
seven
you
pray
with
hope
in
God's
power
you
pray
with
hope
you
put
your
hope
you
get
your
hopes
up
you
set
his
powerful
he
is
powerful
to
either
judge
and
overthrow
a
great
empire
like
Assyria
or
God
is
powerful
that
his
word
calling
them
to
repent
will
humble
them
and
break
them
down
either
way
you
trust
the
power
of
God
so
chapter
3
verse
3
Jonah
arose
and
went
into
Nineveh
according
to the
word
of the
Lord
now
Nineveh
was
an
exceedingly
great
city
if
you
start
walking
on
one
side
notice
Jonah
travels
one
day's
worth
into
it
so
he's
getting
right
to
the
hub
right
to
the
heart
of
Nineveh
and
when
he
gets
into
the
city
he
enters
into
it
he
opens
up
his
mouth
and
cries
out
the
word
that
God
gave
him
in
verse
4
he
says
yet
forty
days
and
Nineveh
shall
be
overthrown
there's
no
longer
that
fear
of
this
great
city
look
what
he's
already
come
through
to
this
point
his
thoughts
are
of
God
alone
it's
the
fear
of
God
that
has
filled
him
and
he
declares
to
Nineveh
what
God
gave
him
to
declare
no
more
no
less
the
word
of
the
God
who
he
fears
and
who
he
thinks
about
and
who
he
has
exalted
now
and
all
these
glorious
attributes
that's
what
fills
his
mind
and
that's
what
melts
away
his
fear
of
man
God
had
been
powerful
to
Jonah
over
the
waves
over
the
wind
over
the
great
fish
now
God
would
show
his
power
over
Nineveh
over
the
Assyrian
empire
over
the
Israelite
nation
God
is
powerful
to
his
promise
he's
powerful
to
his
word
and
all
of
his
promises
find
their
yes
and
amen
in
Jesus
Christ
so
when
we
pray
trusting
in
the
power
of
God
we
pray
in
the
powerful
name
of
Jesus
the
word
of
God
J.C.
Ryle
said
there are
exceeding
great
and
precious
promises
to
those
who
pray
what
did
the
Lord
Jesus
mean
when
he
spoke
such
words
as
these
ask
and
it
shall
be
given
to
you
seek
and
you
shall
find
knock
and
the
door
shall
be
opened
unto
you
for
everyone
that
asks
receives
and
to
the
powerful
name
of
Jesus
Christ
name
above
all
names
so
in
your
distress
you
cry
out
to
God
you
cry
out
in
the
name
of
Jesus
Christ
for
Christ's
sake
alone
you
cry
out
to
God
and
you
pray
trusting
that
the
full
character
of
God
has
been
revealed
to
us
in
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ
in
Jesus
Christ
we
see
the
justice
of
God
in
Jesus
Christ
we
see
the
greatest
display
of
God's
providence
in
Jesus
Christ
we
see
the
sovereignty
of
God
there's
no
better
picture
for us
of
the
grace
of
God
but
in
the
person
and
work
of
our
Lord
Jesus
in
Jesus
Christ
we
see
the
salvation
that
God
alone
provides
in
Jesus
Christ
we
see
the
word
of
God
made
flesh
and
in
Jesus
Christ
we
see
the
power
of
God
so
my
last
one
number
eight
is
pray
with
hope
that
in
the
name
of
Jesus
Christ
God
will
hear
you
too
pray
with
hope
that
God
will
hear
you
when
you
pray
when
you
cry
out
to
him
not
only
will
he
hear
you
he
will
come
near
to
you
by
his
Holy
Spirit
and
sanctify
you
through
that
distress
as
you
pray
in
your
affliction
pray
in
turmoil
there's
no
new
verses
but
I
want
to
point
out
to
you
the
fact
that
God
hears
you
with
two
verses
look
at
chapter
2
verse
2
Jonah
says
I cried
out
in
my
affliction
unto
the
Lord
and
what
comes
next
he
heard
me
you
pray
to
a
God
who
will
hear
you
too
out
of
the
belly
I
cried
out
he
says
in
verse
2
and
thou
heard
my
voice
out
the
belly
of
hell
now
look at
verse
7
chapter
2
verse
7
when
my
soul
fainted
within
me
some
of
you
might
be
feeling
this
way
today
your
soul
is
fainting
within
you
I
remembered
the
Lord
and
my
prayer
came
unto
thee
into
thy
holy
temple
Jonah
prayed
with
hope
in
God's
character
trusting
God's
word
he
prayed
with
hope
that
God
will
hear
him
God
not
only
heard
him
but
God
sanctified
him
and
you
can
pray
with
hope
in
God's
character
too
you
trust
Christ
you
trust
God's
word
and
you
pray
not
only
the
promise
of
salvation
but
you
pray
knowing
that
your
salvation
is
complete
in
Christ
do
you
pray
distress
drives
you to
see
the
character
of
God
more
clearly
and
when
you
see
God's
character
you
cry
out
to
him
because
his
character
is
what
restores
your
hope
to
pray
and
you
pray
Lord
let
your
steadfast
love
oh
Lord
be
upon
me
even
as
I
put
my
hope
in
you
hear
the
words
of
Jesus
in
the
hymn
that
we
sing
when
through
the
deep
waters
I
call
thee
to
go
the
rivers
of
sorrow
shall
not
overflow
for
I
will
be
with
thee
thy
troubles
to
bless
and
sanctify
to
thee
thy
deepest
distress
pray
to
the
Lord
with
confidence
in
his
character
salvation
is of
God
let's
pray
oh
Lord
let
your
steadfast
love
be upon
us
even
when
it
feels
like
you
are
in
that
distance
even
when
it
feels
like
we
are
so
sinful
that
we
don't
have
any
merit
we
look
to
Christ
Lord
help
us
to
put
our
trust
fully
in
him
we
thank
you
Lord
that
you
are
close
you
are
with
us
you
are
a
present
help
you
are
steadfast
you
are
love
help
us
to
put
our
hope
in
nothing
less
all
other
ground
is
sinking
sand
but
Christ
is
our
solid
rock
teach
us
now
Lord
in
our
affliction
in
our
distress
to
put
our
trust
in
him
alone
for
Christ's
name
sake
we
pray
amen