Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1882-02-07

FEBRU
nah was in the belly Of the fish. TIL,
very same quantity Of time which Il
here termed three days and three nights
and which in reality was only one sOboll
day. part of ttvo Others, and ts00 Oh0A
nights, In the book of Esther: Go; net.
Tier eat nor drink THREE DAYS, MIGHT
or DAY. On the THIRD d0y
Esther stood IN the timer court of tn
King house" In his second paragraph
on this subject, Lightfo0t says: IF yot
number the hours that passed from oul
eavior's giving up the ghost upon thu
GROSS to his resurrection, yOu shall dnd
almost the same number of hours thu
sun and moon stood still, which Kimch!
tays was six and thirty hours, aad yei
that space is called by God three day
and three nights, whereas two nighti
only came between, and only one COM
plete day. Thus then, three days and
three nights, according to this jewish
method of reckoning, included any part
os the first day. the whole Of the follow
t0g night, the next day and night, and
iIt partof 1he 61cceeding or third day. !
6r e&empfeb might be adduced
5kfdl6 b6oA sncrsd snd profane wrtterl
| n vindicAtiop sud pubstantiation Of the
| prOprfety Of the expression In the text
but we deem these versions and extracts
fully suficient aud conclusive, and they
will he found to be entirely and more mi
nutely proven by research Of the valua-
BILE volumes by Whitby and Wakefield
In particular. Beyond q doubt, thfa
whole miracle, though wrought S5a
years B c., was intended by God as q
type to directly refer to the death and
resurrection of Christ, for He says, Al
Jonah was, SO shall the Snn Of man be.
and as decade after decade Of foretold
events have bsru recorded, how plainly
and emphHtirally has this prediction
been exenipified After Jonah had
been swallowed by the fish, he became
humble and submissive, aud was will.
ing to do whatever it pleased God to
command. He prayed out Of the fish 3
belly one of the most poetic prayers on
record. and the Lord, as He has always
done when they were sincere, heard his
prayer and ''spske unto the fish and It
vomited out Jonah upon dry land. "
Let the reader keep this constantly in
view, that ALL, from the beginning to
the end, is miracle. Though Jonah had
passed through many different scenes
since his embarkation at Joppa, yet
none of his actions strictly pertained to
the accomplishment Of thegreat purpose
for which God designed him; hence,
| nah the second time, saying. Arise, go
tn hnf nit
preach unto it the preaching bid thee.
That Is the shortest sermon ever deliv-
ered-only eight short words-yet how
productive Of good, by the preaching Of
which more souls were converted than
by any other Of which we have any ac-
count. What forcible illustration and
example to combine brevity with ear
nestness. We see Jonah. as he stands
upon the shore, as 1t is generally con-
ceded, at the foot Of . mountain which
projects great way into the sea, between
Berytus and Tripoli, ready, nxious, and
eager to perform the work assigned by
God; and having been again commits
stoned, he starts for the city. We be-
hold him as he enters Nineveh every
one within the condemned city is ear
| nestly pursuing his own peculiar av0ca-
ton of life; no oommotiOn is heard, +,
save the hum and hustle incidental to
q vast commercial ,thoroughfare; but
mark the wild excitement into which it
ia thrown when out upon the air floats
this cry: "Yet forty days and Nineveh
shall be destroyed!"
See the workmen on the hOusetops,
standing as if awe-stricken, and looking
over the city to learn from whence this
warning came, away down the street
they see / loor, despised Hebrew, (the
Ninevites were Gentiles and bitterly
khated the Hebrews, and possibly this
may have been the principal reason why
Jonah refused to 60, for fear of being
killed or tortured). slowly entering
their secure abode and proclaiming
Gods curse and their ruin. See the
yard. stick fall from the merchant's hand
as in the act of measuring goods for his
customers, that voice is heard, and he
stands as if riveted to the spot. See the
doctors close their encyclopedias and
rush to the street when that cry of pend
ing wrath is famed through their Office
easements. See the deathly pallor over
spreading the lawyers face. while in
tently examining the voluminous stat
utes Of law to gain some Information by
which to defend his client, when that
ominous declaration Is heard. Picture
the scene of that surging, distracted
mass of raging and doomed sinners
But, ah, OF all see King Sardanapalus,
as overcome with fear he lays his royal
robe aside and tremblingly descends
from his exalted throne, and with pal
sled hands, darkly dyed with gilded
corruption and innocent blood, writes
this decree to be proclaimed and pub
lished throughout all Nineveh :-"Let
neither man nor beast, herd nor flock,
taste anythingi let them not feed nor
drink water. But let man and beast be
covered with sackcloth and cry mighti-
ly unto God: yea, let them turn every
one from his evil way, and the violence
that Is in their hands. Who can tell If
God will turn and repent, and turn
away his fierce anger, that we perish
not ?" Never before was repentance
so general, SO complete. and for the time
being 80 effectual, for even from the
naughty. self exalted, independent
king. to the lowest, most meagre, and
dependent subject, this warning was
alike directed and by them strictly OBJ
served. Thua In sackcloth and ashes
did every inhabitant repent-a repent.
ance so deep and thorough that God
had compassion upon them, and 're-
pented of the evil. that he had said he
would do unto them, and he did it not"
Though the threat was not made con-
ditional, and there was no provision
at all in the warning, yet it seems that
the Ninevites were conscious of their
utter decentralization. and profane tran.
gressions of the law, and understood
why the judgment was pronounced up
on them, and also if they would repent
of their sins God would withhold His
wrath-hence the issuing Of the edict to
turn every man from his evil way. I"
When Jonah had delivered the message
and completed his mission, he returned
to the east side of the city to await the ex-
piration of the forty days and the fulfill
ment of Gods warning,-or to see what
would become of the city. But after
they humbly repented, and became con-
trite in spirit, God said that he would
not do unto them the evil that He had
threatened them with. land he did 1t
not" but this very much displeased
Jonah, and he was exceedingly angry,
and he prayed unto the Lord, and said,
II pray thee. o Lord, was not this my
saying, when I was yet In my country
Therefore, I fled before unto Tarsus
for l knew that thou art q gracious God,
and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness and renentest thee Of the pvil