The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-04-22
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
APRIL 20.
Lesson Text: "Nineveh Brought tc
Repentance" Jonah Ill.,, Ito
Golden Text: Luke xi.,
32-C0mmentary.

belly OF the QSh Jonah CrleQ unto Cno LOrQ,
and the Lord heard him, and spake unto the
ash, and 1t vomited out Jonah upon the dry
and CHAP H., l, 10y. Jonah's prayer is
Psalms as many as eight or ten different
Psalms being quoted from (see marginal ref
srences), teaching US that Affections open up
tho mine of Scripture, and make real to US
words before unheeded (Ps. cxix., 81, 7p. II
Jonah in the fsh's belly was not hid from
Gods sight and hearing, where can we hide
from Him Ps. cxxxix., 7-10)S Observe the
obedience Of the fish. At the word OF the
Lord it swallows Jonah, and at the word Of
the Lord it casts him out. Consider also the
little fish Of Matt. xviii, 81, and the multi
tude of John XXI, 8, and ask yourself il like
them you know no will but His
Q. "Arise, 60 unto Nineveh, that great
atty" How very gracious Of the Lord to
come to him the second time with tho same
message (chap. l., 9t how very patient and
long suffering He is with usl
"And preach unto it the preaching that
bid thee" This is the whole responsibility
Of every preacher, for we are simply messen-
gers Of the Lord Of Hosts. "Thou shalt go
to all thatI shall send thee, and whatsoever
command thee thou shalt speak," Son Of
man, 20, get thee unto the house Of Israel
and speak with My words unto them" "Now
therefore 20, and I will be with thy mouth,
and teach thee what thou shalt say" And
our Lord Himself testiies that the Father
gave Him a commandment what He should
say and speak (Jer. q; Eek. ILL.,, 4; Ex. ~,
l2; John XII, 49,. How careful we should be
to get our message correctly, and speak II
faithfully in the power Of the Holy Spirit
8. $50 Jonah arose and went into Nineveh,
according to the Word of the Lord" Now
he is obedient. This is what he should have
done at first instead of going to sea. By his
willfulness he has lost much precious time
and grieyed his Lord. But let US take it to
ourselves. Are We obedient to the word OF
the Lord, or wasting time and gr1eVing
the Spirit by our waywardness and disobed1'
ence:
4. "And Jonah began to enter into the
city days journey" Many days had he
journeyed from the seashore across the coun-
try Qook at your map and note the distancel
and much time had he for meditation and
communion with his Cod However lonely
the way and long the journey, he had the
consciousness that he was doing the will
Of the Lord and that the Lord had sent
him.
sand he cried and said, Yet forty days,
and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Wha5a
strange cry for lone man in a great and
prosperous and wicked cityl Who would
give heed to him? who would believe him?
Would they not arrest and imprison him as
disturber Of the peace? With these things
he had nothing to do; he was simply deliver
ing his masters message, and his master
would see to all else.
5. $50 the peopls Of Nineveh believed GOO,
and proclaimed fast, and put on sack'
cloth, from the greatest OF them even 10 tne
least of them" God was with His servant,
Al c., 20 ol IL, thA message. and
where the word Of a king is there IS power
(Eccl. viii, ~. One man with God was
majority in this case, and so also was II at
Pentecost when through Peter 5000 became
truly penitent and accepted Jesus OF Naza-
reth as Saviour and Lord and Messiah (Acts
H.. 4D. But here is whole city OF falr
million of people affected by the word OF one
man-no, it is not the word Of q man, it Is
from the mouth Of man, but the words are
the words Of God. 1t does not say that tne
people believed Jonah. but that they oelleVeo
God.
8. ssFor word came unto the king Of Min
eveh, and he arose from his throne, ana ne
laid his robe from him, and covered nun
with sackcloth, and sat in ashes" 80 tne
word Of the Lord through this humble man
reached even the heart Of the king on his
throne, and he humbles himself before Goo,
as well as the lowest in the city.
Z. And he caused it to be proclaimed and
published through Nineveh, by the decree Oh
the king and his mobiles, saying," The KING
and his great men have put themselves on
the side Of Jonah and his God. This IS surely
q great victory for Jonah, and we would e1
pect to find him full Of joy because OF ths
success of his message, and to see even tne
king on his side for God against sin; but no.
he IS displeassd, and very angry, and wants
to die (chap. iv., 1-3l. :,
"Let neither man nor beast, herd nor
flock, taste anything; let them not feed noi
drink water" Surely this was great and
thorough repentance, at least on the part OIL
the king and his great ones who ordered thl:
severe fast. II you knew any one SO bur
dened by sin that he would neither eat mol
drink till he knew his sins were forgiven you
would be apt to consider him very much II
earnest.
8. "But let man and beast be covered witt
sackcloth, and cry nightly unto God" Wh.
include the cattle, for they had not slnned
Though they sin not, yet they suffer oecaus
of mans sin, and God cares for cattle lchap
iy.. 1U. The creation was made subject U
vanity, not willingly, but by reason OF mn
who hath subjected the same III nope; 1e
cause the creation itself also shall be denV
cred from the bondage Of corruption into tn
glorious liberty Of the children Of God (Rom
viii, 20, 2p. That the very beasts shall ye
b be ot blessed by BY Gods redemption see lsa' 1''
"Yea, let them turn every one from hi
evil way, and from the violence that Is II
their hands" Outward sorrow without {
turning away from sin would avail nothing
for God searcheth the heart. And inward
sorrow must be accompanied Dy the actua
turning away from all evil.
9. "Wo can tell if God will turn and re
pent and turn away from His fierce anger
that we perish not?' Had they such igh
as Israel had, how they would have beel
encouraged! If they had known Of the re
pentanoe of Ahab, how it might have
helped them III Kings xxi. 29.
10. "And God saw their works. that the.
turned from their evil way" THE eyes o.
the Lord are in every place beholding. tn
evil and the good" and "tbe eyes of tht
Lord run to and fro throughout the who'll
earth to show Himself strong on behalf o
those whose hearts are perfect toward Him
prov. xv., 3; II Chron. xvi, 81. He see
unbellef and it grieves Him; He sees faitl
and obedience, and He Is pleased.
And God repented Of the evil that H
had said that He would do unto them, ant
He did it not" See His promise to act thu:
given at q later date to Israel (Jer. xviii,
81. Although it was just as He had AWAY
done for Israel, as is fully recorded in tn
book Of Judges, or as in Ps. cvi., 49, "A
"Many times did He deliver them, but the.
provoked Him with their counsel, and wer
brought low for their iniquity. Neverthe
less He regarded their affection when d.
heard their cry" As to God repentlng, W
have only to remember one or two tn!ngs
Being Interchangeable and knowing tne en- en-
from the beginning, he CANNOT cha9ge ~:
He Goes NAL. ill.,. +; Mum. xiii, IL; Act
xy. 1S). But from the beginning, foreseeln;;
all things He knew that with individual
and nations He could pursue certain cours
or mode Of treatment to certain point, an an
that theu He would have occasion to DO on on
ferently; and these turning, points to j. IN IL
modes of treatment are called repentings
We change our mind and then change ou