The Portland daily press., 1897-02-15
But with loud thanks I will sacrifice to

Salvation is fahve's.
before as yet he has been delivered from
the belly of the fish. Jehovah hears the
prophet, commands the fish, and it
vomits Jonah upon the dry ground.
Again. the command comes to him to go
to Nineyeb, ard he goes. It takes three
days to go from one gate OF the city to the
other. He starts proclaiming this mess
age: "Yet forty days and NineVeh will
be overtime wn.
Never before, or since, in the history OF
the world did so simple preaching pro-
duce so great results. He has preached
butsone day, when the whole city re-
pents From the king to the lowest
peasant, all the people and all the cattle
are clothed with mourning garments,
and all fast in token of their repentance
and in hope of forgiveness. Later Cnrlst
said when thessPharisees called for sign,
that there should no sign 6e given them,
but the siRn Of the prophet, Jonah. That
is no sign at all. For the Ninevites
knew nothing of the great fish and the
strange deliverance-they only knew that
a strange. weird prophet appeared in their
midst with the CRY, Nineyeh shall be
destroyed. God meroifully rardons Nine
veh. Jonah is angry. To the obviously
narrow minded prophet it seems as
though all his preaching had gone for
nothing. 30 surely, Jehovah" he says.
sis not this what thought SO long rs
was in my own country? Therefore
fed beforehand to sTarshish, because
knew that thou art God, gracious and
merciful, long suffering and of great
kindness, and willing to grieve for the
evil A curious ssacoustion surely for n
prophet to prefer against Jehovah. A
curious ground, surely, for man to tie
angry with his God. Sullen, Jonah
gees out of the city and shielding him
self from the sun sunder broad leafed
plant, waits to see what will happen II
the city.
God sends worm which gnnws the
sheltering plant at the root; his arb'l
destroyed, and the angry propse ct i
angrier than ever. This still patient j
hovah demonstrates againlwith the. angr7
prophet. "Thou vast sorry on accoun!
of the gourd for which they didst not
toll and which thou didst not make
grow, which was of night, and died in
night, and I, shall not be sorry. Oh
account of Nineveh, ..the great city whe:e
in are more than six score thousand per-
SONS that can not discern between thei'
right hand and their left hand, and ais
much cattle. - And so the story ends
Jonah lsft sulking and Cross, like stub
born child. out in the hot, beating sun
by the walls Of Nineveh, angry because
God Is meroiful. This is the story.
have tried to tell it as simply RS couli.
am sorry that Emy simple statement
that the psalm was composed in the belly
of the fish made you laugh. I did not
respecting any religious faith or any book
of Scripture. Nevertheless, can not
but think the fact that that simple state
ment caused amusement shows the in
congruity which lies in the very nature
of the narrative. Some Of you may think
Uuld ulsuuIy3 5oluO Va. Joo AAhJ AA1uA ~
myth, some of you may think, as
think, it is parable or fiction, told for
the purpose Of putting tbs narrowness
and pettiness of even preacher over
against the graciousness and mercy of
God. But whether lycu think of it as
history or myth or fiction, you can not
fail to see in it this one great transcend
ant revelation regarding God-in the
salvation of the pagan sailors, 10 the
salvation of the penitent prophet and in
tie salvation of the repentant Nineveh.
At least 800 or 400 years before Christ
said: MANY shall come from the east
andIthe west and sit down in the king
dom OF heaven" at least 1000 years. before
Faber wrote: There is Wilderness in
God IS mercy like 1.-The Wilderness of the
sea- the unknown writer Of the story
of Jonah wrote this story, by it's quaint
humor, by It's satire of narrow prophet,
by its splendid illustration.of the wide
ness Of the mercy and grace Of God, to
illustrate what only later Israel tpartially
understood God is more than Judge,
more than king, is the father and
Saviour Of the whole human race.