We'll continue our studies in
the book of Jonah. In our last lesson, we read from
chapter 1, verse 17, examining two points that were made. The
first one was that it was the Lord who prepared the great fish.
It was the Lord who controls all things, our sovereign. all
controlling God over everything, and the second was the death,
the burial, and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, of which Jonah in the belly of the fish was a picture
of. As is all scriptures, we see many symbols, many types,
many figures. especially in the Old Testament.
And here in Jonah, it is no different. We saw in chapter 1 that Jonah
being swallowed by the fish was a picture or a symbol of the
death, burial, and resurrection of Christ our Lord. And it declares
that very fact in Matthew 1240, where it says, for as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the
Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of
the earth. But not all pictures and types are as clear as it
is that point. Chapter 2, and we've been blessed
by chapter 1, the Lord gave me the ability to look at that in
a verse-by-verse study. But here we get to chapter 2,
and it's full of symbolization, and to be quite honest with you,
I'm not qualified. One of the things that I keep
posted on the wall in front of me where I do my studies is a
letter from Don Fortner that says, John, and I'm just going
to summarize it a little bit. It's not the exact words, but
it basically is, keep it simple and teach only what God has taught
you. And as I read these verses in
chapter 2, to be quite honest, it's difficult for me to understand
them. And so for me to try to stand before you and teach that
would be wrong. When looking to theologians in
their commentary, such as Spurgeon, Hawker, Gill, Henry, and Poole,
I didn't see a lot of agreement there from them either. I explained
this to my mother one day a couple weeks back when I was talking
to her about it. She happened to be reading a book, and I don't
remember who the author was, but he brought out in that book,
and she was reading that very morning on how so easy and so
often men will stand before their congregations and try to teach
things based on that little verse. And they lose the big picture.
And I didn't think about it at that moment. But a couple of
days later, it hit me. It reminded me of our brother
Don Fortner. Two weeks ago, he stood, if you
recall, and he had a picture. He filled the bulletin up just
like this, didn't he? And he held it right up to his face.
And he said, you know, if you look at the picture like that, you
can't see much. This is interesting. God works
all things out, doesn't He? My mom brought that out to me
as I was struggling with this. And then I remember Don Fortner
preached that very thing. He said, but if you hold a picture
out here, man, look at that. Isn't that a pretty picture?
That came to mind. So I stopped looking at chapter
2. on what am I going to do on a
verse-to-verse basis, and I look at it as a whole thing. So let's
read this as a whole, if you would. Chapter 2, verse 1. Then
Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
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 heard'st my voice. For thou hast 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. Then I said,
I am cast out of thy sight, yet I will look again toward thy
holy temple. The waters compassed me about,
even to the soul. The depth closed me round about.
The weeds were wrapped around about my head. I went down to
the bottoms of the mountains. The earth with her bars was about
me forever. Yet hast thou brought up my life
from corruption. O Lord my God. When my soul fainted
within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee,
into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities
forsake their own mercy, but I will sacrifice unto thee with
the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that I have vowed
salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake unto the fish,
and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land. prayer. That's the picture. It starts with that. Jonah prayed. Oh how often we forfeit peace
in our lives because we do not carry everything to the Lord
in prayer. Our Lord is a merciful Lord,
folks. Hold your place here and turn over just a couple of pages
to the right. Micah In the next book, after Jonah, go over to
Micah chapter 7, the last chapter there. Look at verse 18 of chapter 7. Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth the iniquity,
and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage?
He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy."
Oh, how our Lord loves to show his mercy to his people. You
think it was an accident? You think it was just by chance
that Jonah ran from the Lord? No. Does not our God control
everything? Does not our God bring us through
whatever troubles we need to go through so that He can show
us His mercy? He loves His people with an everlasting
love. Jonah got himself into a bind.
No way out, it seemed. I can only imagine the terror
and the horror that it must have been to be thrown over a boat
into a raging sea, but not just that, but to be swallowed. That's... I don't even know if I can wrap
my mind around it, but I imagine it must have been terrifying.
But God. But God, who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He loved us. God has mercy on
His people for Christ's sake. Because our Lord was in the heart
of the earth, the belly of hell, we have been spared that which
we deserve. We have been spared because our
Lord has gone to the cross and paid for those sins that we have.
When our sins, and let me hold up for this moment there, because
when I speak of our sins that we talk about, I look at myself
and I say, you know, how often do we think of that word, our
sins, and think, oh man, hatred. Maybe there's cheating on your
wife to some. Maybe there's this or that. But
what about the sins of pride? Is there anyone who can say,
I don't have the sins of pride in my life? When our sins, the
sin of pride, or the sin of selfishness comes into my life, and folks,
that's something I fight every day. The sin of doubt. Or any other
sin that you can think of that comes standing before us, do
we turn from God and try to fix it ourselves? Or do we take it
to the Lord in prayer? John Gill pointed out this very
thing, that as we read through this book of Jonah, this is the
first time we see the Lord's record of Jonah praying when
he's in great trouble. O Lord, help me to turn from
my sin, for I am weak, but Thou art strong. O merciful Lord,
look not upon my transgressions. O loving God, wash me in Thy
blood. Folks, as it says in Romans,
if God be for us, then who can be against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered Him up for us all. How shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Can you ever read those verses
more? Too few a times? Are they not as important every
time you read them as the time before? What about who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Oh, what peace we often forfeit
when we do not take it to the Lord in prayer. Oh, how often
I forget that my God loves me that much. Oh, how often we wait until we're
desperate. to take it to the Lord and say,
Lord, help me. Jonah prayed unto the Lord. Hold
your place there a moment and turn back to Psalms 51 if you
would, please. Another one of God's men sinned greatly. Psalms 51. David says, after a finger had
been pointed to him, after Nathan had come to him and pointed to
him and said, the Lord knows what your sin is. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy loving kindness. According unto the multitude
of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly
from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. for I acknowledge
my transgression and my sin as ever before me." David is praying
unto the Lord here the same as Jonah did. As it says in verse
2, we'll come back to David in just a second, and he said, I
cried by reason of my affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me.
Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. David goes on to say in verse
four, against thee and thee only have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shaped
in iniquity, and my sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou
desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part,
thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall
be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy
face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in
me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence,
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the
joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Back in our text, Jonah chapter
2, verse 2. And Jonah 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." The Lord heard his voice. In the book of 1 John, you don't
need to turn there, our Lord says in chapter 5 verse
13, These things have I written unto you through the prophet
John, our Lord spoke. I apologize. He didn't say this. I said that incorrectly. Through
the prophet John, our Lord said these words. He that saith, he
that hath the Son hath life. No, these things have, here we
go, verse 13. These things have I written unto you that believe
on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have
eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son
of God. And this is the confidence that we have in Him that if we
ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that He heareth
us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have a petition that
we may be desired of Him. Our Lord hears the cries of His
people. Turn to Hebrews chapter 4 and
we'll come to a conclusion here in a moment. Our Lord hears the cries of His
people. Now you who have an ear, hear the word of the Lord. In
Jeremiah 31.3, the Lord hath appeared unto me of old, saying,
Yea, have I loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Our Lord is saying that to you.
He's saying that to me. John 14, 18, I will not leave
you comforted unless I will come to you. Hebrews 13, 5, let your
conversation be without covetedness and be content with such things
as you have. For he has said, I will never
leave thee, nor for safety. Are you with me in Hebrews 4,
14? Seeing then that we have a great
high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." That tells me right there that
Christ knew exactly what Jonah was going through. That tells
me right there that Christ knows exactly what you and I are going
through this very moment. No matter what our infirmities
are, no matter what sins are set before us that we commit,
you see folks, it's not the sins that we commit, that's what we
are. And because we cannot stop it,
we have an advocate in heaven. Jesus, the Son of God. And let
us hold fast to that profession. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
but is in all points tempted like as we were, as we are, yet
without sin. So let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help time in a time of need." Isn't that what Jonah
did? He prayed unto the Lord. And what did the Lord do in verse
10? And the Lord spake unto the fish,
and it vomited out Jonah upon dry land. Would you stand with me please?