be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be [any] remaining of the house 19 of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken [it.*] And [they of] the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and [they of] the plain the Philistines and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria and Benjamin [shall possess] Gilead; those who return from Babylon shall extend themselves every way, and Benjamin shall extend his border 30 quite to Gilead beyond Jordan. And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel [shall possess] that of the Canaanites, [even] unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which [is] in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south; those who were captives among the Canaanites shall possess the country of the Canaanites, and those whom the Edomites had en 21 slaved shall possess the cities of their masters.† And saviours, the Maccabees, shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S; probably meaning, that God shall prosper the affairs of the Jews, and enable them to extend their borders; he will raise up some noble persons, who shall conquer Samaria and the Edomites : but some understand all these verses, as referring to the success of the gospel, and the accession of the heathen to the christian church, even those that had been its bitterest enemies.

1.

REFLECTIONS.

EE how necessary it is to guard against pride; to which the calamity of Edom was owing. They thought themselves wiser than other nations, especially than the Israelites whom they hated; and imagined themselves quite secure in their situation, wisdom, wealth, and allies; but all disappointed them; and their pride, which led them to this confidence, deceived and destroyed them. Let us watch narrowly against a vice to which we are so prone, and which is so displeasing to God, and therefore so hurtful to ourselves. He that exalteth himself shall be abased, but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

2. Observe how highly God resents the behaviour of those who rejoice in the calamities of others. Of this the Edomites were peculiarly guilty toward Israel. They were glad to have a rival brother brought down, and triumphed in his humiliation; but this was the highest cruelty to them, (adding affliction to the afflicted) and an affront to God and his providence. They should

This was fulfilled when John Hyrcanus, one of the Maccabees, a governor of the Jews, conquered the Edomites, and obliged them to become Jews, or to leave their country, so that they were quite swallowed up. Josephus' Antiq. 1. xiii. c. 9. 1 Máce, v. 2 Mace. *. † See Lowth's Com. in loc. Na

VOL. VI.

have pitied, sheltered, and relieved them, and thus have prepared for their own approaching troubles. Even to look with pleasure on the sufferings of others, though we do not add to them, is highly provoking to God, and he may soon put into our hands a bitterer cup than ever they drank. Let us watch against all inhumanity, rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

3. God's design in delivering his people is, that they may be holy, v. 17. This is the end aimed at in temporal deliverances; but especially in our great salvation by Christ, and the establishment of his kingdom; and it becomes those who have been delivered out of the hands of their enemies, human, or infernal, to serve God in holinesss and righteousness before him all the daya of their lives.

The Book of the PROPHET

JONAH.

INTRODUCTION.

AH was a native of Gathhepher, in Galilee, and an eminent type of our Saviour's resurrection, Matt. xii. 37-40. He is the most ancient of all the prophets; he lived in the reign of Jeroboam, above eight hundred years before Christ. See 2 Kings xiv. 23-25.

CHAP. I.

In which we have a command to Jonah to go and reprove Nineveh, but through fear he fleeth to Tarshish; he is thrown into the sea, and swallowed by a fish.

2

Now

OW the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city,* and cry against it, foretell the judgments coming upon it; for 3 their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshisht from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD; not from his essential presence, that was impossible, but from the Shekinah, imagining perhaps that the prophetic inspiration would not follow him out of Canaan.‡

4

But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like, 5 or, supposed to be broken. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that [were] in the ship into the sea, to lighten [it] of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship,

• Nineveh was about nineteen miles long and eleven broad; very ancient, and now is its glory.

+ The word Tarshish may signify any maritime place of trade, though it is generally supposed here to mean Tartessus in Spain.

The mission was disagreeable, the journey was long and hazardous. Perhaps he thought that they might repent and be forgiven, and that then he might be branded as a false prophet; or, that the king of Assyria might destroy him; in all this he showed great want of faith and resignation to God.

into the hold; and he lay, and was fast asleep; though the most guilty person, he was the least affected, as is too commonly the case; such is the deceitfulness and stupifying tendency of 6 sin. So the shipmaster, or pilot, came to him, and said to him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not; though a heathen, he speaks of one God as supreme, considering 7 others as mediators only. And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this great and uncommon evil [is] upon us.* So they 8 cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil [is] upon us; What [is] thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what [is] thy country? and of what people [art] thou ?† And he said unto them, I [am] an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry [land ;] I serve and worship Jehovah, the only Creator and 10 Lord of all things. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? what a heinous crime is it to fly from that great God whom thou dost worship, and ownest as the creator and governor of all things? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

11

Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? wishing to do nothing without the consent of so considerable a person, whom they could not but 12 reverence for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And

he said unto them, probably by immediate inspiration, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest [is] upon you: a most generous confession and proposal. 13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring [it] to the land; but they could not for the sea wrought, and was tempestu14 ous against them; it raged with greater force. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, unto Jehovah, Jonah's God, because they knew he brought the tempest, and considered Jonah as his servant and prophet, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it 15 pleased thee; we are acting by thy command. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea and the sea ceased from her raging, which showed that they had done right. 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a

This shows a strong impression of a particular providence; they thought some god had raised the storm, and raised it for the punishment of the sins of some one in the ship, and were persuaded that the lot would fall upon the guilty.

Seeing him to be a person of a grave, decent appearance, they could hardly suspect him of doing evil, therefore they desired to know it from himself: they spoke altogether Pike men affrighted and in confusion.

17

1.

sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows; they were convinced of his power and greatness, and vowed to sacrifice to him when they came to land.

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; this was probably a shark, for the throat of a whale is not large enough to swallow a man, and there are no whales found in the Mediterranean sea. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights; that is, part of three natural days; he was thrown out of the ship perhaps in the evening, continued the following day alive, by a miracle, and was thrown up the next morning.

How

REFLECTIONS.

OW much need have we to guard our hearts, lest we disobey the commands of God. Jonah fled to avoid the execution of his orders, and terrible means were used to bring him back. His disobedience was indeed peculiarly inexcusable, considering his knowledge of God, the discoveries made to him, and the honour conferred upon him. The heathen sailors justly reproached him. Let us reverence the authority of God, and cheerfully obey all his commands; not fearing any consequences while engaged in his work. We cannot fly from his presence; and if we outrun his work, we only run upon our own ruin.

2. See the strength of the principles of religion in the minds of these heathens. They considered storms as coming by the appointment of their gods; saw the reasonableness of praying to them; and called upon Jonah to address his God: they thought that the judgment was sent for some heinous sin; they had a clear idea of an overruling providence in disposing of lots; and were fearful of contracting the guilt of shedding innocent blood. All these were the dictates of reason and natural conscience; and it is to be lamented that so few christians, with their clearer light and greater advantages, believe, so as to act upon these important principles.

3. See the amazing power of God as displayed in these scenes. He can command and raise the stormy winds, and bid them cease; and can rule the raging of the sea. He prepared a fish to swallow Jonah, and kept him alive for so many hours in its belly. It becomes us exceedingly to fear this great Being, who made the sea, and the dry land, and does according to his will with the elements and inhabitants of both.

4. The circumstances of Jonah lead our thoughts to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Just as long as Jonah was in the belly of the fish, so long was Christ in the grave. Matt. xii. 40. From thence he arose, as much unexpected by his enemies, as Jonah was from his moving grave; and as Jonah's