glad of the gourd; the plant coming up in a miraculous man. 7 ner made it more agreeable. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it 8 withered. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement, or rather, a still or silent east wind, which, by coming over the burning sands which lay to the east of Nineveh, became very sultry; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, 9 and said, [It is] better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd, or plant? Is it right thus to persist in thy impatience, notwithstanding thy former punishment and my kindness? And he said, I do well to be angry, [even] unto death; that is, to be angry as long as I live, yea, to break my heart with anger. From this event, God graciously argues with him concerning Nineveh. 10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night thou thinkest it a pity that so beautiful and comfortable a plant should 11 be so soon destroyed, and thou wouldst have had it spared: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle? that is, so many children under two years old : from whence it is probable that there were six hundred thousand human creatures in the city; and the innocent children, and the cattle would all have been involved in the common destruction. This large city had been long in building, and the inhabitants long in rearing; the gourd came up in a night, and perished in a night; but the inhabitants of the city are immortal creatures; and shall I not much more spare them? A forcible argument this, to bring him to consideration and repentance; and firobably it had this effect, though it is not mentioned. 1. W REFLECTIONS. E are here taught the folly and wickedness of a fretful, passionate disposition; and what absurdities it runs men into. No doubt Jonah encouraged the Ninevites to repent by the hope of pardon on repentance, yet he was angry with God for sparing them, though penitent; he was pleased with his gourd, (a very trifling accommodation) and then mad with vexation that he had lost it. See into what folly and impiety unbridled passions lead men. The led Jonah to wish the destruction of a great city, to quarrel with God, and to desire to die himself. Had God sent a mortal disease upon him, he would probably have recalled his wish, and have desired to live. And certainly his temper was a very unfit one to appear in before God. How much corruption may remain in the hearts of God's servants, and how careful should persons of warm passions be, to bridle their tongues, and rule their spirits. 2. The question which God put to Jonah, is very proper for all, in many circumstances, to put to themselves, especially those who are naturally hasty. Doest thou well to be angry? is there a sufficient reason why thou art so soon and so long angry? is it right and commendable? canst thou approve it in cooler moments? will God excuse it?' Let us put such questions to ourselves, as often as we find angry passions rising, and especially be careful that we are never displeased with God for taking away any of our comforts, (which are but gourds) and particularly when he is pleased to show mercy to penitents, though it should be to our present disadvantage. To be angry at the repentance and salvation of others, is the very essence of the devil's temper. On the whole, let us take the greatest pains to preserve our minds calm and unruffled, and to be well pleased with whatever God does. 3. Let us admire and adore the wonderful tenderness and compassion of God: that he should condescend to reason with this foolish, passionate man, instead of taking away his life, as he madly desired. Observe the kind regard of God to little children; and let parents take encouragement from it to hope for his mercy to their offspring; especially when they are removed before they become capable of knowing good and evil. His concern for the cattle still further shows his tender mercy. God would not have the cattle, much less the children, and much less still so many thousands of reasonable creatures destroyed, to indulge a fretful prophet. They were infinitely more valuable than bis gourd. Let this goodness of God engage us to fear him, and hope in his mercy; who is long suffering even to his enemies, and to his perverse children, and not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, The Book of the PROPHET MICAH. INTRODUCTION. THE prophet Micah lived at the same time with Isaiah and Hosea. He prophesies concerning Israel and Judah; he reproves both of them for their sins, with great warmth and indignation; foretells their several captivities; and, for the comfort of the pious in each, delivers many things concerning the Messiah: his incarnation; the place of his birth; his offices; and the happiness and glory of his church, after triumphing over her enemies; in the latter day. His style is nervous and concise; sometimes obscure, but generally animated and poetical, resembling in many places that of Isaiah.* CHAP. I. Micah in this chapter shows the wrath of God against Israel and Judah for idolatry, and exhorts to mourning. 1 2 HE word of the LORD that came to Micah the Moras Thi word of days of Jothan, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem; the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah, of which Samaria and Jerusalem were the capitals. Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, or land, and all that therein is and let the Lord God be witness against you of the faithfulness with which I have warned you, and the obstinacy with which you reject my message, even the LORD from his 3 holy temple; that is, from heaven. For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth; he will show his displeasure against your fortifications, by throwing them down, or 4 against the idolatry practised in high places. And the mountains shall be molten under him, as when he appeared in terror at mount Sinai, and the vallies shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, [and] as the waters [that are] poured down a steep 5 place. For the transgression of Jacob [is] all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What [is] the transgression of Jacob [is it] not Samaria? and what [are] the high places of Judah? [are they] not Jerusalem? the chief cause of their wickedness is, the ill example of their capital cities, and • Dr. Smith. 6 the princes there. Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, [and] as plantings of a vineyard; like the hillocks on which vines are planted, and which in a few years are dug up and levelled; that is, it shall be utterly ruined by the Assyrians; and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof, that lay below the 7 hill upon which Samaria was built. And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof, what they devoted to their idols, or imputed to them as their gifts, shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate for she gathered [it] of the hire of an hariot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot ; their plunder shall go to enrich idolatrous nations. Therefore I will wail and howl like a mourner, I will go stripped and naked, without an upper garment: I will make a wailing like the dragons, or foxes, and mourning as the owls, or ostriches, which make a fearful, shrieking, lamentable noise, as if they were in the greatest agonies. For her wound [is] incurable; for it is come unto Judah, he is come unto the gate of my people, [even] to Jerusalem; a prediction of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib. 10 : Declare ye [it] not at Gath, weep ye not at all, lest your enemies should hear, and triumph in the house of Aphrah 11 roll thyself in the dust, like deep mourners. Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame naked, that is, in all the confusion and distress of captives: the inhabitant of Zaanan, in the tribe of Judah, came not forth in the mourning of Bethezel; a place near Jerusalem; each shall have so much to do for their own security, that they cannot help one another; he shall receive of you his standing; each shall see on what 12 footing he stands, by observing what befalls his neighbour. For, or, although the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good but evil came down from the LORD unto the gate of 13 Jerusalem. O thou inhabitant of Lachish, (the first town which Sennacherib attacked, 2 Kings xviii. 14.) bind the chariot to the swift beast: she [is] the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: was first perverted to idolatry in the time of the Judges; Lachish is another name for Dan, where one of the calves was set up for the transgressions of Israel, the idolatry and other sins of the ten tribes, were found in thee. 14 Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moreshethgath, hire auxilliaries from the Philistines: the houses of Achzib [shall be] a lie to the kings of Israel; all the people thereof shall prove people of Achzib, that is, lying and deceitful to all that trust in 15 them. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah, a stranger, an enemy, who shall possess thee: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel; or, the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam; that is, their armies shall be glad • See Pococke in loc. 16 to hide themselves there. Make thee, bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children, as mourners for thy children, who shall suffer great hardships; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle when he sheds his plumage; for they, thy children, are gone into captivity from thee. REFLECTIONS. 1. T becomes all to pay the most serious attention to the ministers say, as far as that is agreeable to it. They have the same demand to make, as in v. 2. Hear, all ye people. All are required to hear, for all are equally concerned. God's authority extends to all alike. He is a witness of the fidelity and earnestness with which his messages are delivered, and will be a swift witness in the day of judgment against those who will not hear them. Let us seriously think of this, when going to the house of God, and when hearing his word there. 2. See how cautious persons in the higher ranks of life should be of their conduct, v. 5. The country followed the example of the city. When the heads of a town, a congregation, or family, are corrupt, or allow themselves in what is evil, their inferiors will be likely to follow their example, and to do as bad as they; probably worse. Superiors therefore have great need of caution, and should practise selfdenial, that they may not ensnare others, and be accessary to their sin and ruin. 3. Observe how our hearts should be affected with the sins of others. The prophet here laments them, and the calamities which they brought upon his country, with the deepest mourning. This he did from a principle of piety and humanity; and to excite the people to a just sense of their danger, so as to lead them to repentance. But at the same time that we mourn for the sins of others, (especially of God's professing people) let us not publish their sin and shame. Tell it not in Gath, lest the profane triumph; lest religion be reproached, and others take encouragement to do wickedly. Let us bewail the sins of others before God; and then we may hope for his grace to bring them to repentance at least this pious disposition will increase our caution, lest we in like manner offend. CHAP. II. This chapter relates chiefly to Israel; it contains a denunciation against oppression; a lamentation; a reproof of injustice and idolatry; and a promise of restoring Jacob. 1 W their beds when the morning is light, they prac O to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon tise it, because it is in the power of their hand, and they think |