Calvin, Commentary on Jonah, Part 5
(... continue from part 4)
Chapter 2.
Jonah 2:1,2
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 heardest my
voice.
When Jonah says that he "prayed from the bowels of the fish",
he shows first with what courage of mind he was endued. He had then
put on a new heart; for when he was at liberty he thought that he
could in a manner escape from God, he became a fugitive from the
Lord: but now while inclosed within narrow bounds, he begins to
pray, and of his own accord sets himself in God's presence.
This is a change worthy of being noticed: and hence we may
learn how much it profits us to be drawn back often as it were by
cords, or to be held tied up with fetters because when we are free
we go astray here and there beyond all limits. Jonah, when he was at
liberty, became, as we have seen, wanton; but now finding himself
restrained by the mighty hand of God, he receives a new mind, and
prays from the bowels of the fish. But how was it that he directed
his petitions then to God, by whose hand he saw that he was so
heavily pressed? For God most rigidly handled him; Jonah was in a
manner doomed to eternal ruin; the bowels of the fish, as we shall
hereafter see, were indeed to him as it were hell or the grave. But
in this state of despair Jonah even gathered courage, and was able
to retake himself directly to God. It was a wonderful and almost
incredible example of faith. Let us then learn to weigh well what is
here said; for when the Lord heavily afflicts us, it is then a
legitimate and seasonable time for prayer. But we know that the
greater part despond, and do not usually offer their prayers freely
to God, except their minds be in a calm state; and yet God then
especially invites us to himself when we are reduced to extremities.
Let this, then, which Jonah declares of himself, come to our minds,
- that he cried to God from hell itself: and, at the same time, he
assures us that his prayer proceeded from true faith; for he does
not simply say that he prayed to Jehovah, but he adds that he was
his God; and he speaks with a serious and deeply-reflective mind.
Though Jonah then was not only like one dead, but also on the
confines of perdition, he yet believed that God would be merciful if
he fled to him. We hence see that Jonah prayed not at random, as
hypocrites are wont to take God's name in their mouths when they are
in distress, but he prayed in earnest; for he was persuaded that God
would be propitious to him.
But we must remember that his prayer was not composed in the
words which are here related; but Jonah, while in the bowels of the
fish, dwelt on these thoughts in his mind. Hence he relates in this
song how he thought and felt; and we shall see that he was then in a
state of distraction, as our minds must necessarily be tossed here
and there by temptations. For the servants of God do not gain the
victory without great struggle. We must fight, and indeed
strenuously, that we may conquer. Jonah then in this song shows that
he was agitated with great trouble and hard contests: yet this
conviction was firmly fixed in his heart, - that God was to be
sought, and would not be sought in vain, as he is ever ready to
bring help to his people whenever they cry to him.
Then he says, "I cried, when I had trouble, to Jehovah, and he
answered me". Jonah no doubt relates now, after having come forth
from the bowels of the fish, what had happened to him, and he gives
thanks to the Lord. This verse then contains two parts, - that Jonah
in his trouble fled to God, - and the latter part contains
thanksgiving for having been miraculously delivered beyond what
flesh could have thought. "I cried, he says, in my distress, to
Jehovah; I cried out from the bowels of hell, thou hast heard my
voice". Jonah, as we shall hereafter see, directed his prayers to
God not without great struggle; he contended with many difficulties;
but however great the impediments in his way, he still persevered
and ceased not from praying. He now tells us that he had not prayed
in vain; and, that he might amplify the grace of God, he says, from
the bowels of the grave. He mentioned distress in the first clause;
but here he more clearly expresses how remarkable and extraordinary
had been the kindness of God, that he came forth safe from the
bowels of the fish, which were like the bowels of the grave.
"She'ol", derived from corruption, is called the grave by the
Hebrews, and the Latin translator has almost everywhere rendered it
hell, (infernum;) and "she'ol" is also sometimes taken for hell,
that is, the state of the reprobate, because they know that they are
condemned by God: it is, however, taken more frequently for the
grave; and I am disposed to retain this sense, - that the fish was
like the grave. But he means that he was so shut up in the grave,
that there was no escape open to him.
What are the bowels of the grave? Even the inside or the recess
of the grave itself. When Jonah was in this state, he says, that he
was heard by the Lord. It may be proper to repeat again what I have
already slightly touched, - that Jonah was not so oppressed, though
under the heaviest trial, but that his petitions came forth to God.
He prayed as it were from hell, and not simply prayed, for he, at
the same time, sets forth his vehemence and ardor by saying, that he
cried and cried aloud. Distress, no doubt, extorted from Jonah these
urgent entreaties. However this might have been, he did not howl, as
the unbelieving are wont to do, who feel their own evils and
bitterly complain; and yet they pour forth vain howlings. Jonah here
shows himself to be different from them by saying, that he cried and
cried aloud to God. It now follows -
Jonah 2:3
For thou hadst 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.
In this verse are set forth his difficulties: for Jonah, for
the sake of amplifying, refers to his condition. It was a great
thing that he cried to God from the bowels of the fish; but it was
far more difficult for him to raise up his mind in prayer, when he
knew or thought God to be angry with him: for had he been thrown
into extreme evils, he might yet call upon God; but as it came to
his mind that all the evil he suffered was inflicted by God, because
he tried to shun his call, how was it possible for him to penetrate
into heaven when such an obstacle stood in his way? We hence see the
design of these words, "But thou hadst cast me into the gulf, into
the heart of the sea; the flood surrounded me, all thy billows and
waves passed over me.
In short, Jonah shows here what dreadful temptations presented
themselves to him while he was endeavoring to offer up prayers. It
came first to his mind that God was his most inveterate enemy. For
Jonah did not then think of the sailors and the rest who had cast
him into the sea; but his mind was fixed on God: this is the reason
why he says, "THOU, Lord, hadst cast me into the deep, into the
heart of the sea"; and then, "THY billows, THY weaves." He does not
here regard the nature of the sea; but he bestows, as I have already
said, all his thoughts on God, and acknowledges that he had to do
with him; as though he said, "Thou Lord, in pursuing me, drivest me
away; but to thee do I come: thou showest by dreadful proofs that
thou art offended with me, but yet I seek thee; so far is it that
these terrors drive me to a distance from thee, that now, being
subdued as it were by thy goads, I come willingly to thee; for
nowhere else is there for me any hope of deliverance." We now then
see how much avails the contrast, when Jonah sets the terrible
punishment which he endured in opposition to his prayer. Let us now
proceed -
Jonah 2:4
Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again
toward thy holy temple.
In the first clause of this verse Jonah confirms again what I
have said, - that when he sought to pray, not only the door was
closed against him, but there were mountains, as it were,
intervening, so that he could not breathe a prayer to God: for he
did not so much think of the state in which he was; nay, but he
chiefly considered his own case, how he had provoked the wrath of
God. Hence he says, "I have said, I am cast away from the sight of
thine eyes". Some give this frigid exposition, that he had been only
expelled from his own country, that he might not behold the temple.
But I have no doubt but that Jonah tells us here that he suffered
extreme agonies, as though every hope of pardon had been cut off
from him: "What! shall I yet hope that God will be propitious? It is
not to be hoped." This then is the casting away of which he speaks:
for it is said that God casts us away, when he allows us no access
to him. Hence Jonah thought that he was wholly alienated from God.
Were any to object and say, that then his faith must have been
extinct; the obvious answer is, - that in the struggle of faith
there are internal conflicts; one thought is suggested, and then
another of an opposite character meets it; there would indeed be no
trial of our faith, except there were such internal conflicts; for
when, with appeased minds, we can feel assured that God is
propitious to us, what is the trial of faith? But when the flesh
tells us that God is opposed to us, and that there is no more hope
of pardon, faith at length sets up its shield, and repels this onset
of temptation, and entertains hope of pardon: whenever God for a
time appears implacable, then faith indeed is tried. Such then was
the condition of Jonah; for, according to the judgment of the flesh,
he thought that he was utterly cast away by God, so that he came to
him in vain. Jonah, then, having not yet put off flesh and blood,
could not immediately lay hold on the grace of God, but difficulties
met him in his course.
The latter clause is differently explained by interpreters.
Some take it negatively, "I shall no more look towards the temple of
thy holiness:" but the words admit not of this explanation. "'Ach"
means in Hebrew, truly, nevertheless; and it means also, certainly;
and sometimes it is taken dubitatively, perhaps. The greater part of
expounders render the clause thus, "But I shall see the temple of
thy holiness;" as though Jonah here reproved his own distrust, which
he had just expressed, as the case is with the faithful, who
immediately check themselves, when they are tempted to entertain any
doubt: "What! dost thou then cast away hope, when yet God will be
reconciled to thee if thou wilt come to him?" Hence interpreters
think that it is a sort of correction, as though Jonah here changed
his mind, and retracted what he had previously taken up, as a false
principle derived from the judgment of the flesh. He had said then
that he had been cast away from the presence of the Lord; but now,
according to these expositors, he repels that temptation, "But I
shall see thy holy temple; though I seem now to be rejected by thee,
thou wilt at last receive me into favor." We may, however, explain
this clause, consistently with the former, in this way, At least,
or, but, I would again see, &c., as an expression of a wish. The
future then may be taken for the optative mood, as we know that the
Hebrews are wont thus to use the future tense, either when they pray
or express a wish. This meaning then best agrees with the passage,
that Jonah as yet doubtingly prays, At least, or, but, I would
again, O Lord, see the temple of thy holiness. But since the former
explanation which I have mentioned is probable, I do not contend for
this. However this may be, we find that Jonah did not wholly
despair, though the judgment of the flesh would drive him to
despair; for he immediately turned his address to God. For they who
murmur against God, on the contrary, speak in the third person,
turning themselves, as it were, away from him: but Jonah here sets
God before his eyes, I have been cast away, he says, from the sight
of thine eyes. He does not remonstrate here with God, but shows that
he was seeking God still, though he thought that he was cast far
away.
Then he adds, "I would at least see again the temple of thy
holiness". And by speaking of the temple, he no doubt set the temple
before him as an encouragement to his faith. As then he had been
cast away, he gathers everything that might avail to raise up and
confirm his hope. He had indeed been circumcised, he had been a
worshipper of God from his childhood, he had been educated in the
Law, he had exercised himself in offering sacrifices: under the name
of temple he now includes briefly all these things. We hence see
that he thus encouraged himself to entertain good hope in his
extreme necessity. And this is a useful admonition; for when every
access to God seems closed up against us, nothing is more useful
than to recall to mind, that he has adopted us from our very
infancy, that he has also testified his favor by many tokens,
especially that he has called us by his Gospel into a fellowship
with his only-begotten Son, who is life and salvation; and then,
that he has confirmed his favor both by Baptism and the Supper.
When, therefore, these things come to our minds, we may be able by
faith to break through all impediments. Let us go on -
Jonah 2:5,6
The waters compassed me about, [even] to the soul: the depth closed
me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars
[was] about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from
corruption, O LORD my God.
Here in many words Jonah relates how many things had happened
to him, which were calculated to overwhelm his mind with terror and
to drive him far from God, and to take away every desire for prayer.
But we must ever bear in mind what we have already stated, - that he
had to do with God: and this ought to be well considered by us. The
case was the same with David, when he says in Ps. 39, 'Thou hast yet
done it;' for, after having complained of his enemies, he turned his
mind to God: "What then do I? what do I gain by these complaints?
for men alone do not vex me; thou, God, he says, hast done this." So
it was with Jonah; he ever set before him the wrath of God, for he
knew that such a calamity had not happened to him but on account of
his sins.
He therefore says that he was by waters beset, and then, that
he was surrounded by the deep; but at length he adds, that God made
his life to ascend, &c. All these circumstances tend to show that
Jonah could not have raised up his mind to God except through an
extraordinary miracle, as his life was in so many ways oppressed.
When he says that he was "beset with waters even to the soul", I
understand it to have been to the peril of his life; for other
explanations seem frigid and strained. And the Hebrews says that to
be pressed to the soul, is to be in danger of one's life; as the
Latins, meaning the same thing, say that the heart, or the inside,
or the bowels, are wounded. So also in this place the same thing is
meant, 'The waters beset me even to the soul,' and then, 'the abyss
surrounds me.' Some render "suf", sedge; others sea-weed; others
bulrush: but the sense amounts to the same thing. No doubt "suf" is
a species of sedge; and some think that the Red Sea was thus called,
because it is full of sedges or bulrushes. They think also that
bulrushes are thus called, because they soon putrefy. But what Jonah
means is certain and that is, that weed enveloped his head, or that
weed grew around his head: but to refer this to the head of the
fish, as some do, is improper: Jonah speaks metaphorically when he
says that he was entangled in the sedge, inasmuch as there is no
hope when any one is rolled in the sedge at the bottom of the sea.
How, indeed, can he escape from drowning who is thus held, as it
were, tied up? It is then to be understood metaphorically; for Jonah
meant that he was so sunk that he could not swim, except through the
ineffable power of God.
According to the same sense he says, "I descended to the roots
of the mountains". But he speaks of promontories, which were nigh
the sea; as though he had said, that he was not cast into the midst
of the sea, but that he had so sunk as to be fixed in the deep under
the roots of mountains. All these things have the same designs which
was to show that no deliverance could be hoped for, except God
stretched forth his hand from heaven, and indeed in a manner new and
incredible.
He says that the earth with its bars was around him. He means
by this kind of speaking, that he was so shut up, as if the whole
earth had been like a door. We know what sort of bars are those of
the earth, when we ascribe bars to it: for when any door is fastened
with bolts, we know how small a portion it is. But when we suppose
the earth itself to be like a door, what kind of things must the
bolts be? It is the same thing then as though Jonah had said, that
he was so hindered from the vital light, as if the earth had been
set against him to prevent his coming forth to behold the sun: the
earth, then, was set against me, and that for ever.
He afterwards comes to thanksgiving, "And thou Jehovah, my God,
hast made my life to ascend from the grave". Jonah, after having
given a long description, for the purpose of showing that he was not
once put to death, but that he had been overwhelmed with many and
various deaths, now adds his gratitude to the Lord for having
delivered him, Thou, he says, hast made my life to ascend from the
grave, O Jehovah. He again confirms what I have once said, - that he
did not pour forth empty prayers, but that he prayed with an earnest
feeling, and in faith: for he would not have called him his God,
except he was persuaded of his paternal love, so as to be able to
expect from him a certain salvation. Thou, then, Jehovah, my God, he
says; he does not say, "Thou hast delivered me," but, "Thou hast
brought forth my life from the grave." Then Jonah, brought to life
again, testifies here that he was not only delivered by God's aid
from the greatest danger, but that he had, by a certain kind of
resurrection, been raised from the dead. This is the meaning of this
mode of speaking, when he says that his life had been brought forth
from the grave, or from corruption itself. It follows -
Jonah 2:7
When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer
came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
Here Jonah comprehends in one verse what he had previously
said, - that he had been distressed with the heaviest troubles, but
that he had not yet been so cast down in his mind, as that he had no
prospect of God's favor to encourage him to pray. He indeed first
confesses that he had suffered some kind of fainting, and that he
had been harassed by anxious and perplexing thoughts, so as not to
be able by his own efforts to disengage himself.
As to the word "'ataf", it means in Hebrew to hide, to cover;
but in Niphal and Hithpael (in which conjugation it is found here)
it signifies to fail: but its former meaning might still be suitably
retained here; then it would be, 'My soul hid or rolled up itself,'
as it is in Ps. 102, 'The prayer of the afflicted, when he rolled up
himself in his distress.' They who render it, "he multiplied
prayers," have no reason to support them. I therefore doubt not but
that Jonah here means, either that he had been overcome by a swoon,
or that he had been so perplexed as not to be able without a violent
struggle to raise up his mind to God. However it may have been, he
intended by this word to express the anxiety of his mind. While then
we are tossed about by divers thoughts, and remain, as it were,
bound up in a hopeless condition, then our soul may be said to roll
or to fold up itself within us. When therefore the soul rolls up
itself, all the thoughts of man in perplexity recoil on himself. We
may indeed seek to disburden ourselves while we toss about various
purposes, but whatever we strive to turn away from us, soon comes
back on our own head; thus our soul recoils upon us. We now perceive
what Jonah meant by this clause, "When my soul infolded itself", or
failed within me, "I remembered, he says, Jehovah". We hence learn
that Jonah became not a conqueror without the greatest difficulties,
not until his soul, as we have said, had fainted: this is one thing.
Then we learn, also, that he was not so oppressed with distresses
but that he at length sought God by prayer. Jonah therefore retained
this truth, that God was to be sought, however severely and sharply
he treated him for a time; for the remembering, of which he speaks,
proceeded from faith. The ungodly also remember Jehovah, but they
dread him, for they look on him as a judge; and whenever a mention
is made of God, they expect nothing but destruction: but Jonah
applied the remembrance of God to another purpose, even as a solace
to ease his cares and his anxieties.
For it immediate]y follows, "that his prayer had penetrated
unto God, or entered before him." We then see that Jonah so
remembered his God, that by faith he knew that he would be
propitious to him; and hence was his disposition to pray. But by
saying that his prayer entered into his temple, he no doubt alludes
to a custom under the law; for the Jews were wont to turn themselves
towards the temple whenever they prayed: nor was this a
superstitious ceremony; for we know that they were instructed in the
doctrine which invited them to the sanctuary and the ark of the
covenant. Since then this was the custom under the law, Jonah says
that his prayer entered into the temple of God; for that was a
visible symbol, through which the Jews might understand that God was
near to them; not that they by a false imagination bound God to
external signs, but because they knew that these helps Had not in
vain been given to them. So then Jonah not only remembered his God,
but called also to mind the signs and symbols in which he had
exercised his faith, as we have just said through the whole course
of his life; for they who view him as referring to heaven, depart
wholly from what the Prophet meant. We indeed know that the temple
sometimes means heaven; but this sense suits not this place. Then
Jonah meant that though he was far away from the temple, God was yet
near to him; for he had not ceased to pray to that God who had
revealed himself by the law which he gave, and who had expressed his
will to be worshipped at Jerusalem, and also had been pleased to
appoint the ark as the symbol of his presence, that the Jews might,
with an assured faith, call upon him, and that they might not doubt
but that he dwelt in the midst of them, inasmuch as he had there his
visible habitation.
Prayer
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast once given us such an
evidence of thy infinite power in thy servant Jonah, whose mind,
when he was almost sunk down into hell, thou hadst yet raised up to
thyself, and hadst so supported with firm constancy, that he ceased
not to pray and to call on thee, - O grant, that in the trials by
which we must be daily exercised, we may raise upwards our minds to
thee, and never cease to think that thou art near us; and that when
the signs of thy wrath appear, and when our sins thrust themselves
before our eyes, to drive us to despair, may we still constantly
struggle, and never surrender the hope of thy mercy, until having
finished all our contests, we may at length freely and fully give
thanks to thee, and praise thy infinite goodness, such as we daily
experience that being conducted through continual trials, we may at
last come into that blessed rest which is laid up for us in heaven,
through Christ one Lord. Amen.
Calvin, Commentary on Jonah, Part 5
(continued in part 6....)
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