omniscience; for "the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good;" "neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened, to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." The phrase here used must intimate, that the wickedness of Nineveh was peculi, Early offensive to the Holy One of Israel: it had "come up before him," like the stench of an open sepulchre, or like the nauseous vapour arising from the burning of a putrid carcase : "these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day."† What was said of Sodom and Gomorrahı, might now be applied to Nineveh its sins were so grievous, that they sent up a loud cry unto God, like the voice of Abel's blood, calling for vengeance on the guilty :§ "their wickedness is p before me, to testify against them, and de

come up:

mand their destruction.

Yet the day of Nineveh's rain is not fully arrived, and the prophet is therefore sent to "cry against it," warning the inhabitants of their danger, and calling them to repentance. He was not sent to torment them with useless forebodings of woe, by prédicting calamities that were inevitable: the judgments of God might yet be averted by a timely repentance, and to produce this effect was the grand object of his mission. Some years after, when this city had filled up the measure of its sins, Nahum was employed to publish "The bur+ den of Nineveh;" but he was not commanded to travel thither, to preach to the inhabitants; for that was the * Prov. xv. 3. Hebr. iv. 13. †Isa. læv. 5. §Gen.xviii. 20,21.iv.10.

for

a

day of vengeance, when "the wrath was coming upon them to the uttermost." But now there was space given them for repentance; and Jonah well knew, he perversely made it the ground of his complaint, that he was sent on an errand of mercy, by him who is " gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness." And since the wicked cannot taste the love of God, without being awakened to a sense of their guilt and danger, the prophet must "cry against" the Ninevites; proclaiming the greatness of their crimes, and the awful judgments that were impending over them: and, knowing the terrors of the Lord, he must not only speak but cry to them, exhorting them with the greatest earnestness, that they might hasten to escape from the wrath to come. To cry against Nineveh might seem an act of hostility, but it was in truth an act of the greatest kindness. Let not those whose sins are reproved by the word, count the preacher an enemy, when he tells them the truth: rather let them regard him as their best friend. To warn transgressors of their danger, is not the most pleasant part of a minister's duty, but it is indispensably necessary, and must be done with faithfulness and earnestness: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins."* Happy was it for Nineveh, that Jonah was sent to cry against it: the threatenings of God, as well as his promises, bespeak the riches of his goodness.

"

* Isaiah lviii. 1.

Ver. 3. "But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish 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 to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."

When Jonah received his commission, he prepared for exertion, but not for service. He rose up, to go from home; but it was to perform a voyage to Tarshish, not a journey to Nineveh. Disliking the orders given him, he was "disobedient unto the heavenly vision ;" and, instead of travelling to the Assyrian capital, as the ambassador of God, he resolved to desert his service, nay, to flee from his presence. Jonah could not be so ignorant as to imagine, that there was any part of the globe where the eye of omniscience could not see him, or the arm of omnipotence could not reach him. He was intimately acquainted with the psalms of David, as appears from his prayer, and therefore must have known those sublime sentiments of the psalmist: "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there: If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.' "* To escape the notice of God, or elude his controul, is impossible. Recollect, my

sea-faring friends, that the eye of the Omniscient

beholds you at sea, as much as on shore; and in

* Psalm cxxxix. 7-10,

C

foreign parts, as much as in your own country. "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith the Lord: do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord."* But, though Jonah could not flee out of God's sight, he fled from his special presence; from that land where God peculiarly dwelt, and where his prophets and priests ministered before him.

It is hard to say, what was Jonah's precise object in attempting to escape from the land of Israel. If he was resolved to disobey the divine mandate, might he not as well have remained where he was? Perhaps he fancied, that if he were once out of that country where God was specially present, that "valley of vision," the word of the Lord would no more come to him; or, at least, he should get excused from going to Nineveh, and some other prophet would be sent in his stead. Such ideas may indeed appear foolish; but his conduct on this occasion betrayed a degree of infatuation, and cannot be accounted for on any rational principle.

Whatever were his views, his conduct was wholly inexcusable. He could not complain that he was sent to a heathen and distant land, while he was voluntarily abandoning his country, to associate with the heathen in some remote corner of the earth. He could not object to the dangers of the enterprise, while he was madly rushing into greater dangers. He does not * Jeremiah xxiii. 23, 24.

plead, like Moses, his incapacity for the work, nor attempt to offer any excuse before the Lord; but answers the summons from heaven by a precipitate flight, Indeed, the chief motives to this act of rebellion were such as he might well be ashamed to own; for in the last chapter, we learn from his own mouth, that he fled to Tarshish, because he knew that God was so gracious, that he would not at this time execute on Nineveh the judgments which Jonah was commanded to denounce and, therefore, he was afraid that, if he went to predict these judgments, he would be regarded as a false prophet. But was his own reputation of so much account, as to be laid in the balance with the preservation of so many lives, and the salvation of so many sinners? Would he consign to destruction the most populous city on earth, rather than run the risk of encountering reproach? But indeed, his fears on I this head were imaginary, and the very reason that induced him to rebel, ought to have operated as a stimulus to obedience. Was it not a higher honour to be a herald of mercy, than a minister of vengeance ? Was it not infinitely better that his labours should issue in the salvation of the Assyrians, than in their =destruction? Had Jonah been sent on a service peculiarly mortifying, it would have been criminal for him to have spurned at the authority of God; how much more when his mission was truly honourable, and likely to prove successful? He was appointed the prophet of the gentiles, and he ought to have magnified his office, like the apostle of the gentiles, that he might