rd

Jonah 4

The great goodness of God toward his creatures.
1.Therefore it displeased aJonáh exceedingly, and he was angry.
2.And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, ô Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? therefore I prevented it to flee unto bTarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3.Therefore now ô Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life cfrom me: for it is better for me to die then to live.
5.So Jonáh went out of the city and sat on the East side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow etill he might see what should be done in the city.
6.And the Lord God prepared a fgourd, and made it to come up over Jonáh, that it might be a shadow over his head and deliver him from his grief. So Jonáh was exceedingly glad of the gourd.
7.But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd, that it withered.
8.And when the sun did arise, God prepared also a fervent East wind: and the sun beat upon the head of Jonáh, that he fainted, and wished in his heart to die, and said, It is better for me to die, then to live.
9.And God said unto Jonáh, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be gangry unto the death.
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,
11.And should hnot I spare Ninevéh that great city, wherein are isix score thousand persons, that can not discern between their right hand, and their left hand, and also much cattle?

Notes

1-a.
Because hereby he should be taken as a false prophet, and so the Name of God, which he preached, should be blasphemed.
2-b.
Read chapter 1.3.
3-c.
Thus he prayed of grief fearing lest God’s Name by this forgiveness might be blasphemed as though he sent his Prophets forth to denounce his judgements in vain.
4-d.
Will you be judge when I do things for my glory, and when I do not?
5-e.
For he doubted as yet whether God would show them mercy or no: and therefore after forty days he departed out of the city, looking what issue God would send.
6-f.
Which was a further means to cover him from the heat of the sun, as he remained in his booth.
9-g.
This declares the great inconveniences whereunto God’s servants do fall when they give place to their own affection, and do not in all things willingly submit themselves to God.
11-h.
Thus God mercifully reproved him, which would pity himself and this gourd, and yet would restrain God to show his compassion to so many thousand people.
11-i.
Meaning, that they were children, and infants.