Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Jonah
Book: Jonah
Chapter: 4
Overview:
Jonah repines at
God's
Mercy to
Nineveh, and is reproved.
(1-4) He is taught
By the withering of a
Gourd, that he did
wrong.
(5-11)
1-4 What all the saints make matter of joy and praise,
Jonah
makes the subject of reflection upon
God; as if showing
Mercy
were an imperfection of the Divine nature, which is the greatest
Glory of it. It is to his sparing, pardoning
Mercy, we all owe
it that we are out of
Hell. He wishes for
Death: this was the
language of folly,
Passion, and strong corruption. There
appeared in
Jonah remains of a proud, uncharitable
Spirit; and
that he neither expected nor desired the welfare of the
Ninevites, but had only come to declare and
Witness their
Destruction. He was not duly humbled for his own sins, and was
not willing to trust the
Lord with his credit and safety. In
this frame of mind, he overlooked the good of which he had been
an instrument, and the
Glory of the Divine
Mercy. We should
often ask ourselves, Is it
Well to say thus, to do thus? Can I
justify it? Do I
Well to be
So soon angry,
So often angry,
So
long angry, and to give others ill language in my
Anger? Do I
Well to be angry at the
Mercy of
God to repenting sinners? That
was
Jonah's crime. Do we do
Well to be angry at that which is
for the
Glory of
God, and the advancement of his kingdom? Let
the
Conversion of sinners, which is the joy of
Heaven, be our
joy, and never our grief.
5-11 Jonah went out of the
City, yet remained near at
Hand, as
if he expected and desired its overthrow. Those who have
fretful, uneasy spirits, often make troubles for themselves,
that they may still have something to complain of. See how
tender
God is of his people in their
Afflictions, even though
they are foolish and froward. A thing small in itself, yet
coming seasonably, may be a valuable blessing. A
Gourd in the
right place may do us more service than a
Cedar. The least
creatures may be great plagues, or great comforts, as
God is
pleased to make them. Persons of strong passions are apt to be
cast down with any trifle that crosses them, or to be lifted up
with a trifle that pleases them. See what our
Creature-comforts
are, and what we may expect them to be; they are withering
things. A small
Worm at the root destroys a large
Gourd: our
gourds wither, and we know not what is the cause. Perhaps
Creature-comforts are continued to us, but are made
Bitter; the
Creature is continued, but the comfort is gone.
God prepared a
wind to make
Jonah feel the want of the
Gourd. It is just that
those who
Love to complain, should never be left without
something to complain of. When afflicting providences take away
relations, possessions, and enjoyments, we must not be angry at
God. What should especially silence discontent, is, that when
our
Gourd is gone, our
God is not gone.
Sin and
Death are very
dreadful, yet
Jonah, in his heat, makes
Light of both. One soul
is of more value than the whole world; surely then one soul is
of more value than many gourds: we should have more concern for
our own and others' precious souls, than for the riches and
enjoyments of this world. It is a great encouragement to
Hope we
shall find
Mercy with the
Lord, that he is ready to show
Mercy.
And murmurers shall be made to understand, that how willing
soever they are to keep the Divine
Grace to themselves and those
of their own way, there is one
Lord over all, who is rich in
Mercy to all that
Call upon him. Do we wonder at the forbearance
of
God towards his perverse servant? Let us study our own hearts
and ways; let us not forget our own ingratitude and obstinacy;
and let us be astonished at
God's patience towards us.