Out Of The Belly Of Hell

Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 22nd December service and hymns are below.

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Our principal verses are:

Jon 2:1  Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

Jon 2:2  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.

Jon 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.

Jon 2:4  Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

Jon 2:5  The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

Jon 2:6  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.

 Out Of The Belly Of Hell

In the belly of the great fish, in the midst of his trouble, Jonah prayed. Prayer is a cry to God from a needy soul. True prayer is a privilege of grace inspired by the Holy Ghost. Jonah had likely abandoned prayer while fleeing the presence of the Lord. Now, in his moment of need, he returned humbly and penitently to seek mercy at the throne of grace. In this we see the faithfulness of the Lord and His wisdom in dealing with His wayward people.

Guilt free, but humbled

It is a truth of scripture that the Lord’s redeemed people will never be punished for their sins. The ‘chastisement of our peace’ was upon our Saviour Jesus on the cross. He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, and ‘by one offering’ has ‘perfected for ever them that are sanctified’. However, this fact does not mitigate the hurt caused by sin or reverse the effects of disobedience in the lives of God’s elect people in this world.

Grace that overcomes

The impulse of our flesh is constantly towards sin and, like Jonah, all of us readily succumb to the temptations of this world when the Lord’s protective hand is removed and nature’s weakness goes unchecked. Jonah sought to flee from the presence of the Lord by taking a ship to Tarshish. He was disobedient to the command of the Lord and that was his fault. Sin brings its consequences. Nevertheless, the Lord will not lose one of His own.

God is faithful

Despite Jonah’s fellowship with the Lord being broken the Lord remained faithful to Jonah. God arranged for His wayward son to return, first, by sending a storm; then, inducing the ship’s captain to be rid of Jonah out of the vessel; then, by preparing a great fish to swallow the prophet. Trapped inside the fish’s body Jonah was carried to the depths of the sea. He did not die but remained conscious, becoming aware both of his physical predicament while reflecting on his spiritual state.

A prayer in despair

Jonah’s prayer makes up the bulk of this chapter. It conveys the bodily distress he endured and the spiritual parallels these provoked. The prayer relates Jonah’s experience in the whale’s belly. He draws upon his actual descent into the depths of the sea, his awareness of being trapped and helpless within the fish. He applies this to his recovered sense of the Lord’s mercy and ultimately his soul-dependence upon Christ, to whom he looked, typified by the temple.

A glimpse of hell

The depths of the sea, the flood that covered, the prison bars, the weed wrapped around the prophet’s head together provoke a fearful picture of the grave and of hell. Jonah calls this ‘the belly of hell’ being convinced ‘the earth with her bars was about me for ever’. This graphic description ought to fill every sinner with a deep sense of foreboding as to what conscious, eternal separation from God in hell will involve.

The sign of Jonah

Though Jonah fled from the presence of God, God did not flee from the presence of Jonah. He did not leave His servant in this hellish place but heard him, saw him and came to him. Jonah testifies, God ‘brought up my life from corruption’. So, too, the Lord Jesus, our Saviour came to where His people were to take our place. He was confined, like Jonah, ‘three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’. Though He suffered and died in our place He also was preserved from corruption and raised again to life.

Substitution

Jonah was delivered from the belly of hell and freed from the depths of judgment. Like Jonah, the Lord Jesus descended into the depths for His church. He bore our judgment in our place then ascended victorious over death, hell and the grave. Jonah’s experience is a type and a sign given by God to point us to the Saviour Jesus Christ.

Follow the example

Jonah exemplifies every quickened sinner. Being conscious of his need and plight Jonah cried from the depths of his distress. He offered up prayer to the Lord who heard him and delivered him according to His grace. May we follow Jonah in our own times of distress, thus proving the Lord to be faithful still.

Amen

Our hymns are below.

Hymn 1

Gadsby selection 6

The Wisdom and Knowledge of God. Ps. 139

B. Beddome                                              L.M.

1
God’s ways are just, his counsels wise;
No darkness can prevent his eyes;
No thought can fly, nor thing can move,
Unknown to him that sits above.

2
He in the thickest darkness dwells;
Performs his works, the cause conceals;
But though his methods are unknown,
Judgment and truth support his throne.

3
In heaven, and earth, and air, and seas,
He executes his firm decrees;
And by his saints it stands confessed,
That what he does is ever best.

4
Wait, then, my soul, submissive wait,
Prostrate before his awful seat;
And, ‘midst the terrors of his rod,
Trust in a wise and gracious God.

Hymn 2

Gadsby selection 555

“I will proclaim the name of the Lord.” Exod. 33. 19

W. Gadsby   S.M.

1
When God proclaims his name,
Then Zion hears with joy;
His grace, from age to age the same,
Shall all her needs supply.

2
When he descends to show
The wonders of his heart,
His presence lays proud nature low,
And guilty fears depart.

3
Rich mercy he proclaims
To sinners in distress;
And, by the most endearing names,
Reveals to them his grace.

When Jonah was in the belly of the fish he cried to the Lord and the Lord heard him. The Lord will hear all who cry to him in faith from their afflictions. Here are some lessons from Jonah’s prayer.