kill him. He forgot, that God could take care of him; and that it was his duty to obey God, whatever might happen to him. For no fear of anything, however dreadful, which man can do unto us, should lead us to disobey the commands of God.

Being thus afraid to do as God commanded him, Jonah thought if he could get out of his own country, and from the presence of the Lord, from that peculiar presence of God, which, in some way, he was sensible of, when called upon to prophesy, God might not again direct him to go to Nineveh. So he went to a place on the seacoast, called Joppa, where he found a ship about to sail to Tarshish, and there he thought he should be safe. For Tarshish was a great distance from Joppa; and, as some think, it was in Cilicia, a country at the east end of the Mediterranean sea. But in all this, Jonah acted both foolishly and wickedly. For how could he hope to escape from God, who could see him as well at Tarshish, as in his own country; and would do with him as He thought best, as well in one place, as in another.

Jonah forgot all this, and paid the master of the ship what he asked, for carrying a person from Joppa to Tarshish, and went on board. Pretty soon, the ship sailed from Joppa, and got

out into the sea, a great way from land. And as the wind blew fair, and the ship went pleasantly along, through the waves, Jonah felt more and He looked towards his own coun

more secure.

try which he had left, and thought from how much trouble and danger he was escaping. He looked towards the place where he was going, and expected before long to be there; and there, he thought, God would let him remain, without commanding him any more to go to Nineveh.

Sometimes it is so with persons who are doing wrong. Everything seems to go on pleasantly; and they think, it will always do so. But, sooner or later, those who disobey the commands of God, and continue to do so, will find trouble and

sorrow; and if this does not happen to them in this life, it certainly will in that which is to come. For God tells us, in the Bible, that there is no peace unto the wicked;-no peace that will be of long continuance; sometimes, it is wholly destroyed in this world, and it will certainly be so in the next.

It was not long before Jonah found this to be true, in his own case. 'The Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.'

A violent storm at sea, is a terrible sight. The ship rolls about; sometimes, on one side, and sometimes, on the other. The large pieces of wood of which it is built, and which are fastened together, are pulled and strained, and make a loud creaking noise; and, sometimes, it almost seems as if they would come apart. The sails flap about; the ropes creak; the masts tremble; the captain is crying with a loud voice, to tell the sailors what to do; and they are running, one way and another, pulling the ropes, and altering the sails, to try to keep the ship right, so that it may not upset and sink.

All the sky is covered with dark clouds, SO that, in the night the moon and stars cannot be seen; and, in the day time, it looks almost as if

it was night. The rain falls fast; the wind blows furiously; the waves roll high, like hills or mountains, and the ship rides fearfully over them. Sometimes it is at the bottom of the waves with high waves all around it, looking as if they were just about to come over it, and bury it in the deep. Then the ship goes up a steep wave, like a wagon ascending a hill, only it mounts up with astonishing swiftness. Then it stands a moment, on the very top of the wave, balanced there, and trembling, Then suddenly it begins to descend again, and down it goes, down the long, steep wave into the gulf below, as if to be buried in the ocean and lost forever.

How do you think you would feel in such a storm at sea, if you were to stand on the deck of the ship, and look all round, and see what I have been describing to you? Would you not be very much afraid; and feel that it was God alone who could save you; and pray to Him for protection?

Yes; not only little boys and girls are afraid in such storms at sea, but men and women also. And it often happens, that the captain and sailors are afraid, and will cry to God to save them; though at other times, perhaps, they think very little about Him, or even take His name in vain, and do many wicked things. No persons are

more afraid to die, or more alarmed when they are in great danger, and death seems to be near, than those wicked people are, who are the least prepared to die.

It was just so with the persons who had the care of the ship in which Jonah was, while the tempest was raging. The captain and the sailors, or, as they are also called, 'the mariners, were afraid, and cried every man unto his god.'

These men, it seems, did not all worship the same God. Perhaps, they were of different countries; for this is often the case among the sailors who are on board the same ship. None of them knew the true God. They were false gods, and idols, which they worshipped; and these were different, one from another. How strange, that they should think, that these different gods, should have made the storm. Did they all unite together, to make it? Or did one god make it cloudy; and another make it rain; and another cause the wind to blow; and still another the waves to rise?

How happy we are, that we know so much better than these poor mariners did. We know, that there is but one true and living God, and that He made all things, and governs all things. We know, that it is He, and He alone, who gives sunshine and clouds, fair weather, and rainy