Jonah uttered in the name of the Lord was conditional: at the end of forty days, the Ninevites must be destroyed, unless they repent; but, if they do repent, their ruin will be averted. Had no change been produced on them by the preaching of Jonah, inevitable destruction must have ensued, whether by sword, or fire, or earthquake: on the other hand, they were taught to believe, that if they repented, there would be a remission of their punishment, or at least a lengthening of their tranquillity. It is true, the condition is not expressed in the words of Jonah, but what is here recorded seems to be only the text on which he preached, and we cannot tell how he might enlarge on the subject, in his addresses to the Ninevites, under the direction of the Spirit of God. And indeed, the very proclamation of the threatening implied that the judg. ment might be averted by a timely repentance; for if God intended to destroy Nineveh at this time, whether the people repented or not, to what purpose was Jonah sent? The mission of Jonah was a clear intimation, that God had mercy in store for the Ninevites; for why should be send his servant from such a distance, merely to make known a calamity which could not be avoided, as if to torment them before the time? They justly inferred from the prophet's preaching, that this awful threatening was conditional, and that God was giving them space for repentance.

The time allowed them is forty days, a period that often occurs in scripture: and as Jonah appears to have spent this time at Nineveh, after his figurative

resurrection, before his return to Canaan; so Christ his antitype, after he rose from the dead, spent the same space of time on earth, before his ascension to the better country. Forty days may seem a short period for seeking salvation, and so it is: yet it is longer than the Ninevites deserved, and it is sufficient space for repentance, if duly improved. Many would give the world for forty days, or even forty hours, to flee from the wrath to come, and prepare for eternity. What a blessing would forty days be to poor thoughtless sailors, when they are ready to perish in a storm!

that

Brethren, let us all remember, that the time which God is now giving us, should be diligently occupied in preparing for eternity; especially as we know not how short it may prove. Were God to proclaim to us, we had only forty days more to live, the alarming notice might be expected to awaken all our feelings and Would not energies, to prepare for our latter end. every sinner be earnestly seeking to escape from the wrath to come? Would not every believer be casting off all the concerns of the world, to prepare for meeting with God, and entering into glory? Now, we are not sure that we have so much as forty days; nay, we dare not promise ourselves even to-morrow, for we know not what a day may bring forth. "Ye know not what shall be on the morrow; for what is your life? it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. You remember the conduct and fate of that rich man whose ground brought forth plentifully:

* Proverbs xxvii. 1. James iv. 13, 14.

he said to his soul, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid

up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided ?"* Are you, like that foolish worldling, eagerly pursuing the enjoyments of time, and neglecting your immortal souls? O think, how soon God may summon you to his tribunal! Yet forty days, and you may be laid in the dust: nay, for any thing you know, you may be called into eternity within forty hours. Seamen, who are in deaths oft, are especially bound to view the day of accounts as ever near. When you go to sea, my brethren, you know not if you shall be permitted to return home. When you are at sea, you are in jeopardy every hour, and cannot tell, when you rise in the morn ing, whether you shall see the evening or not. Awake, then, to serious consideration, ye who have been careless about your eternal interests! Awake, and turn unto the Lord without delay. Forty days, or a much shorter period, may be the whole space allowed you. "Behold, now is the accepted time: bebold, now is the day of salvation.” The door of mercy is still open; but in a little time it may be shut for ever. Now you hear the voice of the Lord, warning you to flee from eternal wrath; and all his awful threatenings are designed to hasten your escape, and lead you quickly unto Christ for salvation: but if you despise his warn ings, dreadful will be the result. Behold, the Saviour *Luke xii. 16-20.

waiteth to be gracious; all day long he stretcheth out his hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people: but the time is coming, when he will invite and entreat you no more; the time is coming, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."* Now, therefore, while there is yet hope, while the days allotted you are not expired, make haste to believe in Jesus as your only refuge, and embrace the Lord as your God in Christ. "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."+

* 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. † Isaiah Iv. 6, 7.

LECTURE VIII.

NINEVEH'S REPENTANCE AND RESPITE.

Chap. III. 5-10.

Verse 5. "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

In the former part of this chapter, we have an account of Jonah's ministry at Nineveh; we are now to consider bis astonishing success, which in some respects was more remarkable, than that which attended the labours of any other ancient prophet. Elijah's services on the top of mount Carmel produced glorious results; but Elijah's congregation were Israelites, and it was not so much by his preaching, as by the glorious miracles wrought in answer to his prayers, that they were turned to the Lord; Jonah's hearers were Ninevites, and, as far as we read, he wrought no miracles among them; yet the whole city is awakened by his ministry, and brought in some sort to repentance. Our blessed Redeemer, who speaks of Jonah as a type of himself, notices his extraordinary success among the Ninevites, as a severe reproof to the children of Israel, especially to the unbelieving Jews who