The history of the Old and New Testament extracted out of sacred Scripture and writings of the fathers : to which are added the lives, travels and sufferings of the apostles : with a large and exact historical chronology of all the affairs and actions related in the Bible : the whole illustrated with two hundred thirty four sculptures, and three maps, delineated and engraved by good artists / translated from the Sieur De Royaumont, by several hands ; supervised and recommended by Dr. Horneck, and other orthodox divines.

The Contents of the Book of JONAH.

THis Book contains the wonderful History of the Prophet Jonah, who being cal∣led by GOD to discharge the duty and office of a Prophet to the 10 Tribes or Kingdom of Israel, as may be gathered from 2 Kings 14.25. is here extraordinarily sent by GOD, to the shame and confusion of the Obstinate and hardned Israelites to those of Niniveh, Stangers to the Covenant of Grace, to de∣nounce to them their approaching ruin and subversion, in case they did nor repent. Which Divine Message he (by an evident weakness) endeavouring to avoid, resolves to flee to Tar∣shish; but GOD Chastizing him for his Dis∣obedience, miraculously obligeth him to return to his Duty, and execute the Commission he had charged him with; and by a most asto∣nishing Providence makes him an illustrious Figure of the LORD Jesus Christ, in that be∣ing cast Over-board, to appease the Wrath of GOD, and calm the violent Tempest which threatned Shipwreck to the Vessel in which he endeavoured to make his Escape, he was swal∣lowed by a Whale, who at the end of 3 Days and 3 Nights vomited him up again safe upon dry Land, whereby he was put into a condi∣tion of prosecuting the Commission he was charged with, to denounce the Divine Judg∣ment ready to fall upon the Inhabitants of Niniveh, and thereby to lead them to Repen∣tance. For in like manner JESƲS CHRIST having voluntarily sacrificed, and given up himself to Death, to please the Wrath of GOD awakened against us, and to preserve us, from Eternal Shipwreck, after he had been buried, and lain dead in his Grave, as in the Belly of the Earth, 3 Days and 3 Nights (Matt. 12.40.) came forth and arose from thence the 3d Day, that Repentance and Re∣mission of Sins might be declared and preach∣ed to all the World in his Name.

Jonah thus Chastiz'd by GOD, and mira∣culously preserved in the Belly of the Whale, is sent a 2d time to Niniveh; but seeing the Repentance and Conversion of its Inhabitants, whereupon GOD was graciously pleased to spare them, he again shews his great weak∣ness, by being displeased and troubled at it; whereupon the LORD (to a Miracle of Long-suffering) most meekly reproves, instructs and convinces him by the Gourd he had raised in one Night for his Comfort and refreshment.

Those Authors who make this Prophet the Son of the Widow of Sarepta, raised from Death to Life by Elijah, 1 Kings 17.22. speak without much ground; they might with more Reason have supposed him the Son of the Shunamite, raised from the dead by Eli∣sha, 2 Kings 4.37. if it did not appear from Sacred Writ, that Shunam (where that Child was born) belonged to the Tribe of Issachar, Josh. 19.18. whereas Jonah was of Gath∣hepher in the Tribe of Zabulun, 2 Kings 14.25. As to the time of his Call, his exerci∣sing the Prophetical Function, and the Mat∣ters here Recorded, it appears from the Pas∣sage we have just now alledged, that we must refer them to the time of the Reign of Jero∣boam the second King of Israel, who Reigned 42 years.

The Greek Interpreters (commonly called the Septuagint) place the Books of Jonah and Micha differently from what the Hebrews and we do, for they place Micha before Joel, Oba∣diah and Jonah, and joyn Jonah with Nahum, because they both Prophesied concerning Ni∣niveh, notwithstanding that Jonah lived a great while before the other.

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152 Captaine John Bromhill of Black∣wall in the County of Middlesex Gent. For advancement of this Worke. Contributed this Plate.

JONAH Cast Over-board.

The Prophet Jonah being swallowed by a Whale, continues three Days in his Belly, and afterwards is cast up by it on dry Land.

GOD having commanded the Prophet Jo∣nah to go to Niniveh, to denounce to that great City, That he was resolved to destroy it, be∣cause of the Sins of its Inhabitants, or (as the Scripture expresseth it) because their Wickedness was come up before him. Jonah instead of obey∣ing this Command of GOD went away to Tar∣shish, and being come there, embarked him∣self for Joppa.

But GOD, to make it appear, that nothing undertaken against his Will can take effect, and that he accomplisheth his designs, even by the resistance and opposition Men make against them, raised a great Tempest, which endan∣ger'd to Shipwreck the Vessel in which Jonah was, and putting the Mariners into a great Consternation, they cast forth the Goods into the Sea, to lighten it. Jonah acknowledging the Hand of GOD in this extraordinary Tem∣pest, and being grieved for his Disobedience and Rebellion against the LORD, was gone down into the Hold, where he fell fast asleep, his sound Sleep being an effect rather of his Trouble and Sorrow, than of any satisfaction or assurance in the midst of so imminent a dan∣ger, into which he had not only plung'd him∣self, but all those that were in the Vessel with him.

The Master of the Ship, not thinking it fit that he should lie and Sleep, whilst all the Ships-Crew and Passengers were either labour∣ing for Life to save the Vessel, or praying to their Gods, call'd upon him to arise, and call upon his GOD, that they might be saved from perishing. But at last perceiving that the vi∣olence of the Storm eluded and frustrated all their Endeavours, and that the fierceness of it still increased more and more; some of the Company supposing, that this unusual Storm was caused by the extraordinary Crimes of some that were in the Vessel, propounded to cast Lots, to know who was the Author and occasion of their Danger.

This Proposal being generally approv'd of, it was put in practice, and the Lot fell upon Jonah; whereupon they earnestly demanding of him, Who he was, and what he had done, to stir up the Anger of Heaven against them and himself? Jonah very freely confest all, and that he was the only cause of the Storm that still tossed them. And demanding further of him, What they should do to him that the Tem∣pest might cease? He answered them, That if they desired good Weather and a calm Sea, they must throw him Over-board, and so by his Death procure their own Safety.

The Master and Ships-Crew being not a lit∣tle surpriz'd at this free and unconcern'd Con∣fession, by which he doom'd himself to Death, conceiv'd more Pity for him than he seem'd to have for himself, and endeavour'd by Row∣ing hard to reach the Land; but seeing that all their Strivings were in vain, and that the Sea wrought high against them, they at last cast him into the Sea, (tho sore against their Wills,) and appealing to GOD, That they were not guilty of his Blood, whom they would so gladly have saved.

The Mariners no sooner perform'd this, but the Sea ceased from raging; and the LORD at the same time had prepared a Whale to swallow Jonah, who being in the Whales-Belly, and calling to mind his own Disobedience, and the great and miraculous Mercy of GOD to∣wards him, Sung Praises unto the LORD from that living Grave; where after he had conti∣nued three Days, the Whale (at GOD's Command) Vomited him out upon the dry Land.

Thus we see, that Life came forth victorious and triumphant from the very Entrails of Death, to be a lively Representation of that stupendous and ineffable Victory, which JESUS CHRIST, Eight hundred Years after, was to obtain against Death and Hell: When after he had freely offer'd himself to be cast into the Sea, for the Salvation of the World; and after he had been three Days and three Nights in the Heart of the Earth, he arose from thence full of Life, by a glorious Resurrection. And we may here very well say with the Fathers, How Miraculous must those Truths be, where∣of the Types and Figures only are such great Miracles?

The Ninevites Repent.

The Inhabitants of Nineveh Repent, at the Preaching of the Prophet JONAH.

AFter that GOD had so wonderfully pre∣serv'd Jonah in, and afterwards deli∣ver'd him from the Whales-Belly, he commanded him a second time to go to Nineveh, and Preach to that Great City, and to declare the Com∣mission he had charged with him. Jonah now no more cast about, how he might avoid the Command laid upon him, but by his ready Obedience made it appear, how much he had profited by the Affliction GOD had sent him, and that he had learnt never any more to op∣pose himself against the Divine Will, though never so difficult or thwarting of his own.

In this disposition he went (contrary to the custom of all other Prophets) to Preach to a People that were Heathen Idolaters, that there∣in also he might be a Figure of Jesus Christ, who in time to come was to Convert the Gen∣tiles. Now Nineveh was a great City, which (as the Scripture tells us) was three Days Journey in length. When Jonah was advanc'd into the City about a Days Journey, he lift∣ed up his Voice, and declared, That yet forty Days, and Nineveh should be destroyed.

The Inhabitants being terrified with this Denunciation, believed the Word of GOD by his Prophet, and with an humble Faith (which according to the Word of our Saviour Jesus Christ, will prove the condemnation of those Ʋnbelievers that do not Repent) they pro∣claimed a Fast, and put on Sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least, to the end that their Sorrow and Repentance might be as ge∣neral, as their Corruption and Sins had been; and that as no Age, Sex, nor Quality had been free from contributing to the Guilt; so none might be exempted from the Penance, that might make Attonement for it.

The King himself being strangely Alarmed with the News of this sudden Destruction, threatning Him and his Subjects, came down from his Throne, and quitted all his Royal Robes and Ornaments, to put on Sackcloth, and sit in Ashes: And not contented to ex∣cite his Subjects to Repentance by his Exam∣ple only, he published an Edict, and caused it to be proclaimed through the City, That neither Man nor Beast, Herd nor Flock, should eat or drink any thing; and that all his Sub∣jects should apply themselves to cry mightily to GGD, and every one of them turn from their Evil ways, and the Violence that was in their Hands: For who can tell (said he) but GOD will take pity of us, and turn away from his fierce Anger, that we perish not?

Thus a whole City, and so great a City as Nineveh was, humbling and abasing them∣selves before the Eyes of GOD, from the King upon the Throne, unto the poorest and most contemptible Subject, moved GOD's Mercy and Bowels in Pity towards them; who seeing them changed from what they were, he also changed the Sentence of Death pronounced a∣gainst them, as having done it only for this end, to make them by their serious and hear∣ty Repentance to prevent the Punishment, where∣with his Justice threatned them.

This Repentance of the Ninevites is a great and illustrious Example of sincere and hearty Repentance; and therefore we ought often to set it before our Eyes, that as we have been and still are Followers of them in Sin and Wicked∣ness; so we might endeavour to imitate and ex∣press their Repentance.

And this the rather, because our Saviour JE∣SUS CHRIST assures us, That this Example of the Ninevites, shall confound and con∣demn all those, who living under the Preach∣ing of the Gospel, do still continue in Impeni∣tence and Ʋnbelief; because the Menaces he has pronounced in the Gospel against Impeni∣tent Sinners, ought without comparison to be more dreadful and terrible to us, than those of Jonah were to the Heathen Inhabitants of Nineveh.

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153 The Right Honourable Charles Lord Viscount Fanshaw &c^a. For advancement of this Worke. Contributed this Plate.

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154 Godfrey Richards of S^t. Martins in the ffields in middlesex Esq. Providour to their Majestyes Traine of Artillery in Ireland. For advancement of this Worke. Contributed this Plate.

JONAH's GOURD.

GOD shews Jonah by a sensible Example, how great a Love he has for Men, and how grievous it is to him, when they by their Sins oblige him to Punish them.

JONAH perceiving that GOD had re∣pea••ed his Sentence pronounced against Ni∣neveh, and repented of the Evil, he had declared by him he would bring upon them, was exceed∣ingly displeas'd and angred at it, out of fear that he would be accounted a False Prophet, because the Judgment he had denounced a∣gainst the City, was not executed according to his Word. Tho' indeed he was very far from being a False Prophet; for in declaring that Nineveh should be destroyed in Forty Days, he declared nothing but the very truth: For (as St. Austin excellently observes) tho' that City subsisted still as to its Buildings and Walls, yet was it most happily destroyed by the Repentance and Conversion of its Inhabitants; for wicked, licentious, riotous and haughty Ni∣neveh was destroy'd and overthrown, and an humble, penitent, and self-denying City now supply'd its place.

But the Prophet Jonah had suffered, the fear he had of being accounted a False Prophet, to take so deep an impression upon him; and upon this occasion had so far given himself up to Grief and Discontent, that complaining to GOD of this his unseasonable Mercy, (as his Passion represented it to him) he beseeched him to take his Life from him, because it seemed far more eligible to him to die, than to live. The LORD with great Long-suffer∣ing, bearing with this sinful weakness of his Servant Jonah, only demanded of him, Whe∣ther he did well to be angry? Appealing to himself about the unreasonableness of this his Sullen Temper.

But Jonah (who was not yet cured by this mild Check the LORD had given him, to make him reflect upon his unseemly Carriage) being come out of the City, made himself a Booth on the East-side of it, and rested himself there under the Shadow of it, to see what would become of the City. And GOD (to make his little Hermitage more cool, and sha∣dy) caused a Guord to spring up in one Night, which by the next Morning covered his Bower, affording him a very cool and grateful shade.

Jonah was very glad of this unexpected and seasonable Refreshment, but it prov'd very short; for GOD had prepared a Worm, which eating into the Root of the Gourd, it soon wi∣thered, and left Jonah expos'd to the violent heat of the Sun-beams; and that the more, be∣cause GOD sent a vehement East-Wind, which (together with the heat of the Sun beating upon his Head) made him faint, and increa∣sing his discontented Humor, he a second time earnestly desired of GOD he might die.

But GOD taking occasion from this Passio∣nate transport of the Prophet Jonah, to make him apprehend, how▪ much grief and trouble it occasion'd to him, when he found himself forced to punish the Crimes of Mankind, and how great a Violence it would have been to his Goodness and Inclination to pardon and pass by Sins, had he been obliged to destroy that great City, demanded again of Jonah, Whether he did well to be angry? Who answer'd, That he did well to be angry unto Death.

This peevish and froward Answer of Jonah did not hinder the LORD from mildly endea∣vouring to shew him his exorbitant Carriage in this point, by this most sensible and convin∣cing Remonstrance: Consider Jonah what thou dost, thy own Behaviour does condemn thee; Thou hast had pity on the Gourd, for the which thou didst not labour, neither madest it grow, which came up in a Night, and perished in a Night. And wouldst thou have me to have no Concern or Pity for Nineveh, that great City, wherein are more than Sixscore Thousand Innocent Children, that cannot discern between their Right Hand and their Left?

This Relation is an excellent Looking-Glass, most fully representing to us the great Mercy and Long suffering of GOD, and the strange excesses that Pride and Passion carry Men unto; for it was Pride which transported Jonah to Anger, and which made him, that he could not endure to bear the imputation of a False Pro∣phet.

Notes

• Anno Mundi 3197. before Christ 807.
• The same Year 3197.
• The same Year 3197.