A fruitfull commentarie vpon the twelue small prophets briefe, plaine, and easie, going ouer the same verse by verse, and shewing every where the method, points of doctrine, and figures of rhetoricke, to the no small profit of all godly and well disposed readers, with very necessarie fore-notes for the vnderstanding of both of these, and also all other the prophets. The text of these prophets together with that of the quotations omitted by the author, faithfully supplied by the translatour, and purged of faults in the Latine coppie almost innumerable, with a table of all the chiefe matters herein handled, and marginall notes very plentifull and profitable; so that it may in manner be counted a new booke in regard of these additions. VVritten in Latin by Lambertus Danæus, and newly turned into English by Iohn Stockwood minister and preacher at Tunbridge.

Vers. 6.

And the Lord God prepared a gourd, and made it to come vp ouer Ionas, that it might be a shadow ouer his head: and deliuer him from griefe. So Ionas was exceeding glad of the gourd.

* 1.1THirdly here is declared, what things followed after that same praier of Ionas, & God his answer vnto the same: both which (as I said before) after those whole 40. daies being fully ended. After those 40. daies then, and not before, Ionas praied so anger∣ly: and when as God had answered him, he alledgeth a reason of this his answer, and mercie towards the Niniuites, the which hee confirmeth by the confession of Ionas himselfe, and by the issue and likelihoode of a thing most apparant, to the end the counsel and purpose of God in pardoning them, may appeare vnto all men to be most wise and iust. This therefore fell out after those 40. daies, so that Ionas did yet once againe shewe the malapert∣nes and impatience of his minde, and the same vtterly vnexcusa∣ble and yet notwithstanding it did spring from the same fountain from the which the former did. Out of this selfe same doth God shew two things: * 1.2 first, that our affections, albeit godly, lawfull, & tender in shewe (vnlesse they be wholly subiect vnto his will) are troublesome motions of our disobedient flesh vnto God, & fruits of our stubbornnes, & therefore vnto him worthily hateful, bitter, and filthie. The second thing is, God out of this second anger of Ionas, altogether immoderate or vnmeasurable and rash, taketh

an occasion and cause to condemne the former anger also. For so by degrees also God doth leade vs vnto earnest repentance, and teacheth vs by little and little, as it were by play, that the thinges the which in vs are vicious, the which notwithstāding we would not easily confesse so to be, he might proue & shew by the com∣parison and similitude of other thinges knowne and graunted of vs, to be vtterly to be condemned, foule and filthie.

* 1.3Further, in the setting out of this whole matter, the Prophet v∣seth this order, that first he sheweth the cause of his second anger & wrath vnto the 8. ver. Secondly he declareth, that his anger and immoderate rage, ver. 8. and 9. Lastly, that thereupon God tooke occasion to condemne Ionas both in this, and also in that his for∣mer complaint, v. 10, 11. This sixt verse containeth two things, & both of them a preparation onely vnto the declaring of the anger of Ionas. First, what God prepared for Ionas, yet remaining in his booth, the which he had slightly made of boughes: & secondly, * 1.4 what ioy Ionas conceiued for the same. God ordeined & would haue a gourd to grow vp for him (for so the word kikaion is to be translated, * 1.5 whatsoeuer August. epist. 10. say against Ierome to the contrary) and that forthwith, & almost in one moment, for it grew vp in an artificial day, that is, within XII. equinoctial houres, v. 10. so high & so ful of leaues, that it shadowed Ionas his whol booth, & did defend him from the heat of the sunne, the which was then most parching & burning: and finally with the leaues thereof it made him a coole shadow. Therefore the growing and maner of this gourd was extraordinarie: and for this cause God is saide to haue prepared it, that is to say, this tree sprang vp not by any natu∣rall meane, but supernaturally, or extraordinarily, God so ordai∣ning for the keeping of Ionas from griefe, that is, from that scor∣ching heat, the which Ionas tooke most grieuously at that time, & in that place. Wherin not onely the fact of God, but also the ende of the same is briefly touched, to wit, that we should know that he is carefull for the least discommoditie and griefe of those that are his, that he may helpe them. And thus much did God.

* 1.6But Ionas for his part on the otherside, is exceeding glad and ioyfull both for his coolth and that same suddaine shade giuen him by God against the burning of the sunne: and also especi∣ally for the tree or shrubbe it selfe that was sprung vp, for the height thereof, for the leaues, for the fairenesse, for the shade of it, because that all these thinges in this gourde were singular

aboue the maner of other gourds. So in euery kind of thing those points & parts do delice vs the which are singular and excelling a∣boue the vsual maner, because that in them there appeareth a cer∣taine singular & especiall fauour of God, & a work of his omnipo∣tencie, or almightie power. So this was in deede in Ionas a most ioyfull affection of his minde for the springing vp of the gourd, and the same most fauourable and louing towardes the gourd it selfe, a shrub of base account & of small continuance: yet without any cause, the which might grow of any especiall paines, la∣bour, or hope of his towards the gourd.

Notes

• * 1.1

  What ensued after Ionas his praier, & God his answer vn∣to the same.
• * 1.2

  Our affections in shew neuer so faire, are hatefull vnto God, vnlesse they he wholly subdued vnto his will.
• * 1.3

  The order of the Prophet in describing his anger.
• * 1.4

  1. What God prepared for Ionas.
• * 1.5

  2. What was his ioy for the same. Kikaion, There is great sturre about the translation of this word, but I haue rather followed those which doe eng∣lish it, a gourd.
• * 1.6

  Ionas his ioy.