"And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil." Jonah 4:2
"And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persoons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" Jonah 4:11
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
"For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Malachi 3:6
How can our way compare in size,
To that Great God who formed the deep,
Sometimes our ways don’t harmonize,
Gods ways are so immensely steep,
Let not a mortal God advise.
But be it so a man is frail,
And lands in trouble overhead,
That is unless God sends a whale,
And he returns from where he’s fled.
Gods mercy calls; His words don’t fail.
Yes, Ninevah deserved Gods frown,
Repent thy doom is very nigh.
To Ninevah a neighbor, crown
Was Jonah sent these words to cry,
And that they all would have to die.
This was the pass the prophet hears,
He did not know what heaven meant,
Destruction pended o’re the years,
On those vile heathen evil bent,
And now Gods mercy interferes.
He wanted mercy for the Jews,
But not for sinners such as they,
He chose to take a little cruise,
And journey off another way
But God would not his way excuse.
From Gods command you cannot flee,
But he will help you understand.
Though wrapped with sea weeds in the sea,
God has a way to have you land,
But you must go if you’r set free.
H. E. Crane