In the late winter of 1891, the whale-ship “Star of the East” was in the area of the Falkland Islands when it sighted a whale.  2 boats were sent out with harpoons to catch and kill the creature.  But the whale’s lashing tail overturned one of the boats spilling the crew into the sea.  All were finally hauled back on board ship except for one sailor, James Bartley.

The whale was eventually killed and its body drawn aboard the ship to begin the process of stripping its valuable resources.  By the next day good progress had been made in removing the layers of blubber, so a tackle was attached to its stomach to hoist it onto the deck.  The sailors were startled by what appeared to be signs of life inside the stomach lining.  Cutting the whale open the sailors found the missing James Bartley!

Bartley was quite insane for 2 weeks, but when he recovered his senses he told what he remembered of being dragged under the water.  Whilst struggling for his life he had been drawn into darkness and felt a terrible and oppressive heat.  Reaching out his hand he felt slimy walls that gave slightly to his touch, but he couldn’t find any exit.  When it finally dawned on him what most likely had happened he lost his senses and lapsed into a catatonic state.

During his time inside the whale Bartley’s face, neck, and hands were bleached deathly white by gastric juices and the texture of his skin was like parchment.  He never recovered from this effect.  Bartley believed that he would have likely lived inside the whale until he starved to death, as he did not find breathing a problem.
Great story!  But is it true?  Reports do suggest that this whole story is nothing more than an early urban legend.  But whether it’s true or not, we know that there has been at least one man in the world who has truly gone through such an amazing experience and lived.  And that man’s name was Jonah!

If you were not with us last week, we began a series that takes a look at the book of Jonah from the Old Testament.  Last week we began with chapter 1.  And at the end of Johan chapter one, in verse 17 it ended by saying, “But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.”

That is where we left off last week, and this week we pick back up with this story in the begging of chapter 2.  While you are turning to Jonah chapter 2, I will open our time with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

Well, here we are in the realm of the miraculous, an act of God that can’t be explained by natural laws.  Now, we mustn’t fall into the trap of thinking that the world goes on its own way and every now and then God breaks through and does something.  No, God keeps the whole universe in existence moment by moment, and He set the physical laws by which He governs the world.  Miracles are His suspension of those laws to bring about super-natural acts.

A W Tozer declared, “If God said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale, then the whale swallowed Jonah, and we do not need a scientist to measure the gullet of the whale.”
It was a miracle that the creature, be it a whale or whatever, was in exactly the right place and time; that it actually swallowed Jonah and that he survived rather than died.  But let’s move on from the creature!  The purpose of the book of Jonah is not to teach us about the whale, but it is to help us know the whale’s maker and our God.

What Does Jonah Chapter 2 focus on?  It’s a particular prayer that Jonah made.  I’m sure we can all talk of unusual places, in which we have called on God.  But I believe that Jonah’s was a first, and I suspect a last.  He was humbled in the belly of a sea-creature.  But the question for this week is: “What significant things do Jonah’s prayer teaches us?”  Well let’s go ahead and dive into this chapter and try and answer that question.

Jonah 2 tells us that, “1”

The First Thing That We See Is That, Sin Sinks The Soul.
Let me remind you why Jonah found himself where he did.  He had disobeyed God; refused His Will, and deliberately turned away.  Nineveh was a no-go area for him; Tarshish in Spain looked like a much better prospect.

But through his experience with the storm and the sailors, God brought Jonah to recognize his sin, and to admit without reservation his fault.  Now as the sailors reluctantly threw Jonah overboard, at his request, and he began to sink, he expected that God was finished with him and this was the end.

Verse 3 Jonah says, “You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas…”  Verse 4 he says, “I said, “I have been banished from your sight…””  And then in verse 6 Jonah says, “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me forever…”

You see there?  There was no argument on Jonah’s part; he didn’t protest.  He didn’t say, “Hey, I don’t deserve this!”  His was a simple, open and honest acceptance: “I am the guilty one.”  He agreed completely with what God was saying to him about his sinful ways.

This is a big part of what it means when you repent as a Christian.  Look at David’s words in Psalm 32.  He says, “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity…”  And then in Psalm 51 he says, “I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.”

Before you become a Christian you are constantly on the run spiritually, hiding from your sins; hiding in the darkness, trying to outrun God.  But when God saves you, you come out humbled into His light and want everything dealt with before Him.  It’s like a criminal charged with one crime, who pleads guilty, and then asks for a whole series of previous offences to be taken into account.  So the question today is, “Have you owned your sin and confessed it before God?”

Jonah was sunk, and he realized that he needed to come clean before God.  He humbled himself, and repented of his previous actions.  So sin sinks the soul.

Secondly, We See Hope In The Depths.

As we look at this amazing story, we see that Jonah didn’t drown.  He was swallowed by this sea-creature instead.  I’m not sure he actually knew what had happened and where he was until he was released.  All he probably knew was that he was in the depths, and somehow he was still alive.  So he was humbled, confused and terrified in a totally strange environment, but humbled.

Not only did Jonah recognize and confess his sins, but now hope was beginning to form too.  By rights, he should have been killed in this attempt to run away from God.  I mean he was thrown into a raging sea. He was swallowed by a big fish.  He should have been dead by this point.  But realize this, God was not done with Jonah just yet.  Instead of being dead, Jonah was thinking to himself: “What’s happening?  I should be dead, yet I’m not.  Is there hope for me yet; even for disobedient me?”

Jonah knew that if he was still alive it must be God, and that meant that God must be keeping him alive for a purpose.  Jonah saw God’s grace and mercy in the preservation of his life; God wasn’t finished with him yet.  So hope rose and filled Jonah’s heart.

Where did faith’s eyes look?  To God’s Holy Temple.  The temple in the Old Testament was the special place where God met with His people; sacrifice was made; forgiveness sought, and lives re-dedicated to God.  Gordon Keddie says, “The reference to the temple is the key to understanding what is going on in Jonah’s heart.  As he prays to the LORD…looking to the temple signified for Jonah what looking to Christ as Savior means for the New Testament believer today.”

This speaks to the believer who has gone astray.  The one who has started trying to run away from God in some way.  All he or she needs to do is look to Christ, to help get back on the right path.  This also speaks to the person who has never come to Jesus in the first place.  You are in the tomb of your sins, the darkness is all around you.  You feel as though you are completely lost.  But Jesus Christ will deliver you from that tomb if you look to Him and trust in His Name.

So even though Jonah was inside the belly of this whale, and in a bad situation, there was still some hope to be found as he looked to God.  So it is for us, when life gets us down, we need to find our hope by looking to Christ.

Next, We See The Lift Of Grace.

None of us have literally been swallowed by a whale; and I sincerely hope that never happens!  Yet in a spiritual sense it is the experience of everyone who becomes a Christian.  It’s a graphic illustration of conviction of sin, our own unworthiness, and inability to do anything to help ourselves.
Why does it have to happen this way?  Because it cuts us off from all ideas of self-help which we try and cling to.  It’s as if we are in a tomb with no possible way out.  Remember the story from the beginning of this sermon?  Do you remember James Bartley reaching out in the heat and darkness, feeling the enclosing slimy walls of the sea-creatures stomach?  Then the realization that there is no way out sinks in!  No wisdom, no strength, no ingenuity, no powers of our own can deliver us; we can’t talk our way out of this one.  The only think that will help is the grace of God.

Think of Jonah, what could he do?  If he didn’t find hope he would quickly have gone insane.  But Jonah did the one thing that God wanted him to do.  Jonah prayed.  He prayed to the God who was the LORD of heaven and earth; who made the land and the sea.  Look at verse 2, Jonah says, “When my life was ebbing away, I REMEMBERED YOU, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.”

And it is here where that wonderful word “BUT” comes into its own.  In some ways it is the greatest word in connection with salvation.  Verse 6 says, “To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever, BUT you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.”  It is only when we are at the end of ourselves that we will humbly look to God.  And it is the knowledge of God’s grace that enables us to say BUT!  I am like this, BUT God is like that!  Just like the gospel song says, “Love lifted me!  Love lifted me!  When no one but Christ could help, love lifted me…”

So Jonah found out about the lift of God’s grace.  Have you ever experienced the LIFT of God’s grace?  Though your sins have sunk you into the depths, God’s amazing grace has lifted you up to the skies!

Next, We See In This Chapter, Compassion Re-Born.

In his new found grasp of grace Jonah found a fresh grasp of the need of those who are still blind to that grace.  In verse 9 he says, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”  Was Jonah thinking of the Ninevites at this point?  He had became self-less instead of selfish in connection with the sailors; now he was coming to terms with the mission that God had called him to.

A city, a people, a nation without God may like the Assyrians be strong in battle; may be feared in the world; may consider themselves to be great achievers, but in trusting in idols and not the true God, they have a fatal weakness.

Let’s bring it back up to date.  What have idols got to do with us today?  The answer is, “Everything!”  You see, an idol is anything that we trust in that is not God.  It is anyting that we put before God.

Some years ago there was a controversy over an artist who portrayed the late Princess Diana as a Mary-like figure; as someone highly thought of, like Mary the mother of Jesus so often is in certain religious paintings.

It was suggested at the time that the painter was making a serious point: as religion is dead in so many people’s eyes our devotions have been transferred to the icons of our day.  Instead of our devotion going to God, it now goes to the pop stars, film stars, football players, and so on.  These people today are given an almost godlike status.  Diana was certainly in that category.

Now Jonah didn’t look down his nose at the Ninevites.  He didn’t consider himself better than those who didn’t know the true God.  He had experienced his own great need and knew he was in the same boat as them.  It was grace alone that had made the difference.

If God is not on the throne of your life you need to let go of your idols and come before God.  If you will come God will save; there’s no reluctance on God’s part.  He’s made it plain in Jesus that all are welcome.  Don’t forfeit the grace that He offers.

So Jonah’s compassion took over here and he began to think about the Ninivites that he had earlier refused to go and minister to.

And Finally From This Chapter, We See A Song Of Deliverance.
Jonah was overwhelmed by God’s grace.  He was still imprisoned inside the sea-creature, but in his soul he was as free as a bird.  But why?  It was because he learned the lessons God wanted him to take on board.  His faith was rejuvenated; he had come back from the dead, and life was beginning to blossom in his soul.

If you know God’s grace you are really humbled by it.  At the same time you are filled with joy.  You can’t help it.  That’s why Jonah says in verse 9, “I with a song of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you…”

Let’s never forget to express our thanks to God for all He is and all that He has done for us.  God loves to hear our worship and our praises to Him.  True praise involves not just vocal singing but true dedication too.  The next part of verse 9 says, “What I have vowed I will make good.”  In the belly of the sea-creature Jonah vowed to the Lord that he would serve Him.  If God saw fit to release him Jonah was determined to see those vows through.

When we are in times of trial and in the dark, we make promises to God.  How important it is to remember our vows when He delivers us, and to use our past weaknesses and the great mercy God shows us to encourage us to love and serve Him better.

But a big question mark can be raised here.  What if I fail again; what if I get it wrong and let God down?  I mean look at Jonah; don’t you know what happened later on in the story?  Now it’s true that Jonah’s failures didn’t stop after he had run away and was restored inside the sea-creature.  You’d think, “Surely he couldn’t get it wrong a second time?”  And the answer is: “O, yes he could.  And he did.”

But then we see also that God’s grace toward him didn’t stop either.  That’s the significance of those concluding words of Jonah’s prayer, “Salvation comes from the LORD.”
If salvation and service were in our hands we would have been finished long ago.  But as God’s grace persevered with Jonah, so He perseveres with us.  His grace is more powerful than any sin, and grace will overcome.  Romans 5:20 tells us that, “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more…”

But as we look at Jonah’s experience here, and his song of deliverance we realize something amazing about that.  When Jonah confessed that salvation was from the LORD, not in his own hands, not men, not angels, nor any created power, but totally in God’s hands - it was as if God said: “That’s right.  That is it Jonah.  Your have learned the lesson you needed to learn.  Now for the next stage of your journey.”  Jonah 2:10 leaves off by saying, “And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”

What an amazing story so far.  And there is still more to come.  Next week we will take a look at Jonah going to Nineveh, and then in a couple of weeks we will finish things off by looking at Jonah’s anger at the Lord’s compassion.  But for this week, I hope that you have learned a few things form Jonah’s prayer.  First, that sin sinks the soul.  Secondly, there is hope in the depths.  Thirdly, the lift of God’s amazing grace.  Fourthly, Jonah’s compassion being re-born.  And finally, Jonah’s song of deliverance.  As we close this morning, may we be able to take those messages with us into our lives.

Let’s Pray!