Jonah 2:2-3

Jonah 2:2-The Lord Answered Jonah’s Prayer For Deliverance From Death

We will continue with our study of Jonah chapter two by noting verse 2, which is a continuation of the third scene of the narrative that began in Jonah 1:17. In this passage the Lord appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah and for three days and three nights the prophet remains the stomach of this great fish. Beginning in Jonah 1:17, the verse numbers through 2:10 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS). Jonah 1:17 in the English Bible is 2:1 in the Hebrew Bible and 2:1 in the English Bible is 2:2 in the Hebrew text, etc. through 2:10 in the English text equals 2:11 in the Hebrew text. The Masoretic text (MT) of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint (LXX) and the Latin Vulgate all end chapter one with 1:16 so that chapter two begins with Yahweh’s appointment of the great fish and ends with Yahweh commanding the great fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land. Therefore, in the MT, the LXX and the Vulgate, chapter two is composed of eleven verses and the employment of the great fish by Yahweh both begins and ends the chapter. Contrary to the Hebrew text, English translations with the exception of the NET Bible consider Yahweh’s appointment of the great fish to conclude chapter one and begin chapter two with Jonah’s prayer so that chapter two has only ten verses since the MT/LXX/Vulgate correspond to the English 1:17-2:10. Commenting on the rational behind this, Lessing writes, “The reason for the English numbering probably is that Jonah 2:1 (ET 1:17) is written in narrative style, as is Jonah 1:1–16, whereas Jonah’s prayer (2:3–10 [ET 2:2–9]), excluding the first introductory Hebrew word in 2:3 (ET 2:2), is written in Hebrew poetry. The English numbering may suggest that Yahweh’s appointment of a great fish to swallow Jonah (2:1 [ET 1:17]) is God’s response to the sailors’ prayers, sacrifices, and vows (1:14–16). In contrast, the numbering of the ancient versions (MT, LXX, Vulgate) suggests that Yahweh appoints the great fish purely out of his own grace. Yahweh saves his rebellious prophet to display his gracious and merciful character (see 4:2) and to enable Jonah to carry out his call to preach to Nineveh (1:1–2), which will save the Ninevites too. The versification in the ancient versions also better reflects the basic structural pattern in both Jonah 1:1–3 and 1:4–16; in both of those scenes Yahweh himself initiates the action, and then the major protagonists of the narrative respond. In chapter 2, then, Yahweh appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah (2:1 [ET1:17]), Jonah responds with his prayer of faith (2:2– 10 [ET 2:1–9]), and then Yahweh again acts graciously when he speaks to the fish that vomits Jonah onto dry land (2:11 [ET 2:10]).” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; pages 173-174)

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Jonah 1:17-2:10 has a chiastic structure of 1:17-2:10.

1:17 A-Yahweh appoints a great fish to swallow Jonah 2:1-3 B-Jonah’s prayer for deliverance 2:4 C-Jonah’s confidence that he will look towards His holy temple 2:5-6a D-Jonah’s descent to the foundation of the mountains 2:6b D-Jonah’s ascent from the pit 2:7 C-Yahweh answers Jonah’s prayer from His holy temple 2:8-9 B-Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving 2:10 A-Yahweh commands the great fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land

Jonah 1:17, “Now, the Lord commissioned an enormous fish in order to swallow Jonah. Consequently, Jonah lived in the stomach of this fish three days and three nights.” (My translation) This passage marks a transition in the narrative from the second scene which ends with the crew of the ship worshipping the Lord to the third scene, which begins with a statement stating that the Lord commissioned a large fish to swallow Jonah in order to deliver him from drowning. This verse is composed of a declarative statement that is followed by a result clause, which records that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the stomach of this enormous fish. Jonah 1:17 records the fifth stage of Jonah’s spiritual descent away from God. In verse 3, Jonah “went down” to Joppa and “went down” into the ship. Verse 5 says that he “went down” into the inner most recesses of the merchant bound for Tarshish. Then, in verse 15, the crew threw him into the sea. Now, in verse 17, he goes down into the stomach of this great fish. Jonah 2:6 presents the sixth stage in that he gets to the point of death by drowning and Jonah 2:2 presents the seventh and final stage when he finally cries out to the Lord to deliver him from death. Jonah realizes that he has been delivered by the Lord from drowning after being swallowed by this great fish and that this great fish was not sent to execute Jonah. Therefore, this great fish was an instrument of God’s grace and mercy for Jonah. Though he was guilty of insubordination, he was not executed by the Lord but instead was delivered from death. Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross. It is God treating us in a manner that we don’t deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God. Jesus Christ confirms the historicity of Jonah spending three days and nights in the stomach of this great fish. This historical event of Jonah spending three days and three nights in the stomach of a huge fish is a prophecy of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The Gospels record the Lord Jesus Christ making mention of the

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2 prophet Jonah in the stomach of this great fish (Matthew 12:29-41; 16:4; Luke 11:28-32). Then, in Jonah 2:1, the disobedient prophet prays to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish. Jonah 2:1, “Then, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of this fish.” (My translation) Jonah 1:17-2:10 contains a poem and as Stuart correctly points out “the passage is a narrative within which is sandwiched a poem. The prose contexts of verses 1:17-2:1 and 2:10 constitute a sort of inclusion within which the psalm prayed by Jonah is set as a central component.” (Word Biblical Commentary, volume 31: Hosea-Jonah; page 470) The incorporation of poetry into prose narratives is common in Biblical Hebrew. The books contained in the Pentateuch, the former prophets and 1 and 2 Chronicles are all narrative books which contain the occasional use of poetry. Therefore, the occasional use of poems in prose contexts is not unusual in Hebrew Old Testament narratives but normal. The failure to understand this fact has caused some liberal scholars to remove this psalm from the book of Jonah. Stuart also points out that “one can find at least some part of virtually any document, ancient or modern, that is not actually required for the sensible flow of logic, and which would not therefore be ‘missed’ in the strict sense if it were not present.… Very few literary works contain the minimum that may be said.… The potential for abridgment is therefore a common feature of literary works” and should not be considered evidence of interpolation. (Ibid., 470-471) He also argues that while the psalm does not refer explicitly to Jonah’s situation, this is typical of psalms, especially of thanksgiving, and Jonah’s psalm “is as closely related thematically to the rest of the book as a psalm of its type could be.” (Ibid., 471) Finally, Stuart argues that if the psalm were absent, the book would have no expression of (1) Jonah’s partial change of heart that led to his obedience in chap. 3, (2) Jonah’s thankfulness for rescue that “explicitly conveys his realization that to him personally Yahweh has shown the sort of mercy he will also show to Nineveh,” and (3) the nature of Jonah’s experience in the fish, that he was thinking and learning there. Also without the psalm the message of the Lord’s mercy, love, and forgiveness would be weakened. (Ibid., 472-473) If we remove the prayer in Jonah 2:1-10, you remove the book’s major irony, namely, Jonah could accept thankfully the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness but deny it to the Ninevites. Lastly, this prayer resembles other passages of Old Testament Scripture. The opening words of the prayer resemble Psalm 18:6; 118:5; 120:1 and is no reason to doubt the authenticity of Jonah’s prayer. It is in fact a great example of Hebrew psalm-poetry. Jonah drew upon the regular liturgical language common in the book of Psalm and other poems in the Old Testament to fit his situation.

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Jonah 2:1 refers to Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving to the Father from the stomach of the great fish for the Father delivering him from death by drowning. It is not a prayer of deliverance as indicated by the content of the prayer in verses 2- 9. It was written down after being vomited by the fish onto dry land. It marks the turning point of the narrative. While in the stomach of this great fish, he realized that the Lord had saved him from drowning by using this great fish and then offered up this prayer of thanksgiving while still in the stomach of this great fish. So in Jonah 2:2-9, the prophet is reflecting back upon his near death experience in the Mediterranean Sea and how the Lord delivered him from certain death. In Jonah 2:2, we read of Jonah reflecting back on his deliverance from drowning and acknowledging that the Lord his God answered his prayer for deliverance from death. Jonah 2:1, “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. 3 ‘For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me. 4 So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, but You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. 8 Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, 9 but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.’ 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.” (NASU) Let’s look at verse 2. Jonah 2:2, “And he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.’” (NASU) This verse serves as an introduction to the psalm of thanksgiving. The NET Bible writes, “Tg. Jonah 2:2 renders this interpretively: ‘and he heard my prayer.’ sn The first verse of the prayer summarizes the whole – ‘I was in trouble; I called to the Lord for help; he rescued me; I will give him thanks’ – before elaborating on the nature and extent of the trouble (vv. 3–7a), mentioning the cry for help and the subsequent rescue (6b–7), and promising to give thanks (8– 9). These elements, as well as much vocabulary and imagery found in Jonah’s prayer, appear also in other Hebrew psalms. With Jonah 2:1 compare, for example, Pss 18:6; 22:24; 81:7; 116:1–4; 120:1; 130:1–2; Lam 3:55–56. These references

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4 and others indicate that Jonah was familiar with prayers used in worship at the temple in Jerusalem; he knew ‘all the right words.’ Consider also Ps 107 with Jonah as a whole.” Jonah 2:2-9 is poetry and as we noted the incorporation of poetry into prose narratives is common in Biblical Hebrew. That this pericope is a psalm or poetry is supported by the fact that the direct object marker , the relative pronoun , and the definite article do not appear in the passage. These words occur infrequently in poetic texts. Sasson writes, “Andersen and Forbes 1983; Freedman 1985. Their statistics suggest that poets relied less on these particles than did prose writers.” (Sasson, Jack M., Jonah; The Anchor Yale Bible, volume 24b; The Anchor Yale Bible; page 162; Yale University Press; New Haven and London) Lessing writes, “Of the 81 words in Jonah’s psalm (2:3–10 [ET2:2–9]), only 3 are prose particles (3.7%), well within the normal range for poetry. Of the 608 words in the rest of the narrative (1:1–2:2 [ET1:1–17] and 2:11–4:11 [ET 2:10– 4:11]), there are 93 such particles, or 15.3%, well within the normal range for prose. These linguistic differences confirm that Jonah consists of a narrative framework (1:1–2:2 [ET1:1–17] and 2:11–4:11 [ET2:10–4:11]) with a poetic interlude (2:3–10 [ET2:2–9]).” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; Page 191) Jonah 2:2-9 includes the use of imagery, parallelism, paronomasia and meter indicating that this pericope is a poem. In fact as Lessing points out “The cadence of Jonah’s psalm resembles the qinah meter.” (Ibid., pages 191-192) Another piece of evidence that suggests that Jonah 2:2-9 is poetry is a timeless quality of verbal aspect (Ibid., 192). Sasson writes: “In prayers, appeals, and vows, the speaker is not normally concerned with a meticulous and accurate rehearsal of past deeds. In fact, in such poetry the language tends to be hyperbolic and metaphoric because the poet is striving for a sharp contrast between the condition of a sinner who is sinking to sordid depths and that of a penitent who is achieving extraordinary triumphs. There is an abiding and timeless quality to these statements that can be compromised by a servile attachment to the verbal forms of the Hebrew. Consequently, I commonly use the English general present to translate Jonah’s psalm where the Hebrew has the perfect, but also imperfect, tense forms. This decision in no way contravenes Hebrew grammar, for grammarians commonly recognize that in Hebrew poetry (and in legal expression) the perfect tense often conveys information without significant attachment to time as long as the poet is establishing a solid context or point of view. Thus, prophets and poets may use the perfect when in fact they are alluding to an event that either is taking place as they speak or is meant to occur in the future.” (Ibid., 163)

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So it would be in error to cite the perfect verbs to sustain the argument that Jonah composed his psalm only after he was vomited by the fish since Jonah’s poem was composed while in the great fish. The NET Bible, “The eight verses of Jonah’s prayer in Hebrew contain twenty- seven first-person pronominal references to himself. There are fifteen second- or third-person references to the Lord.” Lessing writes, “Jonah 2:3–10 (ET2:2–9) is far more than an elaborate patchwork of quotations, motifs, and segments drawn from widely divergent areas of the Psalter and representative of the repertoire of biblical poets. Like other examples of biblical poetry, Jonah’s poem reveals a sequence of need, prayer, salvation, and praise: (1) He speaks of trouble and distress in terms of encircling, raging water. (2) He calls to Yahweh out of such distress and is rescued. (3) He understands his rescue as nothing less than a return from Sheol. (4) He acknowledges that the only proper response after such an ordeal is fervent gratitude and renewed piety. Far from being a careless collection of quotations from other psalms, Jonah’s psalm is consciously and artistically arranged as a chiasm, with a worshipful conclusion: A Invocation and answer (2:3 [ET2:2]) B Yahweh acts to allow suffering (2:4a [ET2:3a]) C Description of the psalmist’s distress (2:4b–7b [ET2:3b–6b]) B Yahweh acts to save the psalmist (2:7c [ET2:6c]) A Invocation and answer (2:8 [ET2:7]) Conclusion: Declaration of faith and worship (2:9–10 [ET 2:8–9])” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; page 211) Jonah 2:2, “And he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.’” (NASU) This verse contains the first line in Jonah’s thanksgiving psalm and is a summary of the prophet’s answered prayer or in other words, it presents the reason for his thanksgiving. So this verse contains the introduction to the psalm, which is comprised of two couplets. Between them there is synonymous parallelism indicating identical things, namely, Jonah prayed to the Lord for help in delivering him from drowning and was delivered. It displays the qinah meter. “ And ” is the epexegetical use of the conjunction waw ( ) (wa), which is prefixed to the qal imperfect form of the verb ʾā·mǎr, “ said ” to form a clause that explains the previous clause identifying for the reader specifically the content of Jonah’s thanksgiving prayer to the Lord for delivering him from death. Jonah 2:1 is general but verses 2-9 present in detail the content of Jonah’s prayer from the stomach of the great fish. Therefore, we will translate the word “ specifically .”

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“Said ” is the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form of the verb ʾā·mǎr ( ) (aw-mar), which means “to said” since verse 1 says that Jonah prayed from the stomach of the huge fish and verses 2-9 present the content of that prayer, which reveals that it was a prayer of thanksgiving. The qal stem of the verb is fientive expressing an action on the part of Jonah while in the stomach of the great fish. The active indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of offering to the Lord a prayer of thanksgiving for delivering him from drowning. The imperfect tense speaks of this action of Jonah while in the stomach of the great fish as taking place in past time from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction waw to form an epexegetical clause. Therefore, we will translate the verb “ he prayed .” “I called out of my distress to the Lord ” is composed of the first person singular qal active perfect form of the verb qā·rā(ʾ) ( ) (kaw-raw), “ I called out ” and the preposition min ( ) (meen), “ of ” and the feminine singular form of the noun ṣā·rā(h) ( ) (tsaw-raw), “ distress ” and the preposition le ( ) and the first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî ( ), “ my ” and the preposition ʾě l ( ) (al), “ to ” and the masculine singular form of the proper noun Yahweh ( ) (yeh- ho-vaw), “ the Lord .” The verb qā·rā(ʾ) appears 8 times in the book of Jonah. In Jonah 1:2, the verb is employed with preposition al in a negative sense of making a proclamation against the great city of Nineveh and its inhabitants. Jonah 1:1-2, “Now, a message from the Lord was communicated to Jonah, the son of Amittai, 2 ‘You must go immediately to Nineveh, that great city and then announce judgment against it because their wickedness has come to my attention.’” In Jonah 1:6, the verb qā·rā(ʾ) means “to cry out urgently for help” and is used by the captain who commands Jonah to draw his god’s attention with a loud voice in order to establish contact with this god so as to save the lives of everyone on the ship. Jonah 1:6, “Next, the captain of the crew advanced toward him and then he posed a question to him, ‘what are you doing sound asleep? Get up! Cry out for help to your god! Perhaps, your god will desire to act favorably for the benefit of himself and all of us so that we will by no means die.’” In Jonah 1:14, the verb qā·rā(ʾ) means “to cry out urgently for help” and is a reference to prayer as an expression of the crew’s of faith in Jonah’s God, Yahweh indicating that they have become believers in the Lord and are saved. Jonah 1:14: “Consequently, they cried out to the Lord for help , specifically, they prayed, ‘We beg You please O Lord do not let us die on account of this man’s life. Also, do not hold us accountable for the murder of an innocent person because You alone Lord do just as You desire.’”

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In Jonah 2:2, the verb is used with Jonah as its subject and Yahweh as its object and again means “to call out” indicating that while drowning Jonah called out to the Lord to deliver him from death. The fientive qal stem of the verb qā·rā(ʾ) expresses an action on the part of Jonah. The active voice indicates that Jonah as the subject performs the action of the verb. The perfect tense is an instantaneous perfective representing a situation at the very instant the expression is being uttered. This use appears chiefly with verbs of speaking. We will use the English present when translating the perfect forms of the verb in this psalm since in Hebrew poetry the poet may use the perfect when in fact he is alluding to an event that either is taking place as he speaks or is meant to occur in the future. In our context, the poet in Jonah 2:2 is alluding to an event that is taking place as he spoke. Therefore, we will translate the verb “ I call out .” The proper noun Yahweh , “Lord ” is the covenant-keeping personal name of God used in connection with man’s salvation emphasizing that Jonah possessed a covenant relationship with God and implies that He had delivered him from drowning. It also reminds the reader of the “immanency” of God meaning that He involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the affairs of men. Thus, it reminds the reader that Jonah prayed for the Lord to intervene in his life and save him from drowning. The member of the Trinity being referred to here is the Father since all prayer is to be directed towards Him. The term Yahweh is the object of the preposition ʾě l, which functions as a marker of direction indicating that Jonah cried out in the direction of Yahweh for help. We will translate this prepositional phrase “ to the Lord .” The noun ṣā·rā(h) means distress, calamity, anguish, i.e. a state of very unfavorable circumstance, with a focus on the emotional pain and distress of the situation.” (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament)) In Jonah 2:2, the noun refers to the distress in the form of emotional pain and distress that Jonah experienced while drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the object of the preposition min , which is a marker of reason indicating the reason why Jonah cried out to the Lord for help. The first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî , “ my ” denotes possession. We will translate this prepositional phrase “ because of my distress .” Therefore, we will translate the expression qā·r ā(ʾ)· ṯî mi l î ṣā·r ā(h) ʾě l yhwh ( ), “ I call out to the Lord because of my distress .” Jonah’s cry for help to the Lord was an expression of his faith in the Lord. Specifically, Jonah’s prayer for help while in the stomach of the great fish was an expression of his faith in the Word of God and in particular the Psalms. David

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8 wrote in the tenth century B.C. whereas Jonah lived in the eighth century B.C. thus Jonah’s prayer echoes the Word of God and in particular the Psalms of David. Psalm 18:7, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried out to my God. From his heavenly temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help.” (NET Bible) Psalm 30:2, “O Lord my God, I cried out to you and you healed me.” (NET Bible) Psalm 120, “A song of ascents. 1 In my distress I cried out to the Lord and he answered me.” (NET Bible) As we noted Jonah’s prayer was an expression of his faith in the Word of God. Hebrews 11:1-3 gives a definition of faith and also a description of the nature of faith or in other words, what faith does and how it works. Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” The object of the Christian’s faith at the moment of salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ and the object of his faith after salvation is the written Word of God. Faith for the Christian is trusting in the authority of the Word of God in order to govern one’s life. Faith is obedience to God’s commands and is the positive response to God’s commands and acting upon those directions. The Bible never separates faith from obedience. Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Unbelief on the other hand is disobedient and is the negative response to God’s commands and as a result the failure to act upon God’s commands. Hebrews 3:12, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” After salvation the believer is to walk by means of faith in the Word of God. 2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.” Romans 1:16-17, “For I am never ashamed of the gospel for it is as an eternal spiritual truth God’s power resulting in deliverance for the benefit of everyone who as an eternal spiritual truth believe, to the Jew first and then to the Greek. For by means of it, the righteousness originating from God is as an eternal spiritual truth revealed from faith to faith. Just as it stands written for all of eternity, ‘But the righteous shall choose for himself to live by means of faith.’” Galatians 3:11, “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’”

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Hebrews 10:37-38, “FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM.” Just as the Christian received the Lord Jesus as his Savior by exercising faith in Him for eternal salvation, so after salvation he is to live by the same principle of faith (Compare Ephesians 2:8-9 with Colossians 2:5-7). Colossians 2:5-7, “For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” The principle of faith operates quite simply: (1) God speaks and we hear His Word. (2) We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best. Faith is the positive response and obedience to God’s commands and prohibitions and acting upon those directions whereas unbelief on the other hand is disobedient and is the negative response to God’s commands and as a result the failure to act upon God’s commands. A Christian’s faith is based upon trusting in the authority of the Scriptures in order to govern his life and is a non-meritorious system of perception. The object of the Christian’s faith at the moment of salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ and the object of his faith after salvation is the written Word of God. In order for the Christian to please God and gain His approval he must trust in the authority of the Scriptures to govern his life (See Hebrews 11:6). Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Fellowship with God is based upon a moment-by-moment walk of faith in the Lord. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the {life} which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Faith in the Word of God is the way to victory over the enemy, Satan. 1 John 5:4, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith.”

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In fact, the believer is commanded to take up for himself the shield of faith. Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to everything, I solemnly charge all of you to take up for yourselves your shield, which is your faith because that will enable all of you to extinguish all the flaming arrows originating from the evil one .” The believer acquires faith through hearing the communication of the Word of Christ. Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Answered prayer requires faith and is thus an expression of confidence in God’s ability to meet one’s need (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9; Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48; Matt. 9:29; 17:20; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:29; Matt. 21:22; Mark 11:24; 1 John 3:21-22; James 1:5-8; 5:15). True faith regards what has been requested as one’s own possession even though the request has not been received. Faith is an attitude toward God, in which the believer considers God to be faithful who will perform all that which He is promised in His Word. This attitude is illustrated in Philippians 1:6. Philippians 1:6, “ I am confident of this very same thing, namely that, the One (God the Holy Spirit) who began in all of you a good work that is divine in character, will completely finish it up to the day of Christ who is Jesus. ” The great Old Testament saints were men and women who lived by this principle of faith. Hebrews 11:1-3 gives a definition of faith and also a description of the nature of faith or in other words, what faith does and how it works. Hebrews 11 lists many individuals who express faith in God by being obedient to His Word, thus God bears witness to them in His Word…what an honor. They honored God by trusting in His promises, thus God honors them. These individuals are summarized in Hebrews 12:1 as the “ so great a cloud of witnesses .” Hebrews 11:4-40 is devoted to a summary of the lives and labors of great men and women of faith who lived in Old Testament dispensations, Abraham being one of them and his wife Sarah as well. In each instance, you will find the same elements of faith: (1) God spoke to them through His Word. (2) They responded to His Word and obeyed God. (3) God bore witness about them. Hebrews 11:1-12:3, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 11 was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place, which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city, which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE. All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, ‘IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.’ He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12 he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace. And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” The Lord will test the believer’s faith after salvation in order to produce endurance in them. James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The Lord rewards the believer after his faith has been tested. James 1:12, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

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This principle is illustrated in the life of Abraham who is called the father of the believer’s faith. Abraham was a man of faith. He was saved by faith and he walked with God by means of faith in Him. Romans 4, “Therefore, what is the conclusion that we are forced to with respect to Abraham’s experience, our forefather with respect to genealogical descent? For instance, if-and let us assume that it’s true for the sake of argument that Abraham was justified by means of meritorious actions, then, he does possess a reason for boasting but never in the judgment of God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham had absolute confidence in (the Son of) God. Consequently, for his benefit, it was credited and regarded as righteousness.” But for the benefit of the one who does work hard, his compensation is never considered at any time as a gift but rather, what is due. On the other hand, for the benefit of the one who does not work hard but does exercise absolute confidence in the One who, as an eternal spiritual truth, justifies the ungodly, his faith is, as an eternal spiritual truth, credited and regarded as righteousness. In fact, in the same way, David also describes the blessing that produces divine happiness in the person for the benefit of whom God (the Father) as an eternal spiritual truth credits (divine) righteousness independently of meritorious actions: “Spiritual benefits belong to those whose crimes have been fully pardoned and whose failures to measure up have been covered. A spiritually prosperous man, whose personal sin the Lord, as an eternal spiritual truth, absolutely never ever takes into account. Then , is, as an eternal spiritual truth, this blessing that produces a happiness that is divine in quality upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised ? For we contend, “Faith was credited and regarded as righteousness for the benefit of Abraham.” In what condition then, was it credited, at the point of time when he was circumcised, or when uncircumcised? By no means, when circumcised but rather, when uncircumcised. In fact, he had undergone the distinguishing mark, namely, circumcision as confirmation of the righteousness, that is by means of faith, which he had when uncircumcised in order that he himself might, as an eternal spiritual truth, be the spiritual father over each and every person who does believe while uncircumcised so that righteousness might be credited to them for their benefit. In addition that he himself might, as an eternal spiritual truth, be the father over the circumcision, not only with reference to those from the circumcision, absolutely not. But also, with reference to those who do imitate the example produced by our father Abraham’s faith, which he exercised when uncircumcised. For the promise to Abraham or to his Descendant that he himself, as an eternal spiritual truth, would inherit the earth was, as an eternal spiritual truth, never by means of obedience to the

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(Mosaic) Law but rather by means of the righteousness produced by faith. For, if-and let us assume that it’s true for the sake of argument, those who by means of obedience to the (Mosaic) Law are, as an eternal spiritual truth, heirs, then faith is useless and in addition, the promise is meaningless. For, the Law, as an eternal spiritual truth, produces righteous indignation but where there is, at any time, the total absence of the Law, neither, is there, as an eternal spiritual truth, violation. On account of the following, it (the promise of inheriting the world) is, as an eternal spiritual truth by means of faith as a source in order that it might be fulfilled in accordance with grace with the result that the promise is, as an eternal spiritual truth, guaranteed to each and every one of the descendants. Not only for the benefit of those descended from the jurisdiction of the Law, absolutely not but also for the benefit of those descended from Abraham’s faith who is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the spiritual father of each and every one of us . (Just as it stands written for all of eternity, “I have appointed you to be the spiritual father of many nations.”) He is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the spiritual father of each and every one of us in the determination of God whom ( God ) he ( Abraham ) had absolute confidence in, the One who, as an eternal spiritual truth, gives life to the dead ones and in addition, as an eternal spiritual truth, commands the non-existent to exist who had absolute confidence upon the object of confident expectation contrary to human expectation with the result that he himself became the father over many nations according to that which is solemnly declared, “in this way, your descendants will be.” In fact, without becoming weak with respect to his faith, after careful consideration and observation he was thoroughly aware of his own physical body as now being sexually impotent while already being approximately a hundred years of age as well as the impotence of Sarah’s womb. Yet, with respect to the promise from (the Son of) God, he never permitted himself to doubt by means of unbelief but rather he permitted himself to be empowered by means of his faith while simultaneously giving glory to (the Son of) God. Also, he was being fully assured that what He had promised to do in the future, He is also, as an eternal spiritual truth, able to fulfill. Therefore, for this very reason, “for his benefit it was credited and regarded as righteousness. Now, by no means was it written on behalf of him alone that it was credited for his benefit but also for our sake. For whose benefit, it is without a doubt, as an eternal spiritual truth, credited when we do exercise absolute confidence upon the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead ones who has been delivered over to death because of our transgressions and in addition was raised because of our justification.”

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There were seven great crises in the life of Abraham, which tested his love for the Lord, his faith in the Lord and his obedience to the Lord: (1) God commanded Abraham to leave behind his parents as recorded in Genesis 12:1 and Hebrews 11:8. (2) God commanded Abraham to live among the Canaanites as an alien (see Genesis 12:1-8; Hebrews 11:9-10). (3) Abraham’s faith was tested in that he had to choose between living in the land of Canaan, trusting that the Lord would take care of him even though there was a famine in the land or leave the land of Canaan and go to Egypt. (4) Abraham had to separate from his nephew Lot as recorded in Genesis 13:5-18. (5) God commanded Abraham to send away Ishmael whom he loved dearly as recorded in Genesis 17:18-21 and 21:12-14. (6) Abraham’s faith was tested in that he had to wait twenty-five years for the birth of Isaac and had to trust that God could deliver on this promise even though he and Sarah were biologically unable to have children together because of their advanced age (see Romans 4:18-22). Jonah cry for help in Jonah 2:2 echoes Exodus 15:5-10, Psalm 88, 107:25-32 and 130:1-2 since they possess similar language. Exodus 15:1, “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is his name. 4 The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea, and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them, they went down to the bottom like a stone. 6 Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power, your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. 7 In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You sent forth your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 10 But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.” (NET Bible) Psalm 88, “A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; a well-written song by Heman the Ezrachite. 1 O Lord God who delivers me! By day I cry out and at night I pray before you. 2 Listen to my prayer! Pay attention to my cry for help! 3 For my life is filled with troubles and I am ready to enter Sheol. 4 They treat me like those who descend into the grave. I am like a helpless man, 5 adrift among the dead, like corpses lying in the grave, whom you remember

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 16 no more, and who are cut off from your power. 6 You place me in the lowest regions of the pit, in the dark places, in the watery depths. 7 Your anger bears down on me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah) 8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance; you make me an appalling sight to them. I am trapped and cannot get free. 9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression. I call out to you, O Lord, all day long; I spread out my hands in prayer to you. 10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead? Do the departed spirits rise up and give you thanks? (Selah) 11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave, or your faithfulness in the place of the dead? 12 Are your amazing deeds experienced in the dark region, or your deliverance in the land of oblivion? 13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord; in the morning my prayer confronts you. 14 O Lord, why do you reject me, and pay no attention to me? 15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth. I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain. 16 Your anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me. 17 They surround me like water all day long; they join forces and encircle me. 18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance; those who know me leave me alone in the darkness.” (NET Bible) Psalm 107:25, “He gave the order for a windstorm, and it stirred up the waves of the sea. 26 They reached up to the sky, then dropped into the depths. The sailors’ strength left them because the danger was so great. 27 They swayed and staggered like a drunk, and all their skill proved ineffective. 28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress; he delivered them from their troubles. 29 He calmed the storm, and the waves grew silent. 30 The sailors rejoiced because the waves grew quiet, and he led them to the harbor they desired. 31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for people! 32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people! Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside!” (NET Bible) Psalm 130, “A song of ascents. 1 From the deep water I cry out to you, O Lord. 2 O Lord, listen to me! Pay attention to my plea for mercy!” (NET Bible) Lessing writes, “The OT saints composing lament psalms typically position themselves in the depths, in pitch darkness, deep down in Sheol or destruction/the pit (e.g., Psalms 88; 130:1–2; Lam 3:55). Normally in these texts, terms like ‘sea,’ ‘river,’ ‘breakers,’ and ‘waves’ are used in a spiritual, metaphorical sense (e.g., Pss 42:8 [ET42:7]; 69:2 [ET69:1]; 88:8 [ET88:7]). In Jonah’s psalm, however, this language is both spiritual and literal (see Ex 15:5–10 and Ps 107:25– 32 for similar language used both literally and spiritually). In Jonah, the metaphors

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 17 have flesh: ‘the belly of Sheol’ (2:3 [ET2:2]) comes with matching blubber and fins!” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; page 209) Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 2:2: “Specifically, he prayed, ‘I call out to the Lord because of my distress…’” Jonah 2:2, “And he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.’” (NASU) “And ” is the conjunction waw ( ) (wa), which is prefixed to the qal imperfect form of the verb ʿā·nā(h) , “He answered ” as a marker of result indicating that “as a result of” Jonah crying out to the Lord for help in delivering him from drowning to death, the Lord in fact answered the disobedient prophet. Therefore, we will translate the word “ and as a result .” “He answered me ” is composed of the third person masculine singular qal active imperfect form of the verb ʿā·nā(h) ( ) (aw-naw), “ He answered ” and the first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî ( ), “ my .” The verb ʿā·nā(h) means “to answered” and is used with Yahweh as its subject and Jonah’s prayer for deliverance as its subject indicating that the Lord answered or responded the prophet’s cry for help. The Lord answered him because the prayer for deliverance was offered up by the prophet in faith. It was also answered because it was the will of God to save Jonah. Answered prayer requires faith and is thus an expression of confidence in God’s ability to meet one’s need (Matt. 8:10; Luke 7:9; Matt. 9:22; Mark 5:34; Luke 8:48; Matt. 9:29; 17:20; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:29; Matt. 21:22; Mark 11:24; 1 John 3:21-22; James 1:5-8; 5:15). Matthew 21:22, “And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.’” James 5:16b, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” A productive prayer life is based upon praying according to the will of the Father. Prayer is asking for what the Father wants and not what we want. 1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know without a doubt that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know without a doubt that we have the requests, which we have asked from Him.”

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The will of God, in common usage, refers to what God desires of an individual or group in a particular situation. Answered prayer is based upon cognizance of the will of God (1 John 5:14); unanswered prayer is a result of ignorance or disobedience to the will of God. God—in eternity past—decreed that angels and human beings would have volition and be allowed to make decisions contrary to His sovereign will and justice. The divine decrees are the eternal plans by which God renders certain all the events of the universe, including both angelic and human history—past, present, and future. The decree of God is the chosen and adopted plan of all God’s works. It is His eternal purpose, according to His will; whereby, for His own glory, He foreordains whatever comes to pass. It is the sovereign choice of His divine will and His omniscience, by which all things are brought into being and controlled, made subject to His pleasure, and made to produce His glorification. Thus, the divine decrees originated with God, long before any creature of any kind existed, and are objectively designed for His own glory and pleasure. Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.” If the will of God for our lives is to become like Christ, and it is, then our prayers should be directed toward this specific objective as well. This is illustrated by the prayers of the apostle Paul recorded in his epistles. Ephesians 1:15-17, “For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” “Knowledge ” is the noun epignosis and, in the context of Ephesians 1:17, refers to an “experiential knowledge” of the Lord Jesus Christ. To experience means, “to personally encounter, observe, or undergo something through a process.” Thus, Paul prayed that the Ephesian believers personally encounter the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit reveals Him in the pages of Scripture, through the process of experiential sanctification and fellowship with God. To experience also means, “to have knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone.” Thus, Paul’s prayer also requested that the Ephesian believers acquire knowledge or practical wisdom from observing and encountering the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit reveals Him in the Word of God.

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Experience implies being affected by what or whom one meets. Therefore, Paul prayed that the Ephesians be affected by the Holy Spirit’s revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the pages of Scripture. Being affected by the Holy Spirit should have motivated the Ephesians to conform to the image of Christ, and thus fulfill the Father’s will for their lives. We fulfill the Father’s will by attaining Christ-likeness experientially. This occurs when we are affected by the Spirit’s revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Word of God, and it changes our lives by shaping our character to the image of Christ. Ephesians 1:18-21, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Ephesians 3:14-19, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” The apostle Paul further prayed that the believers in Colosse be filled with the epignosis knowledge of God’s will for their lives, which again is to become like Christ. His prayer is recorded in the book of Colossians. Colossians 1:9-12, “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” “Knowledge ” is the noun epignosis and, in the context of Colossians 1:9, refers to an “experiential knowledge” of the Father’s will. Paul prayed that the Colossians personally encounter the will of the Father, as the Holy Spirit—through the process of experiential sanctification—reveals it in the pages of Scripture. He prayed that

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 20 the Colossians gain knowledge or practical wisdom from observing and encountering the will of the Father. To become like the Lord, we must deny ourselves of our worldly wants and, instead, desire what God wants. True prayer is not asking God for what we want, but for what He wills. This attitude is illustrated in our Lord’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Father’s will was for the Lord Jesus Christ to voluntarily die and be judged for the sins of the entire world. This meant that our Lord’s human nature would lose fellowship with the Father during those last three hours on the cross. This loss of fellowship, although temporary, was abhorrent to our Lord because it separated Him from His Father. Yet, our Lord obediently and voluntarily executed His Father’s will. John 4:34, “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.’” Matthew 10:37-39, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” The answer to our Lord’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was not what His human nature craved; nevertheless, through prayers and tears, He chose His Father’s will, and it proved to be good, pleasing, and perfect. Luke 22:41, “He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’” The will of God manifested itself to the humanity of Christ while He intensely prayed in the garden. Discovering the Father’s will, through prayer, is not always easy; in fact, the truth is often difficult to bear. Christ’s experience in the Garden of Gethsemane teaches us that prayer is not necessarily ignored when it is not answered exactly as we would wish. Hebrews 5:7 records that our Lord’s prayers, indeed, were answered. Hebrews 5:7, “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.” In our own experiences, often times it is only through tears and heartbreak that we reach a place where we can declare with all our hearts, “ Yet, not as I will, but as You will ” (Mat 26:39). God the Father wants to conform us into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we might adopt our Lord’s attitude towards implementing the Father’s will— no matter how uncomfortable that may be for us. Hebrews 10:5-7, “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY

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YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’” The great purpose of redemption is to allow us the freedom to accomplish the will of God, and not to be in bondage to the power of sin. In His life on earth, Christ demonstrated what it means to live only for the will of God. Through His death and resurrection, Christ won for us the power to live according to the will of God. In Gethsemane, the Lord’s sacrifice, made of His own will, reached its height; what took place was a perfect expression of obedience to His Father’s will. The fact that mankind has a freewill, which is capable of disobeying God, is not sin. It becomes sin when man remains independent from God’s plan and clings to his own will, when it is contrary to the will of the Creator. As a human being, the Lord Jesus had a human will and all the natural, though not sinful, desires that belong to a human nature. In His humanity, Christ was deprived of knowing beforehand what the will of God was. He had to be patient and be taught by God. Nonetheless, when He began to recognize the will of His Father, He was prepared to give up His own human will and accomplish the Father’s plan. Therefore, the Lord’s obedience constituted the perfection and value of His self- sacrifice. He, once and for all, surrendered Himself as a man to live only in and for the will of God. John 12:27-28, “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice came out of heaven: ‘I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.’” The Bible teaches that there are many hindrances to a productive prayer life. We tend to underestimate ten in particular as hindrances. We tolerate these ten hindrances too often. Having one or more as part of our lifestyle can severely hinder our prayers. For that reason, we should be on guard against allowing such sins to hinder our prayer life. A chief hindrance to prayer is unconfessed sin. If you have not realized already, failure to confess sin could make or break your spiritual life. As a result, we must always be aware of our sins and humbly confess them, especially before entering into prayer. Psalm 66:18, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Not only could unconfessed sin hinder our prayers, but it could also place us under divine discipline. David, for instance, was under divine discipline for failure to confess his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and his sin of having her husband, Uriah, killed on the battlefield.

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Psalm 32:1-7, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’ and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.” Often, a believer’s prayers are hindered because he loves the world, i.e. the cosmic system of Satan (1 Jn. 2:15-17). The cosmic system is a vast system and arrangement of human affairs, earthly goods, godless governments, conflicts, riches, pleasures, culture, education, world religions, the cults, and the occult, all of which is dominated and negatively affected by Satan, god of the cosmos. Satan promotes the cosmic system, and it conforms to his ideals, aims, methods, and character, and stands perpetually in opposition to God. Satan’s world system seduces men away from God and away from the person of Christ. It is anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible, and very anti-humanity, though it often appears humanitarian, as part of Satan’s angel of light masquerade. Therefore, any believer who remotely conforms to the standards of the cosmic system will fail at having a productive prayer life. 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” We also hinder our prayers when we quit on God or are impatient with God (Ps. 27:14; Ps. 37:7; Luke 18:1). Who are we to demand a timely answer from God? He will answer us in His own perfect timing, not ours, so we must not be anxious for a response. Perhaps the reason we are not receiving an answer to our prayers is a result of our eagerness. Ultimately, failure to trust in God’s all powerful, all knowing character and nature will hinder our prayers. Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” Psalm 37:7, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.”

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The Father will grant us our requests when we persevere in our prayers, since perseverance in prayer is a manifestation of our faith and absolute trust and confidence in the Father to grant our requests. Persistence, as we have already noted, is critical. The parable in Luke 18:1-8 illustrates this principle perfectly. Matthew 7:7, “Ask repeatedly, and it will be given to you; seek repeatedly, and you will find; knock repeatedly, and it will be opened to you.” Luke 18:1-8, “Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge said now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” A proud and self-righteous person will always hinder his own prayers. The Scriptures teach that the Father will not hear the prayers of the proud, but will answer the humble (Luke 18:9-14; Job 35:12-13). Job 35:12, “There they cry out, but He does not answer because of the pride of evil men.” James 4:6, “Therefore it says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.’” The most obvious reason why we do not receive certain things we desire in life is that we fail to pray or ask the Father for these things (Jam 4:2). If we do not ask, we may not receive. James 4:1-2, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.” A less obvious hindrance, but just as detrimental to our prayers, is our motivation. Often, the Father does not answer our requests because we ask with false motives (Jam 4:3). In everything we do, we must always be conscious of our motives. James 4:3, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” We will receive our prayer requests if we pray according to the Father’s will. However, if we do not pray according to His will, we will not receive our requests

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 24 from the Father (1 John 5:14-15). Not praying according to the will of God is a most serious hindrance. 1 John 5:14-15, “This is the confidence, which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests, which we have asked from Him.” Disobedience will always hinder our prayers (1 Jo 3:21-24). As we noted, if we obey God’s Word, then we will approach Him with requests according to His will. Obedience to the Word of God, therefore, prevents us from asking for answers against the will of God. 1 John 3:21-22, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” If we are pretentious in our prayers, we risk hindering our prayers (Matt. 6:5-6). This goes back to our motivation. If our motivation is to be acknowledged by men, then we pray with the wrong motives, and our prayers will not be heard. Matthew 6:5-6, “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Failure to pray properly, according to the protocol God designed for prayer, will most certainly hinder our prayers. As noted, we are required to pray to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus in the power of the Spirit (Matt. 6:7-9; Jude 20; John 14:13-14). Praying in any other order is a hindrance to our prayer life. Another subtler hindrance that believers must quickly learn to avoid is lack of forgiveness (1 Pet. 3:7; Mark 11:25-26; Matt. 6:14-15; Col. 3:12-13). Not only will failure to forgive result in broken relationships with people, but it will result in a loss of fellowship with God. Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” The Scriptures teach that bitterness towards our spouse will hinder our prayers. This principle directly relates to the proud and self-righteous. Anyone who refuses to forgive another evidently considers himself perfect. Thus, his prayers will be hindered, without a doubt. 1 Peter 3:7, “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

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Finally, lack of compassion is another reason why prayers are so often hindered (Pro 21:13). A failure to demonstrate compassion towards others will ultimately result in God not showing compassion towards you. Proverbs 21:13, “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.” Therefore, in Jonah 2:2, the verb ʿā·nā(h) means “to answered” and is used with Yahweh as its subject and Jonah’s prayer for deliverance as its subject indicating that the Lord answered or responded the prophet’s cry for help. The fientive qal stem of the verb expresses an action on the part of the Lord in answering Jonah’s prayer for deliverance from death. The active voice indicates that the Lord as the subject performs the action of the verb. The imperfect tense is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. We will use the English present when translating the perfect and imperfect forms of the verb in this psalm since in Hebrew poetry the perfect tense often conveys information without significant attachment to time as long as a context has been established by the poet. In our context, the poet in Jonah 2:2 is alluding to an event that is taking place as he spoke. We will translate this verb “ He answers.” The first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî , “ my ” referring to Jonah and is the direct object of the verb ʿā·nā(h) . Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 2:2: “I call out to the Lord because of my distress and as a result He answers me.” Jonah 2:2, “And he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.’” (NASU) The writer is employing the figure of “asyndeton.” The common practice of the Greek language was that each clause be connected with the preceding by some connective word. The term for the lack of such a connective is “asyndeton.” The use of conjunctions came to be very common in the Greek so that the absence was noticeable and was called “asyndeton,” which literally means, “not bound together.” “Asyndeton” is a vivid stylistic feature that occurs often for emphasis, solemnity, or rhetorical value (staccato effect), or when there is an abrupt change in topic. Thus, it is found, for example, with commands and exhortations, put forth in rapid succession (cf. John 5:8; Eph 4:26-29; Phil 4:4-6; 1 Thess 5:15-22), sentences in a series (cf. Matt 5:3-11 [the beatitudes]; 2 Tim 3:15-16), sentences unrelated to each other/topic shift (cf. 1 Cor 5:9). In Jonah 2:2, there is not connective word between the previous statement qā·r ā(ʾ)· ṯî mi l î ṣā·r ā(h) ʾě l yhwh, w ǎ y ǎʿ ǎn ē·nî ( ), “ I call out to the Lord because of my distress and as a result He answers me ” and the statement šiw·w ǎʿ·tî mi b ě·ṭě n š eʾôl; š ā·m ǎʿ·t ā î qôl ( ),

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“I cry out for help from the belly of Sheol. He hears my voice .” The writer does this in order to get the reader to meditate and consider carefully the second statement in relation to the first since both speak of the Lord delivering Jonah. “I cried for help from the depth of Sheol ” is composed of the first person singular piel active perfect form of the verb šā·wǎʿ ( ) (shaw-vah), “ I cried for help ” and the preposition min ( ) (meen), “ from ” and the masculine singular construct form of the noun bě·ṭě n ( ) (beh-ten), “ the depth ” and feminine singular form of the geographic noun šeʾôl ( ) (sheh-ole), “ of Sheol .” The verb šā·wǎʿ is used with Jonah as its subject and means “to cry for help,” i.e. “ask or request something, with a focus that the asking is intense or desperate, imploring for aid in a difficult or dangerous situation” (Dictionary of Biblical Languages of Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament)). The verb in Jonah 2:2 speaks of Jonah requesting the Lord to save him from drowning while he sunk into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. The piel stem of this verb is causative meaning that Jonah as the subject causes the Lord to help him by calling out to Him in prayer. The active voice is stative indicating that Jonah as the subject existed in the state of crying out for help to the Lord while in the stomach of the great fish. The perfect tense is an instantaneous perfective representing a situation at the very instant the expression is being uttered. This use appears chiefly with verbs of speaking. We will use the English present when translating the perfect forms of the verb in this psalm since in Hebrew poetry the poet may use the perfect when in fact he is alluding to an event that either is taking place as he speaks or is meant to occur in the future. In our context, the poet in Jonah 2:2 is alluding to an event that is taking place as he spoke. Therefore, we will translate the verb “ I cry out for help .” The noun bě·ṭě n means “belly” or “stomach” and is personifying Sheol indicating that Jonah is describing his near death experience in the Mediterranean Sea as being eaten by death. This imagery appears in other places in the Old Testament. Psalm 49:14, “They will travel to Sheol like sheep, with death as their shepherd. The godly will rule over them when the day of vindication dawns; Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses.” (NET Bible) Proverbs 1:12, “We will swallow them alive like Sheol, those full of vigor like those going down to the Pit.” (NET Bible) Isaiah 5:14, “So Death will open up its throat, and open wide its mouth; Zion’s dignitaries and masses will descend into it, including those who revel and celebrate within her.” (NET Bible)

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In the Old Testament, the geographic noun šeʾôl “Sheol ” often refers to one of the four compartments called in Scripture “Paradise,” which prior to the resurrection of Jesus Christ contained the departed souls of believers. A comparison of Scripture with Scripture reveals that “Sheol/Hades” contains four compartments: (1) Paradise: the place of the departed souls of believers before the resurrection of Christ (Lk. 23:39-43; Eph. 4:8-9) who were transferred to heaven after the resurrection and ascension of Christ (Eph. 4:10). (2) Torments: the temporary fire for the souls of unbelievers from all dispensations (Lk. 16:19-31) who will be transferred to the Great White Throne Judgment that concludes human history and from there will be cast in the Lake of Fire forever (Rev. 20:11-15). (3) Tartarus: the abode of the fallen angels of Genesis 6 who had sex with woman in order to corrupt the human race and prevent the incarnation of the Son of God (1 Peter 3:18-22; 2 Peter 4; Jude 6). (4) The Abyss: the place of imprisonment for the demons who violated certain rules for angelic creation and will be released during the Tribulation (Lk. 8:30-31; Rom. 10:7; Rev. 20:1-3). Prior to the resurrection, ascension and session of the Lord Jesus Christ, Old Testament saints when they died did not go to the third heaven but rather to Paradise. These Old Testament saints such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ascended with Jesus Christ into heaven as part of our Lord’s triumphal procession as victor in the angelic conflict and were part of the booty from our Lord’s victory that was accomplished through His death and resurrection (See Ephesians 4:8). Therefore, “Sheol ” is the place that the souls of Old Testament believers departed to at physical death. However, in Jonah 2:2, the noun šeʾôl , “ Sheol ” does not refer to any of the four compartments of Hades but rather it refers to the fact that Jonah was near death or in a life threatening situation. This is indicated by the parallel expression , “because of my distress ” that appears in the previous verse, which refers to the experience of being close to dying. The New American Commentary: Amos, Obadiah, Jonah has an excellent comment on this term in Jonah 2:2, they write, “The term ‘Sheol’ was used in various ways. It may be said with certainty that in Hebrew thought the term referred to a place of the dead. It was spoken of as located under the earth (Amos 9:2). Normally those who were in Sheol were seen as separated from God (Ps 88:3; Isa 38:18), yet God was shown to have access to Sheol (Ps 139:8). Sheol was used as an expression for being in the grave (Pss 18:6; 30:3; 49:14; Isa 28:15). With this imagery Jonah here described his experience of being ‘at the very brink of death.’ Fretheim agrees that the language used here goes beyond the literal sense, especially regarding Sheol: ‘Inasmuch as Sheol was believed to be under the floor of the ocean, Jonah was spatially near the place.’ It also helps to understand at this point that in the Old Testament death is understood to be more a process than an

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 28 event. As for Jonah’s place in that death process, life had ebbed so much that he could have been reckoned more among the dead than among the living. Similar idioms in modern speech are found regularly. While the vast majority of modern scholars considers Jonah’s situation in this verse to be a close brush with death, a few believe that Jonah was referring to an actual death experience. The miraculous event in this case would be resurrection as well as rescue. The rationale is that Jonah’s experience would conform more closely to that of Jesus to which it is compared in the New Testament. Such a view, however, goes beyond the language of the text and violates the nature of its imagery. The term ‘my distress’ defines Jonah’s situation, and its poetic parallel, beten š ĕʾ ôl , literally, ‘the belly of sheol’ (‘the depths of the grave’), would be understood by the reader as metonymy, the use of a term in place of that to which it compares. Jonah believed that he was as good as dead, that he had been ‘eaten’ by death, which was often spoken of as an enemy that devours (Pss 49:14; 55:15; Prov 1:12; 27:20; Isa 5:14). Jesus’ comparison of his own coming death to this event in Jonah’s life focuses on two elements of correspondence: the time period of three days and the nature of the event as a sign (cf. Matt 12:40; 16:4; Luke 11:29–30). While Jonah’s imagery of death supported the comparison, a literal correspondence at this point was not required by the comparison.” (Pages 245-246) Stuart writes, “The psalm, by employing the phrase ‘belly of Sheol,’ shows its intended use for serious, life-threatening situations.” (Word Biblical Commentary, volume 31: Hosea-Jonah; page 476) The NET Bible writes, “Sheol was a name for the place of residence of the dead, the underworld (see Job 7:9–10; Isa 38:17–18). Jonah pictures himself in the belly of Sheol, its very center – in other words he is as good as dead.” The geographic noun šeʾôl , “ Sheol ” is the object of the preposition min , which is a marker of the source of an activity, which in our context is Jonah crying out to the Lord for help while drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. We will translate the prepositional phrase mi bě·ṭě n š eʾôl ( ), “from the belly of Sheol .” Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 2:2: “Specifically, he prayed, ‘I call out to the Lord because of my distress and as a result He answers me. I cry out for help from the belly of Sheol…’” The statement qā·r ā(ʾ)· ṯî mi l î ṣā·r ā(h) ʾě l yhwh ( ), “ I call out to the Lord because of my distress ” parallels the statement šiw·w ǎʿ·tî mi bě·ṭě n š eʾôl ( ), “ I cry out for help from the belly of Sheol ” indicating that the poet Jonah is writing rhetorically. Jonah 2:2, “And he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.’” (NASU)

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“You heard my voice ” is composed of the second person masculine singular qal active perfect form of the verb šā·mǎʿ ( ) (shaw-mah), “ You heard ” and the first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî ( ), “ my ” and the masculine singular construct form of the noun qôl ( ) (kole), “ voice .” The verb šā·mǎʿ means “to hear,” i.e. “use the perception of hearing with the ears to process information” (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament)). Hermann Austel writes, “ šāma has the basic meaning ‘to hear.’ This is extended in various ways, generally involving an effective hearing or listening: 1) ‘listen to,’ ‘pay attention,’ 2) ‘obey’ (with words such as ‘commandment’ etc.), 3) ‘answer prayer,’ ‘hear,’ 4) ‘understand’ and 5) ‘hear critically,’ ‘examine (in court).’ The derived stems have appropriately modified meanings.” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) In Jonah 2:2, the verb means “to hear” and is used of the Father responding to Jonah’s prayer for deliverance from death by saving him from drowning. The word parallels the verb ʿā·nā(h) , “ He answers ” indicating that Jonah is writing rhetorically. The noun qôl means “voice” referring to Jonah’s prayer to the Lord for deliverance from death. It speaks of God the Father graciously responding in a positive sense to the disobedient prophet’s cry for help in prayer to Him. The first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî ( ), “ my ” functions as a possessive personal pronoun indicating that this was Jonah’s cry for help that the Father answered. The fientive qal stem of the verb šā·mǎʿ expresses an action on the part of the Lord in answering Jonah’s prayer for deliverance from death. The active voice indicates that the Lord as the subject performs the action of the verb. The perfect tense is an instantaneous perfective representing a situation at the very instant the expression is being uttered. This use appears chiefly with verbs of speaking. We will use the English present when translating the perfect forms of the verb in this psalm since in Hebrew poetry the poet may use the perfect when in fact he is alluding to an event that either is taking place as he speaks or is meant to occur in the future. In our context, the poet in Jonah 2:2 is alluding to an event that is taking place as he spoke. Therefore, we will translate the verb “ He hears .” Completed corrected translation of Jonah 2:2: “Specifically, he prayed, ‘I call out to the Lord because of my distress and as a result He answers me. I cry out for help from the belly of Sheol. He hears my voice.’” To summarize our findings, this verse contains the first line in Jonah’s thanksgiving psalm, which concludes in Jonah 2:10. It is a summary of the prophet’s answered prayer or in other words, it presents the reason for his thanksgiving. The two statements in this verse parallel each other and are thus rhetorical emphasizing the Lord delivering the prophet from certain death. This

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 30 solves the problem that some commentators have with this statement because the logical sequence is reversed in this verse where we have God answering Jonah’s plea and then hearing the prophet’s voice when we expect the reverse. Both statements are saying the same thing because the poet is writing rhetorically and with parallel statements. So in this verse Jonah reflects back on his deliverance from drowning and acknowledges that the Lord his God answered his prayer for deliverance from death.

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Jonah 2:3-Jonah Acknowledges That Yahweh Was Responsible For His Being Thrown Into The Sea And For His Drowning Experience

We will continue with our study of Jonah chapter two by noting verse 3, which is a continuation of the third scene of the narrative that began in Jonah 1:17. This passage marks a transition in the narrative from the second scene which ends with the crew of the ship worshipping the Lord to the third scene, which begins with a statement stating that the Lord commissioned a large fish to swallow Jonah in order to deliver him from drowning. Jonah 1:17, “Now, the Lord commissioned an enormous fish in order to swallow Jonah. Consequently, Jonah lived in the stomach of this fish three days and three nights.” (My translation) This verse is composed of a declarative statement that is followed by a result clause, which records that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the stomach of this enormous fish. Jonah 1:17 records the fifth stage of Jonah’s spiritual descent away from God. In verse 3, Jonah “went down” to Joppa and “went down” into the ship. Verse 5 says that he “went down” into the inner most recesses of the merchant bound for Tarshish. Then, in verse 15, the crew threw him into the sea. Now, in verse 17, he goes down into the stomach of this great fish. Jonah 2:6 presents the sixth stage in that he gets to the point of death by drowning and Jonah 2:2 presents the seventh and final stage when he finally cries out to the Lord to deliver him from death. Jonah realizes that he has been delivered by the Lord from drowning after being swallowed by this great fish and that this great fish was not sent to execute Jonah. Therefore, this great fish was an instrument of God’s grace and mercy for Jonah. Though he was guilty of insubordination, he was not executed by the Lord but instead was delivered from death. Grace is all that God is free to do in imparting unmerited blessings to those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior based upon the merits of Christ and His death on the Cross. It is God treating us in a manner that we don’t deserve and excludes any human works in order to acquire eternal salvation or blessing from God. Jesus Christ confirms the historicity of Jonah spending three days and nights in the stomach of this great fish. This historical event of Jonah spending three days and three nights in the stomach of a huge fish is a prophecy of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The Gospels record the Lord Jesus Christ making mention of the prophet Jonah in the stomach of this great fish (Matthew 12:29-41; 16:4; Luke 11:28-32). Then, in Jonah 2:1, the disobedient prophet prays to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish.

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Jonah 2:1, “Then, Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of this fish.” (My translation) Jonah 2:1 refers to Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving to the Father from the stomach of the great fish for the Father delivering him from death by drowning. It is not a prayer of deliverance as indicated by the content of the prayer in verses 2- 9. It was written down after being vomited by the fish onto dry land. It marks the turning point of the narrative. While in the stomach of this great fish, he realized that the Lord had saved him from drowning by using this great fish and then offered up this prayer of thanksgiving while still in the stomach of this great fish. So in Jonah 2:2-9, the prophet is reflecting back upon his near death experience in the Mediterranean Sea and how the Lord delivered him from certain death. In Jonah 2:2, we read of Jonah reflecting back on his deliverance from drowning and acknowledging that the Lord his God answered his prayer for deliverance from death by drowning. Jonah 2:2, “Specifically, he prayed, ‘I call out to the Lord because of my distress and as a result He answers me. I cry out for help from the belly of Sheol. He hears my voice.’” (My translation) This verse contains the first line in Jonah’s thanksgiving psalm, which concludes in Jonah 2:10. It is a summary of the prophet’s answered prayer or in other words, it presents the reason for his thanksgiving. The two statements in this verse parallel each other and is thus writing rhetorically emphasizing the Lord delivering the prophet from certain death. This solves the problem that some commentators have with this statement because the logical sequence is reversed in this verse where we have God answering Jonah’s plea and then hearing the prophet’s voice when we expect the reverse. Both statements are saying the same thing because the poet is writing rhetorically and with parallel statements. So in this verse Jonah reflects back on his deliverance from drowning and acknowledges that the Lord his God answered his prayer for deliverance from death by drowning. Next, we will note Jonah 2:3 and in this passage Jonah acknowledges in his prayer of thanksgiving that Yahweh was responsible for his being thrown into the sea. Then, he follows this up by beginning to recount his drowning experience. Jonah 2:1, “Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish, 2 and he said, ‘I called out of my distress to the Lord, and He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. 3 ‘For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me.’ 4 So I said, ‘I have been expelled from Your sight. Nevertheless I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ 5 Water encompassed me to the point of death. The great deep engulfed me, weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, but

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You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7 While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. 8 Those who regard vain idols forsake their faithfulness, 9 but I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.’ 10 Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land.” (NASU) Let’s look at verse 3. Jonah 2:3, “For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me.” (NASU) “For ” is the emphatic use of the conjunction wa ( ) (wa), which is prefixed to the imperfect form of the verb šā·lǎḵ ( ) (shaw-lak), “ You had cast .” In poetry the waw is sometimes used emphatically with a nuance of affirmation. (Joüon, Paul; Muraoka, Takamitsu; A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew: Revised English Edition; 2006) As noted we have noted earlier in our study of chapter 2, verses 2-9 are poetry. Here in verse 3, the conjunction wa is used emphatically affirming the events and circumstances that led to Jonah crying out to the Lord in prayer to deliver him from death. In this passage, the prophet acknowledges that the Lord caused the crew to cast him into the sea. This of course resulted in him almost drowning to death. This experience of drowning he begins to describe in the result clause that follows this emphatic statement, He goes on to further describe this experience in verses 3-7. Therefore, we will translate wa , “ indeed .” “You had cast me ” is composed of the second person masculine singular hiphil active imperfect form of the verb šā·lǎḵ ( ) (shaw-lak), “ You had cast ” and the first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî ( ) (an-ee), “ me.” The verb šā·lǎḵ means “to throw” however, the word should be translated “to cast” since it is being used here in poetry. Though it is used of the crew casting Jonah into the sea, the implied subject is Yahweh since Jonah is addressing Him in this prayer of thanksgiving. The pronomial suffix ǎnî , “ me ” is a discourse reference to Jonah. The active voice of the verb šā·lǎḵ indicates that Yahweh as the subject performs the action of the verb. The imperfect tense of the verb is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. It is used with the conjunction waw to form an emphatic clause. As we noted in verse 2, we will use the English present when translating the perfect and imperfect forms of the verb in this psalm since in Hebrew poetry the perfect tense often conveys information without significant attachment to time as long as a context has been established by the poet. In our context, the poet in Jonah 2:3 is alluding to an event that is taking place as he spoke.

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The hiphil stem of the verb signifies causation, i.e. the causing of an event indicating that Yahweh “caused” Jonah to be cast into the Mediterranean Sea by the crew. This does not contradict the statement in Jonah 1:15 where the crew in response to the command of Jonah (1:12), lifted up the prophet and threw him into the sea. The storm was caused by Yahweh (1:4) and the only action that could bring the storm to an end was to throw Jonah overboard. The prayer offered up by the crew to Yahweh recognizes that doing so was according to His will as recorded in Jonah 1:14. The fact that the storm immediately came to a halt also indicates this was the Lord’s will. Also, indicating that throwing Jonah overboard was the Lord’s will is that the crew does not perish and neither are they punished by the Lord for throwing Jonah overboard. Therefore, Jonah 2:3 views the crew as the Lord’s instrument in carrying out this action against Jonah. We will translate wǎ t ǎš·lî ḵ ē·nî ( ), “ you cause me to be cast .” “Into the deep ” is the feminine singular form of the noun meṣô·lā(h) ( ) (mets-o-law), which means “the ocean depths” or “the depths” of the sea, i.e., the very deep area of the Mediterranean Sea. We will translate the word “ into the ocean depths .” “Into the heart of the seas ” is composed of the preposition be ( ) (beth), “ into ” ” law-bab), “ the heart of) ( בב) and the masculine singular form of the noun lē·ḇāḇ and the masculine plural form of the noun yām ( ) (yawm), “ the sea .” The noun yām means “sea” and refers once again to the Mediterranean. The noun lē·ḇāḇ means “heart” in the sense of the middle or midst of a thing, which in our context would be the Mediterranean. The noun yām is the object of the preposition be, which is a marker of an entrance into an area indicating that the Lord caused the crew to cast Jonah “into” the heart of the seas.” We will translate this prepositional phrase “ into the heart of the seas.” The NET Bible writes, “The BHS editors suggest deleting either (métsulah , ‘into the deep’) or ( bilvav yammim , ‘into the heart of the sea’). They propose that one or the other is a scribal gloss on the remaining term. However, the use of an appositional phrase within a poetic colon is not unprecedented in Hebrew poetry. The MT is therefore best retained.” Lessing writes, “Some commentators want to omit (the preposition and in construct: ‘in the heart of’) as a gloss on . That omission would reduce ( ֹ :this line from four to three stressed words (followed by two in the next in order to preserve the 3:2 qinah metrical pattern visible elsewhere in the psalm. Others prefer to retain but omit as a gloss. However, it is conceivable that through this staccato-like meter, the psalm purposely introduces a quickened four-beat tempo for dramatic effect. Hebrew authors use discontinuity in meter to focus attention upon what is significant. Here the fact that Jonah is not only in the watery ‘depth’ but also ‘in the heart of the seas’ indicates that he is in a

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 35 predicament from which he cannot possibly escape, apart from Yahweh’s aid. Other poetic passages speak of mountains being cast ‘into the heart of the seas’ ( ) as an ultimate catastrophe, but which believers need not fear (Ps 46:3; see also Mt 21:21). Yahweh was able to redeem his people through the Red Sea by causing the waters to congeal ‘in the heart of the sea’ ( , Ex 15:8).” (Concordia Commentary: Jonah; page 193) Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 2:3: “Indeed, You cause me to be cast into the ocean depths, into the midst of the seas…” Jonah 2:3, “For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me.” (NASU) “And the current engulfed me ” is composed of the conjunction wa ( ) (wa), “and ,” which is prefixed to the masculine singular form of the noun nā·hār ( ) (naw-har), “ the current ” and is followed by the third person masculine singular saw-bab), “ engulfed ” and the) ( בב ) piel active imperfect form of the verb sā·ḇǎḇ first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî ( ) (an-ee), “ me .” This conjunction introduces a result clause that presents the result of the previous clause. Thus it indicates that “as a result of” the Lord causing the crew to cast Jonah into the ocean depths, into the midst of the seas, the ocean current engulfed him. The conjunction wa with the imperfect is one of the lighter ways in Hebrew to express consequence (Hebrew Syntax-Third Edition; A.B. Davidson; page 200) The pronomial suffix ǎnî , “ me ” refers of course to Jonah. The noun nā·hār refers to the ocean “current” that engulfed Jonah. The verb sā·ḇǎḇ means “to be engulfed” by the ocean current indicating that the ocean current overwhelmed Jonah in that the ocean current prevented him from being able to swim to stay alive. The piel stem is factitive meaning that the subject of the verb causes its direct object to enter a state that can be described by the same verb in the qal. This indicates that the ocean current as the subject caused the direct object, Jonah to enter a state that can be described by the same verb in the qal. The ocean current caused Jonah to be engulfed or in other words, he was engulfed. The active voice of the verb sā·ḇǎḇ indicates that the current as the subject performs the action of the verb. The imperfect tense of the verb is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. As we noted in verse 2, we will use the English present when translating the perfect and imperfect forms of the verb in this psalm since in Hebrew poetry the perfect tense often conveys information without significant attachment to time as long as a context has been established by the poet. In our context, the poet in Jonah 2:3 is alluding to an event that is taking place as he spoke.

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so “ ,( בב ) We will translate the disjunctive clause w n ā·h ār yes ōḇeḇ ē·nî that the ocean current engulfs me .” This result clause is Jonah’s first description of drowning in this song of thanksgiving. Corrected translation thus far of Jonah 2:3: “Indeed, You cause me to be cast into the ocean depths, into the midst of the seas so that the ocean current engulfs me…” Jonah 2:3, “For You had cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me.” (NASU) We have the figure of asyndeton where there is no connective word between the previous result clause and the statement to follow. This is done so that the reader will appreciate the gravity of the dire situation of drowning that Jonah experienced. “All your breakers and billows ” is composed of the collective singular construct form of the noun kōl ( ) (kole), “ all ” and the masculine plural construct form of the noun miš ·bār ( ) (mish-bar), “ breakers ” and the second person masculine singular form of the pronomial suffix ʾǎ t·tā(h) ( ) (aw-thaw), “ your ” which is followed by the conjunction wa ( ) (wa), “ and ” and the masculine plural construct form of the noun gǎl ( ) (gal), “ billows ” and the second person masculine singular form of the pronomial suffix ʾǎ t·tā(h) ( ) (aw-thaw), “ your .” The noun miš ·bār refers to the waves of the Mediterranean Sea and the noun gǎl refers to surging waves or turbulent waves from a stormy ocean with strong currents, white water and loud sounds associated with them (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament). The latter speaks of waves that are turbulent or violent whereas the former simply speaks of waves in a general sense. The conjunction wa is used to connect these two nouns together. The adjective kōl modifies them speaking of them in their totality. The pronomial suffix ʾǎ t·tā(h) , “your ” refers to Yahweh and is used to modify both nouns emphasizing possession indicating that these turbulent or violent waves belong to the Lord. This indicates that Jonah was well aware that the Lord was disciplining him for his stubborn disobedience. These two nouns form a hendiadys. This figure takes place when two nouns or verbs are used to express one idea or concept and it literally means “one by means of two” and takes place when the author uses two words but only one idea is intended. The two words are of the same parts of speech, i.e., two nouns or verbs, and are always joined together by the conjunction “and” and are also always in the same case. One of the two words expresses the thing, and the other intensifies it by being changed (if a noun) into an adjective of the superlative degree, which is, by this means, made especially emphatic. So the two nouns express one idea with the

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 37 noun gǎl intensifying the noun miš ·bār. Therefore, the expression kāl ḵā miš·b ā·rê w ḡǎ l·lê ( ), “ all Your waves, yes, your violent waves . “Passed over me ” is composed of the third person plural qal active perfect ,(aw-boor), “passed ” and the preposition al ( ) (al) ( ב ) form of the verb ʿā·ḇǎ r “over ” and the first person singular pronomial suffix ǎnî ( ), “ me .” The pronomial suffix refers of course to Jonah and the verb ʿā·ḇǎ r means “to pass over” and is employed with the preposition al to say that the violent waves from this storm caused by the Lord “passed over” Jonah. The fientive qal stem of the verb expresses the action of the violent waves of this storm caused by the Lord. The active voice indicates that the violent waves of this storm caused by the Lord as the subject perform the action of the verb. The imperfect tense of the verb is used of a past action from the perspective of the writer. As we noted in verse 2, we will use the English present when translating the perfect and imperfect forms of the verb in this psalm since in Hebrew poetry the perfect tense often conveys information without significant attachment to time as long as a context has been established by the poet. In our context, the poet in Jonah 2:3 is alluding to an event that is taking place as he spoke. Therefore, we will ”. pass over me “ ,( ב ) translate ʿā·ḇā·rû ʿā·l ǎ y This clause is Jonah’s second description of drowning in verse 3. It is taken verbatim from Psalm 42:7. Completed corrected translation of Jonah 2:3: “Indeed, You cause me to be cast into the ocean depths, into the midst of the seas so that the ocean current engulfs me. All Your waves, yes, your violent waves pass over me.” To summarize, this passage is composed of an emphatic clause followed by a result clause and a declarative statement. “ Indeed, You cause me to be cast into the ocean depths, into the midst of the seas ” is the emphatic clause. It emphatically affirms the events and circumstances that led to Jonah crying out to the Lord in prayer to deliver him from death. This statement is an acknowledgement on the part of Jonah that Yahweh was responsible for his being thrown into the sea. Not only is Jonah acknowledging God’s sovereignty over Jonah and His providence but also that he is being disciplined by God, which expressed God’s love for Jonah. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ becomes a child of God at the moment he exercised faith alone in Christ alone. John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

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God the Father expressed His great love for us by making us His children at the moment of salvation. 1 John 3:1, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” There are two categories of divine discipline that are an expression of God’s love: (1) Negative: God expresses His love for His children by disciplining them in the sense that He “punishes” them when they are disobedient to His will. (2) Positive: God expresses His love for His children by disciplining them in the sense of “training” them when they are obedient to His will and in fellowship. Both categories of divine discipline are designed to keep the believer on track in executing the Father’s will by becoming like Christ. The Word of God is employed in both positive and negative categories of discipline. Hebrews 4:12, “The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” The Holy Spirit disciplines the disobedient child of God by rebuking them with the Word of God as it is communicated by the pastor-teacher in the local assembly and the purpose of such rebuke is to conform the believer to the will of his heavenly Father, which results in blessing and true happiness. Jeremiah 32:33, “They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction.” The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the pastor-teacher who is the delegated authority in the local assembly, to reprove and rebuke the children of God from the pulpit with the Word of God as an expression of His love. 2 Timothy 4:1-4, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” God disciplines His disobedient children by permitting adversity, trials, and irritations to come into their lives that are beyond their capacity to handle in order

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 39 to get their attention and to focus upon their number one priority in life as children of God, which is to conformity to the Father’s will. God disciplines His disobedient children by permitting them to reap the fruits of their bad decisions so that they might learn that conformity to His will is the only way to true joy and happiness and blessing in life (Ezek. 16:43; Gal. 6:7-8). There are three categories of divine discipline (punishment) for the disobedient child of God: (1) Warning (Rev. 3:20; James 5:9) (2) Intense (Ps. 38:1; 2 Th. 2:11). (3) Dying (Jer. 9:16; 44:12; Phlp. 3:18-19; Re. 3:16; Ps. 118:17-18; 1 Jo. 5:16). God disciplines His “obedient” children through adversity and underserved suffering in order to build the believer’s confidence in his relationship with God and to get him to depend on God for his security and protection rather than money and human relationships. God disciplines His “obedient” children through adversity and underserved suffering in order to demonstrate to the believer the sufficiency of God’s Word in handling any problem or difficulty in life. The Lord Jesus Christ disciplines the believer in the sense that He rebukes, punishes and trains the believer because He personally and affectionately loves the believer (Revelation 3:14-19). Revelation 3:19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” “Love ” is the verb phileo ( filevw ), which means, “to personally and affectionately love someone” and expresses the Lord Jesus Christ’s personal affection, care and concern for the believer by disciplining him whether for training when obedient or punishment when disobedient. “Reprove ” is the verb elencho ( e)levgxw ), “to reprove, chasten” and “convict” of sin in order to “instruct” the believer and restore him to fellowship. “Discipline ” is the verb paideuo ( paideuvw ) and was commonly used in Greek literature to mean the “upbringing” and “teaching” and “disciplining” of children. Such “upbringing” consisted of teaching general knowledge and various kinds of training aimed at developing discipline and character. The Lord reproves us because He is trying to develop His character in us. Revelation 3:20-22 teaches that the Lord disciplines us not only because He loves us and but also because He wants to reward us. Just as any good father disciplines his children because he loves them, so God the Father disciplines His children because He loves them. If God did not train us when we are obedient and punishes us when we are disobedient, then we would be illegitimate children, thus divine discipline in the sense of punishment and training is the mark of a child of God. Hebrews 12:1-13, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so

2010 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 40 easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin and you have forgotten the exhortation, which is addressed to you as sons, ‘MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM. FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.’ It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.” Hebrews 12:10 teaches us that ultimately, God disciplines us because He wants us to share in His character and integrity, which is meant by the phrase “ share His holiness .” We are not to get angry or bitter when God disciplines us through the Word, or adversity and underserved suffering but rather we are to listen to what God is trying to say to us and to learn the lesson that He is teaching us so that we might acquire the character of our heavenly Father. Ecclesiastes 7:14, “In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider -- God has made the one as well as the other so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.” In order to receive discipline without getting bitter and complaining, the believer must recognized and submit to the authority of the Word of God, the delegated authority of the pastor-teacher and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ who controls history and therefore our circumstances. Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”

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Job 5:17-18, “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal.” Proverbs 15:32-33, “He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility.” In Jonah 2:4, the phrase “ so that the ocean current engulfs me ” is the result clause that presents result of the Lord causing the crew to cast Jonah into the sea. It begins to describe Jonah experience of drowning. “All Your waves, yes, your violent waves pass over me ” is a declarative statement that describes in further detail Jonah’s experience in drowning. It is taken verbatim from Psalm 42:7 indicating that Jonah was recalling Scripture to express himself in this psalm. Psalm 42:7, “One deep stream calls out to another at the sound of your waterfalls; all your billows and waves overwhelm me.” (NET Bible) There are other Old Testament psalms that use the imagery of drowning to express experiencing great adversity. Psalm 18:1-6, “For the music director; by the Lord’s servant David, who sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord rescued him from the power of all his enemies, including Saul. 1 He said: ‘I love you, Lord, my source of strength! 2 The Lord is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer. My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter, my shield, the horn that saves me, and my refuge. 3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was delivered from my enemies. 4 The waves of death engulfed me, the currents of chaos overwhelmed me. 5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me, the snares of death trapped me. 6 In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried out to my God. From his heavenly temple he heard my voice; he listened to my cry for help.” (NET Bible) Psalm 88:7, “Your anger bears down on me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)” (NET Bible) Psalm 69:1-2, “Deliver me, O God, for the water has reached my neck. 2 I sink into the deep mire where there is no solid ground; I am in deep water, and the current overpowers me.” (NET Bible)

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