The Sunday of Jonah (Ps)

Jonah 2:2-9
2 “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
3 For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’
5 The waters closed in over me to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
6 at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.
7 When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
8 Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Jon 2:2-9). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Jonah prays in the belly of a great fish. He prays from the depths of the sea. He prays from Sheol. He feels completely driven out of God's Sight. Jonah finally gets his desire to flee from the presence of God. He has went down and can go down no further.

But Jonah knows the promises of God. Jonah prays with hope to see the Holy Temple. With sea weed wrapped about his head like a crown. He calls out to God from the pit to bring him back to life.

Find the belly of the fish. Find the depth of the sea. Know this is where your sins have lead you. This is the place of death which is the fruit of your sinful life.

"But I with voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!" Salvation does belong to the LORD. He is the one who commands the fish to vomit Jonah. He is the one who makes the Sacrifice of His Son to redeem you from the pit. Jesus Christ is our Salvation.