Matthew Henry Commentary Jonah 2:1-9

"Then Jonah prayed unto Jehovah his God out of the fish`s belly. And he said, I called by reason of mine affliction unto Jehovah, And he answered me; Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, [And] thou heardest my voice. For thou didst cast me into the depth, in the heart of the seas, And the flood was round about me; All thy waves and thy billows passed over me. And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes; Yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul; The deep was round about me; The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; The earth with its bars [closed] upon me for ever: Yet hast thou brought up my life from the pit, O Jehovah my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah; And my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple. They that regard lying vanities Forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is of Jehovah." — Jonah 2:1-9 (ASV)

Observe when Jonah prayed. He prayed when he was in trouble, under the signs of God's displeasure against him for sin. When we are in affliction, we must pray. Being kept alive by miracle, he prayed. A sense of God's goodwill toward us, despite our offenses, opens the lips in prayer, which were closed with the dread of wrath. Also, observe where he prayed: in the belly of the fish.

No place is unsuitable for prayer. People may shut us out from communion with one another, but not from communion with God. To whom did he pray? To the Lord his God. This encourages even backsliders to return. Consider what his prayer was. It seems to relate his experience and reflections, both at that time and afterward, rather than being the exact form or substance of his prayer.

Jonah reflects on the earnestness of his prayer and God's readiness to hear and answer. If we would benefit from our troubles, we must notice the hand of God in them. He had wickedly fled from the presence of the Lord, who might justly have taken His Holy Spirit from him, never to visit him again. Only those are miserable whom God will no longer own and favor.

But though he was perplexed, he was not in despair. Jonah reflects on the favor of God toward him when he sought God and trusted in Him in his distress. He warns others and tells them to keep close to God. Those who forsake their own duty forsake their own mercy; those who run away from the work of their place and day run away from its comfort. To the extent that a believer copies those who observe lying vanities, he forsakes his own mercy and lives below his privileges.

But Jonah's experience encourages others, in all ages, to trust in God, as the God of salvation.