Jonah 2:6 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.

Sad in sloth and shut in by my longing’s fear
I stepped down into the belly of the boat.
Embittered by the Grace which moves the spheres
My battlement’s barque kept resentment afloat.
But now I am sunk, ‘neath a flood of despair
Drowned in darkness, in death cut off from life.
The bars of whose doors beyond which no prayer
Can reach the Relief who gives succor in strife.
This idol-regarder, this rebel now routed
Surrenders, no conditions to demand.
This sinner is remembered, the hider now outed–
Returned and redeemed, spouted onto dry land.
Offering my thanksgiving I’ll keep my word
Salvation belongs, not to me, but the Lord.

(c)Randy Edwards
artwork: Jonah Cast Forth By The Whale, by Gustave Doré.

The Land Whose Bars Closed was originally published on Grace Presbyterian Church