Canticle Six – The Prayer of Jonah (Jonah 2:2-9)
“I called to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and thou didst hear my voice.
For thou didst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood was round about me; all thy waves and thy billows passed over me.
For 8 verses
Then I said, ‘I am cast out from thy presence; how shall I again look upon thy holy temple?’
The waters closed in over me, the deep was round about me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me for ever;
For 6 verses
yet thou didst bring up my life from the Pit, O LORD my God.
When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer came to thee, into thy holy temple.
For 4 verses
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true loyalty.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to thee; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the LORD!”