THE SOLEMN DUTY OF THE PREACHER 1. He must go where he is directed. No easy task. "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me," Jonah 1:2. Great journey, great city, great sin! 2. Jonah made no move until commanded to do so. He stands, as it were, on the seashore until commended to go. He does not presume as the Israelites, Numbers 14:40-45. 3. Jonah must preach what he is given. "Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee," 3:2. The word of the Lord must be spoken just as it is delivered; nothing must be added to it, or taken from it; the whole counsel of God must be declared; prophets and ministers must preach, not as men bid them, but as God bids them. 4. There must be no delay. God's time must be observed. "So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD," 3:3. Nothing else is regarded. God's timing is unacceptable to human thinking but not to faith. 5. Jonah showed diligence. Jonah 3:3-4. He was three days in visiting every nook and cranny of the alleys and streets of the city. What a lesson this is for us!