They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Lying vanities are empty idols and false hopes, and to observe them is to cling to them, and those who do so turn away from the mercy God offers. This stands in contrast with remembering the Lord, for Jonah remembered God and was delivered, showing that salvation and mercy come from God alone and not from any false object of trust.
The declaration comes from Jonah's prayer amid the trials that followed his disobedience, and those trials revived his confidence in God's power to save. They also renewed his determination to obey even at personal sacrifice, so that through this experience God taught him obedience. That learned obedience enabled him to carry out God's purpose for Nineveh.
Lying vanities are empty idols and false hopes, and to observe them is to cling to them, and those who do so turn away from the mercy God offers. This stands in contrast with remembering the Lord, for Jonah remembered God and was delivered, showing that salvation and mercy come from God alone and not from any false object of trust.
The declaration comes from Jonah's prayer amid the trials that followed his disobedience, and those trials revived his confidence in God's power to save. They also renewed his determination to obey even at personal sacrifice, so that through this experience God taught him obedience. That learned obedience enabled him to carry out God's purpose for Nineveh.