He can
sail over the raging sea in his ships; he can till the most barren
soils; he can provide against famine, rain, and cold, ay, against the
thunder itself: but the earthquakes alone are too strong for him.
Against them no cunning or strength of man is of any use. Without
warning, they make the solid ground under his feet heave, and reel,
and sink, hurling down whole towns in a moment, and burying the
inhabitants under the ruins, as an earthquake did in Italy only a
month ago. Or they pour forth streams of fire, clouds of dust,
brimstone, and poisonous vapour, destroying for miles around the
woods and crops, farms and cities, and burying them deep in ashes, as
they have done again and again, both in Italy and Iceland, and in
South America, even during the last few years. How can man stand
against them? What greater warning or lesson to him than they, that
God is stronger than man; that the earth is not man's property, and
will not obey him, but only the God who made it? Now that was just
what God intended to teach the Jews all along; that the earth and
heaven belonged to Him and obeyed Him; that they were not to worship
the sun and stars, as the Assyrians and Canaanites did, nor the earth
and the rivers as the Egyptians did: but to worship the God who made
sun and stars, earth and rivers, and to put their trust in Him to
guide all heaven and earth aright; and to make all things, sun,
earth, and weather, ay, and the very burning mountains and
earthquakes, work together for good for them if they loved God.
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