Think again of the words of one of David’s beautiful psalms which we quoted to you last week:—

“My frame was not hidden from Thee
When I was made in secret,
And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” [Psalm 139:15]

Remember what we told you of how the Lord has from the beginning been preparing the dust of the ground to form your substance, and how He is still doing this; for all the food that you eat, of whatever kind, is best which has been made alive by the power of God’s Word. And in these living forms He has prepared the dust so that you can digest and assimilate it, and it will become a part of your body.

Perhaps it has puzzled you a little to learn that you were made “in the lowest parts of the earth,” for the dust which feeds the plants which feed you lies near the surface of the ground.

Yes, but it was not always as you see it now. If the dust beneath your feet could tell you its history, what a wonderful story it would be, not only of change in travel into different parts of the world, into the depths of the sea, and “the lowest parts of the earth,” but of transformations, perhaps, into many different forms of life, all a part of the great plan of God, each fulfilling His will, and forming a link in the wonderful chain of His eternal purpose.

This would lead you to say with David:—

“How great are Thy works, O Lord!
Thy thoughts are very deep.” [Psalm 92:5]

And, as he said, thinking of these very things, in the psalm from which we have before quoted:—

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain unto it.” [Psalm 139:6]

Thinking of these wonderful changes to which the dust has past, someone has said, “Where is the dust that has not been alive?” The following article which is part of a chapter that Charles Kingsley wrote for the children about this will help you to a better understanding of it, and will show you how God is able to bring good out of evil, and to make even such things as volcanic eruptions, which we have found to be a part of the curse which sin has brought upon the earth, and still work for good to the world in its present condition. [Article not available on the CD-ROM]

But be sure that you keep in mind that what we have here called “Nature” is only God’s way of doing His work. Nature does nothing of itself, but it is how God works. Think over these things carefully, and perhaps we will go on with our talk next week.

The Present Truth – October 19, 1899
E. J. Waggoner

Story in pdf  An Endless Chain