Amos 3:15

And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.

The houses of ivory

A devout attention to the passing operations of providence is repaid abundantly in our increased knowledge of God, as a man’s character is discerned by his deeds; and as We are wont to say, “Actions speak louder than words,” so the character of God is learned by His providence. A due attention to both revelations of God--in His Word and in His works--will be found of essential service to the better understanding and embrace of both. God’s works are the dramatic parable; the practical commentary upon His Word--they reflect light severally on each other. The obscurities of providence are elucidated by Scripture, and the declarations of Scripture are verified by providence. We are apt to be peculiarly affected at the spectacle of fallen greatness. When by calamity or death God calls upon “princes to remember that they are but men,” we are proportionably affected by their visitation. Let us earnestly pray that the Lord may make this voice of departed royalty a proclamation of warning to all our souls, that so the bereavement which has clothed the nation in the form of mourning may be the means of bringing real sorrow after a godly sort into our hearts. (Joseph B. Owen, M. A.)