THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
199 
of the great East where vegetation is quite un¬ 
known, or is of so stinted a character as to 
afford no help to the wandering tribes, the 
clouds of these insects come with gladness on 
their wings. Finding nothing in the desert to 
eat, they are eaten themselves by the hungry 
Arabs, and are hailed with shoutings of grati¬ 
tude to God and his Prophet. 
Truly, God can teach great moral lessons 
by very humble agencies; and let us beware 
lest the insignificance of the agencies should 
hide from our eyes the Infinite One who thus 
employs them. They go forth with the weap¬ 
ons of Omnipotence when God bids them 
march forward as his ‘army with banners.’ 
“ From the recent and almost miraculous ap¬ 
pearance of some of these insect monitors, and 
the fearful admonition which they have given us 
of their power to inflict harm, we may infer that 
God has an occasion of controversy with us, 
and it will be well for us to hear the ‘ rod, and 
who hath appointed it,’ for God does not ad¬ 
monish for naught, nor suffer his warnings to 
go unheeded. In our moralizing over past 
judgments we may forget to turn from our 
own evil ways. 
