SIX miles to the south-east of Naples lies the most notable volcano in the world—VESUVIUS—towering some 4000 feet above the Bay of Naples. The first recorded evidence of its activity was in 63 A.D. Up to that time it had never been regarded as a volcano. Sixteen years later the eruption, which has become historic, burst with appalling fury over POMPEII, burying the town in ashes and completely blotting out the surrounding district. We know the details of this appalling disaster from Pliny's vivid description. The cloud, shaped like a pine tree; the broad sheets of flame, all the more brilliant from the blackness of the night; the blazing and empty villas, the shocks of earthquake, and the fatal rain of ashes, all combined to make a calamity so terrible that Pliny wrote: "The blackness of night overtook us, not that of a moonless night, but the blackness of pent-up places that never see the light."
Nor are we left in ignorance concerning the ruined Pompeii, for the pick of the excavator and the skill of the and women so suddenly “fixed “in such a startling manner. The diggers came across many relics of tragic scenes, some praying for mercy, others in the act of rushing from the moving flame, some stupefied into listlessness, others as if in a perpetual sleep.
One of the most telling was a man found just outside the door of one of the large houses, lying flat on the ground, covering his face as if from the fire, still clutching in his hand a bag of gold. In his heart he judged his opportunity had come, the family having fled for refuge; he could select the costliest treasures of the place, haste to become rich, yet withal escape the torrent of lava. Alas! he had miscalculated, for after securing his booty he was caught by the monstrous lava jailer and imprisoned on the garden walk. There he lay in 79 A.D., and there he might have lain till the Reckoning Day had he not been accidentally discovered in 1729, sixteen hundred and fifty years after the committal of the crime—a striking fulfillment of the eternal fact, “Be sure your sin will find you out " (Num. 32:2323But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)). Doubtless at the moment of planning, and in the act of committing the theft, he felt assured that none would ever be the wiser, yet there he lies to-day—the Pompeii thief of eighteen hundred and forty years ago. Yet, not for his disgrace, but for your warning we recount the story. Unlike him in the mode of sinning, for all are not thieves; unlike him in the mode of capture, for all are not transfixed in lava, yet "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)), and "all must stand before the Judgment Seat of God" (Rom. 14:1010But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (Romans 14:10) R.V.). Still, though we're sinners every one, we can rejoice in the glad and glorious Gospel which tells of Precious Blood shed, and a glorious work finished on Calvary's Cross (John 19:3131The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (John 19:31)), so that all who own their guilt, and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, are able to say, "The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)). That you have sinned, and therefore are a lost sinner, cannot be denied, but two courses are open to you now, leading to two states hereafter. You can continue in your sin, neglect salvation, and have that which has been done in darkness and secret now, proclaimed upon the housetop then; or you can acknowledge your sin, accept the Christ of God as your Savior, have all your sins cleansed now, and meet Jesus as Advocate instead of Judge then in Eternity. HyP.