The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
and clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and dries it up;
he makes all the rivers run dry.
Bashan and Carmel wither
and the blossoms of Lebanon fade.
The mountains quake before him
and the hills melt away.
The earth trembles at his presence,
the world and all who live in it.
Who can withstand his indignation?
Who can endure his fierce anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire;
the rocks are shattered before him.

The great empires of the past, built on war, conquest, bloodshed and violence had their time, and when full of sin then came the awesome judgment of God. The prophets of the time, such as Nahum or Habakkuk, poured out their hearts to God, seeing the rampant wickedness. And God promised that in His time and His way, their empires would fall.

Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed
and establishes a town by injustice!
Has not the Lord Almighty determined
that the people’s labour is only fuel for the fire,
that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.

Yet even in the midst of judgment, mercy is not forgotten. Because God is good.

The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,
but with an overwhelming flood
he will make an end of Nineveh;
he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness.

But that was then, right? An Old Testament avenging God, not the meek and mild version we now have. There are none now who will stand on the ramparts, and grieve. None who will cry in their hearts for the millions of innocents slain in the flood of our lust. None who will see the gathering storm clouds and have a real, healthy fear of the Lord.

Well, not none. There are always a few. Truth is, all kingdoms built on violence will fall, and there is no greater violence than to take our youngest, our most innocent, our very future, and sacrifice them on the altar of self. Our kingdoms will fall, swept away, destroyed by our own hands. We think in our hearts that nobody can touch us, not perceiving that the foundations are already giving way.

But yet, in the middle of cataclysm, those who trust in the Rock of Ages will not be forgotten. For the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge in Him. To those He would say do not fret, do not fear; cast all your anxieties on Me. For in Me, you will never be shaken, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the sea. Though your life be uprooted and everything you know turned upside down, you still have Me. And that is sufficient.