| I Kings 19:12
| And after the earthquake, a fire: but the Lord is not in the fire. And after the fire, a whistling of a gentle air.
| Air. Something similar happened at the giving of the law, and at the propagation of the gospel, Exodus 19:9, 16., and Acts 2:2. The Lord was pleased to shew his prophet the difference between the two laws: the one was full of terror, the other of mildness. (Grotius) --- He insinuated likewise, that he could easily exterminate the offenders, but he chose to bear patiently with them; (Tirinus) and taught his prophet to moderate his zeal, and, after terrifying sinners, to being them to a sense of their duty by gentle means. (Sanctius) (Calmet) --- "His spirit is most indulgent and mild." ....est tenerae serenitatis, apertus et simplex. (Tertullian, contra Marcion xxiii.)
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