Earth

I think this song is about a person who lives a life without God.

They spend their time digging in the Earth and becoming filthy through the dirty secrets of mankind. If only they would "brush off the dirt" and let their heart be changed. However, whether they do or not, they will still be appraised and judged before the eyes of God.

The glass house is their whole world, but it's sitting unstably on dangerous fault lines that might collapse the house at any moment. Despite this imminent danger, they continue living life as if it wasn't teetering on the edge of destruction. They deceive themselves in thinking that "live[ing] without a lifeline" is actually a courageous thing to do. In thinking this, they "bend the definition of faith" to convince themselves that ignoring the bad situation is okay because they believe that trust in the situation and their own ability is more important than their faith in God, their only true lifeline. They think "'til the sirens sound, I'm safe," meaning that they believe their treacherous situation is okay because they still have time before the emergency earthquake sirens are sounding telling everyone to evacuate the house. They won't change their ruinous lifestyle until it's too late and everything they know and love collapses all around them.

When the house finally comes crashing down it's a chaotic mess, and everyone near them is affected and swept away in the wreckage of their life. They waited too long for the inevitable disaster from living a foolish life that couldn't sustain itself, and now they're all suffering from its collapse. The countdown to utter destruction has begun and it's "too late too pull itself together." The echo is God, and being "as wide as the equator" shows that He is the one thing big and powerful enough to contend with the Earth. He is the one relief from collapse, travelling "through a world of built up anger" to redeem it.

There was destruction in the collapse, but it was an agent of change. In their fear, they ended up making the situation worse until they were completely helpless to the forces ripping them apart. In their desperation, they realized that there was nothing to do but "fold [their] hands and pray." When they prayed, things changed "like a domino," and the flames rose to engulf them.

The flames weren't there to wipe them out, however. They were there to save them. Think of the parable of the potter. God shaped everyone from a formless lump of clay into a truly beautiful creation, but even a beautiful pot is of no use to anyone until it has been through the fire of the kiln. Thus, it's not until they've surrendered and cried out to God that they're put through the final fire that brings about their change in heart and saves them from destruction. The Earth can be redeemed.