are <lifferC'ut in di!Trrenl kinds of anirnnls. The fowls, e. g., were designed to fly through the ntmospl1C'rc; the fi8h to swim in water. (3) In its sphere. 'l'he different living creatnr<'s nre differently located,-the fish in the sea, the birds in the air,-cacl1 one's sphere being adapted to its nature. 3. P1·og1·essi,ve. Science, no less than Scripture, attests that in the introduction of life to our globe there haB been a regular and continuous gradation from lower to higher forms of organ- isalio!1, and has ventured to propose, as its solution of the problem of vital pro- g·rcss1?n, external conditions, embryonic phases, use and disuse of organs, natural ~elect10n, &c. These theories, however, are declared by competent authorities to be insuDicient (via. Page's 'Philosophy of Geology,' p. 108). The solution of Scripture -special ci·eation-has at least the merit of being sufficient, and has not yet been disprm·ed or displaced by modern research. 1V. ITS EXCELLENCE. God saw that it was good-1. As the handiwork of God- Nothing that God makes can be otherwise than beautiful and good (Eccles. iii. 11; 1 Tim. fr. 4). 2. As an ornament to nature. Without the vegetation of the third day the world would present an extremely uninteresting and uninviting appearance. Much more would it be devoid of attraction and cheerfulness if the myriads of sentient beings mth which it is peopl<'d were absent. 3. As the servant of man. From the first it was prepared with the express intention of being subjected to man's don:1inion, and doubtless the Creator's approbation had regard to this beneficent '1es~,1. V. ITs rEnPETDATION. "Of the causes which have led to the origination of living m,itter," says Huxley, "we know absolutely nothing; but, postulating the existence of li\"ing matter endowed with that power of hereditary transmission and with that tendency to vary which is found in all matter, Mr. Darwin has shown good reason for believing that the interaction between Jiving matter anrl surrounding conditions, which results in the sun·i,·al of the fittest, is sufficient to account for the gradual crnlution of plants and animals from their simplest to their most complex forms" (' Ency. Brit.,' art. Biology). Moses accounts for the origination of living creatures by a Dirine creation, and for their continuance by the Divine benediction which made it the law of their being to propagate their kind and to multiply in masses. The remarkable fecundity which by the blessing of Elohim was conferred upon bot)! fish and fowl is graphically portrayed by Milton (' Par. Lost,' vii. 387). That from neither the aquatic nor aerial creatures has tl1is power of kind-multiplication departed naturalists attest. "All organised beings have enormous powers of multiplication. Even man, who increases slower than all other animals, could, under the most favour- able circumstances, double his numbers every fifteen years, or a hundred-fold in a century. Many animals and plants could increase their numbers from ten to 11 thousand-fold every year" (Wallace' on Natural Selection,' p. 265). Lf.ssons :-1. Adore him who is the Author and Preserver of all life in the creatures. 2. R.P.spect the mystery of life; and what we cannot give let us be careful not to destroy. 3. Appreciate tlie value of the living creatures.
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AU'l'IIOUS. \C'rS. 20-23.-Tliefift!i day. I. LIFE UNDER THE BLES_SING OF Gon. 1. Ab_undance. Swarming waters, swarming arr, preparing for the swarmmg earth. "~e fru1tfo!, and multiply." The absence of all restraint because as yet the absence of em. God B law is Jibe1iy. The law of life is the primary law. If there be in man'.a w.or~d a c.ontra- diction between the multiplication of life and the happiness of hfe, 1t IB a sign of departure from tlie original order. 2. Gro'fl,,t,k! improvement, ad".ancement towards perfection. Tlie fisli, fowl, beaet, man ell:1St_ w. a s~heme of .tlunge; the type _of 1mimal life is carried up higher. 'fhe mult1pl1~ation 1s. ~ot for its. own sake, b1;1t for tl,e future. Generations pass away, yet t~ere 1~ an ab1dmg ble.ss1l!g. _Death IB not real, tbougb seeming, destruction. There 1s a lngher nature which 1a bemg m11turcd:. 3. Servi.a of the lower for t~ hi,gher. . God ~lessee _the animal races for the sake 01 wan, the interpreter of creat10n, the voice of its praise. He blesses tlie lower part c,f l,uman life for tlie sake of the soul. II. LnE UNDER THR aovr.P.NMENT or Goo. The immense productiveneM of .,D, I, 24-31.] THE BOOK OF GENESIS. 29
nature would become n cur~e, not a blessing, unless restrained by its own laws. The 1wnrming seas nnd air represent at once unbounded activity 'and universal control by mutual dependence nnd interaction. So in the moral world. It is not life, existenc", nlone that betokens the blessing of God, but the diRposition of life to fo!Iil it~ highest end. We should not desire abundance without the grace which orders its n,e nnd controls its enjoymcnt.-R.