LIFE IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
By William Covert
In the vegetable kingdom there is organic life, but no consciousness. In creation the Lord adapted the vegetable to serve the animal. Every individual plant runs its whole course without sensing its own existence. The goodness and wisdom of the Creator established it so. Things made capable of loving life, and of desiring to keep it, were not designed to prey upon other creatures that possess similar capabilities. Fear, pain, and destruction can not accord with eternal principles; therefore, the Lord did not ordain in the beginning that animal should devour animal. Such provision would consume, but not perpetuate, life—that which all animate beings hold most dear. The work of creation was based upon harmonious principles. First, the mineral kingdom was set in order; then the vegetable, which feeds and depends upon the mineral, was organized; and, last of all, the animal was created and made to subsist upon the vegetable. When this work was perfected, the Lord announced to man that he and all the lower animals were to subsist upon that which the earth should bring forth. “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so.” Gen. 1:29, 30. Should the legitimate and righteous order be observed among all creatures that subsist through eating, this would, of itself, remove a large amount of the sin, the pain, and the sorrow, which sadden the world. Plants, nuts, fruits, and grains do not suffer in preparation for the table, nor do they dread the ordeal of being eaten. They require no contrivance for depriving them of life. No mourning is experienced by them at the loss of their mates. None are ever disturbed by the removing of a neighbor. They make no battle against being taken, nor institute a warfare of retaliation. All food in the vegetable kingdom was made to be an unconscious, passive vehicle, in which the Creator could bear life to the animal world. The vehicle was pure, and admirably adapted to the lawful demands of every creature. Therefore, when the complement of earth’s first six days had taken on material form, the contemplation of it was refreshing even to Him who created it. “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” Gen. 1:31. “And on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.” Ex. 31:17. The trees growing in the central ridge of the Lebanon range in Palestine are an interesting exhibition of life. Around them rise the loftiest peaks of the whole system, covered with perpetual snow. Among these the Lord has set apart a limestone hill conserving the historical cedars. About a dozen ancient trees in this grove, of which the Bible poets wrote, are living still. Some of them measure nearly forty feet in girth. These patriarchs of the hills are surrounded by a family of some four hundred younger members. Among the offspring are those which seem to have lived a thousand years. David attributed the origin of this grove directly to the planting of the Lord. He said, “The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted; where the birds make their nests.” Ps. 104: 16, 17. What an excellent provision the Lord has made in the branches and foliage of these trees for the shelter and nestling of birds! Countless thousands of the feathered tribe have fledged under the protection of their evergreen boughs. Nearly five hundred years after David wrote of these beautiful trees, there appeared in the poetry of Ezekiel a reference to the same grove, which he describes as “the cedars in the garden of God.” Eze. 31: 3, 8. Behold the grand old sentinels of the forest, lifting their heads on high, like huge giants. As one looks upon these lofty ensigns of God’s grace, like ten thousand monuments pointing to the sky, feelings of awe come over his soul, and he is impelled to fall down and worship Him who “hath made His wonderful works to be remembered.” While admiring these things of life, one is moved to search for the hiding-place of that power which lifts them up. Is it secreted in that little cone whence the mighty oak sprang? Did the chestnut burr, with its double trust of life, hold within its house the power to build up the tree? Were there knowledge and strength wrapped up in the winged maple seed, which enabled it to rear that symmetrical form? Did the soil and the seeds combine into a kind of trust to do all these wonderful things? Did the infant plants create within themselves those silent little pumps, which, by perpetual motion, propel their own machinery? Did they, of their own accord, enlarge and perfect themselves? Rather, are not all these wonders performed by the abiding power of God, which, in the beginning, brooded over the earth? Is it not yet brooding over all nature? Understanding it thus, the mystery of budding seeds and growing plants is revealed. A seed beneath the soil sends upward its little blade. Above are clods and crusts, which bind it down. But the life beneath seeks for light and air, and the hardened earth is forced to part and let the life be manifest. This is only the birth of a tiny plant, yet the process teaches an impressive Gospel lesson. The Saviour, in showing how the working of grace within the heart is symbolized by the deliverance of the little blade from the ground, and by its subsequent development until the gathering of the ripened harvest, says: “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day [in his anxiety to know how the seeds grow], and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Mark 4: 26-29. There is ample potency embodied in every fertile seed; and this ever-present power opens the crusted ground, often turning aside things which it would be impossible for the infant germ to move. In the same manner does the power of God lift the heavy burden from the anxious heart, break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free. To the one who knocks for salvation, He says, “The door shall be opened.” No power can silence the plea. “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord; shall I cause to bring forth, and shut up the womb? saith my God.” Isa. 66: 9.