GOD'S PURPOSE CONCERNING THE EARTH.
By William Covert
THE Lord purposed when he made the earth that it should be inhabited. That purpose will prevail, for he did not make it in vain. As an evidence of the truthfulness of this proposition study Isa. 45: 18. The Lord works all things after the counsel of his own will. Eph. 1: 11. There can, therefore, be no doubt as to the ultimate outcome, because when God has spoken, he cannot lie. Titus 1: 2. The Strength of Israel will not lie, nor turn from his eternal purposes. See 2 Sam. 15: 29. Therefore, the earth having been brought into being for a place of habitation, it must be made to fulfill that mission. The wisdom that inheres in that purpose is seen when we study the subject of its inhabitants. God was preparing the way for man's creation; and that man, when brought into being, might not be a homeless wanderer, nor an intruder on room belonging to others, the Creator first provided the home, and then made man to inhabit it. The Lord by his Spirit moved upon the mind of David to write for us upon this sweet theme, saying: "Our God is in the heavens; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." "The Lord hath been mindful of us; he will bless us." "Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's; but the earth hath he given to the children of men." Ps. 115: 3, 12, 15, 16. Of course the Lord knew all about the kind of being he was about to create, and what his nature would require, and this was provided for in the formation and endowment of the earth. The ability of God to perfectly adapt his works to the harmony of his purposes is eloquently stated by the Psalmist: "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places." Ps. 135: 6. The seas, the rivers, and the lakes, the aquatic creatures were made. To show his love, his skill, his power, and his wisdom, amphibious nature is made to speak forth his praises. The feathery tribes he has made to traverse the air, and enjoy a field as wholly to themselves as do the fishes in the waters. Then upon the earth, and in the earth, are things innumerable which tell the wonders of the power that formed them and gave them a habitation. It was over all these, and for his interest and enjoyment, that man was created and given dominion. Moses testifies to the existence of this purpose in the mind of the Creator before man was made. His words are these: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Gen. 1: 26. After they were created God revealed to them his purpose, and gave them their commission, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish518the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Gen. 1: 28. The commission noticed in the above scripture is cited by Paul in Heb. 2: 7, wherein he says the Lord crowned man with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of his hands. Could we but behold that Edenic beauty which our first parents saw in the lovely home which God prepared for their habitation, we would long for an inheritance there. It was the hand of the Creator that prepared the home where Adam first dwelt, for says the inspired word, "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed." Gen. 2: 8. It was by divine power exerted on purpose to make happy the holy pair, and beautify their place of abode, that God wrought. No man, since Adam left Paradise, has possessed a home equal to that one which was first given to man. Read the following, and then try to conceive of its beauty: "And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden." Gen. 2: 9. Nothing that was either beautiful or good was left out of that garden. It contained everything "that was pleasant to the sight and good for food." It was Adam's part to dress and to keep that holy and beautiful place. What unalloyed joy was placed within his possession! Every animal, every fish, and every fowl belonged to our first parents. All these were perfectly submissive, and fondly looked to them to be directed. Then they dreaded not the fisherman's rod, the hunter's shot, nor the butcher's knife. No net, no snare, neither goad nor trap, made wild nor terrified Adam's flocks while the forbidden tree remained untouched in Paradise. No storms nor chilling atmosphere made unpleasant that abode. The air was made fragrant with perpetual bloom and the ripening fruit of that place. Of course all can see that God is able to make this earth to be as glorious as that of any place in all the universe. If God has made heaven beautiful, he did it by the same power that he used in beautifying Eden. If there are beautiful landscapes and lovely bowers in the place where God and Christ and angels dwell, it was our Father's power and skill that did it all. Remember, too, that for none in all the worlds has he shown more love than he has manifested for Adam's race, to whom he has given this earth. If we do not now see our home as beautiful and free from pain and sorrow as we wish it were, just call to mind that our Heavenly Father and our Redeemer will bring it about in their own time and way. And now, while we wait a little while for that glad day, let us study the Bible in a few short lessons, that we may know something about how it all is to be accomplished.
Burlington, Vt.