91 And God blesseth Noah, and his sons, and saith to them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth; 2 and your fear and your dread is on every beast of the earth, and on every fowl of the heavens, on all that creepeth on the ground, and on all fishes of the sea—into your hand they have been given. 3 Every creeping thing that is alive, to you it is for food; as the green herb I have given to you the whole;
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 9:1-3
Commentary on Genesis 9:1-3
(Read Genesis 9:1-3)
The blessing of God is the cause of our doing well. On him we depend, to him we should be thankful. Let us not forget the advantage and pleasure we have from the labour of beasts, and which their flesh affords. Nor ought we to be less thankful for the security we enjoy from the savage and hurtful beasts, through the fear of man which God has fixed deep in them. We see the fulfilment of this promise every day, and on every side. This grant of the animals for food fully warrants the use of them, but not the abuse of them by gluttony, still less by cruelty. We ought not to pain them needlessly whilst they live, nor when we take away their lives.