I. God is the CREATOR of all earthly things: "The man and the beast that are upon the ground." The earth is not eternal, net the production of chance, not the work of many Gods. It has one Maker. This agrees with all true science.

II. God is the SOVEREIGN DISPOSES of all earthly things. "Have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto Me." He might have built it and left it uninhabited, or He might have populated it with other creatures than those who tenant it now. He has given what He thinks fit of it to individuals, tribes, and nations.

(Homilist.)

I have in my house a little sheet of paper on which there is a faint, pale, and not particularly skilful representation of a hyacinth It is not half as beautiful as many other pictures I have, but I regard it as the most exquisite of them all My mother painted it; and I never see it that I do not think that her hand rested on it, and that her thought was concerned in its execution. Now, suppose you had such a conception of God that you never saw a flower, a tree, a cloud, or any natural object, that you did not instantly think, "My Father made it," what a natural world would this become to you! How beautiful would the earth seem to you! And how would you find that nature was a revelation of God, speaking as plainly as His written Word! And if you are alone, in solitude, without company, desolate in your circumstances, it is because you have not that inner sense of the Divine love and care which it is your privilege to have, and which you ought to have.

(H. W. Beecher.)

I. GOD IS THE PROPRIETOR OF ALL.

1. Man's forgetfulness of this in daily life.

2. The harmony of man's being requires a sense of dependence.

3. Depression results from stopping short of God.

II. WISDOM AND SOVEREIGNITY GO TOGETHER.

1. No comfort to know we live under an absolute sovereign.

2. God gives not according to seeming fitness. He sees deeper than what seems.

III. THE UNERRING MIND OF GOD.

1. Cultivate an adoring spirit.

2. Rest on Him in simple belief.

3. Repose in God's law of meetness.

(P. B. Power, M. A.)

I. In it He EXERCISES ABSOLUTE RIGHT. The earth, with all its minerals, fruits, productions, and countless tenants, is His. If He gives a thousand acres to one man and denies a yard to another, it is not for us to complain.

II. In it He ACTS ACCORDING TO HIS OWN FREE CHOICE ALONE. He gives it not on the ground of merit to any man, for now He gave it to Nebuchadnezzar, one of the worst of men. The only principle in the distribution is His own sovereignty. What "seemeth meet" to a Being of Infinite wisdom and goodness must be the wisest and the most benevolent. Here let us hush all our murmurings, here let us repose the utmost confidence. Conclusion — The subject teaches us how we should hold that portion of the earth we possess, however small or great it may be.

1. With profound humility. What we possess is a gift, not a right. We are temporary trustees, not proprietors. He who holds the most should be the most humble, for he has the most to account for.

2. With practical thanksgiving. This indeed is all the rent that the Supreme Landlord requires from us, thanksgiving and praise.

3. With a solemn sense of our responsibility. It is given to us not for our own gratification and self-aggrandisement, but for the good of the race and the glory of God.

4. With a conscious dependence on His will. We are all tenants at will. We know not the moment when He shall see fit to eject us from His land.

(Homilist.).