44 ON THE FUTURE EXISTENCE OF THE LOWER ANIMALS. 
necessary to believe that they will be individually such as have 
lived on earth before. This, however, seems to be the case from 
the expression in the sixth verse, ‘ A little child shall lead them.” 
There is no question that the little children will be those which 
have lived on earth before, or which shall be living at the time of 
the commencement of the millennium, and it seems only reason- 
able to suppose that the animals mentioned will also be the same. 
The argument, however, which is most generally resorted to 
for the sake of proving that animals are to have no future existence 
is that in Psalm xlix. They are expressly called ‘‘ the beasts that 
perish ;” but if we carefully examine the whole Psalm, I think we 
shall find that it has no reference whatever to the subject. I may 
premise that it is the only passage in Scripture where it is contended 
that the word ‘perish ”’ signifies to be annihilated. Wherever 
else it occurs it means to come by a violent death: as, ‘‘I shall 
one day perish by the hand of Saul;’’ “Lord, save me, I perish.” 
Now, what beasts are they that usually perish or come to a violent 
end? Surely cattle that are slaughtered for human food; and 
these, I think, we shall find are meant by the ‘beasts that 
perish,” mentioned in the Psalm. The object of the Psalm is to 
keep us from envying or being depressed at the prosperity of the 
wicked in this life; and if understood asI venture to propose, it is 
most admirably calculated to effect its purpose. The first eleven 
verses describe the pride and seeming security of wicked rich men ; 
but in the twelth verse we are told that notwithstanding this 
outward and apparent prosperity, the state of such persons, far 
from being an enviable one, is comparable to that of the “‘ beasts 
that perish.” In what way this comparison is fitting we read in 
the 14th verse, ‘‘They lie in the hell like sheep, death 
gnaweth upon them, and the righteous shall have dominion over 
them in the morning.”’ Itis only necessary to understand what is 
meant by ‘‘in the hell” in order to grasp the meaning of this 
verse. The “hell” is a stall partitioned off from a slanghter- 
house, in which are placed the live cattle waiting their turns to be 
slaughtered. ‘Thus understood, how well adapted is the simile to 
keep us from being envious of the prosperity of the wicked. 
