40 



LIFE, IN ITS LOWER FORMS. 



sponge ; they have all the same exposure, and are all 

 recipients of the same nutriment, yet does each act upon 

 this differently. One extracts from the fluid silica, which 

 it causes to assume a solid crystalline form ; another 

 selects in the same manner the calcareous particles, which, 

 obedient to the laws of life, assume figures novel to them 

 in their mineral state ; and again, another rejects both 

 the lime and the flint as injurious to its constitu- 

 tion." * 



So, when the minister of the Word, " a Scribe instructed 

 unto the kingdom of heaven, bringeth forth out of his 

 treasury things new and old," souls of varying powers, cir- 

 cumstances, and necessities, receive the same truths ; and 

 the Spirit of life in their heart, ministering to every one 

 severally as He will, admonishes one, stimulates another, 

 guides a third, comforts a fourth ; and thus the Word is 

 found " profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 

 and for instruction in righteousness. 



The manner in which the Sponges increase their race is 

 highly curious, and affords a beautiful example of the care 

 which the All-wise God has exercised over His lowest 

 creatures. According to Professor Grant,t there are found 

 at certain seasons of the year, within the channels of a 

 living Sponge, innumerable yellow granules, imbedded in 

 the gelatinous flesh. These gradually increase in size, and 

 project more and more into the channels, until at length 

 one by one becomes freed, and is immediately hurried along 

 to the nearest outlet by the constant ex-current. On 

 examination, it is now seen to be a little oval gemmule, 



* Johnston : Brit. Sponges, 16. 

 f Edin. Phil. Journal, xiii 



