He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
Ver. 14. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle] He caused it to grow at first, before cattle were created, Genesis 1:11,12. And so he doth still, as the first cause; by rain and dew from heaven, as the second cause.
And herb for the service of man] Ad esum et ad usum, for food, medicine, &c., Genesis 1:29. Green herbs, it seemeth, was a great dish with the ancients, which, therefore, they called Holus, ab ολον. Aristippus told his fellow philosopher, who fed upon them, If you can please Dionysius you need not eat green herbs, he presently replied, If you can eat green herbs you need not please Dionysius, and be his parasite.
That he may bring forth food out of the earth] Alma parens Tellus "Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat," &c., John 6:27 .