Matthew Henry Commentary Genesis 9:1-3

"And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the heavens; With all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; As the green herb have I given you all." — Genesis 9:1-3 (ASV)

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 labor of animals, and which their flesh also provides. Nor ought we to be less thankful for the security we enjoy from savage and harmful animals, through the fear of humans that God has instilled deep in them. We see the fulfillment of this promise every day, and on every side.

This grant of animals for food fully warrants their use, but not their abuse by gluttony, still less by cruelty. We ought not to pain them needlessly while they live, nor when we take their lives.