42 LESSON VI. 



of God's being economical, when every thing is 

 at his disposal, and he can create at his plea- 

 sure. 



Teacher. Do you not recollect an illustration 

 our Saviour gave of this principle at the very 

 time that he was manifesting his omnipotence ? 



Child. Yes, after he had fed the multitude 

 with the two loaves and five small fishes, he 

 commanded that the fragments should be ga- 

 thered up, that nothing be lost. 



Teacher. You will discover the same prin- 

 ciple displayed in the works of creation. Nothing 

 is superfluous or without its use. The second 

 principle to which I wish you to give your atten- 

 tion is, the compensatory Providence of God. 



Child. What does that mean 1 



Teacher. To compensate is to make amends 

 for any defect, or to give something of equal 

 value for any thing taken away. In nature we 

 often find objects in which there appear nume- 

 rous deficiencies, but on further examination we 

 discover that these are compensated or made up 

 by some admirable contrivance. To make this 

 clear to you, we will reflect upon a well-known 

 instance. Consider the spider, what is its food ? 



Child. Flies and other insects. 



Teacher. And what mode of pursuit should 

 you think best adapted to catching such crea- 

 tures ] 



Child. Flying. But the spider has no wings. 



Teacher. Here then appears a sad deficiency : 

 winged insects are the natural food of the spider, 

 and he has not the means of pursuing them. 



