pare us for a deeper assurance. The
spirit of questioning is one of the ordained means of growth. And so the
bewildering sea is our friend, as some day we shall understand. We love to
"lie down in green pastures," and to be led "beside the still waters," and
God gives us our share of this nourishing rest. But we need the mysterious
sea, the overwhelming experience, the floods of sorrows which we cannot
explain. If we had no sea we should never become robust. We should remain
weaklings to the end of our days.

God takes us out into the deeps. But His way is in the sea. He knows the
haven, He knows the track, and we shall arrive!

JUNE The Twelfth

_WAITING FOR THE SPECTACULAR_

"_The waves covered their enemies....
Then believed they His words._"
--PSALM cvi. 1-12.

Their faith was born in a great emergency. A spectacular deliverance was
needed to implant their trust in the Lord. They found no witness in the
quiet daily providence; the unobtrusive miracle of daily mercy did not
awake their song. They dwelt upon the "special" blessing, when all the
time the really special blessing was to be found in the sleepless care
which watched over them in their ordinary and commonplace ways.

It is the old story. We are wanting God to appear in imperial glory; and
He comes among us as a humble carpenter. We want great miracles, and we
have the daily Providence. We see His dread goings in the earthquake; we
do not feel His presence in the lilies of the field. We watch Him in the
smoke and flames of Vesuvius; we do not recognize His footprints in the
little turf-clad hill that is only a few yards from our own door.

It is a great day when we discover our God in the common bush. That day is
marked with glory when our daily bread becomes a sacrament. When we enjoy
a closer walk with God, common things will wear the hues of heaven.

JUNE the Thirteenth

_CLOUDED BUT NOT LOST!_

"_Clouds and darkness are round about Him._"
--PSALM xcvii.

When Lincoln had been assassinated, and word of the tragedy came to New
York, "the people were in a state of mind which urges to violence." A man
appeared on the balcony of one of the newspaper offices, waving a small
flag, and a clear voice rang through the air: "Fellow-citizens! Clouds and
darkness are round about Him! His pavilion is dark waters, and thick
clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are the habitation of His
throne! Fellow-citizens, God reigns!" It was the