The Alaska citizen., 1915-08-16

l that would have spoiled the lesson God was teaching him, and is teach ing us. namely, that God will take the old clay and, remixing il, will mold it into a vessel of His own design and one fit for the Masters unto Him to make"
 What an infinite and resouceful God is ours, He can and will take up and break us and out of the old clay make d new vessel that will be pleasing and satisfactory to Him.
 We are in His guiding hand. The psalmist tells us how the children of Israel were under the guiding hand of God from Egypt to the the wilderness like flock. He guided them by the skilfulness of His hand. The day they left the land of Egypt. there appeared a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, when it rested they rested. when it moved they broke camp and followed. Through forty years it hung constantly above them and was not removed until they entered the land of Promise
 God guides His children to places of refreshment, for he has most em- phatically declared through His prophet Isaiah that He will not de sert His people, they shall not thirst, for He shall lead them, even to springs of water shall He guide them. He leads them into places of rest as the Psalmist David used to sing. He leadeth me beside the still waters He guides them into Truth. One of the promises that has kept the church in the past and is keeping it today is the promise that the Holy Spirit will guide the people of God into the Truth. Our theology will not go very far astray if We keep studying the word of God, and lis ltlIlS lo llIt Nollt oi lHt .'piI !, keep our ear close to the Word.
 God guides us in the darkness. The word speaks of the hidden treasures of the darkness" One of the most precious of the promises is that the guiding hand of God is over us in the darkness when all else is failing us. The darkness of sin and wickedness, the darkness of false teachings surround His chil- dren, but He will never leave them nor forsake them. Be of good cheer, it is I, be not afraid" Every man who has felt the power of God in his life has learned his most precious lessons in the dark days through which he has been called to pass.
 A few years ago great Atlantic liner was crossing the ocean. It was enveloped by a fog so dense that the captain let the vessel drift for hours. Later the fog cleared away, and soon another one was encounter ed The passengers were surprised to learn that the vessel was continu- ing her speed of 19 knots regard | less of the fog. A passenger asked one of the officers to explain why the speed of the vessel was not re duced. He smiled and replied: "Oh, | the fog we are now in is different ! from the one We were in a few hours ago, then the fog completely en- veloped our whole ship, now the 1 fog is only a little above your head, and this ship is being guided by man up on the mast It is just SC with these little vessels of ours that are launched on the seas of life-they are guided by the Lord Jesus Christ, who, living in glory, sees above the fog. He does not entrust them to those who live on the earth.
 1 Another lesson was learned on the same voyage by the passenger who was learning from the fog. The vessel that he had booked for was | lying a helpless wreck off the coast of Cornwall at Dead Mans Point
 From the vessels deck he could see her helpless in the waves. Sud denly a fog came upon them, and the passengers said one to another: What if our captain makes the same mistake the captain of the
 Paris did, and our ship, with it's l,5OO men and women, is wrecked"' The fog lifted again and the joy of the passengers was supreme as they saw little boat coming out to meet them. Just one man walked up the gangplank, greeted by the cheers of the many passengers. He
 was the channel pilot, and with full confidence, mounted into the cap
 tains place and guided the great
 vessel into the harbor at Southamp-
 ton in safety.
 The vessels captain could gel along well enough on the high seas
 away from danger, but when they
 were nearer the shore they must have a man on board to pilot the