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of all that proceeds; He is to be given that place, just as when

He went into the synagogue at Nazareth and they gave Him

the book. You like to do that, do you not, in the reading?—give

the Lord the book, so to speak. You are conversing, but you

put it in the Lord’s hands; let Him say what truth is to be

brought out. So here it says, “And he left off talking with him”.

Well, He was going to come again; He comes again in the next

chapter; but for the moment it is final, and Abraham would

have been left there; God had left him for the moment. These

things are very real, dear brethren; the divine presence is very

real. I just suggest that we must beware lest we become too

formal. But if the meeting is going well, why should you not

carry on? I know we have to be practical, but why should we

not carry on? We must not get too formal; we have got to be

regulated, we have got to be sensible, we have got to be

practical, but let us enjoy the meeting until the Lord, so to

speak, leaves off talking, and that finishes it.

Now I read in Revelation 16 just this simple statement, “the

cities of the nations fell”; just six words, that “the cities of the

nations fell”. You think of how long it has taken men to build up

their cities; you think of all that there is in them that speaks of

the glory of man; their antiquity. Some of them are very, very

ancient cities; Damascus is a very ancient city, still extant.

How famed they are; how powerful; what an attractive

influence they have on mankind; the cities draw men into

them; they become great; they are built up, their libraries, their

public buildings; their names become known the world over.

Who has not heard of Chicago or London? A great and

powerful influence large cities have on mankind, and

especially on us when we are young, with their sights, their

history, their traditions. Persons go on a tour of a great city to

see its sights. How large it seems! yet in six simple words God

brings all down—“the cities of the nations fell”. May they come

down in our hearts, beloved; may the evil influence of them be

weakening. God speaks in this book about a city that does not

fall down; it could not be said of Jerusalem that it fell; it is soon

coming down. Jerusalem does not fall down; it is soon coming