In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of the Tower of Babel from the book of Genesis. He highlights how the people of that time decided to build a city and a tower that would reach up to heaven, in an attempt to make a name for themselves and avoid being scattered. The preacher emphasizes the theme of man-gathered and God-scattered. He also references previous topics discussed in the sermon series, such as man's melody and God's remedy, and God's provision and man's decision. The sermon concludes with a personal anecdote about a woman who attended the preacher's meetings but had not yet become a Christian.

Well, as this is our last opportunity of being here in front of you, we've enjoyed our stay. In the will of the Lord, we shall be moving away the day after Christmas and going further south to take some opportunity of serving the Lord down there. We shall value your prayers as we move away. We're so glad that we came. We've enjoyed it. We could go on staying here and be very happy about it. But there are lots of other people who are waiting for us to visit with them and to be some measure of help and blessing to them, and so we have to keep moving. And then our friends over in Africa, even now, are beginning to say, when are you coming back? So in due course, we hope to be able to get back among them. Well now, this evening, I want to follow up what we've been dealing with. You remember that I reminded you this morning, looking back at this wonderful book, the book of Genesis. We have tried to gather some of the precious truths that are there. Genesis is certainly Genesis. It's really the sweet plot of the whole Bible, and when we get into it, it's difficult to get out of it. And so first of all, I said we would deal with man's malady and God's remedy. We saw that man's malady was sin, he missed the mark. God's remedy was sacrifice, it was a sin offering. There were lots of things that came before us, very precious, and then we took note of God's provision and man's decision as we looked into the story of Cain and Abel, how that God showed what his provision was, and we saw man's decision was to turn his back upon God. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and visited the city. He followed through and saw a little of the seed of Cain and what happened regarding them. And then we moved on and we saw how that as they began to multiply and spread over the face of the earth, that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually. God must deal with this. He could not let it go on. Such utter appalling corruption must be dealt with, and we saw that God dealt with it by bringing in that flood of judgment and sweeping away that utter appalling corruption. Men had destroyed themselves, and then God finally destroyed them. As Pharaoh hardened his heart again and again, and finally God hardened it. As the Gentiles gave themselves up to that which was so evil in the sight of God, so God gave them up. And God has kept to this all the way through. Whatever you give yourself up to, God himself may eventually give you up to it. His Spirit will not always strive. There's a limit to God's striving with man. And then we saw that God brought in that flood of judgment, and he had a voice for it. Now I would like to say something just now, because from one or two questions asked by friends, I rather feel that something of what I said this morning was not very clear. You know lots of things I say are quite clear to me, but they're probably just about as clear as mud to you. So I have to be careful and see to it that I do explain things clearly. Now a thing that seemed to be not so clear was this, that I mentioned to you Peter, in his epistle, speaking about Noah and those that were with him in the ark, speaking about the flood. And as he did so, he brought up the word baptism, and said this was a light figure, having reference to the flood. This was a light figure. And then I tried to explain this. Now I wonder if we could just look at it for a moment. Think of God's judgment in the flood as being a baptism. That's the thing. It was a baptism, a baptism of death. Then remember again that our Lord Jesus Christ, when thinking of the cross, said that he had a baptism to be baptized with. Not the baptism in the Jordan, in water, but the baptism of the cross, the baptism of death. So now you think of the flood, that judgment of God coming upon the people, it was a baptism. Peter, in thinking back over it, saw it as a baptism. And he says, the light figure unto which baptism doth also save us. Not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience, and then goes on to speak of the resurrection of Christ. So that the flood, the judgment of the flood as a baptism, was a figure. And our baptism, as those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, is a figure. And this all refers to the cross, which was a baptism. It was a baptism of death. Now I said this morning that in this baptism that we find in the flood, we have before us death, and burial, and resurrection. Now the flood itself, being the judgment of God, they were all involved in it. All those who were there at that time were involved in this baptism of the flood. But there was a difference, that those who were outside of the ark, to them it was a baptism of death and burial, and that was all there was to it. But to those who were within the ark, it was a baptism of death, and burial, and of resurrection. Because in the ark, they came through onto resurrection ground. So then, we think of this now for a moment, that there is a picture to us. We can see those outside the ark, death, burial, and that was the end. God put them away. And then we see those inside of the ark, and they're in that death, and in that burial, but they're brought through, and they eventually come out onto a clean swept earth. They come out onto resurrection ground. We have to remember that it was the very flood itself, it was the very judgment of God that brought them through onto resurrection ground. Not the judgment of God that they were saved from, but the judgment itself. That was their deliverance. Now remember again, that when we look at the cross, it was the judgment of this world. The flood was the judgment of God at that time. The cross was the judgment of God at that time. And the whole creation is involved in that death of Christ. Now you think of that for a moment. God is looking at the cross of Christ, and he is seeing Christ there as dying, as being taken down from the cross, and as being buried, and as being raised again the third day. And that to God was the judgment of this world. Now for those who are outside of Christ, for those who have never accepted Christ as Saviour, that cross means they are dead and they're buried, and that's the end of them. Now remember, this is something Provence has not yet actually carried out. As far as God is concerned, it is, as though it were carried out, that all men and women in that cross are shown there to have been dead and buried, and that's the finish of it. But you see, God sends forth his servants to preach the gospel, and those who believe in that gospel are like Noah when he got into that ark. You see, they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, they are sharing there in that death and that burial, but now in Christ they're brought through onto resurrection ground. So you see, that judgment of the flood is a picture of that judgment of the cross. Now when we are baptized, if we follow our baptism as it is in the scripture by immersion, then we have the same thing. We have brought before us death and burial and resurrection, all three. So this is a picture, is it? The flood is a picture, our baptism is a picture, the reality is in the cross of Christ. There was the judgment of this world. I hope I've made that clear. So then now we can turn our attention to what we find following the flood. Turn to Genesis if you have your bible, and let us look at chapter 11. Genesis chapter 11, and the whole earth was of one language and of one speech, and it came to pass as they journeyed from the east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, go to let us make brick, and burn them truly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said go to let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built it. And the Lord said behold the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do. And now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from them upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth, and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Now we can leave our reading there, but we must remind ourselves that we have to take into consideration chapter 10 with chapter 11. These two chapters, as we look at them, are bringing before us the cause and the effect, but not quite in that order. Chapter 10 really is bringing before us the effect, and chapter 11 brings before us the cause, so that as you're reading in chapter 10, then you have what resulted from God's action in chapter 10, when he confused the language and scattered them abroad. So let us remember we must keep these two chapters together. As we're looking at chapter 11, we've got to remember chapter 10. Now these scriptures are bringing before us a great human operation, a great human operation. Men at that particular time, they were getting together, and they were working out a tremendous movement. I don't think we really enter into what a tremendous thing this was, but here we find it that they were getting together, and they had the dream of a tremendous human operation. But these verses also bring before us a tremendous divine intervention, something that God himself did. So if we look carefully at chapter 10, and we follow through with the sons of Ham, we can count four in this line, and we come to one whose name was Nimrod. So we have Noah, and Ham, and Cush, and Nimrod. And we're told that this man Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord. In this line of Ham, he was an outstanding character, a very noted personality. His name, Nimrod, which means the rebel. Now this man must have had this tremendous dream, something that he wanted to put into operation. This tremendous movement. He was the man that evidently dreamed it. Now if we follow through again, in the line of Shem, in verse 21, we find that Shem, or to the father of the children of Eber, the brother of Jesus, the elder, even to him were children born. In verse 25 we see, and unto Eber were born two sons. The name of one was Peleg, and he was called Peleg, which means division, because in his days was the earth divided. So then, the fourth in the line of Ham was Nimrod. The fifth in the line of Shem was Eber. And from Eber, we eventually get the word Hebrew, and Eber's son, Peleg. It was in his day that the division of the nations took place, and these two men must have been contemporary, the two of them, there at the same time. So we find in the one, Nimrod, this tremendous movement, this tremendous operation. But with regard to Eber, his son Peleg, the division, there we have this tremendous divine intervention with regard to man. So now then, we look at the story, and we see here that these men, this race of people, as they were moving along, they came to this great plain of Shinar, and there they decided that they would get together, and they would make brick, and they would build a city and a tower that would reach up to heaven. And so they said, let us make brick, let us burn them truly, and they had brick for stone, and they had slime for mortar. And they said, go to let us build a city and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make as a name, lest we be scattered. Now notice that, lest we be scattered. Now my subject this evening is, man gathers and God scatters. You may wonder why. Man gathers, God scatters. Now as we are looking at this, we see these people getting together, and now they say, let us make brick, let us build a city and a tower, lest we be scattered. Now we can see in this tremendous human operation that there were three things. First of all, there was the purpose, and that purpose was unity. And then there was the program, and the program was united effort. And then the principle, and the principle was, let us make a name for ourselves. The principle was human glory. Now there you have it. In this tremendous human operation, the purpose, unity. The program, united effort. The principle, human glory. Now was there anything wrong with that? Unity, united effort, human glory, let's make brick, let's build a city, let's build a tower, we will reach to heaven. Is there anything wrong with unity? Anything wrong with united effort? Anything really wrong with human glory? Well no, no. But let's remember this, that this was an attempt on the part of man to consolidate against God. That was the trouble. They meant to consolidate themselves at a race of people right there on the plane of Shinar. And were they permitted to do that, they would frustrate the purpose of God, because God's intention was that they should scatter. God's intention was that they should move out over the face of the whole earth. Colonization is the word that we should probably use. So in the mind of God, there was no thought of all the people being together as one, but rather that they should move out, that they should be scattered. And in this way, they would fulfill what was in the mind of God with regard to the economy of the human race. That they were determined that they would consolidate in this way, and that they would consolidate against God. Was there anything wrong with regard to their desire to build a city? No. Or even a tower for that matter. Was there anything wrong with it? No. You may remember that when we look back at the book of Genesis, I draw your attention, I drew your attention to this fact, that we began with that which was very primitive. We found that God had made man and made woman, and he put the man and woman in a garden, he planted a garden. And there we have a picture of a man and a woman in a garden, and they were able to eat of the fruits of the trees of the garden. And in that garden there was a river which divided into four heads, and there was in that garden the tree of life. All this is very primitive. It's all a beginning. These were sinless. The sinless inhabitants of that garden, a beautiful garden planted by God himself, where everything was good. But that was not the intention of God, that the man and the woman should just stay there in the garden forever and ever. What was in the mind of God was this, that those two would multiply and fill the earth. That out from them would come a race of people. So he made the man with the capacity of a man, and the woman with the capacity of the woman, and it was possible for them to bring forth children, and in this way to multiply and fill the earth. There was nothing wrong with them doing that. It was perfectly right in the sight of God. They should be able to do that. It was not just the man and the woman in that garden, but sinless. These two were sinless. And had they produced children as they were, those children would have been sinless. And so God would add about a sinless population. But where were they? They would be in a garden. Well, is that what God wanted then? A race of people in the garden? No. Because back of what he said to them when he said, we're out into the garden to dress it and to keep it, there was the thought of progress and development. Because in the garden there was everything that would be required for the building of a city. So you see, what was in the mind of God from way back in the beginning was not just a garden, but a city in the garden. Now this is in the book of Genesis. And when you go back again to the end of your Bible, what do you find? You find a garden. And in the garden what? A river. It's the river of life. And in the garden a tree. It's the tree of life. You see, there it is right at the end of your Bible. But in that there was something else. What was it? A city. The city of God. So finally God has his garden city. It was in his mind from the beginning. So he intends to have it eventually. And he will have it. The very same thought that was in the mind of God is in the mind of man. Who put it there? Oh God put it there. What is the thought? The thought of the city. Man can't get away from it. Always there's this desire to come together, to consolidate, to build up. And so you have all over the world. Cities, towns, villages. Not just men and women living in gardens, you see. All the time there's this movement. And so what was in the mind of God is found in the mind of man. And now these men, they get together. And what is it? They say, well here we are on this great plane of China. What are we going to do? Go to, let's make bricks. Let's use bricks for stones. Slime for mortar. Let's build that city, that tower that will reach to heaven. Let's make a name for ourselves. So we're going to frustrate the purpose of God. God says no. So there you have a glimpse of this great human operation. This unity, united effort, and all have induced the glory of man. When we go back to Genesis and we think of God there with that man and woman and that thought of a race of people being brought. When we go back to that we remember that that would all have been for God's glory. But when these men got together and they wanted to build the city, they were going to build it to make a name for themselves. They were going to do it for their own glory. And God said never. And so we have this great divine intervention. As they said, go to, let us break, make brick. Go to, let us build a city. Go to, let us make a name for ourselves. God looked down and he said, go to. Let us go down and confuse their language. Go to, let us go down and scatter them. Why? Just because God wanted to scatter? No. You see this human operation? You see this divine intervention? It was a scattering. There was a confusion of speech, and it was all going to issue in the glory of God. Never for the glory of man. And so we see now this confusion of language, this divine intervention. Now let's get this clear. The people have got the idea that when God confused the language, all these people began to talk some kind of language that was not understood. Nobody understood the other, you see. Now God is not the God of confusion. He's a God of order. And if God confused the languages, he did it in an orderly way. And he did it because he was thinking of the good of man. He was thinking of the welfare of man, and he was thinking of his own glory. And so he stepped in, and in a very orderly way he confused the language. So he didn't understand, but he did it in a very orderly way. I told you chapter 10 is the effect of chapter 11. And you will notice in chapter 10 that in verse 5 it says, By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands, everyone after his tongue, after their families, and in their nations. That was God scattering. That was God dividing. In Pele, the son of Eber, he is dividing the nations. Now look again down at verse 20. These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. As he did with Japheth in dividing according to their lands, their tongues, their families, their nations, so he did with Ham. Look again down at verse 31. These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations, and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood. So you see, this was the orderly effect of God confusing the language. He divided the nations. He separated them according to their tongues, according to their families, according to their nations. He did it. This was a divine act. God divided them. God segregated them. Any attempt at integration of nations would be cutting across the very purpose of God. This is something we need to take heed to. Any attempt at fusion of one nation with another, to provide in some way a multi-nation, would be against the mind and will of God, because he divided them, and he scattered them. He made them move out. He did it. And any attempt on our part to bring them together is going against the mind and will of God. Now, why then did God scatter? Because you see, God's intention was to scatter in order that he might gather. Man gathers, but he doesn't gather according to the mind and will of God. So God scatters in order that he may gather according to his mind and will. Now then, we find these people were on the plane of Shinar. What were they doing? Making bricks, and preparing slime. They had bricks for stone, they had slime for mortar, and they were building a city and a tower that would reach to heaven. God scattered all that. They left off building in order that he might gather. How does he gather? He goes away to the hills and the mountains, and he digs out living stones, not bricks, living stones. And he builds them up using not slime, but he uses the cementing of the spirit, and he builds up a city, a habitation for himself, for those sinless inhabitants that he has brought in, that he has gathered together. So, you see how wonderful this story is, as we look into it and see this tremendous human operation, this trying to get together. Now you know, this is a man who can't get away from it, but there's nothing wrong with it really. But you watch out for all these movements, and you'll find when it comes to imperialism, that's the same idea. When it comes to Nazism, when it comes to fascism, when it comes to communism, all these things, basically, they're the same. Man is essentially one. One blood god made all nations for the dwell upon the face of the earth, and when he scattered them, they were scattered, and they're the same thought. And when you find this effort to come together, to have this unity, this united effort, this human glory, you'll find it in all these big movements, in imperialism, in Nazism, in fascism, in communism. It's all there, you see. If only they could see that basically it's the same, what a difference it would make. But oh, what they're concerned about is what is going on in this hemisphere, and what is going on in that, you know, what a difference it would make. So, we fail to see what was in the mind of God, and what God intended to have, and so of necessity, when they came together in this way, God must come in, and he must have put a stop to it. He must scatter them, that he may gather them in his own way. And so, we find living stones that Peter speaks of, coming to that living stone Christ, building up a spiritual house. Eventually, we're going to see. You know, the effort in those days, Nimrod, the rebel, type of a greater rebel, he was a mighty hunter before the Lord, in the sight of the Lord, in the consciousness of the government of the Lord, you know, the Lord had his eye on that man. He knew. He knew what was going on. And so, you find all through the ages, there has been this effort on the part of men to build up Babylon. They're working hard today to build up Babylon. And all along the other side is God, and he's working, and he's building up Jerusalem, the city of God. And these two are very opposite. What man is building up, and what God is building up. And finally, the final outcome is going to be what? Fallen, fallen is Babylon. I beheld the city of a new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven, as a bride adorned for her husband. The tabernacle of God is with man. So, all through the ages, men are getting together, unity, united effort, and this human glory, they're working together, but they're consolidating against God himself. All this effort today at unity, unionism, ecumenicalism, all of it's got the same thought. All of it is this consolidating, this coming together. All this has within it, that which has to do with the glory of man, man's glory. They may talk about church reunions, but you know your church reunions can be godless. They can be for human glory, and if they are, then the result's going to be very serious. So, let's watch out. Let's bring ourselves into line with what's within the mind of God. Don't you think this is a wonderful thing? That we're living in chapter 11, and there are these people building a city, and a tower that will bring us to heaven. And we come to chapter 12 and what do you see? You see a man there, packing up his things, and he's going out. Do you know his name? His name's Abraham. He's packed up everything, and he's going. He says, wait just a minute. Abraham, where are you going? He says, I'm going out there. Out where? A city? Well, it's here. They're building it there. You want a city? There it is. He says, I'm not interested in that. Abraham went out to look for a city which had foundations. He's building a maker, and building a mighty city. That's not chapter 12. Chapter 11, here they are, human glory. And here's a man turning his back on it. He says, yeah, but it is a city. No, he says, that's not it. It's this one. I'm going out to look for the city of God. And he went out, and he hasn't found that city yet. Neither have we, but we shall eventually find it. If, if we're willing to come into line with what we have brought before us in the Word of God, are we going to put ourselves into line with what man is building up? Or are we going to come into line with what God is building? Are you going to become entangled in all that which is material? Or are you rather going to be taken up with that which is spiritual? What God is building up is something spiritual. What man is building up is something material. Eventually, the judgment of God's going to come upon us. And the call to us today is to come out from that. Come out from Babylon, my people. Come out from it. Come away. Come out to me. Abram, you come out. And he came out to God, and eventually he was called a friend of God. He took silence with the Lord God himself. I trust every one of us here this evening have seen how precarious it is to be entangled in what man is doing today, in all these efforts, right in themselves. But remember, they're all seeking only the glory of man, not the glory of God. Anything that man today can project upon the screen of the sky is a moon. He carried out amazing things. God says nothing shall be withheld from them. Oh, we'll get to the moon. And people said, get to the moon, don't talk nonsense. We will get to the moon. Never. It's impossible. It's out of the question. We will get to the moon. You must be mad. But they got there. Then he came back. What man can project out from his own personality onto that screen? He can work it out. He can produce it. But what is it for? Has he got in mind the glory of God? Has he got in mind some ulterior motive? What's he thinking about when he tries to do these things? Is he thinking of God's glory? No. So, we should take heed to ourselves, find out just where we're heading for. What are we really interested in? And then, as the Lord may enable us, pull out of this man's effort, and let's line ourselves up with what God is doing. I remember some years ago, I was standing on the platform, and as I started the message, I saw an old lady come through the door. And I watched her coming in with a walking stick, rather bent. When I said to myself, I said there, I said, Lord, if that old lady isn't a Christian, it's time she was. And she came right up to the front seat, sat there, and I knew she was listening carefully to all I had to say. And as soon as I'd finished, she got up and she made her way out. The next night, I saw her coming through the door again, and she sat on the seat at the front. And again, I said, Lord, if that old lady is not a Christian, it's time she was. The next night, she was there again. And I thought, well, I know now why she comes and sits on the front seat, because evidently she's rather deaf. And when I got to where I was staying that night, the friend said to me, Mr. Brown, there's a parcel for you over there. Oh, I said, has it come by post? No, they said, that old lady brought it, you know, the one that sits on the front seat. Oh, I said, is it? So I went over and picked it up and said, you'd better be careful. Well, I said, why? Because they said it's rather breakable. Oh, I said. So I opened it up and there was a dozen farmhouse eggs in it, and a pound of farmhouse butter, and a little piece of paper says, for the preacher. So I said, at least folk may notice this stuff. It's for the preacher. So I said, now tell me, is that old lady a Christian? Well, not that we know of. I said, doesn't she usually come here? No, she's only come here while you've been here. Where does she live? She lives in a little cottage, just two rooms along the road there. I said, I'm going to see her in the morning. So in the morning I went along and knocked on the door, no reply, knocked again, no reply, knocked a bit harder, no reply. Oh, smile. Oh, come in, come in, come in. So I went in, and it was a very, very poor little place, but it was spotlessly clean. Sit down, sit down, she said. So I had to shout loud. So I sat down and I said, Mother, I want to thank you very much for bringing me those lovely eggs and that nice farmhouse butter. She said, don't mention it. I just wanted to help you a little bit. I said, well, that's very kind of you. Now tell me, I said, you're not. No. Well, I said, now, you've been coming to these meetings and you've heard me preaching. Now don't you think you ought to be a Christian? No. Well, I said, I don't understand you, Mother. I said, how old are you? She said, I'm 84. I said, you're 84, not a Christian. No. Well, I said, you want to be a Christian, don't you? No. Well, I said, now tell me why. She said, I'll tell you why. She said, for 84 years, I've been in service for the devil. Now you want me to turn to God and give him the flag end of my life. I'm not the kind of woman that would do that. If I served the devil for 84 years, I'll go on serving him now, for the rest of the time that's mine. And you know, I don't know what to say. I'm not the kind of woman to turn to God to offer him the flag end of my life. If I've served the devil 84 years, then I'll go on serving. I said, Mother, what's that Bible doing there? Oh, she said, I've read that morning and evening since I was a little girl who went to Sunday school. I said, you have? She said, yes. I said, and you're not a Christian? No, I'm not. Well, I don't understand. Well, she said, I'm telling you, I am not a Christian, and I will not be a Christian. I've gone on so many years like this, I'll go on till the end. I said, what end? Well, she said, what have I got left? Maybe a year or so, I don't know. She said, I don't know, maybe only a few months. I said, yes, Mother. Then when you come to the end of that few months of that year, I said, what then? Well, she said, well, that's the end. I said, Mother, I'm going to tell you something. That is not the end. What do you mean? I said, that is the beginning. She said, don't you be stupid. I said, I'm not being stupid, Mother. I'm telling you that when you come to the end of those few months of that year or so, you've come to the beginning. Beginning of what? I said, the beginning of eternity. And what do you decide now? There's not so much concerned about the few months or the year or so that's left with your life down here. It has to do with eternity. And I saw a frightened look in her face, and I watched her, and I was praying, Lord help this poor soul. Eight to four years, she said, in the service of the devil. And now she said, I'm not going to give the fag end of my life to God. I said, Mother, it's not a question of the fag end of your life, it's a question of eternity. And she looked at me, and I said, still there's a battle going on. And then I saw the face softening up, and she said, well, I didn't realise that. I was always thinking about the fag end of my life. I said, I know, but now you're thinking about eternity. Yes. Yes, she said, it's a matter of eternity, and oh, I wouldn't like to spend eternity with someone who was not a Christian. I will now. I'll accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal saviour, and a change on her face. She said, will you pray for me? I said, yes, Mother. And she knelt down, and I had to kneel down so I could shout into her ear so that she could hear me pray. And from then onwards, whenever I went there, it was my son. And I said, yes, Mother. And so Mother and Son. And I went on for about two or three years, and that dear old soul, she disappeared one day. And I went round to see her, and she wasn't there. And I said, the woman living in the next cottage, where's the old lady from here? She said, that old lady, she said, oh well, she went on the carrier's cart, you know, they have a cart that goes from one village to another. She went on the carrier's cart this morning, she said, and the poor old carrier had to help her to get up there. And when she came back, I said, Mother, you want to know? I said, yes. She said, my son, I've been using the fag end of my life. I said, you have? She said, yes. What have you been doing? I've been back to where I was born and where I live. I went into the butchers shop, and when I went in he looked at me and he said, well, Mother, he says, what do you want this morning? She said, I don't want any of that old meat you've got there. He said, Mother, this is the best meat there is in all the district. She said, yes, but it's meat that perishes. He said, what you want is meat that endures unto eternal life, she said. And he looked at me and he said, yes, my son, he said, you're Mrs. Barrett, aren't you? She said, no, I'm not. I'm you, Mrs. Barrett. She said, oh, Mrs. Barrett, go on, this is you, Mrs. Barrett. And you, that endures unto life eternal. And she walked out, and she walked out, there was a baker's cart coming down the street, and the old baker looked at her and she stopped him, and he said, Mrs., you want some bread? No, she said, I don't want any. He said, that's the best bread that's ever made in this area. She said, no, that's bread that... He said, I'm you, Mrs. Barrett. No, I'm you, Mrs. Barrett. Well, I'm never... He said, you've been away for years and years. She said, yes, I come back to tell you, you need that bread that endures unto eternal life. And so, as you all start passing through the village, talking to one another, you've been a fag end of a life. Tremendous, isn't it? Oh, that we might all realize how to line ourselves up with what God is endeavoring to secure, rather than going on with what man is building up, which finally, fall and fallen in Babylon, the judgment of God comes upon us. Shall we pray? O God, our Father, to Thee we give thanks again for Thy precious Word, for what we find in it that helps us to understand ourselves, to search our hearts, to examine ourselves, to see just where we are going, just what we are interested in, whether involved in what men are doing today, or whether we are becoming more and more involved in what Thou art doing, in that which is material or in that which is spiritual. Help us, each one, to examine our hearts with regard to these things, and to bring ourselves into line with that which Thou art about to secure in us, that which Thou art building up, that we shall be found among those sinless inhabitants in that holy city, the near Jerusalem, all being for Thy glory. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.