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FOUR SHORT TEXTS

N. T. Meek

cities of the nations fell”); Obadiah 21 (“and the kingdom shall

be Jehovah’s”)

There is no obvious connection between these four scriptures,

dear brethren, except that they are all very short, and in a

sense final, at any rate at the time in question. In thinking of

this meeting I thought I should find some texts of five words,

which can be very valuable. Paul speaks of five words with the

understanding (see 1 Corinthians 14: 19). I could not find

many texts of exactly five words, and rather than try to force

the scripture into my thoughts, I thought it would be right and

better for my thoughts to be drawn from the Scriptures. These

four scriptures are very short and terse, and yet there is a

certain fulness in them. I suppose that is understandable

since, being the word of God, there must be a fulness in them.

Paul closes all his epistles with an appeal that the grace of the

Lord Jesus might be with the saints; he couches it

in various ways, and here he says, “be with your spirit”—“the

grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren.

Amen”. It is a very fine benediction, is it not? a fine way of

closing his writing to these saints. He had spoken to them

faithfully; he had appealed to them; his feelings in a peculiar

way had come out in relation to them, “O senseless

Galatians”, he had said (Galatians 3: l). You say, ‘He called

the brethren senseless?’ Yes, and doubtless he was entitled

to. Yet you can see in that word “O” how full his feelings were.

He said he wished he was with them and could change his

voice, but he finishes up with this benediction—“The grace of

our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren”. It was

enough; in that benediction there was enough to save the

whole of Galatia. It must imply that there was an adequate

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