An Ark for All God's Noahs in a
Gloomy Stormy Day or,
The Best Wine Reserved Until Last
or,
The Transcendent Excellency of a
Believer's
Portion above All Earthly Portions
by Thomas Brooks, 1662
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore
I will hope in Him." Lamentations 3:24
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
I shall come now to the third thing, and that is, to make
some PRACTICAL APPLICATION of this blessed and glorious truth to ourselves;
and, therefore,
Is it so, that God is the saint's portion, and that he is
such an excellent, and such a transcendent portion above all other portions,
as has been fully evidenced? Then,
[1.] First, Let not the saints
who have God for their portion fret and vex themselves, because of those
earthly portions which God commonly bestows upon the worst of men.
There is a great aptness in the best of men to envy those earthly
portions which God often bestows upon the worst of men. The lights of the
sanctuary have burnt dim, stars of no small magnitude have twinkled, men of
eminent parts, famous in their generations for religion and piety, have
staggered in their judgments, to see the flourishing estate of the wicked.
It made Job to complain, Job 21:7-16, and Job 24:12, and Jeremiah to
expostulate with God, Jer 12:1-2, and David even to faint and sink, Psalm
73.
To see the prosperity of the ungodly; to see the wicked
in wealth and the saints in want; the wicked in their robes and the saints
in their rags; the wicked honored and the saints despised; the wicked
exalted and the saints debased; the wicked upon thrones and saints upon
dunghills—is a sight that has sadly put the best of men sometimes to
fretting. But this is a temper of spirit that does in no way befit those who
have God for their portion. Therefore the psalmist, in Psalm 37, cautions
the saints against it no less than three times, as you may see in Psalm
37:1, 7-8. There is nothing that does so ill become a saint who has God for
his portion, as to be sick of the frets. And to prevent this mischief, this
sickness, the precept is doubled, and redoubled, "fret not, fret not, fret
not." Those who have God for their portion should never fret or fume, storm
or rage, because some are greater than they, or richer than they, or higher
than they, or more honorable than they—because all their prosperity is
nothing but an unhappy happiness; it is nothing but a banquet, like Haman's,
before execution; and what man is there, that is in his wits, who would envy
a malefactor who meets with an amusement as he is going along to execution?
All a wicked man's delicate meats, his fine sweets, and
his murdering morsels, are sauced; and all his pleasant and delightful
drinks are spiced—with the wrath and displeasure of an angry God! Why then
should you fret and vex at their prosperity? What madness and folly would it
be in a man who is heir to many millions, to envy a stage player that is
clothed like a king—but yet not heir to one foot of land, no, nor worth one
penny in all the world, and who at night must put off his royal apparel, and
the next day put on his beggarly habit? Oh, sirs! it will be but a little,
little while—before the great God will disrobe the wicked of all their
prosperity, felicity, and worldly glory, and clothe them with the rags of
shame, scorn, and contempt forever. Therefore, oh what folly and madness
would it be for those who are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ of
all the glory of heaven, to envy the prosperity of the wicked, Rom 8:17.
The prosperity of the wicked lays them open to the worst
and greatest SINS.
[1.] First, It lays them open to all uncleanness and
filthiness, Jer 5:7-8.
[2.] Secondly, It lays them open to pride and contempt of
God, Psalm 73:3-13; Deut 32:15.
[3.] Thirdly, It lays them open to vex, oppress,
tyrannize, persecute, insult, and triumph over the poor people of God, as
you may see in Pharaoh, Saul, Ahab, Jezebel, Haman, and the scribes and
pharisees.
[4.] Fourthly, It lays them open to a neglect and
slighting of the ways of God, and of the ordinances of God, Job 21:5-16; Mal
3:13-15; Jer 22:21. When the protestants in France were in their prosperity,
they slighted powerful preachings, etc., and began to relish a vain frothy
way of preaching and living, which ushered in the massacre upon them. Moulin
hit it, when, speaking of the French protestants, he said, "when the papists
hurt us and persecute us for reading the scriptures, we burn with zeal to be
reading of them; but now persecution is over, our Bibles are like old
almanacs."
[5.] Fifthly, It lays them open to a stupidness,
unmindfulness, and forgetfulness of the afflictions of the people of God,
Amos 6:1-8. Pharaoh's chief butler was no sooner set down in the seat of
prosperity—but quite contrary to his promise, he easily forgets Joseph in
misery.
[6.] Sixthly, It lays them open to dreadful apostasy from
the ways and worship of God, Deut 32:15-18. No sooner was Israel possessed
of the good land which flowed with milk and honey, etc.—but they forsook the
true worship of God, and fell to the worshiping of idols, for which at last
the good land spewed them out as a generation cursed and abhorred by God.
[7.] Seventhly, It lays them open to all carnal security,
as you may see in the old world—their prosperity cast them into a bed of
security, and their security ushered in a flood of sin, and that flood of
sin ushered in a flood of wrath, Matt 24:37-39.
[8.] Eighthly, It lays them open to idolatry, which is a
God-provoking and a land-destroying sin, Hos 2:6-8, and Hos 4:6-7, etc. Ah,
sirs! who can seriously consider of the dreadful sins that the prosperity of
the wicked lays them open to, and yet fret and vex at their prosperity?
Again, as their prosperity lays them open to the greatest
sins, so their prosperity lays them open to the
greatest TEMPTATIONS. Witness their tempting of themselves,
and their own lusts; and witness their temptings of others to the
worst of wickedness and villainies; and witness their frequent tempting and
provoking of the great God to his own face; and witness their daily,
yes, their hourly tempting of Satan to tempt their own souls. O sirs!
as there is no condition that lays people open to such great transgressions
as prosperity does, so there is no condition that lays people open to such
horrid temptations as prosperity does; and why then should God's holy ones
envy wicked men's prosperity, and worldly glory, etc.
Again, Their prosperity, and
worldly felicity and glory, is all the portion—and all the heaven and
happiness that ever they are likely to have. Psalm 17:14, "From
men of the world, who have their portion in this life." Certainly, men whose
hearts are worldly, whose minds are worldly, whose spirits are worldly,
whose desires are worldly, whose hopes are worldly, and whose main ends are
worldly—have only the world for their portion; and what a pitiful perishing
portion is that! Men that choose the world as their portion, and that
delight in the world as their portion, and that trust to the world as their
portion, and that in straits run to the world as their portion, and that
take content and satisfaction in the world as their portion; doubtless these
have never known what it is to have God for their portion.
That is a very heart-cutting and soul-killing word that
you have in that Matt 6:2, "Verily I say unto you, that they have their
reward." The scribes and pharisees desired the eyes of men, the praise of
men, and the applause of men, for a reward of their alms, etc., and Christ
tells them, that they have their reward; not God's reward—but theirs; that
is, that reward that they had propounded to themselves, as the prime and
ultimate end of their actions. And doubtless that word was a thunderbolt to
Dives, "Remember that during your life you received your good things, just
as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are
in agony." Luke 16:25. Wicked men have their best here, their worst is to
come. They have their comforts here, their torments are to come. They have
their joys here, their sorrows are to come. They have their heaven here,
their hell is to come.
Gregory being advanced to great preferment, professed
that there was no scripture that struck so much terror and trembling into
his heart, as that scripture did, "Here you have your reward." [Matt
6:2,5,16] Had wicked men but their eyes in their heads, and a little
understanding in their hearts, and life in their consciences, they would
quickly conclude that it is hell on this side hell, for a man to have all
his portion in this world; and why then should you envy the prosperity of
the wicked?
Again, All their prosperity is
cursed unto them; as you may see by comparing these scriptures
together. [Deut 28:15-68; Lev 26:14-89; Prov 3:33; Mal 2:2] All their
comforts are cursed. There are snares on all their tables, and poison in all
their cups, and the plague in all their fine clothes, etc. Dionysius the
tyrant, to show Damocles, one of his flatterers, the felicity, or rather the
infelicity, of a king, attired him as a king, and set him at the table,
served as a king; and while he was in his imperial robes, be caused a naked
sword, with the point downward, to be hung just over his head by a horse
hair, which made Damocles to tremble, and to refrain from both food and
mirth. Though the feast was a royal feast, and the attendance royal
attendance, and the music royal music—yet Damocles, for his life, could not
taste of any of those rich varieties that were before him, nor take any
comfort or contentment in any other part of his royal entertainment, because
of the sword, the sword—which hung but by a single hair over his head. O
sirs! a sword, a sharp sword, a two-edged sword, a sword of displeasure, a
sword of wrath, a sword of vengeance—hangs over the head of every wicked
person when he is in his most prosperous and flourishing condition! And had
sinners but eyes to see this sword, it would be as the handwriting upon the
wall; it would cause their thoughts to be troubled, and their countenances
to be changed, and their joints to be loosed, and their knees to be dashed
one against another! Why, then, should Christians fret and vex at the
prosperity of the wicked?
Again, When wicked men are at
the highest, then are they nearest their fall; as you may see in
Psalm 37, and Psalm 73, and in those great instances of Pharaoh, Adonibezek,
Benhadad, Ahab, Sennacherib, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Herod,
etc. [Exod 14; Judg 1:6-7; 1 Kings 20,22; 2 Kings 19; Esther 6:4; Dan 5]
Look! as the ship is soonest cast away when she is full sail, so when wicked
men are at the top—when they are at the height of all their pomp, bravery,
and worldly glory—then God usually tumbles them down into the very gulf of
misery! The great ones of the world have suddenly fallen from their highest
honors and dignities, and have been sorely and sadly exercised with the
greatest scorns and calamities. Let me give you this in a few remarkable
instances.
Valerian, the Roman emperor, fell from being an emperor
to be a footstool to Sapor, the king of Persia, as often as he took horse.
Valens the emperor, being wounded in a fight with the
Goths, in his flight he betook himself to a poor cottage, wherein he was
burnt by the Goths.
Aurelianus, the Roman emperor, brought king Tetricus, and
the noble queen Zenobia of Palmerina, in triumph to Rome in golden chains.
Bajazet, a proud emperor of the Turks, being taken
prisoner by Tamberlain, was bound in chains of gold, and used him for a
footstool when he mounted his horse. And when he ate meals, he made him
gather crumbs under his table and eat them for his food.
Caesar, having bathed his sword in the blood of the
senate and his own countrymen, is, after a while, miserably murdered in the
senate by his own friends, Cassius and Brutus, to show that they are but the
scourges and rods of the Almighty, which he will cast into the fire as soon
as he has done with them.
The victorious emperor, Henry the Fourth, who in
sixty-two battles was victorious, fell to that poverty and misery before he
died, that he was forced to beg in his old age, whereupon he broke forth
into that speech of Job, "Have pity upon me, O my friends, for the hand of
the Lord has touched me," Job 19:21. He died of grief and poverty.
King Guidimer, who was once a potent king of the
Vandals—was brought so low as to entreat his friend to send him a sponge, a
loaf of bread, and a harp—a sponge to dry up his tears, a loaf of bread to
maintain his life, and an harp to solace himself in his misery.
Dionysius, king of Sicily, was such a cruel tyrant that
his people banished him. After his banishment he went to Corinth, where he
lived a base and contemptible life. At last he became a schoolmaster, that
so, when he could no longer tyrannize over men, he might over boys.
Great Pompey, who used to boast that he could raise all
Italy in arms with a stamp of his foot, had not so much as room to be buried
in.
William the Conqueror's corpse lay three days unburied,
his interment being hindered by one that claimed the ground to be his.
Pythias pined to death for lack of bread, who once was
able to entertain and maintain Xerxes's mighty army.
Philip de Comines reports of a Duke of Exeter, who though
he had married Edward the Fourth's sister—yet he saw him in the low
countries begging barefoot.
And so Belisarius, a most famous general, and the only
man living in his time for glorious victories, riches, and renown—yet in his
old age he had his eyes put out by the empress Theodora; and being led at
last in a string, he was forced to cry out, 'Give a crust to old blind
Belisarius!'
By all these royal instances, you see the truth of that
which once a royal slave hinted to Sesostris. The story runs thus: Sesostris
having taken many of his neighbor kings prisoners, he made them to pull his
chariot by turns. Now, it so happened that one of these royal slaves, as he
was drawing in the chariot, had his eye almost continually fixed on the
wheels, which Sesostris observing, asked him why he looked so seriously upon
the wheels. He answered, that the moving of that spoke lowest which was even
now highest, put him in mind of the instability of fortune. Sesostris, duly
weighing the parable, would never after be drawn by his royal slaves any
more.
By what has been said, it is more evident that when
wicked men are highest they are nearest their fall; and that none fall so
certainly and so suddenly, and under such dreadful calamities and miseries,
as those who have been the most highly advanced in all worldly dignities and
glories. And why, then, should any fret or vex at their outward prosperity
or worldly felicity?
Again, God will bring them to an
account for all those talents of power, of honor, of riches, of trust, of
time, of interest that God has given them in the world; and the
more they have employed the liberality and bounty of God against God or his
glory, or interest, or people—the shorter shall be their felicity, and the
more endless shall be their misery, Matt 25:14-31. The greatest account and
the greatest damnation commonly attends the great ones of the world. I have
read of Philip the Third of Spain, whose life was free from gross evils,
professing that he would rather lose all his kingdoms than offend God
willingly; yet being in the agony of death, and considering more thoroughly
of that account he was to give to God, fear struck him, and these words
broke from him, "Oh, would to God I had never reigned! Oh that those years I
have spent in my kingdom, I had lived a private life in the wilderness! Oh
that I had lived a solitary life with God, how much more confidently would I
have gone to the throne of God! What does all my glory profit me now—but
that I have so much the more torment in my death, and the greater account to
give up to God!"
I have read of a soldier, who, about to die for taking a
bunch of grapes contrary to his general's command, as he was going along to
execution, he went eating of his grapes, whereupon one of his
fellow-soldiers rebuked him, saying, What! are you eating your grapes now
you are going to execution? The poor fellow replied, 'O, friend, do not envy
me my grapes; for I shall pay a dear price for them, I shall lose my life
for them;' and so accordingly he did.
So I say, Oh you who have God for your portion, do not
envy, do not fret and vex, at the prosperity of the wicked; for what though
they have more than their heart can wish, what though they live in pleasure
and wallow in all carnal and sensual delights, etc.—yet they have a sad
account to give up to God, and they shall pay dear at last for all their
worldly enjoyments. For without sound repentance on their part, and
pardoning grace on God's part, they shall not only lose their lives—but they
shall also forever lose their immortal souls. Therefore never fret at their
prosperity!
O sirs, remember that Lazarus did not fret nor fume
because Dives had robes for his rags; and delicacies for his scraps. Lazarus
very well knew that though he was without any earthly good—yet he was not
without God. He had a guard of glorious angels to transport his holy,
precious, heaven-born soul into Abraham's bosom. He knew that it was better
to beg on earth, than to beg in hell. O sirs, what is darkness compared to
light, earth compared to heaven, chaff compared to wheat, tin compared to
silver, dross compared to gold, or pebbles compared to pearls? No more are
all earthly portions compared to that God, who is the saints' portion; and,
therefore, let not the saints, who have such a matchless portion, envy the
prosperity and felicity of wicked men.
It is the justice of envy to torment the envious; and,
therefore, shun it as you would poison in your food, or a serpent in the
way. A man were better have a serpent tumbling up and down in his bowels,
than to have envy a-gnawing in his soul. Envy is as pernicious a
wickedness, as it is a foolish and a groundless wickedness.
Envy is a scourge to scourge the soul; it is a serpent to sting the soul; it
is a poison to swell the soul; it is a saw to saw the soul; it is a moth
that corrupts the soul, and it is a canker that eats up the soul. Therefore
fly from it, as you would fly from the most cruel and destroying adversary!
O sirs, to be angry, because God is bountiful to others!
To frown, because God smiles upon others; to be bitter, because God is sweet
in his dealings with others; and to sigh, because God multiplies favors and
blessings upon others; what is this but to turn others' good into our own
hurt, others' glory and mercy into our own punishment and torment? And if
this be not to create a hell in our own hearts, I am much mistaken.
I shall conclude this first inference with the counsel of
the prophet in that Psalm 49:16-17, "Do not be overawed when a man grows
rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing
with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him." When the
bodies of the wicked are rotting in their graves, and their souls are
roaring in hell, none of their worldly greatness, pomp, state, glory,
gallantry, riches, houses, or revenues, shall descend after them to
administer one drop of comfort to them. Therefore never envy their outward
prosperity or worldly glory. "This is what the wicked are like—always
carefree, they increase in wealth. When I tried to understand all this, it
was oppressive to me—until I entered the sanctuary of God; then I
understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery
ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed,
completely swept away by terrors!" Psalm 73.
(2) Secondly, If the saints have such an excellent, such
a transcendent, and such a matchless portion, oh then,
let them be content with their present condition, let them sit
down satisfied and contented, though they have but a handful of meal in
their barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, 1 Kings 17:12. O sirs, in having
of God you have much, in having of God you have enough, in
having of God you have all! Why then should you not sit down quiet
with your present concition? Certainly, if much will not satisfy you, if
enough will not satisfy you, if all will not satisfy you—then nothing will
satisfy you.
Heb 13:5, "Let your lives be without covetousness (or
love of silver, as the Greek word signifies); and be content with such
things as you have (or as the Greek has it, be content with present
things)—for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you." There are
five negatives in the Greek, "I will not, not, not, not, not leave you nor
forsake you;" fully to assure and fully to satisfy the people of God that he
will never forsake them, and that he will everlastingly stick close to them.
What does this unparalleled repetition—"I will never, never, never, never,
never," import but this, "I will ever, ever, ever, yes and forever and ever
take care of you, and look after you, and be mindful of you." Though they
had changed their glory for contempt, Heb 11:36-38, their fine raiment for
sheepskins and goatskins, their silver for brass, their plenty for scarcity,
their fullness for emptiness, their stately houses for holes and caves, and
dens of the earth—yet they are to be contented and satisfied with present
things, upon this very ground—that God will always cleave to them, and that
he will never turn his back upon them. The Hebrew Christians had been
stripped and plundered of all their goods that were good for anything, and
yet they must be contented, they must sit down satisfied, with their hands
upon their mouths, though all were gone, Heb 10:34. Though men cannot bring
their means to their minds—yet they must bring their minds to their means,
and then they will sit down in silence, though they have but a rag on their
backs, a penny in their purse, and a crust in their cupboards, etc.
O Christians! a little will satisfy nature; less
will satisfy grace; though nothing will satisfy men's lusts;
and why then should not Christians be contented with a little? O friends!
you have but a short journey to go, you have but a little way home, and a
little will serve to bear you UP, until you come to heaven. Therefore be
contented with a little. To have more than will serve to bring a man to his
journey's end is but a burden. One staff is helpful to a man in his
journey—but a bundle is hurtful; and this, doubtless, Jacob well understood
when he made that proposal in Gen 28:20-21, "If God will give me bread to
eat, and raiment to put on, then shall the Lord be my God." Jacob does not
say, If God will give me delicacies and sweets to eat—he shall be my God! Oh
no! But if he will give me but bread to eat, though it be ever so coarse,
and ever so black, and ever so dry—he shall be my God. He does not say, If
God will give me so many hundreds, or so many thousands a year—he shall be
my God! Oh no! But if he will give me bread to eat—he shall be my God. Nor
he does not say, If God will give me so many thousands in my purse, a
comfortable home, and a thriving trade—he shall be my God! Oh no! But if he
will give me bread to eat—he shall be my God. Nor he does not say, If God
will give me costly apparel, or rich and royal raiment to put on—he shall be
my God! Oh no! But if God will give me raiment to put on, though it be ever
so mean and poor—he shall be my God. If Jacob may but have a little bread to
feed him, and a few clothes to cover him—it is as much as he looks for.
Look! as a wicked man in the fullness of his sufficiency
is in straits, as Job speaks, Job 20:22, so a holy man, in the fullness of
his straits, enjoys an all-sufficiency in God, as you may see in Jacob. O
Christians! though you have but little—yet you have the highest and the
noblest title that can be to that little that you do enjoy; for you have all
in God, as the apostle shows in that large charter of a Christian, 1 Cor
3:21-23, which the wicked do not. Now, a hundred a year upon a good title is
a better estate than a thousand a year upon a cracked, flawed title. Saints
have the best title under heaven for all they enjoy, be it little or be it
much. But all the titles that sinners have to their earthly enjoyments are
but defective titles, yes, in comparison of the saints' titles, they are no
titles.
Again, That little that a saint
has, he has it from the special love and favor of God; he has it
from a reconciled God, Prov 15:17. Now, a little from special love is better
than a great deal from a general providence. A penny from a reconciled
God—is better than a pound from a bountiful God; a shilling from God as a
father—is a better estate than a hundred from God as a creator. The kiss
that a king gave to one in the story, was a greater gift than the golden cup
that he gave to another; a little, with the kisses of God's mouth, is better
than all the gold of Ophir, Song 1:2. A drop of mercy from God's special
love is better than a sea of mercy from God's common bounty. Look! as one
draught of clear, sweet spring water is more pleasing, satisfying, and
delightful to the palate—than a sea of brackish salt water; so one draught
out of the fountain of special grace is more pleasing, satisfying, and
delightful to a gracious soul—than a whole sea of mercy from a spring of
common grace! Therefore do not wonder when you see a Christian sit down
contented with a little.
Again, That little that a
Christian has shall be certainly blessed and sanctified to him, 1
Tim 4:3-5; Titus 1:15; Jer 32:41, etc. Though your mercies, O Christian, are
ever so few, and ever so base—yet they shall assuredly be blessed unto you.
The Lord has not only promised that he will bless your blessings to you—but
he has also sworn by himself that in blessing, he will bless you; and how
dare you then, O Christian, to think that the great and faithful God will be
guilty of a lie, or that which is worse, of perjury? Gen 22:16-17.
Now, a little blessed by God—is better than a
great deal cursed by God! A little blessed—is better than a
world enjoyed; a pound blessed—is better than a thousand cursed; a black
crust blessed—is better than a feast cursed; the gleanings blessed—are
better than the whole harvest cursed; a drop of mercy blessed—is better than
a sea of mercy cursed; Lazarus's crumbs blessed—was better than Dives'
delicacies cursed; Jacob's little blessed unto him—was better than Esau's
great estate which was cursed unto him. It is always better to have scraps
with God's blessing—than to have manna and quails with God's curse; a thin
table with God's blessing—is always better than a full table with a snare,
Psalm 78:18,32; a threadbare coat with God's blessing—is better than a
purple robe cursed; a hole, a cave, a den, a barn, a chimney-corner, with
God's blessing—is better than stately palaces with a curse; a woolen cap
blessed—is better than a golden crown cursed; and it may be that emperor
understood as much, that said of his crown, when he looked on it with tears,
'If you knew the cares that are under this crown, you would never stoop to
take it up!'
And, therefore, why should not a Christian be contented
with a little, seeing his little shall be blessed unto him? Isaac tills the
ground, and sows his seed, and God blesses him with a hundred fold, Gen
26:12; and Cain tills the ground, and sows his seed—but the earth is cursed
to him, and commanded not to yield its produce, Gen 4:12. Oh, therefore,
never let a Christian murmur because he has but a little—but rather let him
be still a-blessing of that God, who has blessed his little, and who
does bless his little, and who will bless his little to him!
Again, That little estate that a
righteous man has, is most commonly a more lasting, a more abiding, a more
permanent, and a more enduring estate—than the great and large estates of
the wicked are, Prov 15:16, and Prov 16:8. Psalm 37:16, "A little
that a righteous man has—is better than the riches of many wicked." One old
piece of gold—is worth more than a thousand new pennies; and one box of
pearls—is more worth than many loads of pebbles; and one hundred pounds a
year forever—is better than many hundreds in hand.
It is very observable the psalmist does not simply say,
the estate—but the rich estate; the riches not of one, or a few—but of many
wicked, are not comparable to that little that a righteous man has. The
Hebrew word that is here rendered riches, signifies also a multitude, or an
abundance, or store of riches. A little that a righteous man has is better
than the multitude of riches, or the abundance of riches, or the store of
riches that many wicked men have; and he gives you the reason of this in
Psalm 37:17. "For the arms of the wicked shall be broken—but he upholds (or
under-props) the righteous." By the arms of the wicked," you are to
understand their strength, their valor, their power, their wit, their
wealth, their abundance, which is all the arms they have to support and bear
up themselves in the world with. Now, these arms shall be broken, and when
they are broken, then, even then, will God uphold the righteous, that is,
God will be a continual overflowing fountain of good to his righteous ones,
so that they shall never lack, though all the springs of the wicked are
dried up round about them.
O Sirs! there are so many moths, and so many dangers, and
so many crosses, and so many losses, and so many curses—which daily attend
the great estates of wicked men, that they are very rarely long-lived. Ah!
how many in this great city are there who have built their nests on high,
and who have thought that they had laid up riches for many years, and that
have said in their hearts, that their lands, and stocks, and trades, and
houses, and pompous estates should abide forever—who are now broken in
pieces like a potter's vessel! Ah! how often does the pride, the oppression,
the lying, the cheating, the overreaching, the swearing, the cursing, the
whoring, the covetousness, the drunkenness, and the wantonness of the
wicked—cut the throat of all their mercies! These are the wicked nesses,
which, like a fire—burns up all their outward enjoyments; and which turns
their earthly paradise into a hell. It is the wickedness of the wicked which
causes their prosperity to wither, and which provokes God to turn their
plenty into scarcity, their glory into contempt, and their honor into shame.
It is very observable, that in the holy Scriptures the
prosperous estates of the wicked are frequently compared to things of a
fleeting existence, [Job 14:2; Job 21:17-18; Isaiah 29:5; 2 Kings 19:26;
Job 24:24; Job 15:33; Job 20:8] to a shadow which soon passes away;
to chaff, which a puff, a blast of wind easily disperses and
scatters; to grass, which quickly withers before the sun; to tops of
corn, which in an instant are cut off; to the unripe grape, which suddenly
drops down; yes, to a dream in the night; and what is a dream—but a
quick fancy, and a momentary vanity? All the riches that the wicked
gain—either by their trades, or by their friends, or by their great places,
or by their high offices, or by their subtle contrivances, or by their
sinful compliances; and all the honor they gain in the court, or in
the camp, or in the school—is but light and fleeting; it is but like the
crackling of thorns under a pot. They are fading vanities—which commonly die
before those who enjoy them are laid in the dust.
Oh, therefore, let all Christians be contented with their
little, seeing that their little shall outlast the large estates of wicked
and ungodly men! A man who has God for his portion can truly say that which
no wicked man in the world can say, namely, "Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever," Psalm 23:6. The psalmist does not say that goodness and mercy
should follow him a day, or a few days, or many days—but that "goodness and
mercy should follow him all the days of his life." The Hebrew word which is
here rendered to follow, signifies to persecute; says the psalmist,
"Goodness and mercy shall follow me, as the persecutor follows him he
persecutes;" that is, it shall follow me frequently, it shall follow me
constantly, it shall follow me swiftly, it shall follow me earnestly, it
shall follow me unweariedly. The word signifies a studious, anxious,
careful, diligent following; it is a metaphor that is taken from beasts and
birds of prey, which follow and fly after their prey with the greatest
eagerness, closeness, and unweariedness imaginable. Thus shall mercy and
loving-kindness follow David all the days of his life. And if in a
temptation, he should prove so weak and so foolish as to run away from
goodness and mercy—yet goodness and mercy would follow him, like as the sun
going down follows with his warm beams—the traveler who walks eastward.
O—but now the mercies of the wicked are short-lived!
Though the wicked flourish and spread themselves like a green tree one day;
yet they are cut down the next, and there is neither root nor branch to be
found, tale nor tidings to be heard of them. For in a moment, they, with all
their greatness, state, pomp, and glory—are utterly vanished and banished
out of the world, Psalm 37:35-37. And so, Psalm 34:10, "The young lions lack
and suffer hunger—but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good
thing." Young lions are lusty, strong, fierce, and active to seek their
prey, and yet for all that, they shall lack and suffer hunger. By young
lions, understand:
[1.] First, All wicked rulers; men who are in the highest
places and authority, as the lion is the king of beasts, Prov 28:15; Ezek
32:2.
[2.] Secondly, By lions they understand all cruel
oppressors, who are still oppressing and grinding of the faces of the poor.
Prov 30:30; "rich oppressors," as the Septuagint renders it, "who live on
the spoil of the poor, and are never satisfied."
[3.] Thirdly, By lions, they understand the tyrants and
the mighty Nimrods of the world, who are sometimes called lions, Jer 2:15; 1
Chron 11:22; Nah 2:13.
[4.] And lastly, By lions, they understand all the crafty
and subtle politicians of the earth. Ezek 38:13, "The lion lurks very
craftily and secretly for his prey." The sum of all is this—That wicked men
who are in the highest authority, and that great oppressors, cruel tyrants,
and crafty politicians—shall be impoverished, and brought to poverty,
beggary, and misery. And this we have often seen verified before our eyes.
O Christian! what though you have but a little of this
world—yet the God of all mercies, and all the mercies of God; the God of all
comforts, and all the comforts of God—are yours! What more would you have?
In God is fullness—all fullness, infinite fullness; and if this, with a
little of the world, will not satisfy you—I know not what will. If a God for
your portion will not content you, all the world will never content you.
Shall Diogenes, a heathen, be more content with his tub to shelter him, and
with his dish to drink in, than Alexander was with all his conquests? And
shall not a Christian sit down contented and satisfied in the enjoyment of
God for his portion, though he has but a tub to shelter him, bread to feed
him, and a dish of water to refresh him?
(3.) Thirdly, If God is the saint's portion—those sinners
are much mistaken, who judge the saints to be the most unhappy men in the
world. There are no men under heaven in such a blessed and happy estate as
the saints are, Balaam himself being judge, Num 23:5-11. A man who has God
for his portion, is honorable even in rags, Psalm 16:3. He has some beams,
some rays, of the majesty and glory of God stamped upon his soul, and
shining upon his face, and glittering in his life; and he who is so blind as
not to behold this, is worse than Balaam the witch. Though the blind Jews
could see no form, nor loveliness, nor beauty in Christ that they should
desire him, Isaiah 53:2; yet the wise men who came from the east could see
his divinity sparkling in the midst of the straw; they could see a heavenly
majesty and glory upon him when he lay among the beasts, when he lay in a
manger, Luke 2:7. Witness their tedious journey to find him, and witness
their worshiping of him, and witness those rich and royal presents which
they brought unto him, Matt 2:11.
So though the blind sots of the world can see no beauty,
nor loveliness, nor glory, in the saints, or upon the saints—which should
render them amiable and desirable in their eyes; yet God, and Christ, and
angels, and those who are wise in heart and wise to salvation, can see a
great deal of divine beauty, majesty, and glory upon all those who have God
for their portion. There is no happiness compared to that of having God for
a man's portion. Psalm 144:15, "Happy is that people who are in such a case"
(but give me that word again), "yes, happy is that people whose God is the
Lord." He who does not have God for his portion, can never be happy; and
he who enjoys God for his portion can never be miserable.
Augustine, speaking of one who, passing by a stately
house which had fair lands about it, and asking another whom he met to whom
that house and lands belonged, he answered, 'to such an one.' Oh, says he,
that is a happy man indeed. No, says the other, not so happy as you think;
for it is no such happiness to have that house and land—but he is happy
indeed, who has the Lord for his God—for that is a privilege which exceeds
all things put together. For, says he, he who has honor and riches may go to
hell for all them—but he who has God to be his God, is sure to be
everlastingly happy.
According as a man's portion is, so is he. Now, if God is
a man's portion, who is the spring, the fountain, the top of all excellency
and glory—then certainly that man must needs be an excellent man who has God
for his portion; and upon this score it is that the righteous man is more
excellent than his neighbor. Let the righteous man's neighbor be ever so
great, and ever so rich, and ever so mighty, and ever so noble—yet if he has
not God for his portion, the righteous man is more excellent than he. And
the reason is evident, because he has that God for his portion—which is the
most eminent and excellent portion. O sirs! if God is most excellent, if God
is alone excellent, then they must needs be most excellent, who have God for
their portion.
It is very observable that, according to the excellency
of God, the excellency of the saints is in some proportion hinted at in
Scripture; as in that Deut 33:26,29, There is none like unto the God of
Jeshurun;" and presently it follows, "Happy are you, O Israel; who is like
unto you?" or, Oh the happinesses of you, O Israel! Oh the multiplied
happiness, the heaped-up happiness—which attends Israel! The saints who have
God for their portion, are the world's paragons; they are worthies "of whom
this world is not worthy;" they are such great, such noble, such worthy
worthies—that this world is not worthy to think on them, to look on them, to
wait on them, or to enjoy their company. One saint who has God for his
portion—is more worth than all the millions of sinners in the world that
have not God for their portion. God delights to reflect his glory upon his
saints; for as there are none like to God, so there are none like to the
people of God. Look! as God is great, so his people are great; and so in
that 2 Sam 7:22-23, "Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is none
like you, neither is there any God besides you, according to all that we
have heard with our ears; and what one nation in the earth is like your
people?" Look! as the excellency of God rises—so in a proportion the
excellency of the saints rises; and Look! as there are no gods in all the
world which are so excellent as God is—so there are no people in all the
world who are so excellent as the people of God are.
Everyone who has God for his portion resembles the child
of a king, as Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon of his brethren, Judg 8:18.
If you look upon their divine and heavenly origin, you shall find that they
are born of the blood-royal, and that they are the sons of the King of
kings, and Lord of lords! Yes, all the saints who have God for their
portion, are kings. Rev 1:6, "And has made us kings and priests unto God and
his Father." [Rev 17:14; Rev 5:10; Dan 7:27; 1 Cor 3:22-23; Psalm 34:14; Heb
1:14; Psalm 45:13; 1 Cor 1:30] They have the power, sovereignty, and
authority of kings, they are privileged as kings, they are guarded as kings,
they are adorned as kings, they are entertained as kings, they feed as
kings—they feed high, they live upon God and Christ, and all the glory of
heaven; and they are clothed as kings—they are clothed with Christ's
righteousness, and with the garments of joy and gladness.
Kings have great alliance, and so have the saints who
have God for their portion. Kings have a very great influence, and so have
those who have God for their portion. A man in rags who has God for his
portion—is a more honorable person than the greatest monarch on earth, who
has only the world for his portion. I have read of Alexander the Great, and
of Pompey the Great, and of Charles the Great, and of Abner the Great, and
of Herod the Great; but what were all these great men but grasshoppers,
compared to the saints who have God for their portion? Men who have had God
for their portion have been very famous, illustrious, and glorious—when they
have been friendless, and houseless, and penniless; yes, when they have been
under the swords, and saws, and harrows of persecution.
When Maximian, the tyrant, had plucked out one of
Paphnutius the Confessor's eyes, that good emperor Constantine saw such a
luster, beauty, and glory upon Paphnutius, that he fell upon him and kissed
him; and he kissed that very hole most, wherein one of the Confessor's eyes
had been, as being most ravished and delighted with that hole. The name of
him who has God for his portion shall live, when the name of the wicked
shall rot, Prov 10:7; Psalm 112:9. His name shall be written in golden
characters upon marble, when the name of the wicked shall be written in the
dust.
The blind besotted world are sadly mistaken, who are
ready to set the crown of honor and happiness upon any heads, rather than
upon theirs who have God for their portion. Look! as Samuel, beholding the
beauty and stature of Eliab, would needs have him anointed, and the crown
set upon his head; when the crown was designed for David at the sheepfold, 1
Sam 16:6,12. So vain men are very apt to set the crown of happiness upon
their heads who have the greatest share in this world; whereas the crown of
happiness and blessedness is only to be set on the heads of those who have
God for their portion. What the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon's servants,
"Happy are your men, happy are these your servants—who stand continually
before you, and who hear your wisdom," 1 Kings 10:8, is here very applicable
to the saints—"Happy, happy, yes, thrice happy are those precious sons and
daughters of Zion, who have God for their portion." A man who has God for
his portion shall live happily and die happily, and after death he shall
remain happy to all eternity. Therefore we may well cry out, "Oh, the
happiness and blessedness of that man who has God for his portion!" But,
(4.) Fourthly, If the saints have such an excellent, such
a matchless, portion, oh, then, let them never set
their hearts and affections upon any earthly portions, Prov 23:5.
It is true, O Christian, you may lay your hand upon an earthly portion—but
you must never set your heart upon an earthly portion. Psalm 62:10, "If
riches increase, set not your heart upon them." The Hebrews put the heart
for the thoughts, affections, love, desire, joy, hope, confidence, etc.
If riches increase, oh, set not your thoughts upon them; if riches increase,
oh, set not your affections upon them; if riches increase, oh, set not your
love upon them, set not your desires upon them, set not your joy and delight
upon them; nor ever place your hope or confidence in them.
Oh! what a shame and dishonor would it be, to see men of
great estates to rake in dunghills, and to sweep filthy streets! And is it
not a greater shame, a greater dishonor, to see those who have the great God
for their portion, to set their hearts and affections upon earthly trifles?
It was a noble speech of that heathen, Themistocles, who, seeing something
glisten like a pearl in the dark, scorned to stoop for it himself—but bid
another stoop, saying, 'Stoop you, for you are not Themistocles.' Oh! it is
below a holy Christian, a gracious Christian, a noble Christian—who has God
for his portion, to stoop to the trifles of this world. A holy Christian
will set his feet upon those very things, which the men of the world set
their hearts.
Rev 12:1, "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head
was a crown of twelve stars." The church is compared to a woman for her
weakness, for her lovingness, for her loveliness, and for her fruitfulness;
and being clothed with the Sun of righteousness, she has the moon, that is,
the world, under her feet. The church treads under her feet all temporary
and transitory things, which are as changeable as the moon. She treads upon
all worldly and carnal enjoyments and contentments, as things below her, as
things not worthy of her. What vanity is it for a great man to set his heart
on bird's nests, and paper kites which boys make fly in the air? And as
great, yes, a greater vanity it is for the saints who have God for their
portion, to set their hearts upon the poor little low things of this world.
"It is not for you to be a-fishing for minnows—but for
towns, forts, and castles," said Cleopatra to Mark Antony. So say I, it is
not for you who have God for your portion, to be a-fishing for the honors,
riches, and preferments of the world; but for more grace, more holiness,
more communion with God, more power against corruptions, more strength to
withstand temptations, more abilities to bear afflictions, more sense of
divine love, and more assurance of interest in Christ, and in all that glory
and happiness which comes by Christ.
When Alexander heard of the riches of India, he regarded
not the kingdom of Macedonia—but gave away his gold; and when he was asked,
what he kept for himself? he answered, 'the hope of better and greater
things.' O Christians! when you look upon those riches of grace, those
riches of glory, those riches of justification, those riches of
sanctification, and those riches of consolation—which are in that God who is
your portion—how should you disregard, how should you despise, how should
you scorn the great things, and the mirthful things of the world! It was a
notable speech of one, 'I desire neither wealth nor honor—any more than a
feeble horse does an heavy saddle.'
O Christians! you have many thousand excellencies in
God to set your affections upon, and you have many thousand excellencies
in Christ to set your affections upon, and you have many thousand
excellencies in the Spirit to set your affections upon, and you have
many thousand excellencies in the covenant to set your affections
upon, and you have many thousand excellencies in the gospel to set
your affections upon, and you have many thousand excellencies in the
ordinances to set your affections upon, and you have many thousand
excellencies in promises to set your affections upon, and you have
many thousand excellencies in prophecies to set your affections upon,
and you have many thousand excellencies in choice providences to set
your affections upon, and you have many thousand excellencies in the
saints to set your affections upon. Therefore, for shame—set not your
affections upon things below, set not your hearts upon things which perish,
Col 3:1.
A man can never come to set his heart upon any earthly
portion—but that God will either embitter it, or lessen it, or cloud it, or
wholly strip him of it. Therefore sit loose, I say again, sit loose in your
affections to all worldly enjoyments. But,
(5.) Fifthly, If the saints have such a glorious, such an
incomparable portion; then let them be cheerful and
comfortable under all worldly crosses, losses, and troubles, Acts
5:17-42; Rom 5:2-4. With what a Roman spirit do many vain men of great
estates bear up under great losses and crosses; and shall not grace do more
than nature? Shall not the Spirit of God do more than a Roman spirit? O
sirs, how can you look upon God as your portion, and not bear up bravely
under any worldly loss? Heb 10:34. "You sympathized with those in prison and
joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that
you yourselves had better and lasting possessions." They had God for their
portion, and the joy of the Lord was their strength, and therefore they
could rejoice in whatever damage came upon them by the hand of violence.
And so David could comfort himself in his God, and
encourage himself in his God—when Ziklag was burned, his wives and children
carried captive, and the people were ready to stone him, 1 Sam 30:6. Now all
was gone, he looks up to God as his portion, and so he bears up bravely and
cheerfully in the midst of all extremity of misery.
And so Habakkuk was a man of the same noble
temper, as you may see in that Hab 3:17-18. "Though the fig tree does not
bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and
the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no
cattle in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God
my Savior."
"Though the fig tree does not bud—yet I will rejoice in
the Lord." Ay—but that is nothing, to rejoice in the Lord as long as there
is fruit on the vines; ay—but says he, "Though are no grapes on the
vines—yet I will rejoice in the Lord." Ay—but that is nothing, to rejoice in
the Lord so long as the labor of the olive crop does not fail; ay—but says
he, "Though the olive crop fails—yet I will rejoice in the Lord." Ay—but
that is nothing, to rejoice in the Lord so long as the fields yield their
produce; ay—but says he, "Though the fields produce no food—yet I will
rejoice in the Lord." Ay—but that is nothing, to rejoice in the Lord, so
long as there are sheep in the pen; ay—but says he, "Though there are no
sheep in the pen—yet I will rejoice in the Lord." Ay—but that is nothing, to
rejoice in the Lord, so long as there are cattle in the stalls; yes—but says
he, "Though there are no cattle in the stalls—yet will I rejoice in the
Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation."
Habakkuk could rejoice in the Lord, and joy in that God
who was his portion, not only when all delightful comforts and contentments
should fail—but also when all necessary comforts and contentments should
fail. Habakkuk was a man of raised spirit; he knew that he had that God for
his portion—who contained in himself all comforts and contentments, and who
could easily make up the lack of any comfort or contentment; and who would
certainly be himself in the place of every comfort and contentment; and in
the power of this faith he rejoices and triumphs in a day of thick darkness
and gloominess.
1 Sam 1:5,18, "But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion,
for he loved Hannah, and her countenance was no more sad." O my brethren, it
does never befit those who have God for their portion, to walk up and down
the world with clouded countenances, with saddened countenances, or with
dejected countenances, etc., and therefore, under all your crosses and
losses—wipe your eyes, and walk up and down with pleasant countenances, with
cheerful countenances, and with smiling countenances, and this will be an
honor to God, and an honor to religion, and an honor to your profession, and
an honor to that saintship which is too much slighted and scorned in the
world.
Indeed, when wicked men are exercised with crosses and
losses, it is no wonder to see them behave like madmen, and see them act
bitterly, like Micah, when he cried out, "They have taken away my gods—what
more do I have?" Wicked men's bags and goods are their gods; they are their
portion, they are their all; and when these are gone—all is gone with them;
when these are taken away—all is taken away with them. Therefore it is no
wonder to hear them cry out, "Undone, undone!" and to see them sit down and
weep, as if they were resolved to drown themselves in their own tears.
But you who have God for your portion—you have such a
portion which shall never be taken from you. As Christ told Mary, "You have
chosen the better part which shall never be taken from you," Luke 10:42.
Therefore it highly concerns you to bear up bravely, as well when you have
but little—as when you have much; and as well when you have nothing—as when
you have everything. You shall be sure to enjoy all in God, and God in all;
and what more would you have?
Seneca once told a courtier who had lost his son, that he
had no cause to mourn either for that or anything else—because Caesar was
his friend! O then, what little cause have the saints to mourn for this or
that loss—considering that God is their friend; yes, which is more, that God
is their portion! I have read of a company of poor Christians, who, being
banished to some remote parts, and one seeing them pass along, said, that it
was a very sad condition that those poor people were in, to be thus banished
from the society of men, and to be made companions with the beasts of the
field. True, said another, it would be a sad condition indeed—if they were
carried to a place where they could not find their God; but let them be of
good cheer, for God goes along with them, and will follow them with the
comforts of his grace wherever they go.
Would it not make a man either sigh or laugh to see a man
lament and carry on bitterly for the loss of his shoestrings, when his purse
is safe; or for the loss of a little stick, when all his goods are safe; or
for the burning of a pig-stye, when his dwelling-house is safe; or for the
loss of his scabbard, when his life is safe? And why, then, should a
Christian lament and take on for the loss of this or that—so long as his God
is safe, and his portion is safe? But,
(6.) Sixthly, If the saints have such an excellent and
such a transcendent portion, as has been shown—then
away with all sinful shifts, ways, courses, and compliances to gain an
earthly portion. Was it not horrid, yes, hellish baseness in
Ahab, who had a whole kingdom at his command, to steal poor Naboth's
vineyard, by false swearing, hypocrisy, treachery, cruelty, and murder? 1
Kings 21. But, certainly, it is a far greater baseness and wickedness in
those who have God for their portion, or at least pretend to have God for
their portion—to be a-swindling, and a-shifting, and a-complying with the
lusts of men, and with the abominations of the times; and all to keep what
they have, or else to raise themselves, and greaten themselves, and enrich
themselves, by others' ruin. These men might do well to make Jer 17:11 their
daily companion—"Like a bird that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are
those who get their wealth by unjust means. Sooner or later they will lose
their riches and, at the end of their lives, will become poor old fools."
The crafty fox in the fable congratulated himself to
think how he had tricked the crow out of his breakfast; but when he had
eaten it, and found himself poisoned with it—he wished that he had never
meddled with it. O sirs! there is a day a-coming, wherein men shall wish
that they had never labored to sin themselves into honors, riches,
preferments, high offices, and high places—when God shall let some scalding
drops of his wrath to fall upon their spirits—who have sold all their
concernments, and their own consciences—to gain riches and high offices! How
will they curse the day wherein they were born, and be ready, by the knife
or the noose, to put an end to their most wretched days! Oh what a sad and
lamentable thing would it be to see men worth many thousands a-year
a-purloining from others! But it is a far more sad and lamentable thing to
see men who pretend to have God for their portion, to act all this, and more
than this—and all to lay up an earthly portion for themselves.
How many be there in these days who pretend very high
towards God, and yet "sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair
of shoes," Amos 2:6; yes, who pollute the name of God, the worship of God;
and that slay the souls of men for handfuls of barley, and pieces of bread;
and who will say anything, or swear anything, or bow, or crouch to
anything—for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, or to be put into one
of the priest's offices, Ezek 13:19; 1 Sam 2:36. O Christian, you have all
honors and riches and preferments in that God who is your portion; and why
then should you go about to sin yourself into the enjoyment of those things
which you have already in your God? Have you forgot that Solomon got more
hurt by his wealth, than ever he got good by his wisdom? and that David was
best in a wilderness, and that our stomachs are usually worse in summer, and
that the moon is furthest from the sun when it is fullest of light; and that
all that a man gets by breaking with God and his conscience, he may put in
his eye; and that the coal that the eagle carried from the sacrifice to her
nest, set all on fire.
Have you forgotten what is said of Abraham in that Gen
13:2, namely, "That he was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold?" The
Hebrew word which is here rendered rich, signifies heavy, to
show that riches are a very heavy burden, and oftentimes a hindrance in the
way to heaven. Oh! how vain, how uncertain, how vexing, and how fleeting are
the great things of the world! How unfit do they make many men to live; and
how unwilling do they make many men to die! Oh what is gold in the
purse—when there is guilt upon the conscience! What are full bags—when sin
and wrath are at the bottom of them! O Christians! you have an infinite
fullness in that God who is your portion, and that fills all in all. Why
then should you break the hedge—to gain the world? But,
(7.) Seventhly. If the saints have such an excellent,
glorious, and incomparable portion, 1 Cor 1:31, oh then
let them glory in their portion; let them rejoice
and delight themselves in their portion. Man is a creature very
apt and prone to glory in earthly portions, when he should be a-glorying in
the Lord. Jer 9:23-24, "Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich
man glory in his riches—but let him who glories, glory in this, that he
understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercise loving-kindness,
judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight,
says the Lord." Isaiah 41:16, "You shall rejoice in the Lord, and shall
glory in the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 45:25, "In the Lord shall all the
seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory."
Oh how should the saints, who have God for their portion,
make their boast of their God, and rejoice in their God, and glory in their
God! Shall the men of the world glory in an earthly portion—and shall not a
saint glory in his heavenly portion? Shall they glory in a portion that they
have only in hope—and shall not a Christian glory in that portion that he
has already in hand? Shall they glory in a portion that they have only in
reversion—and shall not a saint glory in that portion that he has in present
possession? Shall they glory in their hundreds and thousands a year—and
shall not a Christian glory in that God that fills heaven and earth with his
glory? In all the scriptures there is no one duty more pressed than this—of
rejoicing in God; and indeed, if you consider God as a saint's portion,
there is everything in God that may encourage the soul to rejoice in him,
and there is nothing in God that may in the least discourage the soul from
rejoicing and glorying in him.
O Christians, the "joy of the Lord is your strength," Neh
8:10; it is your doing strength, and your bearing strength,
and your suffering strength, and your prevailing strength; it
is your strength to work for God, and it is your strength to wait
on God, and it is your strength to exalt and lift up God, and it is your
strength to walk with God; it is your strength to live, and your strength to
die. Therefore be sure to keep up your joy in God. It is one of the saddest
sights in all the world to see a man who has God for his portion, with Cain
to walk up and down this world with a dejected countenance. It was holy joy
and cheerfulness that made the faces of several martyrs to shine as if they
had been the faces of angels. One observes of Crispina, that she was
cheerful when she was arrested, and joyful when she was led to the judge,
and merry when she was sent to prison, and so she was when bound, and when
lift up in a cage, and when examined, and when condemned.
O Christians! how can you number up the several souls
that you deject, the foul mouths that you open, and the bad reports that you
bring upon the Lord and his ways—by your sad, dejected, and anxious walking!
It is very observable that the Lord takes it so very unkindly at his
people's hands—when they go sighing, lamenting, and mourning up and down;
whereas they should be a-rejoicing and a-delighting of themselves in him and
his goodness—that he threatens to pursue them to the death with all manner
of calamities and miseries upon that very score. Deut 28:47-48, "Because you
have not served the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant
benefits you have received, you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will
send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in
everything. They will oppress you harshly until you are destroyed." But,
(8.) Eighthly. If the saints have such a great, such a
large, and such an all-sufficient portion as has been showed they have, then
certainly they shall never lack anything that is
good for them. David tells you that his cup run over, Psalm
23:5-6. The words are an allusion to the Hebrew feasts. David's table was
richly and nobly spread, both in sight and spite of all his enemies. In one
God—is every good; and what can he lack, who enjoys that God? God is a
bundle of all goodness and sweetness. And Look! as God is the best God, so
he is the greatest and the fullest good. He can as easily fill the most
capacious souls up to the very brim with all inward and outward excellencies
and mercies—as Christ did once fill those waterpots of Galilee up to the
very brim with wine, John 2:1-11. If God has enough in himself for
himself—then certainly he has enough in himself for us. That water which can
fill the sea—can much more easily fill my cup or my pot. "My people shall be
satisfied with goodness, says the Lord," Jer 31:14; "And I will make an
everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do
them good, yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good; and I will plant
them in this land assuredly with my whole heart, and with my whole soul,"
Jer 32:40-41; "My God shall supply all your need," Phil 4:19, or, "My God
shall fill up all your need," as he did the widow's vessels in that 2 Kings
4:3-6. Godliness has the promise both of this life and that which is to
come, 1 Tim 4:8.
He who has God for his portion, shall have all other
things cast into his store, as paper and packing thread is cast into the
bargain; or as an handful of corn is cast into the corn you buy; or as
hucksters cast in an extra among the fruit you buy; or as an inch of measure
is given into a yard of cloth, Matt 6:25,31-33. O sirs, how can that man
be poor, how can that man lack—who has the Lord of heaven and earth for his
portion? Surely he cannot lack light—who enjoys the sun; nor he cannot
lack bread—who has all sorts of grain in his barns, nor can he lack
water—who has the fountain at his door; no more can he lack anything—who has
God for his portion—who is everything, and who will be everything to every
gracious soul.
O Christians! the thought, the tongue, the desire, the
wish, the conception—all fall short of God, and of that great goodness which
he has laid up for those who fear him, Psalm 31:19; and why then should they
be afraid of any real lack? Psalm 104:10-31. How does that pretty bird, the
robin-redbreast, cheerfully sit and sing in the chamber window, and yet
knows not where he shall get the next meal, and at night must take up his
lodging in a bush. Oh what a shame is it that men who have God for their
portion should act below this little bird.
I have read of famous Mr. Dod, who is doubtless now high
in heaven, who intended to marry, was much troubled with fears and cares how
he would live in that condition, his incomes being so small that they would
but maintain him in a single condition; and looking out at a window, and
seeing a hen scraping for food for her numerous chicks about her, thought
thus with himself—'This hen did but live before it had these chickens, and
now she lives with all her little ones;' upon which he added this thought
also, 'I see the fowls of the air neither sow nor reap, nor gather into
barns, and yet my heavenly Father feeds them,' Matt 6:25; and thus he
overcame his fears of lacking any necessity. O Christians! you have such a
Father for your portion—as will as soon cease to be—as he will cease to
supply you with all things necessary for your good. It was a good saying of
one, 'I would desire neither more nor less than enough; for I may as well
die of a surfeit as of hunger, and he is rich enough who lacks not bread,
and high enough in dignity who is not forced to serve.
Rather than Israel should lack—did not God feed them with
manna in the wilderness? and rather than Elijah and the widow should not
have their needs supplied—did not God work a miracle, by causing the handful
of meal in the barrel, and the little oil in the cruse, to last and hold out
until he supplied them in another way? Rather than Elijah shall lack, God
will feed him by a raven, and by that miraculous operation save him from a
perishing condition. O Christians! all the attributes of God are so
engaged for you, that you cannot lack; and all the promises of God
are so engaged to you that you cannot lack; and all the affections of
God are so set upon you that you cannot lack; and why then should you fear
for your necessities?
O Christians! has God given you his Son, his Spirit, his
grace, his glory, yes, himself—and will he deny you lesser things, "He who
did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also,
along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:32. Has he given
you those things which are more worth than ten thousand worlds—and will he
not give you bread to eat, and clothing to put on? Has he given you those
spiritual riches that infinitely exceed and excel all the riches, rubies,
and pearls in the world—and will he deny you a little money in your purses
to afford your necessities until you come to heaven? Has he given you a
crown—and will he deny you a crust? Has he given you his royal robes—and
will he deny you a few rags? Has he given you a royal palace—and will he
deny you a poor cottage to shelter you from the stormy winter and from the
scorching summer? Does be feed his enemies, and clothe his enemies, and
protect his enemies, and provide for his enemies—who are under his wrath and
curse—and will he not do as much for you, O you of little faith? Will he do
so much for those who hate him—and will he not do as much for those who love
him? Doubtless he will. Will he feed the ravens, and provide for the ox and
the donkey, and clothe the grass of the field; and will he allow you, who
are his love, his joy, his delight, to starve at his feet, for lack of
necessities? Surely not!
But suppose you were under many real needs—yet certainly
this very consideration, that the Lord is your portion, should quiet your
hearts, and bear up your spirits bravely under them all. Jerome tells us of
one Didymus, a godly preacher, who was blind; Alexander, a godly man, coming
to see him, asked him whether he was not sorely troubled and afflicted for
lack of his sight. Oh yes, said Dydimus, it is a very great affliction and
grief to me. Whereupon Alexander chide him, saying, Has God given you the
excellency of an angel, of a Christian, and are you troubled for that which
rats and mice, and brute beasts enjoy? O Christians! if God has given you
himself for a portion, then certainly it is a sinful thing, a shameful
thing, an unworthy thing for you to be so troubled, afflicted, and
grieved—because you lack this and that worldly contentment and enjoyment,
which God bestows upon such whose wickedness has debased them below the ox
and the donkey, I mean, men of beastly spirits, and beastly principles, and
beastly practices, Isaiah 1:2-3. Look! as Benjamin's portion was five times
greater than his brethren's, Gen 43:34; so those who have God for their
portion have five thousand times a greater portion than the wicked of the
world, whose portion only lies in perishing trifles, and in foolish
vanities. Therefore there is no just reason, no Scripture reason, why they
should be afraid of wants. But,
(9.) Ninthly, If the saints have such a great, such a
large, such an all-sufficient, such an infinite, and such an incomparable
portion, as has been made evident they have, oh then,
away with all inordinate cares for the things of this life. Oh
say to all vexing, wasting, distracting, and disturbing cares, as Ephraim
once said to his idols, "Get you hence, for what have I any more to do with
you?" Hos 14:8. Christ's counsel should lie warm upon every man's heart, who
has God for his portion, "So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or
‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek
all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." Matt
6:31-32; and so should the apostle's, "Cast all your care on him; for he
cares for you," 1 Pet 5:7, and so should the psalmist's also, "Cast your
burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain you—he shall never allow the
righteous to be moved," Psalm 55:22.
Some write that lions sleep with their eyes open and
shining; but the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
the keeper of Israel, never slumbers nor sleeps; his eyes are always open
upon the upright; he still stands sentinel for his people's good, and
therefore why should inordinate cares eat up the hearts of Christians? O
Christians! of all burdens, the burden of carking cares will sit the
heaviest upon your spirits. There is no burden that will bow you and break
you like this. Inordinate cares and worries—vex the heart, they divide the
heart, they scratch and tear the heart, they pierce and wound the heart
through and through with many sorrows, 1 Tim 6:10. Inordinate cares will
either crowd out duties, as in Martha, Luke 10:40, or else they will crowd
into duties and spoil duties, as in that Luke 8:14, "the cares of the world
choke the word."
Look! as Pharaoh's ill-favored lean cows ate up the fat
cows, Gen 41:4, so all inordinate ill-favored cares will eat up all those
fat and noble cares for God, for his glory, for heaven, for holiness, for
grace, for glory, for power against corruptions, for strength to resist
temptations, and for support and comfort under afflictions, etc., with which
the soul should be filled and delighted. Oh that you would forever remember
these few things, to prevent all inordinate, distrustful, and distracting
cares.
[1.] First, That they are a dishonor and a reproach to
the all-sufficiency of God; as if he
were not able to supply all your needs, and to answer all your desires, and
to support you in all your distresses, and to deliver you out of all your
calamities and miseries, etc.
[2.] Secondly, Inordinate cares are a dishonor and a
reproach to the omniscience of God.
[Psalm 139:11; Psalm 40:5; Job 31:4; 2 Chron 16:9; etc.] As if your needs
were not as well known to him as his own works, and as if he had not a fixed
eye upon all the straits and trials that lies upon you, and as if he did not
know every burden that makes you to groan, and did not behold every
affliction that makes you to sigh, and did not observe every tear that drops
from your eyes, etc.; whereas his eye is still upon you. Deut 11:11-12, "But
the land, where you go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and
drinks water of the rain of heaven; a land which the Lord your God cares
for—the eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of
the year, unto the end of the year." And do you think that he will not have
as great a care, and as tender a regard for you who are his jewels, his
treasure, his joy; yes, who are the delight of his soul, and the price of
his Son's blood?
[3.] Thirdly, Inordinate cares are a dishonor and a
reproach to the authority of God. As if
the earth were not the Lord's and the fullness thereof, and as if all
creatures were not at his command and at his dispose, whereas he is the
great proprietary, and all is his by primitive right, and all the creatures
are at his service, and are ready at a word of command to serve where he
pleases, and when he pleases, and as he pleases, and whom he pleases, Psalm
24:1; Psalm 50:10.
[4.] Fourthly, Inordinate cares are a dishonor and a
reproach to the mercy, bounty, and liberality
of God. They proclaim God to be a hard master, and not to be of so
free, so noble, and so generous a spirit, as Scripture and the experiences
of many thousands speaks him to be. I have read of a duke of Milan, that
marrying his daughter to a son of England, he made a dinner of thirty
courses, and at every course he gave so many gifts to every guest at the
table, as there were dishes in the course. Here was a rich and royal
entertainment, here was noble bounty indeed; but this bounty is not to be
named in comparison with the bounty and liberality of God to his people.
Princes' treasures have been often exhausted and drawn
dry—but the treasures of God's bounty and liberality were never, nor never
shall be, exhausted or drawn dry. O Christians! you are as well able to
count the stars of heaven, and to number the sands of the sea, as you are
able to number up the mercies and favors of God which attend his people in
one day, yes, which attend them in one hour of the day, or in one minute of
an hour; such is his liberality and bounty towards them. God is always best,
when he is most in the exercise of his bounty and liberality towards his
people. His favors and mercies seldom come single. There is a series, a
chain of them, and every former draws on a future. Yes, such is the bounty
and liberality of God, that he never takes away one mercy—but he has another
ready to give in the place of it; as Joshua began to shine before Moses'
candle was put out; and before Joshua died, Othniel the son of Kenaz was
risen up to judge. Eli was not gathered to his fathers, before Samuel
appeared hopeful; nor Sarah was not taken away until Rebekah was ready to
come in her place. The Jews have a saying, that never does there die any
illustrious man—but there is another born as bright on the same day.
[5.] Fifthly, Inordinate cares are a reproach and a
dishonor to the fidelity of God. As if
he were not the faithful witness, the faithful God, who has bound himself by
promise, by covenant, and by oath, to take care of his people, and to
provide for his people, and to look after the welfare of his people. [Rev
1:5; Rev 3:14; Isaiah 49:7; 1 Cor 1:9; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Thess 3:3; Heb 10:23;
Rev 19:11; Heb 6:18-19] God is that ocean and fountain from whence all that
faithfulness that is in angels and men do issue and flow; and his
faithfulness is the rule and measure of all that faithfulness which is in
all created beings; and his faithfulness is unchangeable and perfect. Though
the angels fell from their faithfulness, and Adam fell from his—yet it is
impossible that ever God should fall from his. God's faithfulness is a
foundation-faithfulness; it is that foundation upon which all our faith,
hope, prayers, praises, and obedience stands. Therefore, whoever is
unfaithful, God will be sure to show himself a faithful God, in making good
all that he has spoken concerning them that fear him.
I had rather, said Plutarch, that men should say there
was never any such person in the world as Plutarch, rather than say that
Plutarch is unfaithful. Men were better say that there is no God, than to
say that God is an unfaithful God—and yet this is the constant language of
inordinate cares. O Christians! God's goodness inclines him to make good
promises, precious promises; and his faithfulness engages him to make good
those promises, 2 Pet 1:4. If the word be once gone out of his mouth, heaven
and earth shall sooner pass away, than one jot of that word shall fail, Matt
5:18. Men say, and then unsay, what they have said; they often eat their
words as soon as they have spoke them; but so will not God. This
faithfulness of God Joshua stoutly asserts to the height; he throws down the
gauntlet, and does, as it were, challenge all Israel to show but that one
thing that God had failed them in of all the good things that he had
promised, Josh 23:14-15. If God in very faithfulness, afflicts his people—to
make good his threatenings; oh, how much more in faithfulness will he
preserve and provide for his people—to make good his promises! Psalm 119:75.
God has never broke his word nor cracked his credit by deceiving, or by
giving one penny less than what he has promised to give. God stands upon
nothing more than his faithfulness, and glories in nothing more than his
faithfulness; and yet all inordinate cares leaves a blot upon his
faithfulness. But,
[6.] Sixthly and lastly, Inordinate cares are a reproach
to the pity and
compassion of God, Matt 6:32. They speak out God to be a God of
no pity, of no compassion, of no tenderness; whereas God is all pities, all
affections, all compassions, all tendernesses. Psalm 103:13, "Like as a
father pities his children, so the Lord pities them those who fear him."
There is an ocean of love and pity in a father's heart to his children, Gen
33:13-14; and there is much more in God's to his. Hence he is called the
Father by way of eminency; and indeed, originally and properly, there is no
Father compared to him, there is no Father like him, there is no Father
besides him. He is called the Father of all mercies, because all the
mercies, all the pities, all the affections, all the compassions which are
in all the fathers on earth, are but a drop of his ocean, a spark of his
flame, a mite out of his treasury.
That father who sees his child in need, and pities him
not; or pitying, if able, relieves him not—forfeits the very name of
father, and may better write himself monster than man. I have
read of a young man who, being at sea in a mighty storm, was very merry when
all the passengers were at their wit's end for fear, etc.; and when he was
asked the reason of his mirth, he answered, that the pilot of the ship was
his father, and he knew that such was his father's pity and compassion, that
he would take care of him. O Christians! whatever storms the people of God
may be in—yet such is his pity and compassion towards them, that he will be
sure to take care of them. While God has a breast, there is no reason why
his children should fear the want of milk.
That golden promise, Heb 13:5, were there no more, has
enough in it to steel and arm the soul against all inordinate cares. The
Greek has five negatives, and may thus be rendered—"I will not, not leave
you, neither will I not, not ever forsake you." Five times, as one well
observes, is this precious promise renewed, that we may suck and be
satisfied with the breasts of its consolations, that we may milk out and be
delighted with the abundance of its glory. O Christians! shall the word, the
promise, of a king, arm us and cheer us up against all inordinate cares; and
shall not the word, the promise, of the King of kings, so often repeated,
much more arm us against all base, distrustful, and distracting cares?
O Christians! the remembrance of this blessed truth, that
God is your portion, should make you sing care away, as that famous martyr
said, "My soul is turned to her rest; I have taken a sweet nap in Christ's
lap. Therefore I will now sing away care." If the sense of God's being a
man's portion will not burn up all those inordinate cares which commonly
fill his head, and which disturb, and distract, and rack his heart—I profess
I cannot tell what will. It was a strange speech of Socrates, a
heathen—Since God is so mindful for you, says he, what need you be worried
for anything yourselves? But,
(10.) Tenthly, If God is the
saints' portion, then all is theirs. As one said, 'Christ is
mine—so all is mine!' So may a Christian say, 'God is mine—so all is mine.'
If God is your portion, then heaven and earth are yours; then all the good
and all the glory of both worlds are yours; then all the upper and the
nether springs are yours. 1 Cor 3:21, "All things are yours! Whether Paul,
or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present,
or things to come; all are yours!" The scope of the apostle is not to show
that such as are saints, and have God for their portion, have a common
interest in all men's earthly possessions; but it is to show that all things
are prepared, ordered, and ordained by God to serve the interest of his
people, to work for the good of his people, and to help on the happiness and
blessedness of his people.
All the gifts, and all the graces, and all the
experiences, and all the excellencies, and all the mercies of the ministers
of the gospel—are all for the information, edification, confirmation,
consolation, and salvation of the church; and all the good and all the sweet
of the creatures are to be let out for the good of the people of God, and
for the comfort of the people of God, and for the encouragement of the
people of God; all changes, all conditions, all occurrences, shall be sure
"to work together for their good," who have God for their portion. Whatever
the present posture of things are, or whatever the future state of things
shall be—yet they shall all issue in their good, in their profit, in their
advantage, to those who who have God for their portion.
Look! as the wife shares in her husband's honor and
wealth; and as the branches partake of the fatness and sweetness of the
root; and as the members derive sense and motion from the head—so the saints
share in all that good which is in God. God is giving—as the fig-tree, the
vine, and the olive tree are giving. O Christians! if God is your portion,
then every promise in the book of God is yours, and every
attribute in the book of God is yours, and every privilege in the
book of God is yours, and every comfort in the book of God is yours,
and every blessing in the book of God is yours, and every treasure
in the book of God is yours, and every mercy in the book of God
is yours, and every ordinance in the book of God is yours, and every
sweet in the book of God is yours. If God is yours—all is yours!
When Alexander asked king Porus, who was then his
prisoner, how he would be treated; he answered—'like a king.' Alexander
again replying, Do you desire nothing else? No, says he, all things are in
this one word, 'like a king.' So all things are in this one word—"The Lord
is my portion." He who has God for his portion, has all things, because God
is all things! God is a good who contains all good in himself. All the good
that is to be found in honors, in riches, in pleasures, in preferments, in
husband, in wife, in children, in friends, etc., is to be found only and
eminently in God. You have all—in that great God that is the saints' great
all, Col 3:11. But,
(11.) Eleventhly, If God is the saint's portion, and such
a portion as I have at large discovered him to be, then certainly
God is no injurious portion, no mischievous
portion, no hurtful portion, no harmful portion. Surely there can
be no danger, no hazard, no hurt in having God for a man's portion. Oh! but
oftentimes earthly portions do a great deal of hurt, a great deal of
mischief; they ruin men's bodies, they blast and blot men's names, and they
lay men open to such sins, and snares, and temptations, which forever undoes
their immortal souls. Oh what a snare are worldly portions to most men! yes,
what fuel are they to corruption! and how often do they lay people open to
destruction! Eccles 5:13, "There is a sore evil which I have seen under the
sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt." Though
riches in themselves are God's blessings—yet through the corruptions that
are in men's hearts, they prove weapons of wickedness and engines to evil.
"There is a sore evil," the Septuagint reads it—a sore disease. Others read
it—an evil disease; others read it—a sore weakness. The Hebrew word
signifies such a sore evil as sticks close and is not easily removed; and
may be a thousand thousand ways for their hurt.
Latimer says, that if he had an enemy to whom it was
lawful to wish evil, he would chiefly wish him great store of riches, for
then he should never enjoy any quiet. As I have read of one Pheraulas, a
poor man, on whom king Cyrus bestowed so much that he knew not what to do
with his riches. Being wearied out with care in keeping of them, he desired
to live quietly, though poor, as he had done before, than to possess all
those riches with discontent. Therefore he gave away all his wealth,
desiring only to enjoy so much as might relieve his necessities, and give
him a quiet possession of himself.
Queen Mary said, when she was dying, that if they should
open her when she was dead, they should find gold lying at the bottom of her
heart, implying that the loss of it broke her heart.
The historian observes that the riches of Cyprus invited
the Romans to hazard many dangerous fights for the conquering of it.
When the Indians had taken some of the Spaniards, who
made gold their God, they filled their mouths with it, and so choked them;
they melted their gold, and poured it down their throats, resolving that
they should have their fill of gold, who preferred gold before the lives and
souls of men. How many millions of bodies and souls have the Spaniards
destroyed, to possess the riches of the West Indies! But let me a little
further show you how hurtful, how dangerous and
pernicious earthly riches, earthly portions, are oftentimes to their owners;
and this I shall do by a brief induction of these particulars.
[1.] First, Riches encourage and advantage people to make
the strongest and the stoutest opposition against the godly. Rich people
usually are the greatest opposers of Christian people. James 2:6-7, "Is it
not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging
you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of
him to whom you belong?" And this you may see also in the rich citizens of
Jerusalem, and in king Herod; and the very same spirit you may run and read
in the scribes and pharisees, who were the rich and the great men of the
times, and the very same opposing spirit lives and works strongly in the
hearts of many great ones this day. But,
[2.] Secondly, Earthly portions estrange the heart from
God; as you see in the prodigal, Luke 1:5, and in those wealthy monsters who
say unto God, "Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is
the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to
him?" Job 21:13-15. But,
[3.] Thirdly, As earthly portions estrange the soul from
God; so they do often swell the soul, and puff up the soul with pride, Psalm
10:1-7, etc. Salvian counts pride the rich man's inheritance. Men's minds
ebb and flow with their means, their arrogance commonly rises with their
outward good. Pride, says Bernard, is the rich man's cousin, it blows him up
like a balloon; it makes him grow secure, and so prepares him for sudden
ruin—so that he may well sing his part with those sad souls, "What has pride
profited us? or what profit has the pomp of riches brought us? All those
things are passed away like as a shadow, and as a dream in the night." But,
[4.] Fourthly, Earthly riches commonly cast men into a
deep sleep of carnal security. Thus they served David in that Psalm 30:6-7,
and thus they served the fool in the Gospel, Luke 12:16-22, and thus they
served the old world; and so they did Sodom and Gomorrah afterwards, and so
they did the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and their armies, Judg
8:11-12, and so did the people of Laish, in Judg 18:6-28. And so the peace,
plenty, and prosperity of the Bohemians cast them into so great a security,
that they began to grow very loose and base in their lives, and very cold
and careless in the things of God, and in all their soul-concernments;
insomuch that many of their most pious and prudent men did predict that
certainly some horrible storm would suddenly arise, and that some dreadful
tempest perhaps would beat upon them—as accordingly it came to pass.
Alexander slew him whom he found asleep on the watch; and God finding the
Bohemians in a deep sleep of sin and security, he brought the devouring
sword upon them. Mercury could not kill Argus, until he had cast him into a
sleep, and with an enchanted rod closed his eyes. No more can the devil or
the world hurt any man, until by dandling of him on the knee of prosperity,
he comes to lull him asleep in the bed of security. But,
[5.] Fifthly, Earthly riches do frequently divert the
souls of men from embracing and closing with the golden seasons and
opportunities of grace. Riches are the thorns which choke the word, and
which make men barren and unfruitful under the word, Matt 13:22. Rich Felix
had no leisure to hear poor Paul, though the hearing of a sermon might have
saved his soul, and made him happy in both worlds, Acts 24:24-27. The rich
fool in the Gospel was so taken up in pulling down his barns, and in
building of greater ones, that he had no time to prevent the ruin of his
soul, Luke 12:15-22. Dives was so taken up with his riches, pomp, state, and
with his royal apparel, royal attendance, and royal fare—that he never
minded heaven, nor ever dreaded hell—until he awoke with everlasting flames
about his ears! Luke 16:19-31.
Sicily is so full of sweet flowers, that dogs cannot hunt
there; and what do all the sweet profits, pleasures, and preferments of this
world—but make men lose the scent of grace, the scent of glory, the scent of
holiness, and the scent of happiness. It is true, rich men will have their
eating times, and their drinking times, and their trading times, and their
sporting times, and their sleeping times, and that which is worse—their
sinning times, etc. But ah, how rare is it to see rich men covet after
hearing times and praying times, and reading times, and meditating times,
and mourning times, and repenting times, and reforming times. Rich men will
have time for everything—but to honor God, exalt Christ, obey the Spirit,
love the saints, attend ordinances, and save their own immortal souls. Oh
the time, the thoughts, the strength, the energy--which rich men spend and
consume upon their riches, while their precious souls lie a-bleeding to
death, and an eternity of misery is hastening upon them. Some say, that
where gold grows—no plant will thrive. Certainly, where riches thrive
most—no grace will thrive. But,
[6.] Sixthly, Earthly riches commonly load the soul with
a multitude of cares, fears, griefs, and vexations—which mightily disturb
the soul, distract the soul; yes, often rack, torture, and torment the soul.
What if such a friend should be unfaithful to his trust? what if such a ship
should miscarry? what if such a one should go bankrupt—who owes me so much?
what if my title to such a land should not prove good? what if flaws are
found in my title for such and such lands? what if fire should consume my
habitation? what if thieves should rob me of my treasure? etc., and what do
all these whats tend to—but to break a man's heart in a thousand
pieces? But,
[7.] Seventhly, Earthly riches are many times fuel for
the greatest and the grossest sins; as pride, oppression, revenge, cruelty,
tyranny, gluttony, drunkenness, wantonness, and all manner of uncleanness
and filthiness. But,
[8.] Eighthly, Earthly riches are many times reserved as
witnesses against the rich in the great day of their account. James 5:1-3,
"Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is
coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you
and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days." The
rust of the rich man's cankered gold and his moth-eaten apparel shall be
brought in as dreadful witnesses against him in the great day. The poet
reasoned Pluto to be the god of riches and of hell too—as if
they were inseparable. By all these particulars you see how hurtful, how
harmful earthly portions often prove to their owners.
Oh—but now God is a portion which will never hurt a man,
which will never harm a man, which will never in the least injure a man.
Among all "the spirits of just men made perfect," Heb 12:22-23, there is not
one to be found, who will give in his witness against this sweet and blessed
truth that I have asserted; and among all the saints on earth you shall not
find one—but will with both hands readily subscribe to this glorious maxim,
namely—That God is such a portion, which has never hurt them, which has
never harmed them; yes, that he is such a portion which has done them good
all their days, and one upon whom they have lived, and by whom they have
been maintained ever since they trusted in him. Holy Polycarp hit it, when
he said, "This sixty-eight years have I served the Lord, and he never did me
any hurt; and shall I now forsake him? Surely not!"
But now earthly riches, for the most part, do a world of
mischief and hurt to their owners. Oh the souls which earthly riches have
pierced through and through with many sorrows! Oh the minds which earthly
riches have blinded! Oh the hearts which earthly riches have hardened! Oh
the consciences which earthly riches have benumbed! Oh the wills which
earthly riches have perverted! Oh the affections which earthly riches have
disordered! Oh the lives which earthly riches have corrupted! And Oh the
souls which earthly riches have destroyed! But,
[9.] Ninthly and lastly, Earthly riches, for the most
part, make men unwilling to die. Oh how terrible is the king of terrors to
the rich and the great ones of the world, 1 Sam 28:20; Dan 5:1-7. And so
Henry Beaufort, that rich and wretched cardinal, perceiving death at hand,
spoke thus—'How can I die, being so rich? If the whole realm could save my
life, I am able either by policy to get it, or by riches to buy it. Why will
not death be hired? Will money do nothing?' It is reported that Queen
Elizabeth could not endure so much as to hear death named; and Sigismund the
emperor, and Louis the Eleventh, king of France, straitly charged all their
servants, that when they saw them sick, they should never dare to name that
bitter word death in their ears. Vitellius, an emperor of Rome—a
notorious glutton, as you may easily judge, by his having at one supper two
thousand fishes, and seven thousand birds—when he could not flee death, he
made himself drunk that he might not be sensible of the pangs of death.
It was a very prudent and Christian speech of Charles the
Fifth to the duke of Venice, who when he had showed him the glory of his
princely palace and earthly paradise, instead of admiring it, or him for
it—he only returned him this grave and serious memento, "these are the
things which make us unwilling to die!" And by daily experience we find that
of all men wealthy men are most unwilling to die. Oh—but now God is such a
portion as fits and disposes the soul to die, yes, as makes the soul look
and long for death, and that makes death more desirable than life itself. A
man who has God for his portion, who has God in his arms—may well sing it
out with old Simeon, "Lord, let your servant depart in peace, according to
your word—for my eyes has seen your salvation," Luke 2:25,29-30; and with
Paul, "I desire to depart—and to be with Christ," Phil 1:23; and with the
church, "Make haste, my beloved, and be like a roe, or to a young deer upon
the mountain of spices," Song 8:14; and, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,"
Rev 22:20.
"Did Christ die for me that I might live with him? I will
not therefore desire to live long away from him. All men go willingly to see
him whom they love; and shall I be unwilling to die that I may see him whom
my soul loves? Surely not!" Augustine longed to die that he might see that
head which was once crowned with thorns. The dying words of my young Lord
Harrington were these—"O my God, when shall I be with you?" Cyprian could
receive the cruelest sentence of death with a 'thanks be to God!' Holy
Andrew saluted the cross on which he was to be crucified, saying, "Take me
from men, and restore me to my master!" And so Laurence Saunders, when he
was come to the stake at which he was to be burnt, he kissed it, saying,
"Welcome the cross of Christ, welcome everlasting life. But,
(12.) Twelfthly, If God is the saints' portion, oh then
let the saints still think of God, and look upon
God their best portion. A man who has God for his portion should
always have very high, noble, sweet, and precious thoughts of God. It does
not befit those who have God for their portion—to be always looking upon God
as an angry God, or as a displeased Father, or as an incensed judge, or as
an enraged enemy, or as a bitter friend. When God would make known his name,
his nature, his glory to Moses, he proclaims himself to be, "The Lord God,
merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
keeping mercies for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin,"
Exod 34:6-7. And certainly to keep up such precious thoughts and notions as
these are of God, is that work of works which lies upon every man's hand,
who has God for his portion.
O Christians! there is a very great aptness and
proneness, even in those who have God for their portion, to have black,
dark, hard, dismal, and dreadful thoughts and apprehensions of God—as you
may see in Asaph, Heman, Job, David, etc. [Psalm 77; Psalm 88; Job 3; Psalm
73:11-14] By nature we are as full of hard thoughts of God—as hell is full
of sin. When the heart is not mightily overawed by the Spirit of God and
overpowered by the grace of God—there all manner of dark and dismal
apprehensions of God abounds. Besides, Satan knows very well that our
corrupt natures are made up of sad and hard thoughts of God. Therefore he
will use all his power and craft to blow up every spark, every hard thought
of God, into a flame; especially when outward troubles and inward distresses
are upon us.
What says Satan? "Do you think that God loves you? O
Christian, when he deals thus sharply and severely with you, does be pretend
kindness to you, and yet hide his face from you, and set you up as a mark to
shoot at? How can he be your friend—who has cast you down at your enemies'
feet, and given you up into their paws and jaws? How can you think that he
has any pity and compassion towards you—who makes no better provision for
you? What vanity is it to believe that he will give you a crown—who denies
you a crust? And that he will give you a house not made with hands—and yet
allow you to be turned out of house and home? He will do so much for you in
another world—who does so little for you in this world!" And thus Satan
takes his opportunities to provoke corrupt nature and to kill the soul with
hard thoughts of God.
And certainly that Christian is a very great stranger to
his own heart, who is not able to say from experience that it is one of the
highest and hardest works—to keep up good and gracious thoughts of God, to
keep up honorable and noble thoughts of God—in a suffering condition or
under dark and dismal dispensations. Oh, but those who have God for their
portion—they should abandon and abhor all hard thoughts of God, yes, however
severe the dealings of God are towards them—yet it is their duty and their
glory to keep up very sweet and precious thoughts of God, Psalm 73:1.
O Christians! the more choice and honorable thoughts you
keep up of God in your own souls, the more you will love the Lord, and the
more you will delight in the Lord, and the more content and satisfaction you
will take in the Lord. Such Christians who take a pleasure to be
representing God to themselves in the most hideous, terrible, and amazing
shapes—they kill their love and their joy, and they create a hell of
torments in their own souls. Well, Christians! let me put a cluster of the
grapes of Canaan into your hands at once, by telling you that the more
glorious and blessed thoughts you keep up in your souls of God, the more
spiritual, the more frequent, the more fervent, the more abundant, the more
constant, and the more unwearied you will be in the work of the Lord, and
the more all your graces will be acted, exercised, strengthened, and
increased; yes, and the more your evidences for heaven will be cleared, your
gracious experiences multiplied, your communion with God raised, your way to
glory facilitated, and all your sufferings sweetened.
Therefore never let noble and precious thoughts of God
die in your souls. Though he frowns upon you, O Christian, yet say
that he is your portion; and though he chides you, yet say that he is
your portion; and though he corrects you, yet say that he is your
portion; and though he deserts you and carries it strangely towards
you, yet say that he is your portion; and though he snatches many a mercy
from you, yet say that he is your portion; and though he multiplies your
burdens upon you, yet say that he is your portion; and though he
writes bitter things against you, yet say that he is your portion;
yes, though he should pass a sentence of death upon you, yet still
say that he is your portion. O Christians, this would still raise a heaven
in your hearts—if under all dispensations you would still look upon God as
your portion, and live upon God as your portion. But,
(13.) Thirteenthly, If God is a believer's portion, then
never let a believer be afraid to die, or unwilling
to die. Let those be afraid to die—who have only this world for
their portion here, and hell for their portion hereafter; but let not a
saint be afraid of death—who has the Lord of life for his portion. A man who
has God for his portion should rather invite death than tremble at it; he
should rather sweetly welcome it, than turn his back upon it; for death to
such a one is but the way to paradise, the way to all heavenly delights, the
way to those everlasting springs of pleasure which are at God's right hand,
the way to life, immortality, and glory, and the way to a clear, full,
constant, and eternal enjoyment of God, Psalm 16:11. Augustine upon those
words, Exod 33:20-21, "You can not see my face and live," makes this short
but sweet reply, "Then, Lord, let me die, that I may see your face." Death
is the bridge which leads to the paradise of God. All the hurt that it can
do is to bring a believer to a full enjoyment of God, his everlasting
portion.
When Modestus, the emperor's lieutenant, threatened to
kill Basil, he answered, 'If that be all, I fear not; yes, your master
cannot more pleasure me than in sending me unto my heavenly Father, to whom
I now live, and to whom I desire to hasten.' Old Alderman Jordan used to say
that death would be the best friend he had in the world, and that he would
willingly go forth to meet it; or rather say with holy Paul, "O death, where
is your sting?" triumphing over it. What is a drop of vinegar put into an
ocean of wine? what is it for one to have a rainy day, who is going to take
possession of a kingdom? A Dutch martyr feeling the flame to come to his
beard, "Ah, said he, what a small pain is this, to be compared to the glory
to come!" Lactantius boasts of the braveness of that spirit which was upon
the martyrs in his time. Our children and women, not to speak of men, says
he, do in silence overcome their tormentors, and the fire cannot so much as
fetch a sigh from them. John Noyes took up a faggot at the fire and kissed
it, saying, "Blessed be the time that ever I was born, to come to this
preferment." Never did a neckerchief fit me so well as this chain, said
Alice Driver, when they fastened her to the stake to be burnt. Mr. Bradford
rook off his cap, and thanked God, when the keeper's wife brought him word
that he was to be burnt on the morrow. Mr. Rogers, the first who was burnt
in Queen Mary's days, sang in the flames. 'Be of good cheer,' said the
woman-martyr to her husband that was to suffer with her, 'for though we have
but an ill dinner on earth, we shall sup with Christ in heaven.' And what
said Justin Martyr to his murderers, in behalf of himself and his
fellow-martyrs? "You may kill us—but you can never hurt us."
Ah, Christians! how can you read over these choice
instances and not blush, and not be ashamed to consider what a readiness,
what a forwardness, and what a noble willingness there was in these brave
worthies to die and go to heaven, and to be fully possessed of their God, of
their portion, while you shrug at the very thoughts of death, and frequently
put that day far from you, and had rather, with Peter, fall upon "building
of tabernacles," Matt 17:4, than, with Paul, "desire to be dissolved, and to
be with Christ," Phil 1:23. O Christians! how justly may that father be
angry with his child that is unwilling to come home! and how justly may that
husband be displeased with his wife who is unwilling to ride to him in a
rainy day, or to cross the sea to enjoy his company! And is not this your
case? is not this just your case, who have God for your portion, and yet are
unwilling to die, that you may come to a full enjoyment of your portion?
But,
(14.) Fourteenthly, and lastly, If God is the saint's
portion, then let all the saints give all diligence
to make this clearly and fully out to their own souls—that God is their
portion, 2 Pet 1:5-8. Next to a man's having God for his portion,
it is the greatest mercy in this world for a man to know that God is his
portion, and to be able groundedly to say with the church, "The Lord is
my portion!" Now this is a work that may be done. I suppose there is
never a believer on earth but may attain unto this personal evidence and
certainty of knowledge that God is his portion. Express promises speaks out
such a thing as this is— Zech 13:9, "They will call on my name and I will
answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord
is our God.'" Ezek 34:30, "Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am
with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, says the
Lord." God will as soon put the faith of reliance and the faith of assurance
to a blush, as he will put the faith of expectance to a blush: Psalm 22:26,
"The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise
him—may your hearts live forever!" Sooner or later, such as seek him shall
have such an answer of their prayers as shall turn their prayers into
praises, and their petitions into thanksgivings.
Psalm 84:11, "The Lord will give grace and glory, and no
good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly." God will be an
universal, all-sufficient, and satisfactory good to those who walk
uprightly. The Lord is as full of goodness as the sun is full of light, and
he will as freely, and as fully, and as impartially communicate his goodness
to those who walk uprightly, as the sun does her light both to the just and
the unjust, Matt 5:45. As under the name of no good thing will he withhold,
all temporal good things are to be understood, so under the name of
grace all spiritual good things are to be understood, and under the
name of glory all eternal good things are to be understood. And now,
if God will give all spiritual and all eternal good things to his people,
how can he then but sooner or later give a clear and satisfactory evidence
into his people's bosoms that he is their portion?
And not only express promises—but also the graces of the
Spirit and the testimony of the Spirit confirms the same thing. The language
of every saving grace is this—'The Lord is your portion, O believing soul.'
And the language and testimony of the Spirit is the same. Rom 8:15, "You
have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Rom
8:16, "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirits, that we are the
children of God." Shall an instinct in nature teach young ones to know their
mothers, and shall not the Spirit of God, by a divine instinct, teach the
saints to know God to be their God, and to be their portion also? Surely
yes! Though this or that particular Christian may go to his grave without a
satisfactory evidence in his own bosom that God is his portion—yet in an
ordinary course, at first or last, God does give his people some assurance
that he is their portion, yes, rather than they shall always live or die
without assurance of their salvation; and that he is their portion, he will
work a miracle to assure them of his love.
I have both heard and read of a rare story of Mrs.
Honywood, a famous professor of the gospel, and one that for many years
together lay under the burden of a wounded spirit, and was much troubled in
mind for lack of assurance that God was her portion, and that she would be
saved from wrath to come. At length there came a godly minister to her, who
endeavored to settle her faith and hope in Christ; and pressing many gospel
promises upon her, she took it with a kind of indignation and anger that he
should offer to present any promises to her, to whom, as she thought, they
did not belong; and having a delicate Venice-glass in her hand, she held it
up, and said, Speak no more to me of salvation, for I shall as surely be
damned as this poor brittle glass shall be broke against the wall, throwing
it with all her force to break it. But it so pleased God that, by a
miraculous providence, the glass was preserved whole. The minister,
beholding the miracle, took up the glass, and said unto her, "Behold, God
must work a miracle before you, before you will believe." And forever after
that day she had very strong assurance of her salvation, and that God was
her portion; and so lived and died in a sweet and comfortable sense of the
love and favor of God.
Now, to provoke you to labor with all your might to
attain to a clear, personal, satisfactory evidence in your own bosoms that
God is your portion, do but seriously consider and lay to heart
the rare and singular advantages that will redound
to your souls by this means. I shall only touch upon some, by
which yourselves may guess at others.
[1.] First, By this means your
hearts will come to be fixed, settled, and established. A man's
soul never comes to be fixed and settled by knowing in the general that God
is the saint's portion—but by a personal evidence and certainty of knowledge
that he is his particular portion. While a man's particular property is
unsettled, all is unsettled in his soul; but when a man's particular
property is settled, when he can say, 'This God is my God, and the
Lord is my portion,' then all is settled, then all is at peace in the
soul, Psalm 57:7; Psalm 108:1; Psalm 112:7. A man who has God for his
portion, if he does not know it, will still be like a ship at sea in the
midst of a storm, tossed here and there, and now rolling on one side and
then on the other, and never quiet, never lying still; but a man who has God
for his portion, and knows it, he is like a ship in a good harbor, that lies
quiet and still; yes, he is like mount Zion, which cannot be moved. But,
[2.] Secondly, A clear, personal evidence that God is a
man's portion, will rid his soul of all sinful
doubts. O Christians! now your hearts are as full of doubts as
hell is full of darkness. One day you doubt whether your graces are true,
and another day you doubt whether your comforts are true. Now, you doubt of
your saintship, and then of your sonship, and then of your heirship.
Sometimes you doubt of your communion with God, sometimes you doubt of your
acquaintance with God, and sometimes you doubt of your acceptance with God.
One hour you doubt of the favor of God, and the next hour you doubt of your
access to God. And as it is thus with you, so it will be thus with you until
you come to have some clear satisfaction in your own spirits that God is
your portion.
O Christians! had you but once a personal evidence in
your own bosoms that God is your portion, all those doubts which are bred
and fed by ignorance and unbelief, and which rob the soul of all joy,
comfort, and content, and which render men babes in Christianity, and which
cast reproach upon God, Christ, and the promises, etc., and which most
gratify and advantage Satan to tempt and try your souls—would vanish and
disperse as the clouds do before the sun when it shines in its brightness!
Until a Christian's eyes are opened to see God to be his portion, his heart
will be full of doubts and perplexities. Though Mary Magdalene was very near
to Christ—yet she stands sighing, mourning, and complaining, that "they had
stolen away her Lord," John 20:13-16. A Christian may have God for his
portion—yet until he comes to see God to be his portion, he will spend his
days in sighing, mourning, and complaining.
O Christians! until you come to see God to be your
portion, your doubts will lie down with you and rise with you, they will
talk with you and walk with you, until they make your lives a very hell. It
was an excellent speech of Luther, "The whole Scripture," says he, "does
principally aim at this thing, that we should not doubt—but that we should
hope, trust, and believe that God is a merciful, bountiful, and gracious God
to his people." And what will bring a man's heart over to answer to this
blessed aim of the Scripture? Certainly nothing below an assurance that God
is his portion.
It was a noble resolution of blessed Bradford, who, in
one of his epistles, says thus—"O Lord, sometimes methinks I feel it so with
me, as if there were no difference between my heart and the hearts of the
wicked. My mind is as blind as theirs, and my will as stout,
stubborn, and rebellious as theirs; and my affections are as much
disordered as theirs, and my conscience as much benumbed and
stupefied as theirs, and my heart as hard and flinty as theirs, etc.;
shall I therefore conclude that you are not my Father? Nay, I will reason
otherwise," says he; "I do believe you are my Father; I will come unto you,
that you may enlighten this blind mind of mine, and bend and bow this
stout and stubborn will of mine; and that you may put order into
these disordered affections of mine, and that you may put life and
quickness into this stupefied and benumbed conscience of mine, and
that you may put softness and tenderness into this hard and flinty heart
of mine." And thus he nobly reasoned himself, and believed himself, out
of all his fears and doubts. There is no such way for a man to be rid of all
his fears and doubts, as to live in the sight and faith of this truth—that
God is his portion.
Plutarch reports of one, who would not be resolved of his
doubts, because he would not lose the pleasure in seeking for resolution,
like to him who would not have his physician to quench the thirst he felt in
his illness, because he would not lose the pleasure of drinking; and like
those who would not be freed from their sins, because they would not lose
the pleasure of sinning. But I hope better things of all those who have God
for their portion, than to find them in love with their doubts, or to be
unwilling to be rid of their doubts. Next to a man's going to hell, it is
one of the greatest afflictions in the world for a man always to live in
doubts about his going to heaven. Next to damnation, it is one of the
greatest troubles that can attend a Christian, to be always exercised and
perplexed with doubts about his salvation. Next to being damned, it is
the hell of hells to live in continual fears of damnation. Now the only
way to prevent all this, is to know that God is your portion. But,
[3.] Thirdly, A clear, personal evidence that God is a
man's portion, will exceedingly sweeten all the
crosses, losses, and changes that shall attend him in this world.
Habakkuk knew that God was the God of his salvation; and that he was his
portion. Therefore he rejoices—"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and
the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be
joyful in the God of my salvation." Hab 3:17-18. And the same noble temper
was upon those worthies in Heb 10:34, "When all you owned was taken from
you, you accepted it with joy. You knew you had better things waiting for
you in eternity." They took joyfully the confiscation of their earthly
portions, being well assured in their own souls that they should enjoy a
heavenly portion, an everlasting portion. And so the apostles knew that they
had "a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," 2 Cor 5:1; and
this carried them bravely through honor and dishonor, through evil report
and good report, and through all weaknesses, sicknesses, distresses, needs,
dangers, and death; and this made their heavy afflictions light, and
their long afflictions short, and their bitter afflictions
sweet, 2 Cor 4:16-18. This was that tree which, being cast in the waters of
Marah, made them sweet, Exod 15:23-25; and this was that that did unsting
all their crosses, losses, and reproaches, and that made them rejoice and
sing under those very burdens and trials that would have broke the necks,
backs, and hearts of others, Acts 5 and Acts 16.
When a man has a clear personal evidence that God is his
portion, then no outward changes will make any considerable change in him.
Though Laban had changed Jacob's wages ten times—yet Jacob was Jacob still,
Gen 31:7. Let times change, and men change, and powers change, and nations
change—yet a man who has God for his portion, and knows it, will never
change his countenance, nor change his Master, nor change his service, nor
change his works, nor change his ways. Under all changes he will still be
'always the same'. Many great and dreadful changes passed upon Joseph—but
yet under all Joseph's bow "abode in strength," Gen 49:23-24. When a man
knows that God is his portion, whatever changes may pass upon him—yet his
bow will still abide in strength.
How many are there in these days, who have changed their
names, their notes, their coats, their principles, their practices—and all
for worldly advantages. These changelings, who change from better to worse,
and from naught to be very naught, yes, stark naught, are the worst and the
naughtiest of men, and deserve to be hanged in chains; and certainly, when
the wrath of God breaks forth, these changelings shall be as stubble before
it, Mal 4:1; Heb 10:38. God abhors none as he does those who run from him to
serve other lords, and who gad about to change their way. Jer 2:36-37, "Why
do you gad about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by
Egypt as you were by Assyria. You will also leave that place with your hands
on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be
helped by them." There is nothing that will keep a man from apostasy, and
from making a defection from God, his ways, his worship, his glory, etc.,
like a blessed persuasion that God is his portion, 2 Pet 1:5-11. But,
[4.] Fourthly, A clear personal evidence that God is a
man's portion, will exceedingly raise and advance
the comfort and joy of a man's heart. It is not merely my having
of God for my portion—but it is my seeing, it is my knowing, it is my
fruition of God as my portion—which is the true spring of all delight,
comfort, and consolation. When a man's interest in God is clear, then all
the precious promises will be full wells of salvation, and full breasts of
consolation to him—but until then they will be but as dry breasts, as barren
heaths, as a desolate wilderness, and as empty wells. While a man is
doubtful whether God is his God, it is certain that the spring of joy and
comfort will run low in his soul; while a man lives in fear that his title
and interest is not good, how can he rejoice? When a man's interest in God
is clear—then his heaven of joy begins. A man who has God for his portion,
and knows it, cannot but live in a paradise of joy, and walk in a paradise
of joy, and work in a paradise of joy, and eat in a paradise of joy, and
recreate himself in a paradise of joy, and rest in a paradise of joy. He
cannot but have a heaven of joy within him, and an heaven of joy about him,
and an heaven of joy over him. All his looks will speak out joy within, and
all his words will speak out joy within, and all his works will speak out
joy within, and all his ways will speak out joy within.
I remember a notable saying of one, 'How sweet was it to
me, to be suddenly without those sweet vanities! Those things which I was
afraid to lose—with joy I let go; for you, who are the true and only
sweetness, did cast out those from me, and instead of them did enter in
yourself, who is more delightful than all pleasure, and more clear than all
light.' When a man's interest in God is clear, his joy will be full, John
16:24; when a man is happy, and knows it, he cannot but rejoice; when a man
has God for his portion, and knows it, all the world cannot hinder the
strong consolations of God from rising high in his soul.
Why have the saints in heaven more joy and delight than
the saints on earth? Because they have a clearer and a fuller knowledge of
their interest and property in God, than the others have! The knowledge of a
man's property in God is the comfort of comforts. Property makes every
comfort, a pleasurable comfort, a delightful comfort. When a man walks in a
fair meadow, and can write mine upon it, and into a pleasant garden,
and can write mine upon it, and into a fruitful field, and can write
mine upon it, and into a stately habitation, and can write mine
upon it, and into a rich treasury, and can write mine upon it, oh
how does it please him! how does it delight him! how does it joy and rejoice
him!
Of all words, this word mine is the sweetest and
the most comforting word. Ah! when a man can look upon God, and write
mine; when he can look upon God, and say, 'This God is my God forever
and ever!' when he can look upon God, and say, 'This God is my portion!'
when he can look upon God, and say with Thomas, "My Lord and my
God!"—how will all the springs of joy rise in his soul! Oh who can but joy
to be owner of that God who fills heaven and earth with his fullness? Who
can but rejoice to have him for his portion, in having of whom he has all
things, in having of whom he can lack nothing? The serious thoughts of our
property in God will add much sweet to all our sweets; yes, it will make
every bitter, sweet. When a man seriously thinks, 'It is my God who cheers
me with his presence, it is my God who supports me with his power, it is my
God who guides me by his counsel, it is my God who supplies me with his
goodness, and it is my God who blesses all my blessings to me; it is my God
who afflicts me in love, it is my God who has broken me in my estate and in
my credit, it is my God who has sorely visited such a child, it is my God
who has passed a sentence of death upon such a friend, it is my God who has
thus straitened me in my liberty, and it is my God who has thus cast me down
at my enemies' feet, etc.—how do these thoughts cheer up the spirit of a
man, and make every bitter, sweet; and every burden, light unto him.
A beautiful face is at all times pleasing to the eye—but
then especially when there is joy manifested in the countenance. Joy in the
face puts a new beauty upon a person, and makes that which before was
beautiful to be exceeding beautiful; it puts a luster upon beauty. And so
does holy joy put a divine beauty and luster upon all the ways of God, and
upon all the people of God. And therefore, it highly concerns all
Christians, as they would have a heavenly beauty, luster, and glory upon
them, to rejoice; and that they may rejoice, it does as highly concern them
to know their interest and property in God. But,
[5.] Fifthly, A clear personal evidence that God is a
man's portion will very much raise him in his
communion with God, and exceedingly sweeten his fellowship with God.
There are no Christians on earth that have such high, such choice, such
free, such full, such sweet, and such uninterrupted communion with God—as
those who have a clear sight of their interest and property in God.
The spouse, in that book of Solomon's Song, again, and
again, and again—sings and sounds out her property and interest in Christ.
Song 2:16, "My beloved is mine, and I am his." Song 6:3, "I am my
beloved's, and my beloved is mine." Song 7:10, "I am my beloved's,
and his desire is towards me." Now, mark—how does the sense of her property
in Christ work? Why, it works very highly, very strongly, very inflamingly,
very affectionately. Song 1:2-4, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth—for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance
of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the
maidens love you! Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me
into his chambers!" Song 1:13, "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved unto me; he
shall lie all night between my breasts." Song 2:3-6, "Like an apple tree
among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to
sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. He has taken me to the
banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. His left arm is under my
head, and his right arm embraces me."
The spouse had a clear sight and a deep sense of her
interest and property in Christ; and oh, how high, how close, how full, how
sweet, is she in her communion and fellowship with Christ! It is the sight
and sense of property and interest, which heightens and sweetens that
communion which is between husband and wife, father and child, brother and
sister, and friend and friend. So it is the sight and sense of a man's
property and interest in God—which heightens and sweetens his communion and
fellowship with God. A clear sight of a man's interest and property in God
will exceedingly sweeten every thought of God, and every appearance of God,
and every taste of God, and every smile of God, and every communication of
God, and every ordinance of God, and every work of God, and every way of
God! Yes, it will sweeten every rod which is in the hand of God, and every
wrinkle which is in face of God, Psalm 139:17-18. A man who sees his
interest in God, will hang upon him, and trust in him—though he should write
ever such bitter things against him; and though he should deal ever so
severely with him; yes, though he should slay him, as you may see in Job
13:15. He hit it who said, A man whose soul is conversant with God shall
find more pleasure in the desert and in death, than in the palace of a
prince.
Urbanus Regius, having one day's converse with Luther,
said that it was one of the sweetest days that ever he had in all his life.
But if one day's communion with Luther was so sweet, oh how sweet must one
day's communion with God is. And therefore, as ever you would have high, and
full, and sweet communion with God—keep up a clear sight, a blessed sense of
your interest and property in God. But,
[6.] Sixthly, A clear personal evidence that God is a
man's portion, is a man's all in all. O
Christians! this is the life of your lives, and the life of your prayers,
and the life of your praises, and the life of your confidences, and the life
of your mercies, and the life of your comforts, and the life of your hopes,
etc. A clear sight of your property in God is the very life of promises, the
life of ordinances, the life of providences, the life of experiences, and
the life of your gracious evidences. It is a pearl of great price; it is
your paradise; it is manna in a wilderness; it is water out of a rock; it is
a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night; it is Jacob's ladder; it is a
salve for every sore; it is a cure for every disease; it is a remedy against
every malady; it is an anchor at sea, and a shield on shore; it is a star to
guide you, a staff to support you, a sword to defend you, a pavilion to hide
you, a fire to warm you, a banquet to refresh you, a city of refuge to
secure you, and a cordial to cheer you! What more could you desire? But,
[7.] Seventhly, and lastly, A clear personal evidence
that God is a man's portion will exceedingly
sweeten the thoughts of death, and all the approaches of death,
and all the warnings and forerunners of death unto him. It will make a man
look upon his last day as his best day, Eccles 7:1; it will make a man look
upon the king of terrors as the king of desires, Job 18:14; it
will make a man laugh at the shaking of the spear, at the sounding of the
trumpet, at the confused noise of the battle, at garments rolled in blood,
at the sighs and groans of the wounded, and at the heaps of the slain.
It was the martyrs' clear sight of their interest and
property in God, which made them welcome the lions, and dare their
persecutors, and to kiss the stake, and to sing and clap their hands in the
midst of the flames, and to tread upon hot burning coals as upon beds of
roses, and divinely to triumph over their tormentors. It was this which made
the primitive Christians fearless of martyrdom, and which made them
willingly and cheerfully lay down their lives, that they might, Elijah-like,
mount to heaven in fiery chariots.
A man who sees his property in God, knows that death
shall be the funeral of all his sins, sorrows, afflictions,
temptations, desertions, oppositions, vexations, oppressions, and
persecutions. He knows that death shall be the resurrection of
his hopes, joys, delights, comforts, and contentments; and that it shall
bring him to a more clear, full, perfect, and constant enjoyment of God!
This makes him sweetly and triumphantly to sing it out, "O death! where is
your sting? O grave! where is your victory?" 1 Cor 15:35-37.
And oh that these seven considerations might prevail with
all your souls to be restless, until you have in your own bosoms clear and
full satisfaction that God is your portion. Now this last inference leads me
by the hand to an use of trial and examination. O Christians! if God is the
saint's portion, the believer's portion, how highly does it concern everyone
who looks upon himself as a saint or as a believer, to search, try, and
examine whether God is his portion or not!