Front matter (continued, part 38)
[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 soulconcernments; 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, allsufficient, 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!
How Shall We Know Whether God is our Portion?
But you will say, How shall we know whether God is our portion? Oh! were all the world a lump of gold, and in our hands to dispose of—we would give it to know that God is our portion! Oh! the knowledge of this would be as life from the dead; it would create a heaven in our hearts on this side heaven; it would presently put us into a paradise of pleasure and delight. But still the question is, How shall we know it? It is an easy thing to say that God is our portion; but how shall we come infallibly to know that God is truly our portion?
Now, to give clear and full satisfaction to this great and weighty question, I shall give in these following answers, by which you may certainly and undoubtedly know, whether God is your portion or no:
[1.] First, If God is your portion—then you have very sweet, precious, high, and honorable thoughts of God—then your thoughts will still be running out after God, and your meditations of him will be sweet. A man who has God for his portion, is always best when his thoughts and meditations are running out most after God. Psalm 104:34, "My meditations of him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord." Psalm 63:5-6, "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips; when I remember you upon my bed (or beds, as the Hebrew has it; David bedded at many places—but still his thoughts were always running out to God), and meditate on you in the night watches." Psalm 139:17-18, "How precious also are your thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! if I should count them, they are more in number than the sand—when I awake, I am still with you." The psalmist had very frequent, high, precious, and honorable thoughts of God; he valued nothing at so high a rate as sweet and noble thoughts of God, and of his power, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, and graciousness, etc.
David had such precious thoughts of God, and such great and glorious thoughts of God, and such infinite and innumerable thoughts of God— that he was as able to number the sands of the sea, as he was able to number them up—"And when I awake I was still with you." He was still acontemplating upon God; he fell asleep with precious thoughts of God, and he awoke with precious thoughts of God; he rose up with precious thoughts of God, and he lay down with precious thoughts of God; he went
forth with precious thoughts of God, and he returned home with precious thoughts of God. Take a Christian when he is himself—when he is neither under sad desertions, nor under black temptations, nor under great afflictions—and he can as soon forget his own house, the wife of his bosom, his own children—yes, he can as soon forget to eat his bread—as he can forget his God.
When Alexander the Great had overthrown Darius, king of Persia, he took among the spoils a most rich cabinet, full of the choicest jewels that were in all the world; upon which there rose a dispute before him, to what use he should put the cabinet; and everyone having spent his judgment according to his fancy, the king himself concluded, that he would keep that cabinet, to be a treasury to lay up the books of Homer in, which were his greatest joy and delight.
A sanctified memory is a rich cabinet full of the choicest thoughts of God; it is that rich treasury wherein a Christian is still a-laying up more and more precious thoughts of God, and more and more high and holy thoughts of God, and more and more honorable and noble thoughts of God, and more and more solemn and reverent thoughts of God, and more and more sweet and comfortable thoughts of God, and more and more tender and compassionate thoughts of God, etc. Take a Christian in his ordinary course, and you shall find that wherever he is, his thoughts are running out after God; and about whatever he is, his thoughts are still arunning out after God; and into what company soever he is cast, whether they are good or bad—yet still his thoughts are running out after God, etc.
Look! as an earthly-minded man has his thoughts and meditations still exercised and taken up with the world, as you may see in Haman, whose heart and thoughts were taken up with his honors, preferments, riches, wife, children, and friends, etc. Esther 5:10-12, "Then he gathered together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, and boasted to them about his great wealth and his many children. He bragged about the honors the king had given him and how he had been promoted over all the other officials and leaders. Then Haman added—And that's not all! Queen Esther invited only me and the king himself to the banquet she prepared for us. And she has invited me to dine with her and the king again tomorrow!" And the same spirit you may see working in those who had
made gold their God, in that Psalm 49:10-11, "Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind. The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, but they leave their wealth to others. They will not last long despite their riches—they will die like the animals." The Hebrew runs thus—"Their inwards are their houses forever," as if their houses were got within them. Not only the thoughts— but the very inmost thoughts, the most retired thoughts and recesses of worldlings' souls, are taken up about earthly things; and though they care not whether their names are written in heaven or not—yet they do all they can to propagate and immortalize their names on earth.