hands, when we go to the grave. When we leave all other portions and inheritances, then we begin to take possession of this portion; yea, at that time when men see the vanity of making other things their portion, a child of God sees the happiness of his portion, at death. Death blows away all vain deceits. Then carnal men begin to perceive their error. When their portion comes to be taken away from them, then what indignation have they upon themselves for the folly of their choice, how the world hath deceived them! A godly man hath the beginning here; then he comes to have a consummate and most perfect enjoyment of it. Death cannot separate us from our portion. Indeed, it separates us from all things that withhold us from it; but it is a means to perfect our union with God, and make way for our full fruition of him. Well then, if this be that which is required in a portion, that it be good, there is none good but God: he is originally, independently, chiefly, infinitely, and eternally good; and therefore there is reason why we should choose God for our portion.

2ndly, That a thing be our portion, it is necessary that we have an interest in it and title to it; not only that it be good, but that we may claim it as ours; for that it is that which sweeteneth everything to us that it is ours to use. Now, God is not only good, but he is also ours; he makes over himself to us in covenant (Gen. xvii.). Therefore we may lay claim to him as a man to his patrimony, or inheritance to which he is born, and say, Lord, thou art mine: "I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God" (Zech. xiii. 9). As God owns an interest in them, so they own him; he is my God. "I will be thy God," so saith God in the covenant. It is more than if God had said, I will be thy friend, thy father. These are notions of a limited sense; but, "I will be thy God," that hath an infinite importance, a greater weight and efficacy in that expression. "I will be thy God;" that is, I will do thee good in a way of an infinite and eternal power. And that is the reason why Christ proves the resurrection from thence: "I am the God of Abraham," &c. (Matt. xxii. 32); for to be a God to any, is to be a benefactor to them, and a benefactor becoming an infinite and eternal power. Therefore, certainly, it assures us of greater things than this life affords, something becoming a God to give. If God be Abraham's God, a God to his whole person, his soul is not Abraham: then it strongly proves the resurrection of the body; then Abraham, both body and soul, must have a happiness greater than this life can afford. Hence that expression of the Apostle, "God is not ashamed to be called their God" (Heb. xi. 16). These words seem as if they did express God's condescension, as if he would be called the God of a few patriarchs. No; the meaning of the words is this, in regard of the slenderness of their present condition, God could not with honour-what? be a God to Jacob, and suffer him to have such a wandering life? He might be ashamed to be their God, if he had not better things to bestow upon him; but "he hath prepared for them a city," a heavenly kingdom: not only given them that which they enjoyed in houses, their flocks and herds which were multiplied; these were slender things to take up the whole significancy of that expression, "I will be their God;" but now God "is not ashamed to be called their God;" that is, God can with honour and without shame take that title upon him; for he hath everlasting happiness in the world to come, to bestow upon them. Thus whatever God is, hath, or can do, is thine. Look, as the Apostle saith, that, when God 20

VOL. I.

had no greater thing to swear by, he swore by himself (Heb. vi. 13); so we may say, when he had no greater thing to bestow upon his people, he gives and bestows himself; as fully and wholly made over himself to every believing soul, so that they have as full a plea and sure right to God as any man hath to his patrimony to which he was born. I will act answerably, becoming an infinite power and goodness, for thy good,' this is the significancy of that ample and glorious expression which God useth in the covenant of grace. As when a covenant was made between the king of Israel and the king of Judah, the tenour of it was, "My people as thy people, my horses as thy horses" (1 Kings xxii. 4); so whatever is God's is ours for our benefit, and what is ours is God's for his service. Mark, God not only saith, I will be yours; but, be a God; that is, I will act like a God. In pardon of sin: "I will not reurn to destroy Ephraim; for I am God, and not man" (Hos. xi. 9). He will not pardon as a man, but as a God. Man's patience is soon spent and soon tired, 'What! seven times a day forgive my brother?' but he will pardon as a God. And so when he sanctifies, he will sanctify as a God: "His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Peter i. 4). And so in defence and maintenance (which is part of the covenant), ‘I will feed, maintain, protect thee as a God;' that is, not as one that is to be limited in the course of second causes. When he pleases, he can give us water, not only out of the fountain, but out of the rock. When there is nothing visible to supply and maintain you, then I will be a God;' then he will glorify us like a God, like an infinite and eternal power. For, as God is an infinite God, so he gives us a far more exceeding weight of glory; and as an eternal God, he gives us an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. iv. 17). The glory he bestows upon us suits with the infiniteness and eternity of his essence. As it is said of Araunah, that was of the royal extraction of the Jebusites, he gave like a king to a king, worthy of his blood and descent, he had a generous mind; so God will give like a God; therefore he not only saith, I will be thine;' but, 'be thy God.' You think it much when you view a large compass, and can look abroad and say, 'All this is mine; but one that hath chose God for his portion, hath much more to say, 'God is mine.'

3rdly, That which a man would make his portion if he were free to choose, it should be a proper and suitable good, our own good. The heart of man aims at not only bonum, good in common, but also bonum congruum, a suitable, fitting good. Every element moveth to its own place, and every living creature desires food proper to itself: so man is not only carried to good, but good that suits to his capacity and necessity. The soul, being a spirit, must have a spiritual good. Indeed, as it acts in the body, and accommodates itself with the necessities of the body, and seeks the good of the body, so it may be carried out to honours, pleasures, and profits; for these are the conveniences of the bodily life; but, as it is a spirit, and can live apart from the body, it must have something above these, a spiritual object; and, as it is immortal, it must have an immortal good. Now, for a spiritual, immortal good do we grope and feel about, until we find it; and then there is a great deal of satisfaction: "That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him (Acts xvii. 27). So we are groping and feeling about, as the blind Sodomites did for Lot's door, for some good that may suit the capacity of our souls: we were made for God, and therefore cannot have full contentment

without God. But I speak not now of man as man, but suppose him to have a new nature put into him, that carries him after satisfaction: we are made "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter i. 4): it is called so, because it comes from God and tends to him. Now, there must be something suitable to this nature. Pleasure is when those things are enjoyed that suit with us, when the object and the faculty are suited, when every appetite hath a fit diet to feed upon; then a marvellous deal of pleasure and contentment results from thence: "They that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit" (Rom. viii. 5): all things seek a suitable good. Now, they that are after the Spirit, that have a new, spiritual, divine nature put into them, renewed souls, they must have an object proper; and therefore must have something above the concernments of the body, and above the fleshly nature; for everything delights in that which is suitable, as a fish in the stream, and an ox to lick up the grass; and man must have a suitable good, as a rational being; but, as a spiritual being, must have another good. Grace restores us to the inclinations of nature when it was innocent; therefore, the soul that came from God must centre in God, and it cannot be quiet without him.

4thly, That which a man would make his portion, it must be sufficient to supply all his wants, that he may have enough to live upon. Now, saith the Lord, I am God all-sufficient (Gen. xvii. 1); sufficient for the necessities of this life and that which is to come. He is the fountain of all blessings, spiritual, temporal, eternal; not only their power for ever, but their portion for ever, satisfied with him now and in the life to come: "Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living" (Psalm cxlii. 5). They expect all from him, not only peace and righteousness, grace and glory; but food, maintenance, defence, to bear them out in his work. The creature is but God's instrument, or as an empty pipe, unless God flow in by it. If God help them not, the creature cannot help them. These are streams that have water only so long as the spring fills them: Well then, here is a portion that is every way sufficient. All other portions are accompanied with a want; but this alonc sufficeth all. Some things give health, wealth, oh! but not peace. Some things give peace, but not honour; but God is all to us, health, wealth, peace, honour, grace, and glory: "All things are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's," so runs the Christian charter. There is omne bonum in summo bono, all things in the chiefest good. So, "He that overcometh shall inherit all things:" how so? for "I will be his God" (Rev. xxi. 7). He that hath God, hath him that hath power and command of all things, and therefore shall inherit all things; for "I will be his God." And that is the reason of the Apostle's riddle: "As having nothing, and yet possessing all things" (2 Cor. vi. 10); that is, all things in God, when they have nothing in the creature. Many times they are kept bare and low; but God carries the purse for them: all things are at his disposal; and we are more bare and low, that we may be sensible of the strange supplies of his providence. Alas! without him, in the midst of our sufficiencies we may be in straits.

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5thly, That a man would choose that for his portion wherein he may be contented, satisfied, and sit down as having enough. Now, this is only in God. When we choose other things for our portion, still our sore runs upon us: there are some crannies and vacuities of soul that are to be filled up:

if we could satisfy our affections, we cannot satisfy our consciences. Nothing can content the desires of the soul but God himself: other things may busy us, and vex us, but cannot satisfy us: "All is vanity and vexation of spirit." If a man would make a critical search as Solomon did; he set himself to see what pleasures and honours would do to content the heart of man, and what riches and learning would do; he had a large estate and heart, and so was in a capacity to try all things, to see if he could extract satisfaction from them; yet he concludes, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit." Whosoever will follow this course, will come home with disappointment. But in this portion there is contentment: we need no more but God, and there is nothing besides him worth our desire. Necessities that are not supplied by him, are but fancies: it is want of grace, if we want anything else when we have God for our portion: "From men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure" (Psalm xvii. 14). A carnal man's happiness is patched up with a great many creatures: they must have dainty fare, costly apparel, this and that; and still their sore runs upon them: they have a fulness of all things, and yet they are not filled. But now, saith David, "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Though God do not make out himself in that latitude and fulness as he will hereafter, yet, at present, to have communion with God is enough: "I shall be satisfied." There are some desires that are working after God, but they will be filled hereafter. It is true we are not now perfect; but that is no fault of our portion, but the defect of our capacity. Though we have not that fulness that we shall have hereafter, yet we have it initially. Here we have the first fruits, have it virtually, hope and look for it; there is something begun in the soul that will increase towards this satisfaction: certainly this is a portion that can alone be possessed with content. God is satisfied with himself, and sufficient to his own happiness; therefore, surely, there is enough in him to fill the creature. That which fills an ocean, will fill a bucket; that which will fill a gallon, will fill a pint; those revenues that will defray an emperor's expenses, are enough for a beggar or poor man: so, when the Lord himself is satisfied with himself, and it is his happiness to enjoy himself, there needs no more, there is enough in God to satisfy. If our desires run out after other things, they are desires not to be satisfied, but to be mortified. If we hunger after other contentments, they are like feverish desires, not to be satisfied, but to be abated in the soul; for he that fills all things, hath enough to fill up our hearts.

16thly, Complacency and delight. That which a man would take pleasure in, there where he may have abundant matter of rejoicing and delight, this a man would choose for his portion. Now, in God he hath the truest and sincerest delight. This is matter of rejoicing; as David saith, "The Lord is my portion;" what then? "I have a goodly heritage" (Psalm xvi. 7): here is that which will revive and refresh my heart enough. There is no rejoicing that is sincere, but this. As the discomforts of the new creature are more real than all other discomforts, and pierce deeper (“A wounded spirit who can bear?"); so the joys of the new creature, none go so deep: "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more, &c." (Psalm iv. 7). Others do but tickle the senses, a little refresh the outward man, please the more brutish part; but this, the heart. And this is such a joy as can be better felt than uttered: it is "unspeakable" (1 Peter i. 8), and none

can know the strength and sweetness of it till it be felt: a stranger cannot conceive it, "doth not intermeddle with his joy" (Prov. xiv. 10). One drop of this is more than an ocean of carnal pleasure. When we have other things without God, we can never be serious. Take the merriest blades in the world, and dig them to the bottom; still there is something of sadness and remorse that doth sour all their content: conscience is secretly repining, and ready to embitter their joy. Though men strive to bear it down, yet it is ever returning upon them; therefore, they cannot be truly cheerful. The most jolly sinners have their pangs, that take off the edge of their bravery. Carnal rejoicing makes a great noise, like thorns under a pot; but it is but a blaze, and gone. But this is a solid joy and comfort, wherewith a man may look death in the face with cheerfulness, and think of the world to come and not be sad. Alas! a little thing puts the merriest sinner into the stocks of conscience. He that makes it his business to add one pleasure to another, and spend his days in vanity, how soon is his mirth removed! Therefore, if a man would choose a portion to have joy at the highest rate, he should choose God for his portion.

Secondly, How comes a godly man to look upon God under this notion, that no less will content him but God himself? Why, he hath another apprehension, and another manner of heart to close with him, than carnal men: his understanding is enlightened, and his heart inclined by grace.

1st, He sees more into the worth of spiritual and heavenly things. He hath faith, which is the evidence of things not seen, of things that do not lie under the judgment of sense and present reason. He can spy things under a veil; and his eyes are open to see what is "the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints" (Eph. i. 17, 18); and therefore he is convinced of the fulness and sufficiency that is in God, and the emptiness and straitness that is in the creature: God hath given him counsel, his reins instruct him (Psalm xvi. 7). All, by nature, are blind, ignorant, apt to dote upon the creature; but, by grace, their eyes are opened, that they have another manner of discerning, that they do not see things only by discourse, but their hearts are affected. Others may discourse, but they have not this divine light and spiritual understanding, by which spiritual things may be discerned; as matters of opinion they may, but not as matters of choice. A carnal man may argue out with reason the worth and excellency of God; but he hath not a refined apprehension and persuasive counsel, which is in God's people.

2ndly, Their hearts are inclined to choose him for their portion. They do not only see an alluring worth in the object; but there is an attracting virtue, by which the heart is drawn in to God: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John vi. 44). The great article of the covenant of grace is to take God for our God. Now, all the articles of the new covenant are not only precepts, but promises. The conditions of the covenant are conditions in the covenant: God gives what he requires. And therefore, as the great article of the covenant is to take God for our God, so the great blessing of the covenant is to have a new heart, or a new placing of our desires and affections. Sin lieth in a conversion from God to the creature; grace in turning us to God again. change is mainly seen in fixing our chiefest good and our last end. gives his people a heart to close with him, and accept of him as their portion; to fix upon him as their chiefest good, and their last end.

The God

USE I.-To reprove them that do not take God for their portion.