02.14. Transcendent Excellency of a Believer's Portion
Choice excerpts from Thomas Brooks’ "The Transcendent Excellency of a Believer’s Portion Above All Earthly Portions"
A shadow, a ship, a bubble, a bird, a dream, an arrow
"Don’t weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time? For riches can disappear as though they had the wings of a bird!" Pro 23:4-5
All earthly portions are very uncertain; now they are—and shortly they are not! Though the foolish world calls riches substance—yet they have no solid subsistence. All earthly portions are as transitory as a shadow, a ship, a bubble,
a bird, a dream, an arrow, a runner who passes swiftly away. Riches were never true to any who have trusted in them. All earthly things are vain and transitory, they are rather phantoms and shadows—than real things themselves. All the glory of this world is rather a matter of shadow, than of substance; it is a body without a soul; it is a golden shell without a kernel; it is a shadow without a substance. There is no firmness, there is no solidness, there is no consistency, there is no constancy in any of the creatures. All the pomp, and state, and glory of the world is but a mere painted pageantry, a mask, a comedy, a fantasy!
Look! As the rainbow shows itself in all its dainty colors, and then vanishes away—so do all worldly honors, riches, and preferments show themselves—and then vanish away!
A storm at sea, a spark of fire, an unfaithful employee, a false oath, or a treacherous friend—may quickly bring a man to sit with Job upon an ash-heap!
Look! As the bird flies from tree to tree—so all the riches, honors, and glory of this world—fly from man to man!
There is nothing but vanity and uncertainty in all earthly portions.
More suitable to swine!
There is no earthly portion which can suit an immortal soul; he is a fool upon record who said, "Soul, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry," Luk 12:18-20. If the man had the soul of a swine, what more could he have said? for those things were more suitable to swine than they were to an immortal soul!
Man’s soul is a spiritual and immortal substance, it is capable of union and communion with God; it is capable of a choice enjoyment of God here, and of an eternal fruition of God hereafter. Nothing can suit the soul below God; nor can anything satisfy the soul without God. The soul is so high and so noble a piece, that all the riches of the east and west Indies, nor rocks of diamonds, nor mountains of gold—can fill it, or satisfy it, or suit it!
He who can truly say this, is a God
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him." Lam 3:24
God is every believer’s portion.
Riches are not every believer’s portion—but God is every believer’s portion.
Liberty and freedom are not every believer’s portion—but God is every believer’s portion.
Honor and applause are not every believer’s portion—but God is every believer’s portion.
Prosperity and success are not every believer’s portion—but God is every believer’s portion.
God is a universal portion. God is a portion that includes all other portions. God has Himself the good, the sweet, the profit, the pleasure, the delight, the comfort—of all portions. There is no good in wife, child, father, friend, husband, health, wealth, wit, wisdom, learning, honor—but is all found in God.
There is in God an immense fullness, an ocean of goodness, and an overplus of all that graciousness, sweetness, and kindness, that is to be found in all other things or creatures. All the goodlinesses and all the glories of all the creatures are eminently and perfectly to be enjoyed in God. The cream, the good, the sweet, the beauty, and the glory of every creature, and of every thing—centers in God.
God is a universal excellency. All the particular excellencies that are scattered up and down among angels, men, and all other creatures—are virtually and transcendently in Him. He has them all in His own being. All creatures in heaven and earth have only their own particular excellencies; but God has in Himself the very quintessence of all excellencies!
The creatures have but drops of that sea, that ocean, which is in God. They have but their parts of that power, wisdom, goodness, righteousness, holiness, faithfulness, loveliness, desirableness, sweetness, graciousness, beauty, and glory
—which is in God. One has this part, and another has that; one has this particular excellency, and another has that. But the whole of all these parts and excellencies are to be found in God alone!
There is none but that God, who is the universal good, who can truly say, "All power, all wisdom, all strength, all knowledge, all goodness, all sweetness, all beauty, all glory, all excellency, etc., dwells in Me!" He who can truly say this, is a God; and he who cannot, is no God.
All the excellencies that are scattered up and down in the creatures, are united into one excellency in God; but there is not one excellency in God that is fully scattered up and down among all the creatures. There is a glorious union of
all excellencies in God—and only in God.
Now this God, who is such a universal good, and who has all excellencies dwelling in Himself, says to the believer, "I am yours, and all that I have is yours!"
Every believer has the whole God wholly; he has all of God for his portion. God is not a believer’s portion in a limited sense, nor in a comparative sense—but in an absolute sense.
God Himself is theirs.
He is wholly theirs.
He is only theirs.
He is always theirs.
Our property reaches to all that God is, and to all that God has. He has all—who has the Possessor of all.
To be able to say, "God is mine!" is more than if I were able to say that ten thousand worlds, yes, and as many heavens, are mine!
Oh what a spring of joy and comfort should this be to all the saints!
"This God is our God forever and ever!" Psa 48:14
The only happy man in the world!
"Happy are the people whose God is the Lord." Psa 144:15
All the happiness and blessedness of the people of God consists in this—that God is their God, and that He is their portion, and that they are His inheritance!
Oh, the heaped up happiness of those whose God is the Lord! The happiness of such is so great and so glorious—as cannot be conceived, as cannot be uttered!
Nothing can make that man truly miserable, who has God for his portion; nor can anything make that man truly happy, who lacks God for his portion.
God is the author of all true happiness.
God is the donor of all true happiness.
God is the maintainer of all true happiness.
God is the center of all true happiness and blessedness.
Therefore, he who has Him for his God, for his portion, is the only happy man in the world!
"Happy are the people whose God is the Lord." Psa 144:15
The trifling portions of this world
God gives the trifling portions of this world to the vilest and worst of men; but His gold—His Christ, Himself—He gives only to His saints.
Briers, which are for hogs, grow upon every hedge; but roses, which are for men, they only grow in pleasant gardens. You know how to apply it.
Though many have counterfeit jewels, yet there are but a few who have the true diamond; though many have their earthly portions, yet there are but a few who have God for their portion.
Without a rag on his back, or a penny in his purse!
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him." Lam 3:24
Lazarus having God for his portion, when he died he went to heaven without a rag on his back, or a penny in his purse! Whereas Dives, who did not have God for his portion when he died—went tumbling down to hell in all his riches, bravery, and glory. Oh! it is infinitely better to go to heaven a beggar—than to go to hell an emperor!
What a pitiful perishing portion is that!
"Men of the world, whose portion is in this life." Psa 17:14
Certainly, men . . .whose hearts are worldly, whose minds are worldly, whose spirits are worldly, whose desires are worldly, whose hopes are worldly, whose main ends are worldly—have only the world for their portion; and what a pitiful perishing portion is that! Such men . . .choose the world as their portion, and
delight in the world as their portion, and trust to the world as their portion, and
in straits run to the world as their portion, and take contentment and satisfaction in the world as their portion.
Doubtless that word was a thunderbolt to Dives— "Remember that during your life you received your ood things, just as Lazarus received bad things; but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony!"
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.
The funeral A Christian knows that death shall be the funeral of all . . .his sins, his sorrows, his afflictions, his temptations, his vexations, his oppressions, his persecutions.
He knows that death shall be the resurrection of all . . .his hopes, his joys, his delights, his comforts, his contentments.
He knows that death 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?" 1Co 15:35-37
Mixed or unmixed?
"God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all." 1Jn 1:5
Light expels darkness, it never mixes nor mingles with it. God is a pure and an unmixed light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.
Light is the most unmixed substance; it will never mix with darkness—neither will God.
But all worldly portions are mixed with many . . .troubles, sorrows, cares, fears, hazards, dangers, vexations, oppositions, crosses, losses.
All earthly portions are mixed portions!
The goodness of all creatures is a mixed goodness. Every bee has his sting, and every rose has his prickles. And this mixture speaks out all earthly portions to be
"vanity and vexation of spirit," Ecc 1:13.
That great king Xerxes was accustomed to say—’You look upon my crown and my purple robes—but if you knew how they were lined with thorns—you
would not stoop to pick them up!’ Great places are not free from great cares. No man knows the weight of a scepter, but he who sways it. Many a sleepless night, many a restless day, many a sad temptation, and many a busy shift, will their ambition cost them—who aspire to such places of eminency. Besides, high places are commonly very slippery; he who stands in them may suddenly fall, and wound his conscience, or easily fall and break his neck.
A drop in a bucket
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him." Lam 3:24
"Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust." Isa 40:15
All nations are but as a drop in a bucket, that may in a moment be wiped off with a finger—in comparison of God, nay, they are all nothing; but that word is too high, for they are less than nothing. Had a man as many worlds at his command as there are men on earth, or angels in heaven, yet they would be but as so many drops, or as so many atoms—compared to a saint’s portion!
When Alcibiades was proudly boasting of his spacious lands, Socrates wittily rebukes his pride by bringing him a map of the world, and wishing him to show him where his lands did lie; his lands would hardly amount to more than the prick of a pin. England, Scotland, and Ireland are but three little spots compared to the vast continents which are in other parts of the world; and what then is your palace, your lordships, your manors, your farm, your house, your cottage—but a little speck—but a prick of a pin—compared to God, who is so great, so vast a portion!
Oh, sirs! if you had the understanding of all the angels in heaven, and the tongues of all the men on earth, yet you would not be able to conceive, express, or set forth the greatness and largeness of a saint’s portion.
Can you count the stars of heaven, or number the sands of the sea, or stop the sun in his course, or make a new world? Then, and not until then, will you be able to declare what a great, what an immense portion God is. If "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him", oh how much less, then, are they able to declare the great things that God has laid up for His people in the eternal world!
An ocean of sweetness—without one drop of bitterness
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him." Lam 3:24
God is a pure and unmixed portion.
God is an unmixed good—He has nothing in Him but goodness.
He is an ocean of sweetness—without one drop of bitterness.
He is a perfect beauty—without the least spot or shadow of deformity.
All other portions are a bittersweet; but God is a rose without prickles.
He is a good, in which there is not the least evil. God is a most clear, bright, shining light; yes, He is all light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
There are no mixtures in God. God is . . .all light, all love, all sweetness, all goodness, all kindness, all graciousness.
There is . . .no impurity, no unloveliness, no bitterness, nor any darkness at all in God.
Four things which God cannot do
"You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity." Hab 1:13
There are four things which God cannot do:
(1.) He cannot lie.
(2.) He cannot die.
(3.) He cannot deny Himself.
(4.) He cannot look with a favorable eye upon iniquity. He is a God of such infinite purity, that He cannot look upon iniquity but with . . .a hateful eye, an angry eye, a revengeful eye, and with a vindictive eye.
One infinite perfection
"Every man at his best state is altogether vanity." Psa 39:5
Man at his best state is such a great piece of vanity, that he stands in need of a thousand thousand things; he needs . . .the air to breathe in, the earth to bear him,
fire to warm him, clothes to cover him, a house to shelter him, food to nourish him, a bed to ease him, friends to comfort him, etc.
But this is the excellency of God—that He has all excellencies in Himself, and stands in need of nothing!
God has self-sufficiency and all-sufficiency in Himself. Before the world was made, before angels or men had a being, God was as blessed and as glorious in Himself as He now is. God is such an all-sufficient and such an excellent being, that nothing can be added to Him to make Him more excellent.
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him." Lam 3:24
O Christians! God is an all-sufficient portion! His power is all-sufficient to protect you; His wisdom is all-sufficient to direct you; His mercy is all-sufficient to pardon you; His goodness is all-sufficient to provide for you; His word is all-sufficient to support you and strengthen you; His grace is all-sufficient to adorn you and enrich you; His Spirit is all-sufficient to lead you and comfort you! What more can you desire?
O sirs! God is one infinite perfection in Himself! God has within Himself . . .
all good, all glory, all dignity, all riches, all treasures, all pleasures, all delights,
all comforts, all contentments, all joys, all beatitudes! All are eminently, transcendently, and perfectly in Him!
God is a sufficient portion . . .to secure your souls, to supply all your needs, to satisfy all your desires, to answer all your expectations, to suppress all your enemies, to bring you to glory! What more can you desire?
What can be more just?
Remember this, that as Noah was drunk with his own wine, and as Goliath was beheaded by his own sword, and as the rose is destroyed by the canker that it breeds in itself, and as Agrippina was killed by Nero, to whom she gave breath;
so if ever you are eternally destroyed—you will be destroyed by yourselves! If ever you are undone, you will be undone by yourselves! If ever you are scourged to death, it will be by rods of your own making! And if ever the bitter cup of
damnation be put into your hands, it will be found to be of your own preparing, mingling, and embittering!
Behold, I have set life and death, heaven and hell, glory and misery, before you in this treatise; and therefore, if you will needs choose . . .death rather than life, hell rather than heaven, misery rather than glory, what can be more just—than that you should perish to all eternity? If you will not have God for your portion,
you shall be sure to have His wrath for your portion, and hell for your portion! Every man shall only thank . . . his own folly for his own bane, his own sin for his own everlasting shame, his own iniquity for his own endless misery!
An everlasting portion
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I will hope in Him." Lam 3:24
A Christian may be stripped of anything but his God; he may be stripped of his estate, his friends, his relations, his liberty, his life—but he can never be stripped of his God! As God is a portion that none can give to a Christian but God himself; so God is a portion that none can take from a Christian but God himself! Therefore, as ever you would have a sure portion, an abiding portion, a lasting portion, yes, an everlasting portion, make sure of God for your portion!
Nothing can make that man miserable, who has God for his portion; nor can anything make that man happy, who lacks God for his portion. The more rich—the more wretched; the more great—the more graceless; the more honorable—the more miserable that man will be, who has not God for his portion. A sanctified memory
"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." Psa 139:17-18
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.
A sanctified memory is a rich cabinet full of the choicest thoughts of God; it is that rich treasury wherein a Christian is still laying up . . .more and more precious thoughts of God, more and more high and holy thoughts of God, more and more honorable and noble thoughts of God, more and more solemn and reverent thoughts of God, more and more sweet and comfortable thoughts of God, more and more tender and compassionate thoughts of God.
Make a football of Pharaoh’s crown!
"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin. For he considered reproach for the sake of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward. By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for he persevered, as one who sees Him who is invisible." Heb 11:24-27 When Moses had seen Him who was invisible, when he had taken a full prospect of the eternal world, and when he had beheld God as his portion—oh, how does he slight, scorn, and trample upon all the honors, preferments, profits, pleasures,
delights, and contentments of Egypt—as things below him, and as things that in no respects were worthy of him!
It is a Rabbinical fable, that as a child, Moses had Pharaoh’s crown given him to play with—and he made a football of it, and cast it down to the ground, and kicked it about, as if it were a sign of his future vilifying and despising of temporal things. I shall not much trouble my head about what Moses did when he was a child. But of this I am sure, having the word of God for it, "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;" that is, he did little less than make a football of Pharaoh’s crown! Witness his refusing with a holy scorn and disdain, to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and so to succeed Pharaoh in the throne.
The world and Paul were well agreed
"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Gal 6:14
Paul scorned, despised, and rejected the world—and the world scorned, despised, and rejected him.
Paul cast off the world—and the world cast off him.
He disregarded the world—and the world disregarded him.
He was dead to the world—and the world was dead to him.
The world and Paul were well agreed: the world cared not a pin for Paul—and Paul cared not a straw for the world.
An earthly-minded man
Then He told them a parable: A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ’What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? I will do this,’ he said. ’I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store
all my grain and my goods there. Then I’ll say to myself—You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ Luk 12:16-19
An earthly-minded man has his thoughts and meditations exercised and taken up with the world. Among all his worldly thoughts, there is not one thought of God, of Christ, of grace, of heaven, of holiness, of eternity, to be found. His thoughts were so taken up with his bags, and his barns, and his buildings, and his ease, and his belly, that he had no time to think of providing for another world. Therefore God quickly dispatches him out of this world, and throws him down from the highest pinnacle of prosperity and worldly glory—into the greatest gulf
of wrath and misery!
The sweetest and the most comforting word
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, into a pleasant garden, and can write mine upon it, into a fruitful field, and can write mine upon it, into a stately habitation, and can write mine upon it, 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, the 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 rejoice 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, 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, it is my God who has sorely visited His child, it is my God who has passed this sentence of death upon a friend, it is my God who has thus cast me down—how do these thoughts cheer up the spirit of a man, and
make every bitter, sweet; and every burden, light unto him.
O Christians! A clear sight of your property in God is . . .a pearl of great price,
your paradise, manna in a wilderness, water out of a rock, a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, Jacob’s ladder, a salve for every sore, a cure for every disease, a remedy against every malady, an anchor at sea, and a shield on shore,
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, a cordial to cheer you! What more could you desire?
The bridge which leads to the paradise of God
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. One 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 life, immortality, and glory,
the way to everlasting springs of pleasure, the way to a clear, full, constant, and eternal enjoyment of God.
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.
He awoke with everlasting flames about his ears!
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.
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!
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—untilhe awoke with everlasting flames about his ears!
Oh the time, the thoughts, the strength, the energy—which rich men spend and consume upon their riches, while their precious souls lie bleeding to death, and an eternity of misery is hastening upon them!
Will He deny you a crust?
"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?" Rom 8:32.
O Christian! 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 sirs! has God given you His Son, His Spirit, His grace, His glory, yes, Himself—and will He deny you lesser things? 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 He 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!
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.
As Benjamin’s portion was five times greater than his brethren; 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.
I will not, not, not, not, not
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said—Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Heb 13:5
There are five negatives in the Greek, "I will not, not, not, not, not leave you nor forsake you;" to fully assure and fully 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," mean 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; 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.
Do not be overawed
"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!" Psa 73:1-28
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.
"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." Psa 49:16-17
The prosperity of the wicked
Oh you who have God for your portion, do not envy, do not fret and vex, at the prosperity of the wicked; for even though they have more than their heart can wish, even though they live in pleasure and wallow in all carnal and sensual delights—yet they have a sad account to give to God, and they shall pay dearly at last for all their worldly enjoyments! For without sound repentance on their part,
and pardoning grace on God’s part, they shall forever lose their immortal souls!
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.
Envy
It is the justice of envy to torment the envious. Therefore, shun it as you would poison in your food, or a serpent in the way. A man were better off having
a serpent tumbling up and down in his bowels, than to have envy 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; a serpent to sting the soul;
a poison to swell the soul; a saw to saw the soul; a moth that corrupts the soul,
a canker that eats up the soul. Therefore flee from envy, as you would flee from
the most cruel and destroying adversary!
To be envious, 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?
What should move God to love us? The free favor and love of God, the good will and pleasure of God—is the true ground and cause of God’s bestowing of Himself as a portion upon His people. There was no cause, nor loveliness, nor desirableness in them—which could move God to bestow Himself upon them.
God, for the glory of His own free grace and love, has bestowed Himself as a portion upon those who have deserved to have their portion among devils and damned spirits—in those torments which are endless, ceaseless, and remediless.
But
The guts and garbage of the earth
God is an incomparable portion.
All the gold of Ophir, and all the silver of the Indies, which are but the guts and garbage of the earth, are nothing, yes, less than nothing, compared with God. God is a portion more precious than all those things which are esteemed most precious.
A man may desire just about anything. He may desire that all the mountains in the world may be turned into mountains of gold for his use; he may desire that all the
rocks in the world may be turned into the richest pearls for his use; he may desire that all the treasure that is buried in the sea may be brought into his treasuries;
he may desire that all the crowns and scepters of all the princes and emperors of the world, may be piled up at his gate. Yet all these things are not comparable
to a saint’s portion, yes, they are not to be named in that day, in which the excellency of a saint’s portion is set forth.