An Ark for All God's Noahs in a
Gloomy Stormy Day or,
The Best Wine Reserved Until Last
or,
The Transcendent Excellency of a
Believer's
Portion above All Earthly Portions
by Thomas Brooks, 1662
"The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore
I will hope in Him." Lamentations 3:24
CONCLUDING PRINCIPLES
I shall pass on to the last thing proposed, and that is, to
lay down some PRINCIPLES that may, by the blessing of God, be of singular use to
the Christian reader.
First principle.
As, first, That it is one
thing for a man to have God for his portion, and it is another thing for a
man to have an assurance in his own soul that God is his portion. There are
many who have God for their portion, who yet are full of fears and doubts
whether God is their portion. Thus it was with Asaph in Psalm 77, and thus
it was with Heman in Psalm 88, and thus it is with very many Christians in
these days. Sometimes God exercises his children with such changeable and
such terrible dispensations, as raises many fears and doubts in them about
their interest and property in God. And sometimes their secret indulging of
some bosom idol, their entertainment of some predominant lust, raises
strange fears and jealousies in their souls about their interest in God. And
sometimes their not closing with the Lord so closely, so fully, so
faithfully, so universally, and so sincerely as they should, without any
secret reservation, raises many doubts and questions in them whether God is
their portion or not.
The graces of many Christians are so weak, and their
corruptions are so strong; and Satan is so busy with them; and their duties
and performances are so weak, so flat, so dull, so sapless, so lifeless, so
fruitless, and so inconstant—that they are ready at every turn to say, "If
God is our God, why is it thus with us? If God is our portion, why are our
hearts in no better a frame? Why have our duties no more spirit, life, and
fire in them?" Look! as the sun may shine, and yet I not see it; and as the
husband may be in the house, and yet the wife not know it; and as the child
may have a very great portion, a very fair estate settled upon him, and yet
he not understand it; so a Christian may have God for his portion, and yet
for the present he may not see it, nor know it, nor understand it.
1 John 5:13, "These things have I written unto you who
believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you
have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God."
These precious souls had God and Christ for their portion, and they did
believe, and they had eternal life in the seeds and beginnings of it, and in
the promise, and in Christ their head, who, as a public person, had taken
possession of it in their steads—and yet they had not the assurance of these
things in their own souls, Eph 2:6. Look! as the babe that has passed the
pangs of the first birth does not presently cry out, 'My father, my father,'
so the babe of grace, the newborn Christian, does not presently cry out, 'My
God, my God.'
It is one mercy for God to be my God, and it is another
mercy for God to tell me that he is my God; it is one act of grace for God
to be my portion, and it is another act of grace for God to tell me that he
is my portion. Look! as fire may be hidden under ashes for a time, and as
bits of gold may be hidden in an heap of dust for a time, and as stars may
be hidden in a dark night for a time, and as a pearl may be hidden in a
puddle for a time—so God may be a man's portion, and yet this may be hidden
from him for a time.
Second principle.
The second principle is
this, That it is one thing for a man to have God for his portion, and
another thing for a man clearly and convincingly to make it out to himself
or others, that God is his portion. Doubtless there are many thousands who
have God for their portion, who yet, if you would give them a thousand
worlds—are not able to make it out to their own or others' satisfaction,
that God is their portion.
Most Christians attain to but small measures of grace.
Now small things, little things are hardly discerned, they are hardly made
out. A little faith is next to no faith, and a little love is next to no
love, and a little repentance is next to no repentance, and a little zeal is
next to no zeal, and a little hope is next to no hope, and a little holiness
is next to no holiness, and a little communion with God is next to no
communion with God, and a little conformity to God is next to no conformity
to God. Now where there is but a little grace, there it is very difficult
for a man to make out the truth of his grace, and so by consequence to make
out the truth of his interest and property in the God of grace. It is not
grace in truth—but grace in strength, which will enable a man to make it out
to himself, and to make it out to others, that God is his portion. It is not
grace in its sincerity—but grace in its thriving—in its high and eminent
actings—which will enable a man to make it out to himself and others, that
God is indeed his God.
Besides, many precious hearts have such weak heads, and
such bad logic, and such shallow natural parts, that they are not able
rationally nor divinely to argue the case with their own souls, nor to make
an improvement of those rules, helps, ways, and means, whereby they might be
enabled to make it out to themselves and others, that God is their portion.
Look! as many people have often a good title to such and such lands, and to
such and such estates and inheritances, though they are not able for the
present to clear up their title either to themselves or others; so many of
the dear children of God have a good title to God, and a real interest and
property in God, and yet for the present they are not able to clear up their
title to God, nor to clear up their interest and property in God, either to
themselves or others. And this is so great a truth, that all the faithful
ministers of Jesus Christ who deal with poor souls, and who are conversant
about souls—are ready from their daily experience to affirm it before all
the world. He who shall say, that such have not God for their portion, will
certainly condemn the generation of the just.
Third principle.
The third principle is this,
That where there is a hearty willingness in any man to accept of God to be
his God, to own God for his God, and to close with God as his God—there God
is certainly that man's God, Isaiah 55:1-2; John 7:37-38. If there is a
cordial willingness in you to take God to be your God, then without all
question, God is your God. A sincere willingness to accept of God to be your
God is accepted of God, and is sufficient to enter into a gracious covenant
with God. O sirs! a sincere willingness to accept of God to be your God,
flows from nothing below the good will and pleasure of God. No power below
that glorious power which made the world, and which raised Christ from the
grave—is able to raise a sincere, an hearty willingness in man to accept of
God to be his God, and to take God for his God. Psalm 110:3, "Your people
shall be willing, in the day of your power, in the beauties of holiness."
There is no power below the power of the Lord Almighty, which can raise up a
willingness in the hearts of sinners. It is not in the power of all the
angels in heaven, nor of all the men on earth, to beget a sincere
willingness in the heart of man to accept of God to be his God. This is work
that can only be effected by an omnipotent hand.
Though an emperor may force a woman who is his slave, to
marry him because she is his purchase—yet he cannot by all his power force
her will; he may force her body to the action—but he cannot force her will
to the action. The will is always free, and cannot be forced. But God is
that great emperor that has not only a power to marry the soul, which he has
redeemed from being Satan's bondslave—but also a power to make the soul that
is unready ready, and that is unwilling willing—to marry him, and to bestow
itself freely upon him. If there be in you, O man, O woman, a sincere
willingness to take God upon his own terms to be your God, that is, to take
him as a holy God, and as a ruling God, and as a commanding God, in one
thing as well as another; then he is certainly your God. Rev 22:17, "And the
Spirit and the bride say, Come; and let him who hears say, Come; and let him
who is athirst, come; and whoever will, let him take the water of life
freely."
Fourth principle.
The fourth principle is
this, That it may so happen, that such a Christian who has God for his
portion, who has a saving interest and a property in God—may lose the sight,
the sense, the feeling and the evidence of his interest and property in God;
and this is evident by comparing these scriptures. [Psalm 30:6-7; Psalm
51:13; Job 16:9; Job 19:10; and 2 Chron 30:20; Psalm 77:6; Psalm 88:6;
Isaiah 8:17; Lam 3:18] Doubtless it is very rare to find a Christian who has
had the knowledge, and experience, and evidence of his interest and property
in God—but that Christian also has experienced what it is to have his
interest and property in God clouded and darkened. Such Christians that have
experienced what the warm beams of the Sun of righteousness means, have
likewise experienced what it is to have their sun set in a cloud; and this
truth I might make good, by producing of a cloud of witnesses, both from
among the martyrs and from among the saints of all ages. But what do I talk
of a cloud of witnesses, when the tears which daily drop from many of your
eyes, and the sad complaints, and sighs, and groans of many of your souls,
do sufficiently evidence this sad truth.
Therefore let no man conclude that God is not his God,
because he has lost the sight and sense of his interest and property in God;
let no man say, that God is not his portion, because he has lost those
evidences, at the present, by which he has formerly proved God to be his
portion. Though a man should lose his documents and evidences that he has to
show for such or such an estate—yet his documents and evidences being
enrolled in a court of record—his estate remains good, and his title is
still good in law. Therefore there is no reason why such a man should sit
down, and wring his hands, and cry out, 'I am undone, I am undone!' Though a
Christian should lose his documents, his evidences that once he had to show,
that once he had to prove God to be his God and portion, and that he had a
real interest and property in God—yet his documents, his evidences being
enrolled in the court of heaven—his title to God, his interest in God
remains good. Therefore there is no reason why such a person should sit down
dejected, and wring his hands, and cry out, 'Oh I am undone, I am forever
undone!'
Fifth principle.
The fifth principle is this,
That such who have not, for the present, God for their portion, ought not
decidedly to conclude that they shall never have God for their portion. Such
a person who cannot yet truly say that the Lord is his portion, ought not to
despair of ever having of God for his portion. The time of a man's life is
but a day, and God may bestow himself as a portion upon man in whatever hour
of that day he pleases. In the parable, he bestowed himself as a portion
upon some at the first hour, upon others at the third hour, upon others at
the sixth hour, upon others at the ninth hour, and upon others at the
eleventh hour, Matt 20:1-17. God is a free agent, and may bestow himself
upon whom he pleases, and as he pleases, and when he
pleases. There is no sinner, no, not the greatest sinner living under the
gospel, who can infallibly determine that God will never be his God. No
sinner can conclude that God has decidedly and absolutely excluded him from
mercy, and shut him out among those who he is resolved never to bestow
himself upon. For,
1. God never took any sinner one of his secret council.
2. In the gospel of grace, God has revealed no such
thing.
3. Secret things belong only to the Lord, Deut 29:29.
4. God has bestowed himself as a portion upon as great
sinners as any of those, who yet do not have God for their portion.
5. All the angels in heaven, and all the men on earth,
cannot tell to the contrary—but that God may have thoughts of mercy towards
you, and that your lot may fall within the purpose of his grace, and that he
may bestow himself as a portion upon you before you are cut off from the
land of the living. Although a sinner may certainly know at the present that
God is not his God, that God is not his portion—yet he does not certainly
know that God will never be his God, that God will never be his portion.
Therefore no sinner may decidedly conclude that God will never be his God,
because for the present he cannot, he dares not say he is his God.
God gave himself as a portion to Abraham when he was old,
when he was a white-headed sinner, Gen 12:4. And Manasseh was old when he
was converted and changed, and when God bestowed himself upon him, 2 Chron
33:1,12-14. And Zaccheus and Nicodemus were called and converted in their
old age. When there were but a few steps between them and the grave, between
them and eternity, between them and everlasting burnings—then the Lord
graciously revealed himself, and bestowed himself as a portion upon them.
Dionysius tells us that Mary Magdalene, who was so loose
and dissolute in her youth, being converted in her old age, she sequestered
herself from all worldly pleasures, and lived a most solitary life in the
mountains of Gallia, where she spent full thirty years in meditation,
fasting, and prayer. And old godly Similes said that he had been in the
world sixty years—but had lived but seven, counting his life, not from his
first birth—but from his new birth. And Augustine repented that he had begun
to seek, serve, and love God no sooner. By all these instances it is most
evident that God may bestow himself as a portion upon sinners, upon very
great sinners, yes, upon the greatest of sinners, and that at very last—when
they are stricken in years, and when they are even ready to go out of this
world. Therefore let no man despair of having of God for his portion, even
though for the present his soul cannot say, 'The Lord is my portion.'
O sirs! despair is a sin, a very heinous sin, yes, it is
that sin that damns with a witness. Despairing Judas perished and was
damned, whereas the very murderers of Christ, believing on Christ, were
saved. Acts 2. Despair thrusts God from his mercy-seat; it throws disgrace
upon the throne of grace; it gives the lie to all the precious promises; it
casts reproach upon the nature of God; it tramples under feet the blood of
the covenant; it cuts the throat of faith, hope, and repentance; it renders
all the means of grace useless and fruitless; it embitters all a man's
comforts; it gives a sting to all a man's troubles; it proclaims Satan a
conqueror; it raises a hell in the conscience; it makes a man a terror to
himself and an astonishment to others.
In Daniel 7 there is mention made of four beasts—the
first a lion, the second a bear, the third a leopard—but the fourth, without
distinction either of kind, or gender, or name, is said to be very fearful,
and terrible, and strong; and such a thing as this fourth beast was, is
desperation, as all have found that ever have been under it. Desperation
is a complicated sin; it is a mother sin; it is a breeding sin; it is the
combination of all sins. Therefore above all take heed of this sin. O sirs!
as you love your souls, and as you would be happy to all eternity, do not
despair, nor do not be peremptory in your conclusions, that God will never
be your portion, because for the present he is not your portion. Remember
the gracious invitations of God, and remember the glorious riches of mercy,
and remember the overflowings of infinite grace—and then despond and despair
if you can.
Sixth principle.
The sixth and last principle
is this, That such is the love, care, goodness, and kindness of God to his
people, that few or none of them die without some assurance that God is
their portion, and that they have a saving interest and property in him.
That here and there a particular Christian, in cases not ordinary, may die
doubting, and ascend to heaven in a cloud, as Christ did, Acts 1:9, will, I
suppose, be readily granted. And that the generality of Christians shall,
first or last, more or less, mediately or immediately, have some comfortable
assurance, that God is their God, and that he is their portion, and that
they have a real interest and property in him, may I suppose be thus
evinced.
[1.] First, Several precious promises that are scattered
up and down the Scripture seems to speak out such a thing as this is. Take
these for a taste. Psalm 9:18, "For the needy shall not always be
forgotten—the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever." Psalm
22:26, "The humble will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will
praise Him." Psalm 84:11, "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord
will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who
walk uprightly." Hos 2:23, "And I will have mercy upon her that has not
obtained mercy; and I will say to them who were not my people, You are my
people; and they shall say, You are my God." Psalm 5:12, "For you, Lord,
will bless the righteous; with favor will you compass him as with a shield."
John 14:21,23, "He who has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that
loves me; and he who loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest myself to him. If any man loves me, he will keep my
words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our
abode with him."
[2.] Secondly, The common experiences of the saints, both
in the Old and New Testaments, does evidence as much. Solomon's 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." Isaiah 63:16, "But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us
or Israel acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of
old is your name." Isaiah 64:8-9, "But now, O Lord, you are our
Father—behold, see, we beseech you, we are all your people." Jer 3:22-23,
"Behold, we come unto you—for you are the Lord our God. Truly in the Lord
our God is the salvation of Israel." Isaiah 25:9, "And it shall be said in
that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and be will save us."
I might produce a cloud of witnesses from among the patriarchs and prophets,
further to evince this truth; but thus much is as good as a feast.
And as the church of God in the Old Testament, so the
church of God in the New Testament attained to the same assurance. The
believers in Corinth were sealed, and had the pledge of the Spirit in their
hearts. 2 Cor 1:22, "Who has also sealed us, and given the pledge of the
Spirit in our hearts." And 2 Cor 5:1,5, "Now we know that if the earthly
tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house
in heaven, not built by human hands. Now it is God who has made us for this
very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is
to come." And so the believing Ephesians had the like. Eph 1:13-14, "And you
also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until
the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his
glory." And so Eph 4:30, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you
are sealed unto the day of redemption." And the believing Thessalonians had
the same. 1 Thess 1:4-5, "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
For our gospel came not unto you in word only—but also in power, and in the
Holy Spirit, and in much assurance." I might give you many particular
instances out of the New Testament to confirm this truth—but these general
instances are more convincing and satisfying.
[3.] Thirdly, If God should not, first or last, sooner or
later, mediately or immediately, give his people some comfortable assurance
that he is their portion, and that they have a real interest and property in
him, the spirits, the souls of his people would certainly faint and fail.
But this God will never allow, this God by promise has engaged himself to
prevent, as you may see in that Isaiah 57:16,18-19, "I will not accuse
forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow
faint before me-- the breath of man that I have created. I have seen his
ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him,
creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to
those far and near," says the Lord. "And I will heal them."
Now, seeing that God has so graciously undertaken for his
people, that their spirits shall not faint nor fail, there is no doubt but
that, sooner or later, more or less, God will assure his people that he is
their portion, and that they have a real interest and property in him.
[4.] Fourthly, The Lord's supper is a sealing ordinance,
and was ordained, instituted, and appointed for that very purpose and to
that very end, namely, to seal up the believer's property in God, and to
assure him of his interest in God, in Christ, in the everlasting covenant,
and in all the benefits of Christ's death, namely—the favor of God,
reconciliation, redemption, and the remission of sins. [Matt 26:26-28; 1 Cor
11:23-24; Rom 4:11] Now, how can it possibly be imagined, that so glorious
an ordinance should be instituted to so great and so glorious an end as to
assure believers of their interest and property in God, and yet this end
should never be effected in them all their days, for whose sake the
ordinance was instituted and appointed? Certainly God never appointed any
ordinance to accomplish any end—but sooner or later, that ordinance did
accomplish that end for which it was appointed and instituted, Isaiah
55:10-11, and Isaiah 45:23.
Cyprian shows how the martyrs in the primitive church,
when they were to appear before the cruel persecuting tyrants, were
accustomed to receive the Lord's supper, and thereby they were so assured of
their interest and property in God, and so fired with zeal and fervor, and
filled with faith and fortitude, etc., that they made nothing of the
greatest torments that those bloody tyrants could inflict upon them. And
says Chrysostom, by the sacrament of the Lord's supper we are so armed
against Satan's temptations, that he flees from us—as if we were so many
lions that spat fire.
The Jews in the celebration of the Passover did sing
Psalm 113, with the five following Psalms, which they called the great
Hallelujah, and it was always after that cup of wine, which they called the
cup of praise; and thus it should be with the saints. At all times, upon all
occasions, in all places, they should sing Hallelujahs to God. Oh, but when
they are at the Lord's supper, then they should sing the great Hallelujah;
but how they will be ever able to sing this great Hallelujah, except sooner
or later, more or less, God gives them some assurance of their interest and
property in himself, I cannot for my life discern. But,
[5.] Fifthly, There is in all believers the choice and
precious springs of assurance, as
(1.) Union and communion with the Father and Son. 1 John
1:3, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also
may have fellowship with us—and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ." Now, that union which is between the foundation
and the building, the head and the members, the husband and the wife, the
father and the child, the subject and the prince, the body and the soul—are
not so close a union as that which is between a believer and God. Besides,
that union that a Christian has with God is an honorable union, and it is an
inseparable union, it is an invincible union, and it is an everlasting
union, 1 Cor 6:16-17. Now, how is it possible for a man to have such a near
and such a glorious union and fellowship with God from the day of his
conversion to the day of his death—and yet never come to any assurance of
his interest and property in God—is a thing not easily imaginable.
(2.) Precious faith is another spring of assurance. 1 Pet
1:8, "Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see him
not—yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory."
Now, this spring is in all the saints, 2 Pet 1:1. The faith of expectance
will in time rise up into a faith of reliance, and the faith of reliance
will in time advance itself into a faith of assurance.
(3.) Hope is another spring of assurance. Col 1:27,
"Christ in you, the hope of glory;" Heb 6:19, "We have this hope as an
anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind
the curtain."
(4.) A good conscience is another spring of assurance, 2
Cor 1:12.
(5.) Real love to the saints is another spring of
assurance, 1 John 3:14.
(6.) And lastly, the Spirit of God is another spring of
assurance, Rom 8. Now, that a Christian should have all these choice springs
of assurance in his soul, from his new birth to the day of his death, and
yet in all that time never come to assurance of his interest and property in
God, is a thing, I had almost said, beyond all belief. But,
[6.] Sixthly, There is nothing in all the world that the
hearts of the saints are more frequently, more fervently, and more
abundantly desire, in all their prayers and supplications, than this—that
God would tell them that he is their portion, and that he would clear up
their interest and property in himself, Psalm 4:6-7. The constant language
of their souls is this—'Lord, do but tell us that you are our portion, and
then bestow earthly portions upon whom you please; do but clear up our
interest and property in yourself; and then we shall say—Our lot is fallen
in a pleasant place, and verily we have a goodly heritage.' Psalm 16:5-6.
Believers who know that God is their portion, and that they have a saving
interest and property in him—will be eased them of all their sinful cares,
fears, terrors, horrors, jealousies, suspicions, and sad apprehensions,
which makes living a very hell. They know that assurance of their interest
and property in God will make ever bitter sweet, and every sweet more sweet;
it will turn a wilderness into a paradise, an Egypt into a Canaan. They know
that assurance that God is theirs, will raise the truest comforts, the
purest comforts, the greatest comforts, the surest comforts, the strongest
comforts, the rarest comforts, the sweetest comforts, and the most lasting
comforts in their souls, Isaiah 40:1-2. They know that assurance of their
interest in God will fit them for the highest duties in Christianity, and
for the hardest duties in Christianity, and for the costliest duties in
Christianity, and for the most neglected, scorned, and despised duties in
Christianity. They know that assurance of their property in God will most
quicken their graces, and act their graces, and raise their graces, and
strengthen their graces, and brighten their graces, and put a luster and a
beauty upon their graces. They know that assurance of their interest in God
will wonderfully weaken sin, and effectually crucify their hearts to the
world, and sweetly moderate their affections to their nearest and dearest
relations, and powerfully arm them both against the world's oppositions and
Satan's temptations.
To conclude—they know that assurance of their property in
God will make death more desirable than terrible, yes, it will make the
thoughts of death sweet, and the approaches of death easy, and all the
warnings of death pleasant to their souls; and therefore they follow God
hard day and night, with strong cries, prayers, tears, sighs, and groans,
that he would make it evident to them that he is their portion, and that he
would clear up their interest and property in him. Now, how can any man who
is in his wits imagine that God should always turn a deaf ear to the prayers
of his people in this thing especially, considering that their prayers,
cries, tears, sighs, and groans are but the products of his own Spirit in
them, Rom 8:26-27; and considering likewise the several promises, whereby he
has engaged himself to answer to the prayers of his people?
I might tire both you and myself in turning to those
particular promises—but that I am resolved against, and therefore take that
for all. John 16:23-24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatever you shall
ask the Father in my name, he will give you. Ask, and you shall receive,
that your joy may be full." This double asseveration, "Verily, verily," is
never used but in matters of greatest weight and importance; and this
"Verily, verily," is a vehement confirmation of the truth of what Christ
speaks. Now, from this gracious promise I may safely and clearly infer, that
if God the Father will give to believers whatever they ask in the name of
Christ, then certainly, at first or last, sooner or later—he will give them
assurance that he is their portion, and that they have an undoubted interest
and property in him; for this is one of the great requests that they are
still a-putting up in the name of Christ, and upon the grant of this request
depends the fullness of a Christian's joy. But,
[7.] Seventhly and lastly, If God should not sooner or
later, more or less, assure his people that he is their portion, and that
they have a saving interest and a property in him; then he would be a very
great loser, if I may so speak. He would lose many praises, and many
thanksgivings; he would lose much of that love, of that honor, and of that
delight, and of that admiration, which otherwise he might have from among
his children. And it is very observable, that of all the duties of piety,
there are none that are pressed so closely, so frequently, and so strongly
upon Christians, as those of praising of God, and rejoicing in God, etc., as
all know, who know anything of the Scriptures. Now, how it will stand with
the holiness of God, and with the wisdom of God, and with the care of God,
to be so great a loser in the very things which he has so roundly and
earnestly pressed upon his people; whereas by one sweet word of his mouth he
might so easily and so happily prevent it, I cannot easily discern.
All believers know that there is no such ready, no such
effectual way under heaven to draw out their love, their joy, their delight,
their praises, and their thanksgiving to God—as God's assuring of them that
he is their portion, and that they have an unquestionable interest and
property in him. Certainly that God who loves the praises of his people, and
who delights in the rejoicings of his people, and who is so infinitely
pleased with the thanksgivings of his people—that God will not always hide
himself from his people, that God will sooner or later so manifest himself
to his people, that they shall be able to see their interest and property in
God, and rejoicing to say, "The Lord is our portion!"
Now, oh you who are the people of the Lord, and that to
this very day lie under many fears and doubts about your interest and
property in God—be not discouraged, do not hang down the head, do not
despond, do not despair—for certainly sooner or later God will assure you
that he is your portion, and that you have a saving interest and a property
in him.