portions. Ahab's fingers itched to be a-fingering of Naboth's dneyard. ] Kings xxi. 1-5. A man can no sooner come to enjoy an earthly por- tion, but other men's fingers itch to be a-fingering of his portion, as daily experience doth sufficiently evidence. But God is a portion that the fire cannot bum, nor the floods cannot drown, nor the thief cannot steal, nor the enemy cannot sequester, nor the soldier cannot plunder a Christian of, A man may take away my gold from me, but he cannot take away my God from me. The Chaldeans and the Sabeans could take away Job's estate from him, but they could not take away Job's God from him, Job i. And the Amalekites burnt Ziklag, and robbed David of his substance, and of his wives, but they could not rob him of his God, 1 Sam. XXX. And those persecutors in the 10th and 11th chapters of the Hebrews plundered the saints of their goods, but they could not plunder them of their God. Till weakness can make a breach upon strength, impotency upon omnipotency, the pitcher upon the potter, and the crawling worm upon the Lord of hosts, a saint's portion is safe and secure. It is true, sickness and disease may take away my health and my strength from me, and death may take away my friends and my relations from me, and enemies may take away my estate, my liberty, my life from me ; but none of all these can take away my God from me. I have read of the men of Tyrus, how that they chained and nailed their god Apollo to a post, that so they might be sure of him, supposing that all their safety lay in the enjoyment of him. Certainly God is so chained, and so linked, and so nailed to his people by his everlasting love, and by his everlasting covenant, and by the blood of his Son, and by his oath, and by that law of relation that is between him and them, that no< created power shall ever be able to deprive them of him. But,
(10.) Tenthly, As God is a safe portion, a secure portion, so he is a suitable portion, Ps. iv. 6-7. No object is so suitable and adequate to the heart as he is. He is a portion that punctually, exactly, and directly suits the condition of the soul, that suits the desires of the soul, the necessities of the soul, the wants of the soul, the longings of the soul, and the prayers of the soul. The soul can crave nothing, nor wish for nothing, but what is to be found in this portion. Here is light to enlighten the soul, and wisdom to counsel the soul, and power to support the soul, and goodness to supply the soul, and mercy to pardon the soul, and beauty to delight the soul, and glory to ravish the soul, and fulness to fill the soul, &c. Health is not more suitable to the sick man, nor wealth to the poor man, nor bread to the hungry man, nor drink to the thirsty man, nor clothes to the naked man, nor balm to the wounded man, nor ease to the tormented man, nor health to the diseased man, nor a pardon to the condemned man, nor a guide to the blind man, &c. than this portion is suitable to all the necessities of man ; and this speaks out the excellency of this poriion above all other portions. Now there is no earthly portion that can suit an immortal soul ; he is a fool upon record that said, ' Soul, thou hast goods laid up for many years, take ease, eat, drink, and be merry,' Luke xii. 18-20. If the man, saith Ambrose upon the words, had the soul of a swine, what could he have said more ? for those things were more suitable to swine than they were to an immortal soul. Man's soul is a spiritual and immoital substance, it is,capable of union and communion with God ; it is capable of a choice
28 AN ARK FOR ALL GOD's NOAHS. [LaM. III. 24.
enjoyment of God here, and of an eternal fruition of God hereafter. A great shoe will not fit a little foot, nor a great sail a little ship, nor a great ring a little finger; no more will any earthly portion suit an immortal soul. The soul is the breath of God, the beauty of man, the wonder of angels, and the envy of devils. It is of an angel- ical nature ; it is an heavenly spark, a celestial plant, and of a divine offspring. So that nothing can suit the soul below God, nor nothing can 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.
When a man is in prison, and condemmed to die, if one should come to him, and tell him, that there is such a friend or such a relation that hath left him a very fair estate, a brave seat, &c., yet all this would not please him, nor joy him, because it doth not suit his present condition ; oh, but now let a man bring him his pardon, sealed under his prince's hand, oh how will this delight him and joy him ! And so tell a man that is ready to starve, that such and such loves him, and that such and such intends well towards him, &c., yet all this doth not take him, it doth not satisfy him, and all because it doth not suit him ; oh but now do but bring him food to eat, and this will joy him and delight him, and all because it suits him. That is the highest good, that is the most suitable good to the soul, and such a good is God ; that is the most excellent portion, that is the most suitable portion to the soul, and such a portion is God. But,
(11.) Eleventhly, As God is a suitable portion, so he is an incom- « preheTisible portion. No created understanding can comprehend what a portion God is, Ps. cxlvii. 5, Job xxvi. 14, It is true God is not in- comprehensible, in regai'd of his own understanding, for he perfectly understands himself, else he could not be God; but God is incom- prehensible in regard of us, and the angels, who are no ways able to comprehend infiniteness : 1 Kings viii. 27, * But will God indeed dwell on the earth ? behold the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee ; how much less this house that I have builded !'^ God is an infinite being, and therefore he cannot be contained in any place, nor compre- hended by any created being. Such multiplied phrases and Hebraisms as are here, as heaven, and the heaven of heavens, do very emphatically set out the immensity and incomprehensibleness of God : Job xxxvii. 23, ' Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out' We are as well able to comprehend the sea in a cockle-shell, as we are able to comprehend God. God is above all name, all notion, and all comprehension. God is so incomprehensible, that you shall as soon tell the stars of heaven, and number the sand of the sea, and stop the sun in his course, and raise the dead, and make a world, as you shall be able to comprehend the in- finiteness of God's essence : Ps. cxlv. 3, ' His greatness is unsearchable.' The most perfect knowledge that we can have of God is, that we cannot perfectly know him, because we do know him to be infinitely and incom- prehensibly perfect : Rom. xi. 33, ' Oh the depth both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways