neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : for where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also.' Ps. Ixiii. 1, ' O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee ' (or, I will diligently seek thee, as merchants do precious stones that are of greatest value), * my soul thirsteth for thee.' He doth not say, my soul thirsteth for water, but my soul thirsteth for thee; nor he doth not say, my soul thirsteth for the blood of my enemies, but my soul thirsteth for thee ; nor he doth not say, my soul thirsteth for deliverance out of this dry and barren wilderness, but my soul thirsteth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is ; nor he doth not say, my soul thirsteth for a crown, a kingdom, but my soul thirsteth for thee, ' my flesh longeth for thee.' These words are a notable metaphor, taken from women with child, to note his earnest, ardent, and strong affections towards God. And so Ps. Ixxxiv. 2, 'My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.' The word that is here rendered crieth, is from Ranan, that signifies to shout, shrill, or cry out, as soldiers do at the beginning of a battle, when they cry out, Fall on, fall on, fall on, or when they cry out after a victory, Victory, victory, victory ! The Hebrew word notes a strong cry, or to cry as a child cries when it is sadly hungry, for now every whit of the child cries, hands cry, and face cries, and feet cries ; and so Ps. cxix. 20, ' My soul breaketh for the longings it hath unto thy judgments at all times.' Look, as the stone will stiJl be rolling towards its centre, its place, though it break itself into a thousand pieces; so a soul that hath God for his portion cannot rest till he comes to God, till he comes to his centre. It is very ob- servable, that when the God of glory appeared to Abraham, he made nothing of leaving his father's house, his kindred, and his country, Acts vii, 1-5, Gen. xii. 1. A glimpse of that glory works him to give up all easily, readily, and quietly. A man that can look upon the God of glory to be his portion, he cannot but look upon the greatest, the nearest, and the dearest enjoyments of the world, as nothing; he cannot but look upon honour as a bubble, and worldly pomp as a fancy, and great men as a lie, and poor men as vanity. He cannot but look upon his nearest and his dearest relations, his highest and his noblest friends, his choicest and his sweetest comforts, but as a dream and a shadow that soon vanisheth away.
It is observable in the courts of kings and princes, that children and the ruder sort of people are much taken with pictures and rich shows, and feed their fancies with the sight of rich hangings and fine gay things ; whereas such as are great favourites at court, pass by all those things as things that are below them, and as things that are not worthy of their notice, who have business with the king, and who have the eye, the ear, the hand, and the heart of the king to take pleasure and delight in ; so most men admire the poor low things of the world, and are much taken with them as things that have a great deal of worth and excellency in them ; but a man that hath God for his portion, the King of kings for his portion, and all that he hath, he passeth b)'^ all the gay and gallant things of the world, as things below him, as things not worthy of him. His business is with his God, and his thoughts, his heart, and affections are taken up with his God.
Naturalists tell us that the loadstone will not draw in the presence of
92 AN ARK FOR ALL GOD'S NOAHS. [LaM. III. 24.
the diamond. O sirs ! whilst a man can eye God as his portion, all the pride, pomp, bravery, glory, and gallantry in the world will never be able to draw him from God, Heb. xi. 2-4-27, 35. It is reported that when the tyrant Trajan^ commanded Ignatius to be ripped up and un- bowelled, they found Jesus Christ written upon his heart in characters of gold. Here was an heart worth gold indeed ; Christ carried away his heart from all other things. So if God be thy portion, he will cer- tainly carry thy heart away from all earthly things. Look, as earthly portions carry away worldly hearts from God, Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32 ; Luke xii. 16-21 ; so when God once comes to be a man's portion, he carries his heart away from the world, the flesh, and the devil. All the world cannot keep a man's interest and his heart asunder. If a man make sin his interest, all the world cannot keep sin and his heart asunder. If a man make the world his interest, all the power on earth cannot keep the world and his heart asunder. And so if a man make God his interest, all the world cannot keep God and his heart asunder : no sword, no prison, no racks, no flames can keep a man's interest and his heart asunder. A man's heart will be working towards his interest, even through the very fire, as you may see in the three children, Dan. iii. 17, 18. Look, as the needle's point in the seaman's compass never stands still, but quivers and shakes till it come right against the north pole ; and as the wise men of the east never stood still till they were right against the star which ap- peared to them; and as the star itself never stood still till it came right against that other star, which shined more brightly in the manger than the sun did in the firmament ; and as Noah's dove could find no rest for the sole of her foot all the while she was fluttering over the flood, till she returned to the ark with an olive branch in her mouth : so the heart of a Christian that hath God for his portion can never rest, can never be at quiet, but in God. But,
[6.] Sixthly, If God be thy portion, then thovu wiU own thy God, and stand up courageously and resolutely for thy God} Every man will own his portion, and stand up stoutly and resolutely for his portion, and so will every Christian do for his God : Ps. cxix. 46, ' I will speak of thy testimonies before kings, and will not be ashamed.' David was resolved upon a noble and resolute owning of God and his testimonies before the greatest and the highest of men ; and this he would do and not blush, this he would do and not be ashamed, this he would do and not be daunted.^ It was neither the majesty or authority of princes, it was neither the power or dread of princes, that could hinder David from giving in his testimony on God's side, or on truth's side. Joshua xxiv. 18, 'We will serve the Lord, for he is our God :' vers. 21, 22, * And the people said unto Joshua, Nay, but we will serve the Lord ; and Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen you the Lord to serve him ; and they said. We are witnesses.' Ver. 24, ' And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.' They had chosen God to be their God, as God had chosen them to be his peculiar people above
' Spelled ' Tragine.' — G. ' Hietories abound with instances of this nature,