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I shall come now to the third thing, and that is, to make some PRACTICAL APPLICATION of this blessed and glorious truth to ourselves; and, therefore, Is it so, that God is the saint's portion, and that he is such an excellent, and such a transcendent portion above all other portions, as has been fully evidenced? Then,

[1.] First, Let not the saints who have God for their portion fret and vex themselves, because of those earthly portions which God commonly bestows upon the worst of men.  There is a great aptness in the best of men to envy those earthly portions which God often bestows upon the worst of men. The lights of the sanctuary have burnt dim, stars of no small magnitude have twinkled, men of eminent parts, famous in their generations for religion and piety, have staggered in their judgments, to see the flourishing estate of the wicked. It made Job to complain, Job_21:7-16, and Job_24:12, and Jeremiah to expostulate with God, Jer_12:1-2, and David even to faint and sink, Psalm 73.

To see the prosperity of the ungodly; to see the wicked in wealth and the saints in want; the wicked in their robes and the saints in their rags; the wicked honored and the saints despised; the wicked exalted and the saints debased; the wicked upon thrones and saints upon dunghills - is a sight that has sadly put the best of men sometimes to fretting. But this is a temper of spirit that does in no way befit those who have God for their portion. Therefore the psalmist, in Psalm 37, cautions the saints against it no less than three times, as you may see in Psa_37:1; Psa_37:7-8. There is nothing that does so ill become a saint who has God for his portion, as to be sick of the frets. And to prevent this mischief, this sickness, the precept is doubled, and redoubled, "fret not, fret not, fret not." Those who have God for their portion should never fret or fume, storm or rage, because some are greater than they, or richer than they, or higher than they, or more honorable than they - because all their prosperity is nothing but an unhappy happiness; it is nothing but a banquet, like Haman's, before execution; and what man is there, that is in his wits, who would envy a malefactor who meets with an amusement as he is going along to execution?

All a wicked man's delicate meats, his fine sweets, and his murdering morsels, are sauced; and all his pleasant and delightful drinks are spiced - with the wrath and displeasure of an angry God! Why then should you fret and vex at their prosperity? What madness and folly would it be in a man who is heir to many millions, to envy a stage player that is clothed like a king - but yet not heir to one foot of land, no, nor worth one penny in all the world, and who at night must put off his royal apparel, and the next day put on his beggarly habit? Oh, sirs! it will be but a little, little while - before the great God will disrobe the wicked of all their prosperity, felicity, and worldly glory, and clothe them with the rags of shame, scorn, and contempt forever. Therefore, oh what folly and madness would it be for those who are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ of all the glory of heaven, to envy the prosperity of the wicked, Rom_8:17.

The prosperity of the wicked lays them open to the worst and greatest SINS.

[1.] First, It lays them open to all uncleanness and filthiness, Jer_5:7-8.

[2.] Secondly, It lays them open to pride and contempt of God, Psa_73:3-13; Deu_32:15.

[3.] Thirdly, It lays them open to vex, oppress, tyrannize, persecute, insult, and triumph over the poor people of God, as you may see in Pharaoh, Saul, Ahab, Jezebel, Haman, and the scribes and pharisees.

[4.] Fourthly, It lays them open to a neglect and slighting of the ways of God, and of the ordinances of God, Job_21:5-16; Mal_3:13-15; Jer_22:21. When the protestants in France were in their prosperity, they slighted powerful preachings, etc., and began to relish a vain frothy way of preaching and living, which ushered in the massacre upon them. Moulin hit it, when, speaking of the French protestants, he said, "when the papists hurt us and persecute us for reading the scriptures, we burn with zeal to be reading of them; but now persecution is over, our Bibles are like old almanacs."

[5.] Fifthly, It lays them open to a stupidness, unmindfulness, and forgetfulness of the afflictions of the people of God, Amo_6:1-8. Pharaoh's chief butler was no sooner set down in the seat of prosperity - but quite contrary to his promise, he easily forgets Joseph in misery.

[6.] Sixthly, It lays them open to dreadful apostasy from the ways and worship of God, Deu_32:15-18. No sooner was Israel possessed of the good land which flowed with milk and honey, etc. - but they forsook the true worship of God, and fell to the worshiping of idols, for which at last the good land spewed them out as a generation cursed and abhorred by God.

[7.] Seventhly, It lays them open to all carnal security, as you may see in the old world - their prosperity cast them into a bed of security, and their security ushered in a flood of sin, and that flood of sin ushered in a flood of wrath, Mat_24:37-39.

[8.] Eighthly, It lays them open to idolatry, which is a God-provoking and a land-destroying sin, Hos_2:6-8, and Hos_4:6-7, etc. Ah, sirs! who can seriously consider of the dreadful sins that the prosperity of the wicked lays them open to, and yet fret and vex at their prosperity?

Again, as their prosperity lays them open to the greatest sins, so their prosperity lays them open to the greatest TEMPTATIONS. Witness their tempting of themselves, and their own lusts; and witness their temptings of others to the worst of wickedness and villainies; and witness their frequent tempting and provoking of the great God to his own face; and witness their daily, yes, their hourly tempting of Satan to tempt their own souls. O sirs! as there is no condition that lays people open to such great transgressions as prosperity does, so there is no condition that lays people open to such horrid temptations as prosperity does; and why then should God's holy ones envy wicked men's prosperity, and worldly glory, etc.

Again, Their prosperity, and worldly felicity and glory, is all the portion - and all the heaven and happiness that ever they are likely to have. Psa_17:14, "From men of the world, who have their portion in this life." Certainly, men whose hearts are worldly, whose minds are worldly, whose spirits are worldly, whose desires are worldly, whose hopes are worldly, and whose main ends are worldly - have only the world for their portion; and what a pitiful perishing portion is that! Men that choose the world as their portion, and that delight in the world as their portion, and that trust to the world as their portion, and that in straits run to the world as their portion, and that take content and satisfaction in the world as their portion; doubtless these have never known what it is to have God for their portion.

That is a very heart-cutting and soul-killing word that you have in that Mat_6:2, "Verily I say unto you, that they have their reward." The scribes and pharisees desired the eyes of men, the praise of men, and the applause of men, for a reward of their alms, etc., and Christ tells them, that they have their reward; not God's reward - but theirs; that is, that reward that they had propounded to themselves, as the prime and ultimate end of their actions. And doubtless that word was a thunderbolt to Dives, "Remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony." Luk_16:25. 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.

Gregory being advanced to great preferment, professed that there was no scripture that struck so much terror and trembling into his heart, as that scripture did, "Here you have your reward." [Mat_6:2; Mat_6:5; Mat_6:16] Had wicked men but their eyes in their heads, and a little understanding in their hearts, and life in their consciences, they would quickly conclude that it is hell on this side hell, for a man to have all his portion in this world; and why then should you envy the prosperity of the wicked?

Again, All their prosperity is cursed unto them; as you may see by comparing these scriptures together. [Deu_28:15-68; Lev_26:14-89; Pro_3:33; Mal_2:2] All their comforts are cursed. There are snares on all their tables, and poison in all their cups, and the plague in all their fine clothes, etc. Dionysius the tyrant, to show Damocles, one of his flatterers, the felicity, or rather the infelicity, of a king, attired him as a king, and set him at the table, served as a king; and while he was in his imperial robes, be caused a naked sword, with the point downward, to be hung just over his head by a horse hair, which made Damocles to tremble, and to refrain from both food and mirth. Though the feast was a royal feast, and the attendance royal attendance, and the music royal music - yet Damocles, for his life, could not taste of any of those rich varieties that were before him, nor take any comfort or contentment in any other part of his royal entertainment, because of the sword, the sword - which hung but by a single hair over his head. O sirs! a sword, a sharp sword, a two-edged sword, a sword of displeasure, a sword of wrath, a sword of vengeance - hangs over the head of every wicked person when he is in his most prosperous and flourishing condition! And had sinners but eyes to see this sword, it would be as the handwriting upon the wall; it would cause their thoughts to be troubled, and their countenances to be changed, and their joints to be loosed, and their knees to be dashed one against another! Why, then, should Christians fret and vex at the prosperity of the wicked?

Again, When wicked men are at the highest, then are they nearest their fall; as you may see in Psalm 37, and Psalm 73, and in those great instances of Pharaoh, Adonibezek, Benhadad, Ahab, Sennacherib, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Herod, etc. [Exod 14; Jdg_1:6-7; 1 Kings 20,22; 2 Kings 19; Est_6:4; Dan 5] Look! as the ship is soonest cast away when she is full sail, so when wicked men are at the top - when they are at the height of all their pomp, bravery, and worldly glory - then God usually tumbles them down into the very gulf of misery! The great ones of the world have suddenly fallen from their highest honors and dignities, and have been sorely and sadly exercised with the greatest scorns and calamities. Let me give you this in a few remarkable instances.

Valerian, the Roman emperor, fell from being an emperor to be a footstool to Sapor, the king of Persia, as often as he took horse.

Valens the emperor, being wounded in a fight with the Goths, in his flight he betook himself to a poor cottage, wherein he was burnt by the Goths.

Aurelianus, the Roman emperor, brought king Tetricus, and the noble queen Zenobia of Palmerina, in triumph to Rome in golden chains.

Bajazet, a proud emperor of the Turks, being taken prisoner by Tamberlain, was bound in chains of gold, and used him for a footstool when he mounted his horse. And when he ate meals, he made him gather crumbs under his table and eat them for his food.

Caesar, having bathed his sword in the blood of the senate and his own countrymen, is, after a while, miserably murdered in the senate by his own friends, Cassius and Brutus, to show that they are but the scourges and rods of the Almighty, which he will cast into the fire as soon as he has done with them.

The victorious emperor, Henry the Fourth, who in sixty-two battles was victorious, fell to that poverty and misery before he died, that he was forced to beg in his old age, whereupon he broke forth into that speech of Job, "Have pity upon me, O my friends, for the hand of the Lord has touched me," Job_19:21. He died of grief and poverty.

King Guidimer, who was once a potent king of the Vandals - was brought so low as to entreat his friend to send him a sponge, a loaf of bread, and a harp - a sponge to dry up his tears, a loaf of bread to maintain his life, and an harp to solace himself in his misery.

Dionysius, king of Sicily, was such a cruel tyrant that his people banished him. After his banishment he went to Corinth, where he lived a base and contemptible life. At last he became a schoolmaster, that so, when he could no longer tyrannize over men, he might over boys.

Great Pompey, who used to boast that he could raise all Italy in arms with a stamp of his foot, had not so much as room to be buried in.

William the Conqueror's corpse lay three days unburied, his interment being hindered by one that claimed the ground to be his.

Pythias pined to death for lack of bread, who once was able to entertain and maintain Xerxes's mighty army.

Philip de Comines reports of a Duke of Exeter, who though he had married Edward the Fourth's sister - yet he saw him in the low countries begging barefoot.

And so Belisarius, a most famous general, and the only man living in his time for glorious victories, riches, and renown - yet in his old age he had his eyes put out by the empress Theodora; and being led at last in a string, he was forced to cry out, 'Give a crust to old blind Belisarius!'

By all these royal instances, you see the truth of that which once a royal slave hinted to Sesostris. The story runs thus: Sesostris having taken many of his neighbor kings prisoners, he made them to pull his chariot by turns. Now, it so happened that one of these royal slaves, as he was drawing in the chariot, had his eye almost continually fixed on the wheels, which Sesostris observing, asked him why he looked so seriously upon the wheels. He answered, that the moving of that spoke lowest which was even now highest, put him in mind of the instability of fortune. Sesostris, duly weighing the parable, would never after be drawn by his royal slaves any more.

By what has been said, it is more evident that when wicked men are highest they are nearest their fall; and that none fall so certainly and so suddenly, and under such dreadful calamities and miseries, as those who have been the most highly advanced in all worldly dignities and glories. And why, then, should any fret or vex at their outward prosperity or worldly felicity?

Again, God will bring them to an account for all those talents of power, of honor, of riches, of trust, of time, of interest that God has given them in the world; and the more they have employed the liberality and bounty of God against God or his glory, or interest, or people - the shorter shall be their felicity, and the more endless shall be their misery, Mat_25:14-31. The greatest account and the greatest damnation commonly attends the great ones of the world. I have read of Philip the Third of Spain, whose life was free from gross evils, professing that he would rather lose all his kingdoms than offend God willingly; yet being in the agony of death, and considering more thoroughly of that account he was to give to God, fear struck him, and these words broke from him, "Oh, would to God I had never reigned! Oh that those years I have spent in my kingdom, I had lived a private life in the wilderness! Oh that I had lived a solitary life with God, how much more confidently would I have gone to the throne of God! What does all my glory profit me now - but that I have so much the more torment in my death, and the greater account to give up to God!"

I have read of a soldier, who, about to die for taking a bunch of grapes contrary to his general's command, as he was going along to execution, he went eating of his grapes, whereupon one of his fellow-soldiers rebuked him, saying, What! are you eating your grapes now you are going to execution? The poor fellow replied, 'O, friend, do not envy me my grapes; for I shall pay a dear price for them, I shall lose my life for them;' and so accordingly he did.

So I say, Oh you who have God for your portion, do not envy, do not fret and vex, at the prosperity of the wicked; for what though they have more than their heart can wish, what though they live in pleasure and wallow in all carnal and sensual delights, etc. - yet they have a sad account to give up to God, and they shall pay dear at last for all their worldly enjoyments. For without sound repentance on their part, and pardoning grace on God's part, they shall not only lose their lives - but they shall also forever lose their immortal souls.

Therefore never fret at their prosperity!

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.

It is the justice of envy to torment the envious; and, therefore, shun it as you would poison in your food, or a serpent in the way. A man were better have a serpent tumbling up and down in his bowels, than to have envy a-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; it is a serpent to sting the soul; it is a poison to swell the soul; it is a saw to saw the soul; it is a moth that corrupts the soul, and it is a canker that eats up the soul. Therefore fly from it, as you would fly from the most cruel and destroying adversary!

O sirs, to be angry, 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? And if this be not to create a hell in our own hearts, I am much mistaken.

I shall conclude this first inference with the counsel of the prophet in that Psa_49:16-17, "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." 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. "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!" Psalm 73.

(2) Secondly, If the saints have such an excellent, such a transcendent, and such a matchless portion, oh then, let them be content with their present condition, let them sit down satisfied and contented, though they have but a handful of meal in their barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, 1Ki_17:12. O sirs, in having of God you have much, in having of God you have enough, in having of God you have all! Why then should you not sit down quiet with your present concition? Certainly, if much will not satisfy you, if enough will not satisfy you, if all will not satisfy you - then nothing will satisfy you.

Heb_13:5, "Let your lives be without covetousness (or love of silver, as the Greek word signifies); and be content with such things as you have (or as the Greek has it, be content with present things) - for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you." There are five negatives in the Greek, "I will not, not, not, not, not leave you nor forsake you;" fully to assure and fully to 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," import 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, Heb_11:36-38, 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, etc.

O Christians! a little will satisfy nature; less will satisfy grace; though nothing will satisfy men's lusts; and why then should not Christians be contented with a little? O friends! you have but a short journey to go, you have but a little way home, and a little will serve to bear you UP, until you come to heaven. Therefore be contented with a little. To have more than will serve to bring a man to his journey's end is but a burden. One staff is helpful to a man in his journey - but a bundle is hurtful; and this, doubtless, Jacob well understood when he made that proposal in Gen_28:20-21, "If God will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, then shall the Lord be my God." Jacob does not say, If God will give me delicacies and sweets to eat - he shall be my God! Oh no! But if he will give me but bread to eat, though it be ever so coarse, and ever so black, and ever so dry - he shall be my God. He does not say, If God will give me so many hundreds, or so many thousands a year - he shall be my God! Oh no! But if he will give me bread to eat - he shall be my God. Nor he does not say, If God will give me so many thousands in my purse, a comfortable home, and a thriving trade - he shall be my God! Oh no! But if he will give me bread to eat - he shall be my God. Nor he does not say, If God will give me costly apparel, or rich and royal raiment to put on - he shall be my God! Oh no! But if God will give me raiment to put on, though it be ever so mean and poor - he shall be my God. If Jacob may but have a little bread to feed him, and a few clothes to cover him - it is as much as he looks for.

Look! as a wicked man in the fullness of his sufficiency is in straits, as Job speaks, Job_20:22, so a holy man, in the fullness of his straits, enjoys an all-sufficiency in God, as you may see in Jacob. O Christians! though you have but little - yet you have the highest and the noblest title that can be to that little that you do enjoy; for you have all in God, as the apostle shows in that large charter of a Christian, 1Co_3:21-23, which the wicked do not. Now, a hundred a year upon a good title is a better estate than a thousand a year upon a cracked, flawed title. Saints have the best title under heaven for all they enjoy, be it little or be it much. But all the titles that sinners have to their earthly enjoyments are but defective titles, yes, in comparison of the saints' titles, they are no titles.

Again, That little that a saint has, he has it from the special love and favor of God; he has it from a reconciled God, Pro_15:17. Now, a little from special love is better than a great deal from a general providence. A penny from a reconciled God - is better than a pound from a bountiful God; a shilling from God as a father - is a better estate than a hundred from God as a creator. The kiss that a king gave to one in the story, was a greater gift than the golden cup that he gave to another; a little, with the kisses of God's mouth, is better than all the gold of Ophir, Son_1:2. A drop of mercy from God's special love is better than a sea of mercy from God's common bounty. Look! as one draught of clear, sweet spring water is more pleasing, satisfying, and delightful to the palate - than a sea of brackish salt water; so one draught out of the fountain of special grace is more pleasing, satisfying, and delightful to a gracious soul - than a whole sea of mercy from a spring of common grace! Therefore do not wonder when you see a Christian sit down contented with a little.

Again, That little that a Christian has shall be certainly blessed and sanctified to him, 1Ti_4:3-5; Tit_1:15; Jer_32:41, etc. Though your mercies, O Christian, are ever so few, and ever so base - yet they shall assuredly be blessed unto you. The Lord has not only promised that he will bless your blessings to you - but he has also sworn by himself that in blessing, he will bless you; and how dare you then, O Christian, to think that the great and faithful God will be guilty of a lie, or that which is worse, of perjury? Gen_22:16-17.

Now, a little blessed by God - is better than a great deal cursed by God! A little blessed - is better than a world enjoyed; a pound blessed - is better than a thousand cursed; a black crust blessed - is better than a feast cursed; the gleanings blessed - are better than the whole harvest cursed; a drop of mercy blessed - is better than a sea of mercy cursed; Lazarus's crumbs blessed - was better than Dives' delicacies cursed; Jacob's little blessed unto him - was better than Esau's great estate which was cursed unto him. It is always better to have scraps with God's blessing - than to have manna and quails with God's curse; a thin table with God's blessing - is always better than a full table with a snare, Psa_78:18; Psa_78:32; a threadbare coat with God's blessing - is better than a purple robe cursed; a hole, a cave, a den, a barn, a chimney-corner, with God's blessing - is better than stately palaces with a curse; a woolen cap blessed - is better than a golden crown cursed; and it may be that emperor understood as much, that said of his crown, when he looked on it with tears, 'If you knew the cares that are under this crown, you would never stoop to take it up!'

And, therefore, why should not a Christian be contented with a little, seeing his little shall be blessed unto him? Isaac tills the ground, and sows his seed, and God blesses him with a hundred fold, Gen_26:12; and Cain tills the ground, and sows his seed - but the earth is cursed to him, and commanded not to yield its produce, Gen_4:12. Oh, therefore, never let a Christian murmur because he has but a little - but rather let him be still a blessing of that God, who has blessed his little, and who does bless his little, and who will bless his little to him!

Again, That little estate that a righteous man has, is most commonly a more lasting, a more abiding, a more permanent, and a more enduring estate - than the great and large estates of the wicked are, Pro_15:16, and Pro_16:8. Psa_37:16, "A little that a righteous man has - is better than the riches of many wicked." One old piece of gold - is worth more than a thousand new pennies; and one box of pearls - is more worth than many loads of pebbles; and one hundred pounds a year forever - is better than many hundreds in hand.

It is very observable the psalmist does not simply say, the estate - but the rich estate; the riches not of one, or a few - but of many wicked, are not comparable to that little that a righteous man has. The Hebrew word that is here rendered riches, signifies also a multitude, or an abundance, or store of riches. A little that a righteous man has is better than the multitude of riches, or the abundance of riches, or the store of riches that many wicked men have; and he gives you the reason of this in Psa_37:17. "For the arms of the wicked shall be broken - but he upholds (or under-props) the righteous." By the arms of the wicked," you are to understand their strength, their valor, their power, their wit, their wealth, their abundance, which is all the arms they have to support and bear up themselves in the world with. Now, these arms shall be broken, and when they are broken, then, even then, will God uphold the righteous, that is, God will be a continual overflowing fountain of good to his righteous ones, so that they shall never lack, though all the springs of the wicked are dried up round about them.

O Sirs! there are so many moths, and so many dangers, and so many crosses, and so many losses, and so many curses - which daily attend the great estates of wicked men, that they are very rarely long-lived. Ah! how many in this great city are there who have built their nests on high, and who have thought that they had laid up riches for many years, and that have said in their hearts, that their lands, and stocks, and trades, and houses, and pompous estates should abide forever - who are now broken in pieces like a potter's vessel! Ah! how often does the pride, the oppression, the lying, the cheating, the overreaching, the swearing, the cursing, the whoring, the covetousness, the drunkenness, and the wantonness of the wicked - cut the throat of all their mercies! These are the wicked nesses, which, like a fire - burns up all their outward enjoyments; and which turns their earthly paradise into a hell. It is the wickedness of the wicked which causes their prosperity to wither, and which provokes God to turn their plenty into scarcity, their glory into contempt, and their honor into shame.

It is very observable, that in the holy Scriptures the prosperous estates of the wicked are frequently compared to things of a fleeting existence, [Job_14:2; Job_21:17-18; Isa_29:5; 2Ki_19:26; Job_24:24; Job_15:33; Job_20:8] to a shadow which soon passes away; to chaff, which a puff, a blast of wind easily disperses and scatters; to grass, which quickly withers before the sun; to tops of corn, which in an instant are cut off; to the unripe grape, which suddenly drops down; yes, to a dream in the night; and what is a dream - but a quick fancy, and a momentary vanity? All the riches that the wicked gain - either by their trades, or by their friends, or by their great places, or by their high offices, or by their subtle contrivances, or by their sinful compliances; and all the honor they gain in the court, or in the camp, or in the school - is but light and fleeting; it is but like the crackling of thorns under a pot. They are fading vanities - which commonly die before those who enjoy them are laid in the dust.

Oh, therefore, let all Christians be contented with their little, seeing that their little shall outlast the large estates of wicked and ungodly men! A man who has God for his portion can truly say that which no wicked man in the world can say, namely, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever," Psa_23:6. The psalmist does not say that goodness and mercy should follow him a day, or a few days, or many days - but that "goodness and mercy should follow him all the days of his life." The Hebrew word which is here rendered to follow, signifies to persecute; says the psalmist, "Goodness and mercy shall follow me, as the persecutor follows him he persecutes;" that is, it shall follow me frequently, it shall follow me constantly, it shall follow me swiftly, it shall follow me earnestly, it shall follow me unweariedly. The word signifies a studious, anxious, careful, diligent following; it is a metaphor that is taken from beasts and birds of prey, which follow and fly after their prey with the greatest eagerness, closeness, and unweariedness imaginable. Thus shall mercy and loving-kindness follow David all the days of his life. And if in a temptation, he should prove so weak and so foolish as to run away from goodness and mercy - yet goodness and mercy would follow him, like as the sun going down follows with his warm beams - the traveler who walks eastward.

O - but now the mercies of the wicked are short-lived!  Though the wicked flourish and spread themselves like a green tree one day; yet they are cut down the next, and there is neither root nor branch to be found, tale nor tidings to be heard of them. For in a moment, they, with all their greatness, state, pomp, and glory - are utterly vanished and banished out of the world, Psa_37:35-37. And so, Psa_34:10, "The young lions lack and suffer hunger - but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." Young lions are lusty, strong, fierce, and active to seek their prey, and yet for all that, they shall lack and suffer hunger. By young lions, understand:

[1.] First, All wicked rulers; men who are in the highest places and authority, as the lion is the king of beasts, Pro_28:15; Eze_32:2.

[2.] Secondly, By lions they understand all cruel oppressors, who are still oppressing and grinding of the faces of the poor. Pro_30:30; "rich oppressors," as the Septuagint renders it, "who live on the spoil of the poor, and are never satisfied."

[3.] Thirdly, By lions, they understand the tyrants and the mighty Nimrods of the world, who are sometimes called lions, Jer_2:15; 1Ch_11:22; Nah_2:13.

[4.] And lastly, By lions, they understand all the crafty and subtle politicians of the earth. Eze_38:13, "The lion lurks very craftily and secretly for his prey." The sum of all is this - That wicked men who are in the highest authority, and that great oppressors, cruel tyrants, and crafty politicians - shall be impoverished, and brought to poverty, beggary, and misery. And this we have often seen verified before our eyes.

O Christian! what though you have but a little of this world - yet the God of all mercies, and all the mercies of God; the God of all comforts, and all the comforts of God - are yours! What more would you have? In God is fullness - all fullness, infinite fullness; and if this, with a little of the world, will not satisfy you - I know not what will. If a God for your portion will not content you, all the world will never content you. Shall Diogenes, a heathen, be more content with his tub to shelter him, and with his dish to drink in, than Alexander was with all his conquests? And shall not a Christian sit down contented and satisfied in the enjoyment of God for his portion, though he has but a tub to shelter him, bread to feed him, and a dish of water to refresh him?

(3.) Thirdly, If God is the saint's portion - those sinners are much mistaken, who judge the saints to be the most unhappy men in the world. There are no men under heaven in such a blessed and happy estate as the saints are, Balaam himself being judge, Num_23:5-11. A man who has God for his portion, is honorable even in rags, Psa_16:3. He has some beams, some rays, of the majesty and glory of God stamped upon his soul, and shining upon his face, and glittering in his life; and he who is so blind as not to behold this, is worse than Balaam the witch. Though the blind Jews could see no form, nor loveliness, nor beauty in Christ that they should desire him, Isa_53:2; yet the wise men who came from the east could see his divinity sparkling in the midst of the straw; they could see a heavenly majesty and glory upon him when he lay among the beasts, when he lay in a manger, Luk_2:7. Witness their tedious journey to find him, and witness their worshiping of him, and witness those rich and royal presents which they brought unto him, Mat_2:11.

So though the blind sots of the world can see no beauty, nor loveliness, nor glory, in the saints, or upon the saints - which should render them amiable and desirable in their eyes; yet God, and Christ, and angels, and those who are wise in heart and wise to salvation, can see a great deal of divine beauty, majesty, and glory upon all those who have God for their portion. There is no happiness compared to that of having God for a man's portion. Psa_144:15, "Happy is that people who are in such a case" (but give me that word again), "yes, happy is that people whose God is the Lord." He who does not have God for his portion, can never be happy; and he who enjoys God for his portion can never be miserable.

Augustine, speaking of one who, passing by a stately house which had fair lands about it, and asking another whom he met to whom that house and lands belonged, he answered, 'to such an one.' Oh, says he, that is a happy man indeed. No, says the other, not so happy as you think; for it is no such happiness to have that house and land - but he is happy indeed, who has the Lord for his God - for that is a privilege which exceeds all things put together. For, says he, he who has honor and riches may go to hell for all them - but he who has God to be his God, is sure to be everlastingly happy.

According as a man's portion is, so is he. Now, if God is a man's portion, who is the spring, the fountain, the top of all excellency and glory - then certainly that man must needs be an excellent man who has God for his portion; and upon this score it is that the righteous man is more excellent than his neighbor. Let the righteous man's neighbor be ever so great, and ever so rich, and ever so mighty, and ever so noble - yet if he has not God for his portion, the righteous man is more excellent than he. And the reason is evident, because he has that God for his portion - which is the most eminent and excellent portion. O sirs! if God is most excellent, if God is alone excellent, then they must needs be most excellent, who have God for their portion.

It is very observable that, according to the excellency of God, the excellency of the saints is in some proportion hinted at in Scripture; as in that Deu_33:26; Deu_33:29, There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun;" and presently it follows, "Happy are you, O Israel; who is like unto you?" or, Oh the happinesses of you, O Israel! Oh the multiplied happiness, the heaped-up happiness - which attends Israel! The saints who have God for their portion, are the world's paragons; they are worthies "of whom this world is not worthy;" they are such great, such noble, such worthy worthies - that this world is not worthy to think on them, to look on them, to wait on them, or to enjoy their company.

One saint who has God for his portion - is more worth than all the millions of sinners in the world that have not God for their portion. God delights to reflect his glory upon his saints; for as there are none like to God, so there are none like to the people of God. Look! as God is great, so his people are great; and so in that 2Sa_7:22-23, "Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is none like you, neither is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears; and what one nation in the earth is like your people?" Look! as the excellency of God rises - so in a proportion the excellency of the saints rises; and Look! as there are no gods in all the world which are so excellent as God is - so there are no people in all the world who are so excellent as the people of God are.

Everyone who has God for his portion resembles the child of a king, as Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon of his brethren, Jdg_8:18. If you look upon their divine and heavenly origin, you shall find that they are born of the blood-royal, and that they are the sons of the King of kings, and Lord of lords! Yes, all the saints who have God for their portion, are kings. Rev_1:6, "And has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." [Rev_17:14; Rev_5:10; Dan_7:27; 1Co_3:22-23; Psa_34:14; Heb_1:14; Psa_45:13; 1Co_1:30] They have the power, sovereignty, and authority of kings, they are privileged as kings, they are guarded as kings, they are adorned as kings, they are entertained as kings, they feed as kings - they feed high, they live upon God and Christ, and all the glory of heaven; and they are clothed as kings - they are clothed with Christ's righteousness, and with the garments of joy and gladness.

Kings have great alliance, and so have the saints who have God for their portion. Kings have a very great influence, and so have those who have God for their portion. A man in rags who has God for his portion - is a more honorable person than the greatest monarch on earth, who has only the world for his portion. I have read of Alexander the Great, and of Pompey the Great, and of Charles the Great, and of Abner the Great, and of Herod the Great; but what were all these great men but grasshoppers, compared to the saints who have God for their portion? Men who have had God for their portion have been very famous, illustrious, and glorious - when they have been friendless, and houseless, and penniless; yes, when they have been under the swords, and saws, and harrows of persecution.

When Maximian, the tyrant, had plucked out one of Paphnutius the Confessor's eyes, that good emperor Constantine saw such a luster, beauty, and glory upon Paphnutius, that he fell upon him and kissed him; and he kissed that very hole most, wherein one of the Confessor's eyes had been, as being most ravished and delighted with that hole. The name of him who has God for his portion shall live, when the name of the wicked shall rot, Pro_10:7; Psa_112:9. His name shall be written in golden characters upon marble, when the name of the wicked shall be written in the dust.

The blind besotted world are sadly mistaken, who are ready to set the crown of honor and happiness upon any heads, rather than upon theirs who have God for their portion. Look! as Samuel, beholding the beauty and stature of Eliab, would needs have him anointed, and the crown set upon his head; when the crown was designed for David at the sheepfold, 1Sa_16:6; 1Sa_16:12. So vain men are very apt to set the crown of happiness upon their heads who have the greatest share in this world; whereas the crown of happiness and blessedness is only to be set on the heads of those who have God for their portion. What the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon's servants, "Happy are your men, happy are these your servants - who stand continually before you, and who hear your wisdom," 1Ki_10:8, is here very applicable to the saints - "Happy, happy, yes, thrice happy are those precious sons and daughters of Zion, who have God for their portion."A man who has God for his portion shall live happily and die happily, and after death he shall remain happy to all eternity. Therefore we may well cry out, "Oh, the happiness and blessedness of that man who has God for his portion!"