I have two texts of scripture
this morning that I'd like to share with you. The first is
found in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 32, and it's verse 9,
where the scripture says, For the Lord's portion is his people. For the Lord's portion is his
people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. And then over in the book of
Lamentations, in chapter 3, the weeping prophet
Jeremiah says in verse 24, the Lord is my portion, saith my
soul, therefore will I hope in him. Remembering the text that
we read out of Deuteronomy, and also Lamentations, I begin my
remarks this morning by saying what the Lord says concerning
us, we also can declare concerning Him. How the Lord gives the word. See how the Lord gives the word.
He says, my portion is my people, and the prophet says in Jeremiah,
in the book of Lamentations, that the Lord is my portion. So the Lord loves His people,
and we love Him because He first loves us. He has chosen His people,
and they have chosen Him in return. The saints of God are precious
to Him, and to us who believe, Peter says, He is precious. Christ lived for us, and for
us, the Apostle Paul said, to live is Christ. We gain all things
by the death of our Savior and Redeemer, the Lord Jesus, and
for us to die is gain. My beloved is mine, the scripture
says, and I am his. It is most delightful to see
how that by divine grace, believers come to have the same feelings
toward their God, which their God has toward them. Now these two texts presents
us with this blessed truth. First of all, the elect, the
church, The Israel of God, the true Israel of God, is God's
portion. And he delights in her, he finds
in her his solace and his joy. Now the meaning of the word portion
is that he has taken, that is his bride, his church, out of
a larger number. And we know what that means.
We know that God sovereignly, by divine grace, has chosen his
people out from among the world. and He is bestowed upon them
redeeming mercies and grace, covenant grace. But God is also,
as a result of this, the church's portion, her full delight and
bliss. The love is mutual. His whole
heart He gave unto His chosen people, and now they voluntarily
begin being led by divine grace, give themselves to Him. And while
he clasped his church in his arms, saying, Thou art my portion,
she returns the embrace and rapturously cries, Thou art my portion, O
Lord. First of all, then, we have the
Lord's portion. And secondly, his people's portion. Now the text teaches us that
the elect are the Lord's own peculiar and special property. The earth is the Lord's, the
Bible says, and the fullness thereof, the world, and they
that dwell therein. By creation, as well as by providence,
Jehovah, the Lord and sovereign possessor of the entire universe,
don't let any dispute his claim or deny his ownership. For he
said, all souls are mine. but he has special property in
his church. The whole world is God's by common
right. He is Lord of the universe, but
his people is his garden, his cultivated and fenced field,
and if he should ever have to give up his rights to all the
rest of the earth, Yet he never could relinquish his right to
his separated inheritance. The Lord's portion is his people. Well, how are they his? Well,
we answer first of all by his own sovereign choice. In Deuteronomy
chapter 7 and in verse 6, We read where that the Lord speaks
of His choice of His ancient people Israel. And He says, For
thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy
God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself above all
people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not
set His love upon you nor choose you because you were more in
number than any people, for you were the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you,
and because He would keep the oath which He has sworn unto
your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and
redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt." And then over in the book of Acts chapter
13, We read again where the Apostle Paul speaks of this very choice
of God, and in verse 17, the God of this people of Israel
chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as
strangers in the land of Egypt, And with a high arm brought he
them out. And so we see by the reading
of these two verses that God sovereignly chose his ancient
people. And according to Paul in the
New Testament, in Ephesians 1-4, he speaks to God's people and
he says, according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. 2 Thessalonians 2 and 13, God
hath from the beginning chosen us to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and the belief of the truth. So we see how that
the Lord got his portion. He sovereignly set his affection
and love upon them from all time and chose them to be his own.
Samuel tells us that it pleased the Lord to make you His people. And so you're made the people
of God by God's sovereign choice. And then secondly, we're His
by purchase. Because He has bought them with
a price. That is, His people. He bought
them with a price. Not with corruptible things as
silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. Jesus paid it all. Those who
are His have the blood mark upon them, invisible, of course, to
the human eye, but known to Christ, for the Lord knoweth them that
are His. Now if any adversary would dispute
his claim, the fact that his people belonged to him by purchase,
he would show them his pierced hands and point to his wounded
side. The emblems of his passion are
the seals of his possession. We truly have been bought with
a price. The Lord Jesus Christ laid down
his life for us. Thirdly, they're also his by
conquest. When Jacob was dying, he gave
to Joseph one portion above his brethren, which he had taken
out of the hand of the Amorite with his sword and with his bow. The Lord Jesus took his people
out of armed bondage. We were in bondage. We were in
debt to sin. We were in debt to the justice
of God. And we owed a debt we could not
pay. And the Lord Jesus Christ came and paid the debt that he
did not owe in order that we might be truly the Lord's people. The Lord Jesus Christ has taken
us out of that pit and lifted us up and set us upon that solid
rock. He's taken his people as spoiled
from the strong. We are Christ this day by conquest. Now in the second place, the
text shows me that the saints are the object of the Lord's
special care in this world. In Zechariah 2 verse 8 it says,
He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye. So the Lord esteems his people
as much as men value their eyesight and is as careful to protect
them from injury as men are to protect their eyes. It is true
the Lord is the eternal watcher of the universe and never sleeps. Yet in a very distinct sense,
he is the guardian of his people. The preserver of all men, as
the Bible puts it, but especially of those who believe. I, the
Lord, do keep it. I will water it every moment,
lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and day.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. He upholdeth all things by his
might. But his power, his presence,
and his protection are more peculiar, I believe, with his church. He
is to her a wall of fire round about her and a glory in her
midst. The church man as God's portion
is his peculiar care. The Bible says, casting all your
care upon him for he careth for you. Never was their care so
tender, so perpetual, so faithful, so affectionate as the care of
God over all his chosen people. The Lord's portion really is
His people. The Lord is mighty in battle
for His people, His church. He delivered from sin by power. He shows every day His might
in keeping her from falling. that he may present her at the
last spotless before his face with exceeding joy, ecstatic
joy. Never was a castle upon a mountain
summit fortified by nature and art so impregnable as is the
church of God. The poet said, munitions of stupendous
rock her dwelling place shall be. There shall her sons without
a shock the wreck of nature see. Next, this text teaches me that
God's people are his everlasting possession. And this is very
interesting to me. They're his everlasting possession. If any of the children of Israel
should lose his inheritance by debt, or should be driven to
the necessity of selling it. Yet at the year of jubilee it
always came back again to him. So you see, no Israelite ever
left or ever lost his portion. And do you think God will lose
his portion? No, my friend, he will not lose
his portion. They're his, and they shall be
his while time shall last. And when time ends and eternity
rolls on, he never can, he never will cast away his chosen people. Rejoice, the Lord's portion is
his people. Well, that brings us to the second
text. The Lord's portion is his people,
and then as the prophet said, the Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. This text implies that the true
believers have the Lord as their soul portion. It is not the Lord
is partly my portion, not the Lord is in my portion, but he
makes up the sum total of my soul's inheritance. The Lord
Himself is my portion. Men of this world, we're told,
have their portion in this life, in what they possess, houses
and land and things material. Now, when God's children receive
anything in this world in the way of gift from the providence
of God, they thank God for it and endeavor to use it for His
honor and glory, but they still insist upon it that this is not
their portion. Make no difference how much the
providence of God gives and grants to them, this is not their portion. Martin Luther, he would not have
money to be his portion in this life, and so when he was given
any money, he'd just turn right around and give it away, because
he did not want anyone to think that this was his portion, and
certainly It was not His portion. Matthew 6 and verse 33 says,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be added unto you. They're not what we're
looking for, but they will be added unto us. It's kind of like
you go into a store and you buy something, and they give you
a bag to put it in. Now the bag is not what you're
looking for. You're looking for the merchandise
that you purchased. Our portion, what we're seeking
after, is God in this world. He is our only portion. We seek
nothing besides. Let the will of God be what it
will be toward us. Let the providence of God provide
what God would provide for each of us. But our portion is the
Lord. and were seeking only him. When
Abraham had children by his wife Keturah, you remember it is written,
he gave them their portion and he sent them away. But he never
did so with Isaac. Isaac was the palmless child.
Isaac was the true seed of God. And so he never sent Isaac away.
So we are as Isaac. give the world its portion, give
the emperor his crown, give the rich man his money, and send
him away. But let me be as Isaac in his
father's tent. Amen? Let me be as Isaac, having
my portion being the Lord. What can we need beyond this
portion? Thee at all times, the poet said,
will I bless. Having thee I all possess. How can I believe thee since
I cannot part with thee? Augustine would often pray, Lord,
give me thyself. Will a less portion than this
be satisfactory? No, it would not be. Not to Augustine
and not to the true people of God. The Lord is their portion. He must be their portion. Not
his grace merely nor his love. All these come with a portion,
do they not? But the Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. My soul wait thou only upon God,
for my expectation is from Him. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. I hope He is your portion. But
whether He is or not does not concern me so much as whether
or not He is mine, whether He's really my portion. Is He your
portion this morning? Let this not be a general declaration,
but let it be a particular affirmation. The Lord is my portion. Some of us have maybe very little
of this world's goods, but we can say the Lord is my portion. We can still say whatever we
have, whatever we don't have, we can still say the Lord is
my portion. Have you been born again of the
Spirit of God? Have you been translated? out
of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son? Do you believe the gospel? John
3 and 36 says, He that believeth hath everlasting life, he that
believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth
on him. You say, my folks took care of
that religion thing a long time ago. Ours, you know, was a religious
family. But my brother, my sister, this
morning, are we not aware that there are many around us that
have the idea that father and mother can take care, or grandpa
and grandma can take care of the religion, and take care of
our religion, and see to it by their religion that we're okay.
Well, such a thing, my friend, is nonsense. Now you say, well
don't you believe that America is a Christian nation? My friend,
I do not believe that America is a Christian nation. I think
it is evident, very evident in our day and time, that this nation
is not a believing nation. We're more unchristian than Christian,
I believe. Well, many think they're going
to go to heaven in groups. No, no, you're not going to heaven
in groups. Men go to hell in bundles, but they go to heaven
separately. If you are not a child of God
by the new birth, by faith and repentance toward God and toward
the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have not a child's portion. Have you passed from death to
life? If not, you have not the portion of the living in the
family of God, the living in Zion. If you have not put faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can never have that portion which
belongs to the true born heir of heaven. For to him God has
said, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. Now you cannot get God as your
portion by works. He can only be inherited. If children, the Bible says,
then heirs. Heirs of God. Joined heirs with
Christ. But if not children, then not
heirs. And the heritage cannot be yours
apart from eternal sonship. Well, the Lord is my settled
portion. My settled portion. And you might
say, well, it certainly would appear that it ought to be, seeing
your age. And I'd say that's true. But
it certainly has been for a long time. The Lord has been my settled
portion, because no law passed on earth No deed perpetrated
in the conclaves of hell can ever affect the eternal, immutable,
everlasting settlements of covenant of grace, which are made in Christ
Jesus, ordered in all things. And sure, the Lord is my settled
portion, if He is my portion at all. He is my all-sufficient
portion. My all-sufficient portion, I
say. If God is all-sufficient in himself,
he must be all-sufficient for us. That which fills an ocean
will fill a bucket. Those revenues that will defray
a king's expense are enough for a beggar or a poor man. You say,
Preacher, it would take a lot to satisfy me. And I know there
is People among us probably this morning say, well, this business
of the Lord being your portion ain't enough for me, Purchase.
Ain't enough for me. Well, I'll tell you what, when
you finally come to the place, and you may or may not come to
that place in this life where nothing in this life appeals
to you anymore, and where you see the emptiness and the vanity
of life on this earth, and you brought to the end of yourself,
stripped, and brought down to a place where you can only look
up, then you will discover that the Lord truly is a settled,
all-sufficient portion, and that the Lord is sufficient. Now there was a man, a farmer
one time who had a hard hand, had worked for him diligently
for a long time, and he was coming to the place of retirement, and
so the farmer had a conversation with him one day and asked him,
how much do you want? as a pension. You can live right
on the place, but how much do you want as a pension? And so
the fellow said, well, he said 500 a month would be sufficient. The old farmer kind of wondered
about it, thought that was pretty low, and so he said, well, you
think it over, and we'll talk again. And they did talk again,
and he said that he would be satisfied with 500. So they settled
on it. And shortly after that, he went
out and told a friend that he wished that he would have asked
for a thousand. It's not easy, you see, to satisfy
a man. It's not easy. When he thinks he's satisfied,
he's not. He still cries, give, give, because
this is the horse leech in his heart. The Bible says hell and
destruction are never full and the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Not satisfied. But it's wonderful when we can
come to the place where we can truly say with Jeremiah, the
Lord is my portion. That God is a satisfying portion. We cannot wish for anything more
than Him. The poet said, all my capitious
powers can wish. In thee is richly stored. Nor
can my soul conceive a joy which is not in my Lord. Let us rejoice in the Lord always. Let us show the world that we
are a happy people in our blessed Lord. That we are blessed people. Until the people of this world,
their mouths watering, say, let us live the life and die the
death of the righteous. The lines have fallen to us in
pleasant places, and we have a goodly heritage. I want everybody
here to ask yourself, what is my portion? What is it? If you
cannot, with judgment day honesty, put God at the head of a list,
you have nothing if you have not God, my friend. You have
nothing if you have not God as your portion. Believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Scripture says, and thou shalt be saved.
Acquaint now thyself with Him and be at peace. Well, the Lord's
portion is those that believe on Him. And those who believe
on Him have the Lord as their portion. That's simply what we
talked about this morning. I do hope the Lord will give
you the ability to receive the message and that it will be instructed
for your heart. I know it is a little uncomfortable
in here, a little warm, but we need to take time to look into
the Word of God and look into these valuable and precious truths. May the Lord bless you. Aaron,
would you come