God Our Portion and His Word Our Treasure

DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 2, 1877,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"You are my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep Your Words."
Psalm 119:57.

OBSERVE the close connection between privilege and duty. "You are my
portion, O Lord." This is an unspeakable happiness. "I have said that I
would keep Your Words"–this is the fitting return for such a blessing.
Every mercy given us by the Lord brings with it a claim which we ought,
in gratitude, to recognize. Notice very carefully the order in which
the privilege and the duty are arranged. The blessing of Grace is first
and the fruit of gratitude next. The Grace given is the root and the
resolve is the fruit growing out of it. It is not, "I have said that I
would keep Your Words, that You may be my portion, O Lord." No, first
the portion is enjoyed by faith and then the resolution is formed. "You
are my portion, O Lord, I have You already in present possession.
Therefore will I, as You shall help me, keep Your Words."

Duty in order to privilege is the Law–God be thanked that we are not
under it, for we should never obtain a single blessing thereby! But
privilege in order to obedience is the Gospel–God grant that we may
know the fullness of its power to sanctify our souls! The Lord must
first be your portion before you will be able to keep His Words. How
can a man keep what he has not received? Without God to be our portion,
where will the strength come from to accomplish so difficult a duty as
the keeping of God's Words? See to it, all of you, that you do not
reverse the order! Do not, as the old proverb says, put the cart before
the horse.

Let all things come in their due course and keep due rank, for mischief
comes of the wrong placing of things. First receive from Divine Grace
until you can say, "You are my portion, O Lord," and then give forth,
by daily service, what God has worked within, and say, "I will keep
Your Words." Each possession not only involves service, but appropriate
service, even as each plant bears it own flower. The general principle
which calls for service bears a particular application, for each
particular Gospel benefit is linked with some special Gospel service.
The unspeakable gift of having God for our portion has here fastened to
it the peculiar excellence of keeping God's Words and one objective of
the present sermon will be to show that this is by no means an
accidental arrangement, but that a true connection really exists and
ought to be earnestly acknowledged by every child of God.

Because you can say, "You are my portion, O Lord," you ought, also, to
add, "I will keep Your Words." First, this morning, let us consider the
infinite possession–"You are my portion, O Lord." Secondly, the
appropriate resolution–"I have said that I would keep Your Words."

I. Begin, then, where the text begins, with THE INFINITE POSSESSION.
"You are my portion, O Lord." Here,

first, notice a clear distinction. The Psalmist declares the Lord to be
his portion in distinction to the portion of the ungodly. "These often
have their portion in this life; they increase in riches." The 73rd
Psalm gives a full and particular description of the ungodly in their
prime and glory when, "their eyes stand out with fatness" and, "they
have more than heart can wish."

But David did not desire to share their short-lived joys. He sought his
happiness elsewhere, looking to the Creator rather than the creatures
and to eternity rather than time–

"What sinners value I resign, Lord, 'tis enough if You are mine." "You
are my portion, O Lord." It is better to have our good God than all the
goods in the world! It is better to have God for our All than to have
all and be without Him. He who possesses God lives at the wellhead and
drinks from the ever-flowing fountain. He who owns the choicest worldly
goods, apart from Him, only drinks of the foul leavings which remain in
the corners of earth's broken cisterns. What is the whole universe
compared with Him who made it? What are the base pleasures of sin
compared with the fullness of joy which always dwells at God's right
hand?

David says, "You are my portion," evidently in opposition to the future
portion of the wicked. "Upon the wicked, God shall rain snares, fire
and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of
their cup." There is to come to the ungodly a dreadful awakening from
their dream of security. They shall wake up in another world to find
that their wealth has vanished, their joys have forever fled and that
they must forever suffer the loss of all things and remain utterly
undone. For them an unutterable woe is prepared and wrath like a fierce
hurricane shall heat upon their guilty souls without end!

But, "You are my portion, O Lord." For me there shall be no deadly
snares in life, nor horrible tempest in death. So long as I abide in
this body, I shall be fed upon Your goodness, and when I shall fall
asleep and shall afterwards awaken in the likeness of my Redeemer, I
shall find myself in eternal possession of my God who is my All in All.
Nor does the distinction end here. David here makes a distinction
between his true position and the earthly comforts with which the Lord
had endowed him. He was a king and had many possessions, but none of
these were his portion! Some of the Lord's people are not the subjects
of distressing poverty–on the contrary, they are blessed with many
comforts for which they ought to praise God day and night–but none of
these things are their peculiar heritage as joint heirs with Jesus.

Beloved, whatever we have in this world we are bound to turn our eyes
to God and say, "This is not my portion. You are my portion, O Lord."
The comforts of this life are like the youth's allowance–they are not
the estate to which he is the heir–upon which he will enter when the
fullness of time shall come. Present mercies are a sip by the way, a
morsel eaten to satisfy the stomach–our full meal will be eaten at the
Great Supper of the Lamb! We are like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in
Canaan, dwelling in tents, as strangers and foreigners. The flocks and
herds which graze around our camp are greatly valued, but still, we
look not on those things as our portion–Canaan itself is the lot of
our covenanted inheritance–and nothing else will content us. We look
for a city which has foundations whose Builder and Maker is

God!

Oh, Beloved, take care of ever making common things your portion! If
riches increase, set not your heart upon them! If God indulges you with
a healthful and happy family. If you are in a good state of bodily
health. If your business prospers and if the Lord pours out for you
temporal mercies from a full horn, yet never make these things your
idols! Live above them and say, "I cannot be put off with these. You
are my portion, O God." I think David carried this distinction right
into eternity.

Some think of Heaven as this and some as that. Fellowship with
Believers of all ages is the great desire of some. Others long for
Paradise as a place of increased knowledge, to know even as they are
known. And a third rejoice in it chiefly as a haven of rest. There are
grounds for each of these forms of desire, but concerning Heaven, this
is the Believer's chief thought–that he will be with God, and that God
will be forever his joy and bliss! No sins will hide the brightness of
Jehovah's Glory from our eyes! No doubts will disturb the deep calm of
our enjoyment of Jehovah's love when once we fully enter upon our
portion. We shall be forever with the Lord and nothing more or better
can be imagined!

God is our Heaven! Whom have I in Heaven but You? Draw, then, a clear
distinction between the things that are seen, which are not your
portion, and the things which are not seen, which are your true
heritage. Between the temporal and fleeting joys which amuse us by the
way and the abiding and eternal felicity which will satisfy us at the
end. Allow nothing to rival the chief good in your judgment or your
affections, but cry evermore, "O God, You are my God; early will I seek
You."

Notice, next, the positive claim–"You are my portion, O Lord." He
deliberately declares this in the silence of his soul. As for the
ungodly, they are boasting of their prosperity. They are girding
themselves with pride as with a golden chain. But I dare not seek my
joy in such matters, "You are my portion, O Lord." To get into a corner
quietly. To commune with your heart and be still. And then to find your
soul reveling in the wealth which she finds in her God–this is true
happiness! Let worldlings babble on as they may and let the trumpet of
fame sound out its loudest blasts for her darlings–we will not envy
her rich men or her great men so long as in the deep of our spirit we
can feel that the Eternal, Himself, has declared, "I will be their
God."

Ours is the best portion by far! Whether we have little or much, our
hereafter is our true treasure, for then shall we enjoy our God to the
full. These storerooms and barns, banks and iron safes cannot hold our
portion–behold our treasure is secured where neither moth nor rust
does corrupt, neither do thieves break through and steal. It is worthy
of observation that this clear claim which David sets up is not merely
felt in his own heart, but it is uttered in the most

solemn place, even in the Presence of God. He addresses himself to the
all-seeing, heart-searching God and cries, "You are my portion, O
Lord." Though I stand before You, great God, even before You who can
read me through and through, yet I dare make my claim–You know all
things and You know that I do choose You to be my All in All.

Though I gaze upon Your splendor, which bids angels veil their faces
because of its excess of Glory, yet I call that splendor mine! However
great You are, I adore with trembling, but yet my faith calls Your
greatness mine. You are my portion! Nothing less than Your own Self, O
infinitely glorious, Omnipotent, thrice-holy Jehovah! My soul does not
bound her humble claim, nor rest content with a part of You, but You,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit–You one God– and You, Yourself, are my
portion!

Do you see how fully assured of his interest in Divine Love a man must
be if He dares to speak thus in the Presence of the infinite Majesty
and to challenge the Divine judgment upon his claim? You see he speaks
in the present tense. There are a great many whose religion lies in,
"shall be," hope and trust, but David's faith lay in the present tense.
"You are my portion, O Lord." There are some things which I have not
received as yet, but I have already laid hold upon my God. Many things
I press forward to obtain, for I have aspirations which are, as yet,
unfulfilled, and spiritual ambitions not yet satisfied, but You are
even now my God, despite my infirmities and shortcomings. Yes, even
today, my God, You are mine.

At this hour, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His." I know whom I have
believed. I know that He has given Himself to me as I have given myself
to Him. Beyond a doubt, You are, at this very moment, my portion, O
Lord. May the Lord teach you, Brothers and Sisters, to speak in the
same confident manner. If true Believers, you have a right to speak so
because you simply declare a fact. Do not be satisfied to leave such a
matter in question–aim at positive certainty. Pray the Lord to give
you the full assurance of faith that you may always unwaveringly say,
"You are my portion, O Lord."

Now let us linger for a few moments while we muse upon the portion,
itself, a subject which it might require many an hour to consider
fully. The text contains an intelligent description of this
portion–"You are my portion, O Lord." The Psalmist at once mentions
the very heart and center of his spiritual wealth–"You are my portion,
O Lord." What a boundless portion! Parochial authorities beat the
bounds of the parish and great men make surveys of their estates, but
none can beat the bounds or make a full survey of this inheritance of
the saints! A man takes stock in trade, or sits down to balance his
accounts, but there is no taking stock here–towards the infinite God
there are no calculations–figures are lost and even imagination
swallowed up!

Our inheritance surpasses that of all the men of the world put
together! Yes, and apart from having something of the like, even angels
could not vie with us! Heaven itself is not so vast a treasure as the
God of Heaven! How ought we to prize an inheritance which knows no
boundary! Indeed, Brothers and Sisters, we require something
boundless–our soul pines for the infinite! I appeal to those of you
who have been favored in Divine Providence with prosperity beyond what
you expected. Do you feel that it fills your soul? You are content that
God should give you what He wills, but do you find satisfaction in
earthly property?

What if your children are a comfort to you and your house is filled
with all manner of provisions and friendly neighbors speak well of you?
Can you find perfect rest in these things? Do they yield you inward,
heart-filling joy? I know they cannot! If you were to be as highly
favored as Solomon, himself, who beyond all men enjoyed this present
world, yet would you have to come to Solomon's own conclusion, "Vanity
of vanities, all is vanity." For a regenerate man, this life is like a
bird within a shell just wakened into life. However comfortable the
shell may be for him, in its way and after its fashion, yet as life
becomes vigorous, he needs more space. He needs wing room, he needs to
get out of his prison and roam at large!

The things which are seen are a prison to the soul–our spirit needs
more air, more space in which to breathe. When a man can truly say, "My
God, You are mine," he has touched the confines of the infinite and he
has reached the Ultima Thule of his spirit, where he may cast anchor
and no more tempt the troubled sea of desire. When we reach God, our
soul is at peace, but not till then–for then the immortal soul has
gained the immortal God and eternal destiny is sealed with happiness by
eternal love! And while this inheritance is boundless, how abiding it
is! A man who has the Lord for his portion has a freehold for eternity!
His lease will never run out and there will need no renewal of lives,
for there is one life on which our tenure hangs and that is
everlasting! "Because I live, you shall live, also."

He that gets God has an entailed estate. He has in Him a Friend who
cannot change, who cannot fail, who cannot cease to be, nor cease to be
the source of blessedness to those who possess Him. Of this portion
time cannot deprive us, nor death rob us, nor judgment deprive us, nor
eternity bereave us. "This God is our God forever and ever." Ah, you
worldlings, all your goods shall wither like Jonah's gourd, but our God
shall be our shield and our exceedingly great reward, world without
end! As the Lord is an abiding portion, so is He an appropriate portion
in every way suitable to content the soul.

Man was made in the image of God, and nothing will satisfy man but God,
in whose image he was made. Manna was fit food for man and God Himself
is fit sustenance for the man of God. Only in the Lord can the mind and
heart find that which all their faculties require for their development
and perfection. When renewed by Grace, our powers are adapted to
receive God and to rejoice in Him and, therefore, a full possession of
God is the craving of the heart. In God there is food for memory which
looks upon the past and for hope which gazes into the future. There is
food for the judgment, which weighs, for the will, which decides–for
the affections, which clasp and for the imagination, which creates.

There is no power of humanity which is properly a part of God-made man
which does not find its due sphere and place in God. How well my
portion suits me! Adam was not more at home in Paradise than I am in my
God. My soul, by Grace, is brought into a place of sweet content and
delights herself in the abundance of peace. This portion is to the
fullest degree, satisfying. Nothing else will ever end the awful hunger
of the soul of man, which, like the grave, forever yawns for more. But
the infinite God fills the heart and he who has the Lord for his
portion has all that he can desire–

"All my capacious powers can wish In You does richly meet."

You may sit down and imagine all that you could have wished–and then
if you rightly view your God–you will see that He surpasses all your
desires. Never, even in eternity, will you be able to conceive of a joy
beyond your God, a bliss surpassing Himself!

Next, dear Brothers and Sisters, the Lord is an elevating portion. A
man is gradually changed into the image of that which he loves. He who
has his portion in this world grows worldly. When a man gives himself
to any pursuit he, first of all molds it, and then it molds him. We say
a man rides a hobby, but after a while the hobby rides the man. You
will find it so. Now, if a man seeks his wealth in the things of this
life and covets gold, he will become metallic, hard, and unfeeling. He
who lives to increase his land soon becomes of the earth, earthy. To
pursue carnal things will degrade a man, cramp his mind and hold him in
captivity to base materialism. He that loves to hoard that he may
gratify his covetousness by counting over his stores–what a wretched
creature he becomes!

Better, by far, to be a poor squirrel who, in due time, enjoys the
little store of nuts and acorns! The worldling is little better than
the mole who burrows through the earth and never looks upon the sun.
Earth, earth, earth–nothing but earth does the carnal heart care
for–its faculties are all pressed downward and forced to become
adapted for its groveling sphere. Nothing is more debasing than to live
for self and, the more a selfish man has, the more base-hearted he
becomes.

But if our portion is the Lord, our delight in Him raises our thoughts
and purifies our emotions. Covetousness, selfishness, worldliness all
vanish when God is All in All to us. If God is ours, we seek to be like
He is–we become followers of God as dear children. "He that has this
hope in him purifies himself." He who is possessed of the light is
filled with light–He who has God is filled with God. The Holy Spirit
transforms us until, at last, He makes us to be qualified to dwell with
Him forever. Only one more thought on this portion, although many are
crowding upon my mind. If God is my portion, then my portion is all of
Grace, for no one can merit God. The idea is utterly ridiculous, if not
profane. No human excellence could merit Deity. If, then, the Lord is
my portion, let my song always be of that rich, free, sovereign,
boundless Grace which is given to me who deserves Hell, but obtains
Heaven!

I want to call your attention, once more, to this infinite possession,
or rather to the seasonable utterance of David concerning it, for it is
very noteworthy that this holy claim has generally been made by godly
men at peculiar times. Did you ever notice the parallel passages? Truly
the Lord is His people's God at all times, but His people rejoice most
in the possession of Him when they have most trouble. In the particular
instance before us I find in the 51st verse, "The proud have had me
greatly in derision: yet have I not declined from Your Law." And in the
61st verse–"The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not
forgotten Your Law."

David appears to have been between two fires–derided by the proud and
robbed by the oppressor–and it is in the middle of this double trouble
that he puts in his claim, "You are my portion, O Lord." Perhaps the
robbers helped him to think more of that treasure which no thief can
steal. Perhaps the derision of the proud made him remember the kindly
condescension of the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, who
deigned to be his portion. Look at another instance, where the same
language is used, namely, in Psalm 16:5, and you will find the Psalmist
declares, "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: You
maintain my lot. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my
flesh, also, shall rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in
Hell; neither will You suffer your Holy One to see corruption."

So far as this language is that of David, you see that he claims God
for his portion in the prospect of death and the grave. How good it is
to have a living hope in dying moments, to be full of light when
peering into the darkness of the grave! When death is taking away
everything else, then does the Christian cling to the portion which can
never be touched by Death's bony fingers. Read, again, in the 73rd
Psalm, at the 26th verse. There Asaph claims God as his portion. But
you know the Psalm is all about the trouble of mind which he felt while
he fretted over his own affliction and contrasted it with the
prosperity of the wicked.

One more instance. In Lamentations 3:24, Jeremiah says, "The Lord is my
portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in Him." But that is said
in connection with a long roll of sorrows concerning which the Prophet
had said, "O that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of
tears." Beloved, learn this lesson–if in Scripture you find God
claimed as the portion of His saints when under different forms of
trial, then when you are in deep affliction and when you come near to
die, you, also, may find the strength of your heart and the sustenance
of your courage in this same blessed fact that the Lord is your
portion.

II. Secondly, let us consider THE APPROPRIATE RESOLUTION–"I have said
that I would keep Your Words." Here notice the preface, "I have said."
Why did he not put it, "You are my portion, O Lord; I will keep Your
Words"? No, he writes "I have said it," which means deliberation. He
had thought over his happiness in having such a portion. What then? His
thoughts began to stir within him and to devise a fit expression for
his gratitude and he, at last, said, "I will keep Your Words."

It was no hasty thought but a determined resolve. I suppose he also
means that he had given a distinct pledge. He had opened his mouth to
the Lord and could not go back. "I have said"–to my God, to myself, to
my fellow men–"I have said I will keep Your Words." It signifies,
also, an adherence to what had been said–I have said it and that is
the end of all questions about it. Do not distress me any more, the die
is cast. I have said it, and–

"High Heaven, that heard the solemn vow,

That vow renewed shall daily hear:

Till in life's latest hour I bow,

And bless in death a bond so dear." I have said it, my God, and I will
not unsay it. What I have written I have written. Others have heard me
say it. I have said it in the presence of a cloud of witnesses–men and
angels looking on. I have said it and so let it stand in time and in
eternity.

It is time that we investigated the link between the portion possessed
and the resolution made. It is not very difficult to discover. God is
best known to us by His Words. His works reveal Him by a reflected
light as the moon, but His Words display Him by a direct light as a
very sun of light to us. How do I know God except by His Words? The God
of Revelation is the Christian's God. Philosophers, nowadays, worship a
god of their own imagination–they construct a god out of their own
consciousness and a very pretty god he is, indeed! But the God of the
Christian is the God who has spoken and whose Words are preserved here,
in THE BOOK. The God of the Inspired Word is our God and because this
God is our portion and we know Him by His Words, therefore have we said
we will keep His Words.

I want you to notice that there always seems to have been a connection
between the possession of the portion and the keeping of the Words of
God. When God said to Abraham, "Fear not, Abram: I am your shield, and
your exceedingly great reward," (Gen. 15:1), a little further down, in
the 6th verse, we read, "And he believed in the Lord; and He counted it
to him for righteousness." First he receives God to be his own–"I am
Your shield"–and then he keeps God's Word, for he believes it. How did
he know that God was his shield except through the Word which God had
spoken to him?

Notice in the first verse, "After these things the Word of the Lord
came unto Abram," and again in the 4th verse, "And, behold, the Word of
the Lord came unto him." He believed–this was Abraham's way of keeping
the Words of the Lord and it is worthy of our imitation. Oh for Grace
to believe every Word that God speaks and to never start aside unto
unbelief on any pretense whatever, for every Word of the Lord is sure
and abides true forever! By keeping God's Words we fulfill the type of
Israel in the wilderness.

Do you not remember the story of the manna, which is contained in the
16th of Exodus? Now, the manna is so named, according to Rabbi Kimchi,
because the people saw in it their "portion." Our version reads, "They
said, It is manna"– for they were not sure what it was, but according
to the rabbi, they said, "It is a portion: for they knew not what it
was." Men did eat angels' food in the wilderness! They realized, there,
that, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that
proceeds out of the mouth of God." Their feeding on manna was the type
of the Lord being our portion! But what then? They ate the manna, but
did they keep any part of it?

Assuredly they did! Look at the 32nd verse, "This is the thing which
the Lord commands, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations;
that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness,
when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto
Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up
before the Lord, to be kept for your generations." God Himself is my
manna, or portion and, therefore, I will treasure Him up as He is
revealed in His Word, which is the golden pot in which the heavenly
food is preserved. Brothers and Sisters, let us keep the Divine Word in
the very secrets of our heart as in a golden pot, saying with the
Psalmist, "Your Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin
against You."

Another beautiful type of the exaltation which the Believer gets when
he can practically realize our text will be found in Numbers 18:20,
"And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in the
land, neither shall you have any part among them: I am Your part and
your inheritance among the children of Israel." See, Beloved, we take
our share with the high priest, for he had God to be his only portion.
Was it not a better portion than all the rest put together? Happy are
the people whom the Lord Jesus has made to be priests and to whom He
has given the priest's portion, namely, Himself!

But what is our duty if this is the case? We must note how the priests
of the tribe of Levi behaved and imitate them. We read in Deuteronomy
33:9–"Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him;
neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: or
they have observed Your Word, and kept Your Covenant." Their heritage
was the Lord and they kept His Words, for the priest's lips should keep
knowledge. They lived upon the meat of the Lord's house and they were
bound carefully to keep His ordinances. If you are priests unto God it
falls unto you, likewise, that as God is the lot of your inheritance
and your portion, your daily business is, like the tribe of Levi, to
observe the Word of God and keep His Covenant.

Moreover, the Words of God are our title-deeds to our portion. Men
despise them and so might a stranger pour contempt upon old deeds
relating to property in which he has no concern. "What is the good of
those old parchments?" says the ignorant man when he sees legal
documents. "What is the good of the old Book?" cry others even more
ignorant! Ah, we know their value–those to whom those title-deeds
secure an inheritance prize them exceedingly! Whenever you hear people
talking about Bibliolatry and finding fault with us for believing in
verbal Inspiration, you will find that they set small store by Covenant
treasures. And, what is more, you will soon discover that they tamper
with our Divine charter in order to rob us of the choice Truths of the
Gospel–and that the top and bottom of their meddling with the Divine
Words of Inspiration is a design to take away their portion from the
people of God.

Leave them alone and you will soon see them tearing away one privilege
after another and making great havoc with our comforts. Therefore,
warned by what we have seen them do, we have said, "I will keep Your
Words," for we shall not, otherwise, be able to keep God for our
portion. If we let even the jots and tittles go, we may soon discover a
flaw in our title and we cannot afford to do that! Our possession is
too precious for us to tamper with the securities by which we hold it.
"You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your Words."

Now, very briefly, what is this work of keeping God's Words? I pray
God, the Holy Spirit, to help us to know it by practically carrying it
out every day of our lives. First, then, there is a WORD which above
all is to be kept, enshrined in the heart and obeyed in the life. "In
the beginning was the Word." That very name, "the Word," given to
Christ, puts the highest honor upon every other Word of Revelation.
Beware of trifling or being negligent towards any Word of the

Lord, since Jesus Christ is the chief and sum of the Words of God. Keep
Him, hold Him, abide in Him, continue in Him, never let Him go. "I have
said that I would keep Your Words"–this means the Words of the Gospel.

This we will accept by sincere and simple faith. The Gospel of Free
Grace, of Substitution, of Atonement by blood, of Justification by
Faith–this we will hold by faith right steadfastly so long as we
breathe. All our hope hangs there and, therefore, there we will abide,
neither shall any seduce us from it. "I have said that I would keep
Your Words"– that is, "I will believe Your doctrines." When I cannot
comprehend the great mysteries I will still believe them. Though others
dispute, I will believe! Despite the insinuations of crafty men, I will
hold to the doctrines of Grace intensely– believing them as long as
Reason holds her Throne.

What I see to be in God's Word I will not dare to doubt or neglect. The
Doctrines of Grace are the backbone of the Christian life. Keep to them
for your comfort and you shall never be ashamed of them. If you
willingly tamper with any one of the doctrines, there is no knowing
where you will drift. Cast out more anchors–never let the vessel
drift. "I have said that I would keep Your Words," that is, Your Words
of precept. What You bid me do, I will delight to do. I will not merely
rejoice in the doctrines, but in the commands, also, and I will ask for
Grace to obey them all. I will keep Your ordinances, too, for they are
a part of Your Word and are to be kept as they were delivered, without
addition or diminution.

I will not say, "This is non-essential, and this is unimportant," but,
"I have said that I would keep Your Words and keep them I will, through
Your Grace, in every particular. I will do what You bid me, as you bid
me, when You bid me." So much evil has grown out of slight departures
from Scripture that Christian men ought to be very scrupulous and
carefully observe every ordinance as it is set forth in the Word of
God. "I have said that I would keep Your Words," that is, I will keep
Your promises in my heart to comfort me. I will keep them in my faith,
expecting their fulfillment. I will keep them in my mind for daily use
and solace. And on my tongue, that I may encourage others.

Since the Lord keeps His promises by fulfilling them, we ought to keep
them by remembering them. "I have said that I will keep Your Words,"
and this especially includes the Word which the Lord has pledged in His
Covenant. I will rejoice to think that You have, by deed of gift, made
Yourself over to me! Now will I keep in mind Your Word and oath pledged
to the Lord Jesus on my behalf! Now will I rejoice in the blood which
ratified the Covenant and in the Covenant Word itself. See what an
ocean of room I have in my topic and yet I have merely coasted and
skirted the shore! What boundless sailing room there would be if we
were to launch out into the deep!

My Brothers and Sisters, pray for Grace to keep every Word of God with
all your hearts! Do not believe, as some do, that it does not matter
what is truth or what is falsehood. It makes all the difference
conceivable! God's Word against man's word any day in the week! I fear
that the ancient power of Protestantism has evaporated through the
influence of those who hold loose views upon Inspiration and who are
busy manufacturing new gospels instead of preaching the old one which
is already in the Word. The great thinkers may propound what they
choose and the learned men of this age may invent what doctrines they
like, but one thing I know–they will not cause those who have God for
their portion to give up His Words!

For these 24 years you have found me here preaching the Words of God
and you will find me here, still, if I live another 24 years. By His
Grace I am incapable of moving one inch away from the old faith! One
thing I know, namely, the Gospel of Substitution! And one thing I do,
namely, preach it! I have determined to know nothing among you save
Jesus Christ and Him Crucified! When we get through all the Words of
God we will begin them again–but we shall still keep to the old Book
and its old, old story! The children shall go on eating their daily
bread and, not even for novelty's sake, will we give them the stones of
modern thought!

Now, to conclude. This blessed subject very painfully suggests to me a
solemn contrast. Will you, at your leisure, read another portion which
the Lord reserves for certain persons? God grant we may never inherit
it! It is the portion for hypocrites. In Matthew 24:50, our Lord speaks
very strongly of some and I will tell you the reason why He deals so
terribly with them. He says of some that, "the Lord of that servant
shall come in a day when he looks not for Him and in an hour that he is
not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion
with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Do you know what this man had done? He had not kept Christ's Word! His
Master had said that He would come, and he did not keep the word about
His second coming, nor believe in it at all, but, according to the 48th
verse, he said,

"My Lord delays His coming." And then he began to act upon it, to smite
his fellow servants and to eat and drink and to be drunk, so that, not
keeping what some think a very small matter–the Word concerning the
future coming of Christ–he was found to be a hypocrite and had his
portion appointed with false-hearted pretenders.

The same passage, with a little variation, comes in Luke 12:46, where
the unfaithful servant is said to have his "portion with unbelievers,"
which is equally to be dreaded. The threat seems most to apply to
ministers and teachers of the Word who are unfaithful to the Truth of
God. The condemned one was not a faithful and wise steward and did not
bring forth things new and old with which to feed his Master's servants
and he, also, doubted whether his Master would ever come to call him to
account. And so he had his portion among unbelievers.

It will be an awful thing for me and for any minister here, or any
other teacher of the people, if we do not bring forth things new and
old out of the Gospel to give the saints their portion of meat in due
season. If we keep from the Lord's servants, their portion, we shall be
kept without our portion, or rather we shall have it, but it will be a
portion of the most awful kind! This makes it solemn work for any of
you who attempt to teach others. God grant that you may give forth a
good portion! Give out the things that are new, that is the Gospel,
which is always new–and give out the old things, the antiquities of
everlasting love and electing Grace–bring them all forth in proportion
lest you be found, at last, to have been unbelievers.

We will finish when we duly note one more point, namely this, that if
you do diligently keep God's Words and if it is the joy of your heart
to live on them, feed upon them and defend them against all comers, you
may take this as an evidence that you are one of the Lord's people.
Poor Job fell back upon that when he was in great distress. And at such
seasons you may do the same. Job 23:8-10–"Behold, I go forward, but He
is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on the left
hand, where He does work, but I cannot behold Him: He hides Himself on
the right hand, that I cannot see Him: but He knows the way that I
take: when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

And why? "My foot has held His steps, His way have I kept, and not
declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I
have esteemed the Words of His month more than my necessary food," or,
"my portion," as many translate it. The Words of God were dear to him!
He felt he had kept them and, therefore, he said, "He knows the way
that I take: when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." If you
trifle with God's Words you will miss a great evidence of being His
child!

Unless you are very strict as to what you believe and what you do.
Unless you make the Word of God to be the chart by which you steer your
course when you come into stormy waters and the devil begins to tempt
you and the world laughs at you, you will not be able to fall back upon
the evidence which Job could so honestly quote in his own favor. And
neither will you have the sweet confidence that when the Lord has tried
you, He will bring you forth as gold. The Lord bless you, for Christ's
sake. Amen.
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