God's Portion.
Lord's portion is His people:Jacob is the lot of His inheritance " (Deut. 32:9). What a marvel that the Most High should choose His inheritance in crooked Jacob ! What condescending grace that His satisfying portion is ever in His people, weak and wayward as they have ever been.
Man's Portion.
In fullest harmony with this, is the utterance of the perfect Man, "The Lord is the portion of Mine inheritance and of My cup" (Psa. 16:5). In this choice of a portion, there should be no wonder, for He goes on to say most truly, "The lines are fallen unto Me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage."
God's Thoughts.
How blessed and perfect are God's thoughts and ways! He craves not man's substance, or allegiance, merely:He desires the man himself; as is well expressed in the following lines from Quarles:-
" Gold is Caesar's treasure; man is God's.
Thy gold hath Caesar's image, and thou hast God's;
Give, therefore, those things unto Caesar which are Caesar's,
And unto God which are God's."
Man’s Thoughts.
When we turn to look at man's thoughts and ways, however, how poor and mean they are! " Men of the World have, their portion in this life," and their "god is their belly." The solemn consequence of this course is an eternal portion in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. Even God's people fail sadly to yield themselves to God, or to find that joy in Him which is the divine plan.
The Practical Question.
But it may be asked, "How can we give ourselves to God and find our portion all in Him when we have to work for a living, bear the burdens of life, and be occupied with many things of a secular nature? God knows our circumstances; He does not expect impossibilities of us, but has graciously given us principles which show us what He does expect.
Two Principles.
Of these principles, two are distinctly seen all through Scripture, and are of such general application as to affect every Christian in a most practical way, each day of his life.
God claims the First.
One of these principles is that God must have His portion first. This is strikingly shown by the words of Elisha to the widow of Zarephath:"Go and do as thou hast said; but make me thereof a little cake first, and after make for thee and for thy son" (i Kings 17:13). It cost much for those starving souls to dispense part of their last meager meal to God's prophet, and that, before their own craving had been appeased; but it was the necessary condition of blessing, and nothing less would be accepted. But we are not left to types to know God's mind in this matter. Jehovah had redeemed Israel out of bondage, and His claim upon them is emphatically expressed in Exodus 13:2." Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast:it is mine."Thus God will accept no second place from His people. He takes the first-born for His portion, and in this way shows His claim upon the whole. The same claim is extended to cover all of Israel's possessions. God required the first-fruits of their oil and wine and wheat, the first-fruits of their ground and trees, and of all their increase; nothing escaped the tithe which was the acknowledgment that all belonged to God. This might be thought to be simply a Jewish law, but divine principles never change, and Christ is witness to God's claims on us to-day:"He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me." Listen to the Master's answer to one who said, " Suffer me first to go and bury my father." It has no uncertain sound as to who is first:Jesus said, "Follow Me; and let the dead bury their dead."
God claims the Best.
The other principle insisted on throughout Scripture, is, that God must have the best; anything else is contemptible in His sight. " Ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering:should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing:for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and My name is dreadful among the heathen" (Mal. 1:13, 14).
To be accepted by God, the offering needed to be without spot or blemish. The choice of the flock or herd was what God claimed.
In Scripture the fat signifies the best and most satisfying portion (Psa. 63:5), and this was all for God (Lev. 3:16). Whoever ate of the fat of an offering was to be cut off from His people (Lev. 7:25).
Our lives are tested.
Dear fellow-Christian, is it not plain from the scriptures cited, what God expects of you and me? He wants our hearts, ourselves:and if He has this in reality, not in profession merely, He will have the first and best of our time, our money, our substance, our energies, our minds and our affections.
It will not do, brethren to get our breakfast and see the morning newspaper regularly, and find no time to feed and meditate on God's precious Word before the duties of the day begin. God's care and blessing will not rest upon such a course. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you " (Matt. 6:30).
It will not do to visit our friends in the evening, and then find it so late that a few moments of hurried and ineffectual prayer are all that is given to God. "Them that honor Me I will honor, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed" (i Sam. 2:30)
It is not right, nor acceptable to God, to buy our goods first, and if any money is left, to spare a little for the Lord's cause. "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase :so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine " (Prov. 3:9, .10).
Someone may say, "This is legal, and we are under grace:why make much of what we give to God?" True, brother, we are not under law, and should not measure out a meager tithe to satisfy God's claims. He is rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold; the earth and its fulness belong to Him and He needs not our substance; but if our practice in tangible and material things is not an index to the state of our souls, what is? "Faith if it hath not works is dead, being alone " (Jas. 2:17).
God's Example.
What a blessed example we have of God's desires in His own great gift. He sent His only begotten Son, His Well-beloved, and gave Him up for us all! Let it melt our eyes to tears and fill our souls with praise; and let us Tender the first and best of our substance and ourselves as a glad thank-offering to our God. May it be our joy, in this way, to own that we are His, redeemed by Christ's precious blood.
God's Portion.
" Praise the Saviour ye who know Him, .
Who can tell how much we owe Him?
Gladly let us render to Him
All we have and are.
Man's Portion.
"Jesus, my Saviour! Thou art mine,
The Father's gift of love divine;
All Thou hast done, and all Thou art,
Are now the portion of my heart."
A. S. L.