“Our propriety reacheth to all that God is, and to all that God hath (Jeremiah 32:38, 42). God is not parted, nor divided, nor distributed among His people, as earthly portions are divided among children in the family; so as one believer hath one part of God, and another believer hath another part of God, and a third another part of God.
Oh no, but every believer hath whole God wholly, he hath all of God for his portion. God is not a believer’s portion in a limited sense, nor in a comparative sense, but in an absolute sense.
God himself is theirs, He is wholly theirs, He is only theirs, He is always theirs. As Christ looks upon the Father, and saith, ‘All thine is mine, and mine is thine,’ (1 Cor. 3:23, John 17:10), that may a saint say, looking upon God as his portion.
He may truly say, O Lord, thou art mine, and all that thou hast; and I am thine, and all that I have.
A saint may look upon God and say, O Lord, not only thy gifts but thy graces are mine, to adorn me and enrich me; and not only thy mercies and thy good things are mine to comfort me, and encourage me, but also thou thyself art mine; and this is my joy and crown of rejoicing.
To be able to say that God is mine, is more than if I were able to say that ten thousand worlds, yea, and as many heavens, are mine; for it is God alone that is the sparkling diamond in the ring of glory.
Heaven would be but a low thing without God, saith Augustine; and Bernard had rather enjoy Christ in a chimney-corner, than to be in heaven without him; and Luther had rather be in hell with Christ, than in heaven without him.
It is God alone that makes heaven to be heaven.”
–Thomas Brooks, “A Matchless Portion,” in The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, Volume 2, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1866/1980), 25. Brooks is preaching from Lamentations 3:24.
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