01. ANALYSIS OF TEXT AND TOPICS
ANALYSIS OF TEXT AND TOPICS 1. First, Jehovah sets out God’s eternity, in that it containeth all times, future, present, and past.
2. Secondly, It sets out also God’s self-existency, coming from havah, to be.
3. Thirdly, When either some special mercy is promised, or some extraordinary judgment is threatened, then the name of Jehovah is commonly annexed; to shew that that God whose being is from himself, and who gives a being to all his creatures both on heaven and on earth, will certainly give a being to his promises and threatenings, and not fail to accomplish the words that are gone out of his mouth.
4. Fourthly, This name Jehovah consists only of quiescent letters, i. e. letters of rest, as the Hebrews call them, to shew that there is no rest till we come to Jehovah, and that in him we may safely and securely rest, as the dove did in Noah’s ark.
’Is my portion.’ Chelki, from חלק, chalak; the Hebrew word signifies to divide. He alludes, as I take it, to the dividing of the land of Canaan amongst the Israelites by lot. ’The Lord,’ saith he, ’is my portion,’ my part, my lot; and with this portion I rest fully satisfied, as the Israelites were to do with their parts and portions in that pleasant land. It is true, saith Jeremiah, in the name of the church, I am thus and thus afflicted, and sorely distressed on all hands; but yet ’the Lord is my portion,’ and that supports and bears up my spirits from fainting and sinking in this evil day.
’Saith my soul.’ Naphshi, from נפש, nephesh; the Hebrew word hath nine several senses or significations in the Scripture. But let this suffice, that by soul here in the text we are to understand the heart, the mind, the spirit, and the understanding of a man. Well, saith the prophet, though I am in a sea of sorrow, and in a gulf of misery, yet my heart tells me that ’the Lord is my portion;’ my mind tells me that ’the Lord is my portion;’ my spirit tells me that ’the Lord is my portion;’ and my understanding tells me that ’the Lord is my portion;’ and therefore I will bear up bravely in the face of all calamities and miseries.
’Therefore will I hope in him.’ The Hebrew word אוחיל, that is here rendered hope, is from יחל, Jachal, that signifies both hoping, expecting, and trusting; also it signifies a patient waiting upon the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah had not only a witness above him, but also a witness within him, that the Lord was his portion; and therefore he resolves firmly to hope in the Lord, and sweetly to trust on the Lord, and quietly and patiently to wait upon the Lord, till God should turn his storm into a calm, and his sad winter into a blessed summer . In my text there are three things observable:
First, An assertion or proposition in those words, ’The Lord is my portion.’
Secondly, A proof of it in those words, ’saith my soul.’
Thirdly, The use or inference from the premises in those words, ’Therefore will I hope in him.’ The words being thus opened, the proposition that I intend to insist upon is this, viz.:
Doct. That the Lord is the saints’ portion, the Lord is the believers’ portion.
I shall call in a few scriptures to witness to the truth of this proposition, and then I shall further open it to you: Psalms 16:5, ’The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot;’ Psalms 73:26, ’My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever;’ Psalms 119:57, ’Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words;’ Jeremiah 10:16, ’The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name.’
Now for the further opening and clearing up of this great and glorious, this sweet and blessed truth, I shall endeavour to shew you, First, What a portion the Lord is to his saints, to his gracious ones; and, Secondly, The reasons or grounds whereupon the saints have laid claim to God as their portion.