“Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:25-26)
What did the psalmist mean when he referred to God as his portion in Psalm 73? The word translated “portion” in this passage hearkens to the idea of an inheritance, as found in Genesis 31:14, 1 Kings 12:16, and 2 Chron. 10:16. The psalmist is using the word metaphorically here, and as such the term should be considered in terms of its nature, its extent, its significance, and its usefulness. These areas help us better understand what it means to say that “God is my portion forever.”
First, let’s consider the nature of an inheritance. By nature, a portion, or inheritance, carries with it a number of advantages. For example, an inheritance typically indicates the provision of future maintenance, and most would agree that the promise of future provision is one of the greatest gifts one man can give another. With that in mind, how much greater a gift is God himself, from whom flows the believer’s eternal, all-encompassing provision?
Next, let’s look at the extent of an inheritance. The extent of an inherited portion is generally equal to the riches and estate of the donor. In light of this, what is the extent of our inheritance in God? First of all, as the Maker and Sustainer of all creation, he owns it all, down to the least, most insignificant insect. As Psalm 50:10-11 explains, “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.”
But that’s merely the beginning. Christ said in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions… and I go to prepare a place for you.” Paul builds on that in his letter to the church at Corinth, “But as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him,” (1 Cor. 2:9). John the Apostle caught a glimpse of what awaits us and attempts to describe it in Revelation 21. Based on this passage alone, the extent of our portion with God is far and away more than anything, truly, that we could ever imagine.
But God, our good and great Father and Benefactor, shares not only the extent of his estate but also the infinite riches of his person as well. These inherited rights we have as adopted sons and daughters into His royal family and eternal kingdom necessitate a spiritual relationship with Him (Eph. 3:20, John 3:5-6).
A portion, or inheritance, also typically carries with it the benefit of love and good will to its recipient. Men do not give portions and inheritances out of hatred and ill will, but rather to advance the honor and interest of the person to whom the inheritance is gifted (Jer. 29:11). What more can be said than this, “For God so loved… that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16).
And finally, much usefulness is found in an inheritance. Thomas De Laune said, “The gift of portion and inheritance is bestowed on purpose to fix the subject to whom it is given in a future settlement of happiness and prosperity. Such a portion or inheritance frees one from that contempt others are exposed to that have none; they that have no portion are accounted poor and beggarly people.”[i]
And so it is with the innumerable benefits inherent in our spiritual portion. Just one of the many passages of Scripture referencing the scope of what we have in Christ is found in Romans 8, where the Apostle Paul concludes, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Rom. 8:38-39).
If such good will, usefulness, and significance are characteristic of earthly portions and inheritances, how much more are all these truths infinitely more meaningful to those of us who are redeemed by Jesus Christ, as this same God is also our Portion forever?
Contemplations:
- I observe Lord that in the courts of kings and princes and the stately rooms of presidents and such, people are often taken with the opulence of their estates and palaces. They fill their imaginations with the desire for such rich and fine things. But the spiritually minded man whose eye, desire, and ways are turned toward God looks past all earthly wealth to the inheritance he has with God. Teach me, Lord, to desire none but You.
- Lord, I acknowledge my own weaknesses (Rom. 5:6; 2 Cor. 3:5). And yet I know that I am chosen and called to perform that duty which you require of me as your child. I also know that I cannot come of myself to any duty; I can only offer your Son, Jesus Christ, and his works on my behalf. In doing so, I both expect and look for your all-sufficiency of strength to bless me, for you are the fountain of power, and my portion forever.
- A Portion Lord thou didst design
On thine for to bestow;
Naught didst thou think was good enough
For them of things below.
Nor things in Heaven, which excel,
And therefore dost impart,
Thy self as the Portion for me alone
Of all upright in heart.
Further References for Psalm 73:25-26:
Psalm 17:15, 37:4; Isa. 26:9; Phil. 3:8
[i] Thomas De Laune, Tropologia, (London: John Richardson and John Darby for Enoch Prosser, 1681), 7.
