CHETH. My portion, O Jehovah, I have said, is to keep thy words.
This section of the psalm (verses 57-64) opens with a claim, not a request: the writer names the LORD Himself as his share, then ties that claim to a promise to keep His words. So what does it mean to call God your "portion," and why does that confession lead straight to obedience?
The word "portion" here is not pointing at what God gives. It points at God.
We had precious promises in the precious section. Here we have a precious portion. The Hebrew reads: "My portion is Jahweh…" We are not talking about blessings, or promises, but about a Person! Many Christians are so taken up with the blessings that they forget the Blesser. In the same way, many are so thrilled with their spiritual gifts that they ignore the Giver!
"Portion" was a land word. When Israel divided the country, each tribe drew a share. Levi, the tribe set apart for God's service, drew none. God gave them Himself instead.
The Lord gave the tribe of Levi no inheritance in the land. The sacrifices made by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as He said to them. The Lord God of Israel Himself was their inheritance… Wherever the other tribes lived, there was Levi. Wherever devoted people in Israel worshipped the Lord, there Levi had his inheritance. The Lord — not a position — was Levi's lot… And so the happiest and richest Christians are those who find their portion in the Lord Himself.
To a person who wants something he can hold, that inheritance looks like nothing. To faith it is everything.
It is a fine portion, no doubt, though unbelief thinks it nothing. Unbelief longs instead for someone to show it good in a form it can touch — the grain and wine and oil of this creation. But to have Him who has all things, and who is Himself infinitely more than all He has, is a better portion beyond compare. Anyone who believes this by grace must admit it.
Notice the form of the words. The psalmist is not asking God to become his portion; he says He already is. (Older translations render the line "You are my portion.")
The Psalmist, in his own generation, could find his portion in Jehovah. We have the light of all that the Lord has done for us, and of what He is in His greatness and glory. Should we not find our portion in Himself in this day? The words of our opening verse, "You are my portion," are a confession, not a prayer. Has there not been the danger of our looking for a portion on earth, looking around for something to satisfy? How good it is for us to find, as Solomon did, that all things here are "empty."
The second line of the verse — "I promise to keep your words" — is not a change of subject. Commentators read it as the necessary partner of the first line.
In this part (vv. 57-64) we have more the affections connected with the word written in the heart: "You are my portion, O Jehovah." The heart has Himself as its source of joy and blessing. This must connect with a set purpose of heart towards God: "I have said." No one can look to the Lord as his portion without in that very act purposing to do His will. To do otherwise would not be owning Him.
The obedience is not mechanical. It grows out of learning what God is like from His own words.
His soul had entered the sphere where a man learns God's mind and will, where His words direct the thoughts of the heart. With his whole heart the godly man gives himself to the words that unfold to him the greatness, the glory and the beauty of the Lord. As he keeps company with Him, his soul weighs its own ways, asking whether they match the desire of His heart.
This confession also does practical work. It settles how much room Satan has in us.
This is a fine principle when we apply it to our own hearts in relation to Christ. If we are filled with Him we have no room for anything else. It is only when Satan succeeds in creating a want in our hearts that he introduces something of his own. When we are able in truth to say, "The Lord is my portion," we are safe from the influence of Satan's attractive baits.
- Portion — the word comes from the sharing out of the land. Levi received no land. The Lord Himself was their inheritance.
- Person — the psalmist names the Giver, not the gifts. The danger is loving the blessings and forgetting the Blesser.
- Confession — "The LORD is my portion" is a statement, not a request. It ends the search for something on earth to satisfy.
- Purpose — no one can claim Him as his portion without also meaning to do His will. Less than that is refusing to own Him.
- Protection — a heart full of Christ has no empty space for Satan to fill. The confession itself guards us.
I have sought thy favour with [my] whole heart be gracious unto me according to thy word.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.