Two tremendous things are said about the people of God in this life: one, that they live by faith (Hab. 2:4); the other, that God has given them “exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Pet. 1:4). In this article we will confine ourselves to the way in which these two are linked in the experience of believers.

A beautiful example of exercising faith in the promises is afforded by David in 2 Samuel 7:28-29: “And now, O LORD GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever.” Here, comments Matthew Henry, David “builds his faith ... upon the fidelity of God’s promise” (v. 25). So important is this principle that the Holy Spirit does not hesitate to take the promise of Joshua 1:5 and apply it to all the people of God: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5).

How are believers to exercise faith in these exceeding great and precious promises?

1. We are to gather them together out of the various parts of Holy Scripture where they appear. What a profitable exercise this is: to search for God’s promises granted to us in every part of His Word! It is like going from field to field in search of divine fruit.
2. We are to choose those particular promises that best suit our spiritual condition. In His amazing mercy, God has made some promises even to His enemies. To those who are “stouthearted, and far from righteousness,” for example, He says: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). Again, to those who imagine themselves to be rich, increased with goods and in need of nothing, He says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). To those who are weighed down by a sense of guilt, He says that He will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19). To whoever believes in Christ, He promises to raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). In this way we take each promise as God intended, much as a sick man takes the medicine most appropriate to his illness.
3. We are to apply each particular promise to our hearts, believing that it is both designed and intended for us in particular. No matter how general the prom­ise may be, faith must particularly apply it. This is how the Philippian jailer was saved. He took the prom­ise: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31), and applied it dis­tinctly to himself and his family. Similarly, many in “the time of love” have proved the truth of the promise: “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isa. 12:3). In the same way, many a believer has passed through the door of death holding the promise of Isaiah 43:2 to his or her heart: “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.” The last words of a dear believer I knew in Glas­gow were: “He promised.”
4. We are to turn each particular promise into prayer and plead it at God’s throne of grace, expecting Him to fulfill it. This is what David did in the passage to which we already referred. Matthew Henry again in connection with the promise says: “Thence he fetches the matter of his prayer, and refers to that as the guide of his prayers. He prays for the performance of God’s promise (v. 25): ‘I desire no more, and I expect no less.’ Thus we must turn God’s promises into prayer.” Hav­ing found the promises most suited to our needs, we are to take them to God, and reverently remind Him of them, much as children remind their father of his promises to take them somewhere or give them something. Faith is the only grace God has given us by which we can plead humbly with Him to give us all that He has promised.
5. Lastly, we are to wait patiently for God to fulfill His promises. Sometimes He deliberately puts a great interval between the time when He gives us a promise and the time when He fulfills it. During that time we are very apt to fret or grow weary. Some of us have been made to wait many anxious years before seeing the conversion of loved ones. But our faith must hold on until He is pleased to grant what He has promised. Job’s anguished exclamation: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15), is most significant in this respect. It is not merely a resolution to hold onto God at all costs; it is also a great act of faith. For in say­ing it, Job had before his eyes the great promise of resurrection following his death (Job 14:14; 19:25- 27). Thus by faith he waited for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Oh, for the kind of faith that does not grow impatient with God! After all, “he is faithful that promised” (Heb. 10:23).