4. We profit from the Word when we make a proper discrimination between the promise of God. Many of the Lord's people are frequently guilty of spiritual theft, by which we mean that they appropriate to themselves something to which they are not entitled, but which belongs to another. "Certain covenant engagements, made with the Lord Jesus Christ, as to His elect and redeemed ones, are altogether without condition so far as we are concerned; but many other wealthy words of the Lord contain stipulations which must be carefully regarded, or we shall not obtain the blessing. One part of my reader's diligent search must be directed toward this most important point. God will keep His promise to thee; only see thou to it that the way in which He conditions His engagement is carefully observed by thee. Only when we fulfill the requirements of a conditional promise can we expect that promise to be fulfilled to us" (C. H. Spurgeon).
Many of the Divine promises are addressed to particular characters, or, more correctly speaking, to particular graces. For example, in Psalm 25:9, the Lord declares that He will "guide in judgment" the meek; but if I am out of communion with Him, if I am following a course of self-will, if my heart is haughty, then I am not justified in taking to myself the comfort of this verse. Again, in John 15:7, the Lord tells us, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." But if I am not in experimental communion with Him, if His commands are not regulating my conduct, then my prayers will remain unanswered. While God's promises proceed from pure grace, yet it ever needs to be remembered that grace reigns "through righteousness" (Romans 5:21) and never sets aside human responsibility. If I ignore the laws of health I must not be surprised that sickness prevents me enjoying many of God's temporal mercies; in like manner, if I neglect His precepts I have myself to blame if I fail to receive the fulfillment of many of His promises.
Let none suppose that by His promises God has obligated Himself to ignore the requirements of His holiness: He never exercises any one of His perfections at the expense of another. And let none imagine that God would be magnifying the sacrificial work of Christ were he to bestow its fruits upon impenitent and careless souls. There is a balance of truth to be preserved here; alas, that it is now so frequently lost, and that under the pretense of exalting Divine grace men are really "turning it into lasciviousness." How often one hears quoted, "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee" (Psalm 50:15). But that verse begins with "And", and the preceding clause is "Pay thy vows unto the most High!" Again, how frequently is "I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psalm 32:8) seized by people who pay no attention to the context! But that is God's promise to one who has confessed his transgression unto the Lord. If, then, I have unconfessed sin on my conscience, and have leaned on an arm of flesh or sought help from my fellows, instead of waiting only on God (Psalm 62:5), then I have no right to count upon the Lord's guiding me with His eyes - which necessarily presupposes that I am walking in close communion with Him, for I cannot see the eye of another while at a distance from him.
5. We profit from the Word when we are enabled to make God's promises our support and stay. This is one reason why God has given them to us; not only to manifest His love by making known His benevolent designs, but also to comfort our hearts and develop our faith. Had God so pleased He could have bestowed His blessings without giving us notice of His purpose. The Lord might have given us all the mercies we need without pledging Himself to do so. But in that case we could not have been believers; faith without a promise would b a foot without ground to stand upon. Our tender Father planned that we should enjoy is gifts twice over: first by faith, and then by fruition. By this means He wisely weans our hears away from things seen and perishing and draws them onward and upward to those things which are spiritual and eternal.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 19)
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