2 Peter 1:2-4; Psalm 144:13
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises.
That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store.
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): “Our garners.” Some read storehouses, and I would not reject this meaning.
CHARLES BRIDGES (1794-1869): The right use of knowledge is first to “lay it up” in a storehouse―“Wise men lay up knowedge,” Proverbs 10:14; then out of the storehouse to disperse it.
ALEXANDER COMRIE (1706-1774): The time of trouble and darkness and anxieties is the time when support is needed through promises. See it with Moses, Abraham, Jeremiah, John and others.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God,” I Samuel 30:6―exercised faith on his God; he encouraged himself in the power and providence of God; in the promises of God, and His faithfulness in keeping them; in a view of his covenant relation to God; in remembrance of the grace, mercy, and goodness of God, and his former experiences of it; hoping and believing that God would appear for him in some way or another, and work salvation for him.
THOMAS MANTON (1620-1677): In a time of trial you will find one promise will give you more comfort and support than all the arguments that can be produced by reason: “This is my comfort in my affliction, thy word hath quickened me,” Psalm. 119:50; he had a word to support him.
JOHN CALVIN: The promises of God do not have place in a time of quietness and peace, but in the midst of severe and terrible conflicts.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): Get hold of the promises of God, and when you feel downcast, when the wind is in the east, when the liver does not work, or when you have a real heart-ache, when the dear child is dead, when the beloved wife is sick, or when there is trouble in the house from any cause, then get you the words of the Lord; and may it always be said of you: “The people rested themselves on the words of King Jesus, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords!”
JOHN CALVIN: It is this alone which supports the believer amidst all the fears, dangers, and distresses of his earthly pilgrimage; for the joy of the Spirit is inseparable from faith…It is certain that faith cannot stand, unless it be founded on the promises of God.
WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679): The wise Christian will store himself with promises in health for sickness and in peace for future perils.
THOMAS MANTON: Every time you read the Scriptures, you should lay something up…“Lay up his words in thine heart,” Job 22:22. What [promises] have you hidden in your heart for comfort against temptations, desertions, afflictions? What have you laid up against a dear year?
C. H. SPURGEON: It is well when there is plenty, and that plenty consists of “all manner of store.”―There are some promises in the Bible which I have never yet used; but I am well assured that there will come times of trial and trouble when I shall find that that poor despised promise, which I thought was never meant for me, will be the only one on which I can float. I know that the time is coming when every believer shall know the worth of every promise in the covenant.
MATTHEW HENRY (1662-1714): God’s promises, and our own experiences, are sufficient to encourage our dependence upon God, and our expectations from Him, in all the affairs of this life.
C. H. SPURGEON: As we believe our Bibles, we are bound to rely upon the promises contained there…I remember a minister who went to see an old lady, and he thought he would give some precious promises out of the word of God. Turning to one, he saw written in the margin of her Bible, ‘P,’ and he asked, “What does that mean?” “That means precious, sir,” she answered. Further down, he saw ‘T & P,’ and he asked what the letters meant. “That,” she said, “means tried and proved, for I have tried and proved it.”
DAVID DICKSON (1583-1662): “The Lord will hear when I call unto him,” Psalm 4:3. Let us remember that the experience of one of the saints concerning the verity of God’s promises, and of the certainty of the written privileges of the Lord’s people, is a sufficient proof of the right which all his children have to the same mercies, and a ground of hope that they also shall partake of them in their times of need.
MATTHEW HENRY: Those that have experienced the performance of God’s promises themselves should encourage others to hope that He will be as good as His word to them also.
C. H. SPURGEON: Oh that our conversation were more often sweetened with the precious promises of God! After dinner we often sit for half an hour, and pull our ministers to pieces, or scandalize our neighbours. It would be far better if we said, “Now, friend, quote a promise,” and if the other replied, “And you mention a promise too.” Then let each one speak according to his own personal knowledge concerning the Lord’s fulfillment of these promises, and let everyone present tell the story of the Lord’s faithfulness to him. By such holy converse we would warm our own hearts, and gladden one another’s spirits… Let us know the promises. Should we not carry them at our fingers’ ends? Should we not know them better than anything else?
THOMAS MANTON: That we may not have to seek them in a time of distress, it is good they should be familiar.
C. H. SPURGEON: If a poor Christian in distress could remember God’s promises they would inspire him with new life; but when they are forgotten, his spirits sink.
JOHN GILL: Saints are sometimes apt to forget even the gracious promises of God they have understood and received comfort from; the word, or words, on which they have been caused to hope, until the Spirit of God, who is their best remembrancer, puts them in mind of them.
JOHN CALVIN: Let us therefore embrace all the promises of God with our whole heart, and let us also add to them His power.
C. H. SPURGEON: “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” Hebrews 13:5. Go, brother, anywhere on earth, and even up to heaven with that in thy hand: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Or will this other word suit you better, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness,” 2 Corinthians 12:9.― If you do not need this promise just now, you may very soon. Treasure it up.
THOMAS MANTON: Therefore let us treasure up all the promises; all will be little enough when we need comforts…As you read the word, collect [God’s promises] for your comfort and profit; happy is the man that hath his garner full of them.
