Obtaining Promises

Spurgeon opens with a long celebration of the promises of God as the believer's mine of wealth, armory, surgery, storehouse, and title deed to Heaven — arguing that since every single blessing in the Covenant of Grace comes not by earning but by promise, knowing how to actually obtain those promises is the most important practical skill a Christian can develop. He then distinguishes two meanings of "obtaining the promise": first, having a promise given freshly to the soul by the Spirit — illustrated by Abraham receiving the great charter after the offering of Isaac, Elijah receiving one promise that unlocked the next, and Spurgeon's own experiences of specific Scriptures coming to him at decisive moments with the force of a direct word from God — and second, obtaining its actual fulfillment, for which he gives six practical rules: take hold of easily grasped promises by simple faith; wrestle for others through persistent prayer; pursue others through active obedience to the conditions attached; meditate deeply on the promise until faith rises; patiently wait for the mulberry-tree promises that are slow to bloom; and match the right promise to your particular trial. He closes by urging two final duties — gratitude for promises already fulfilled, since an ungrateful beggar cannot expect to keep receiving — and encouragement drawn from the whole cloud of witnesses who tried God on the rack, in dungeons, in the arena, and at the stake, and not one of them ever found him untrue, so every present hearer should trust him with the same unstaggering faith as Abraham and find that he is able to perform what he has promised.Sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon on February 16, 1862.