Gracious Promises

In Genesis 15 we have a marvelous scene of grace where God speaks with Abraham.  Abraham has concerns.  God doesn’t chide his concerns.  God gives Him more promises and clearer promises.  The Mighty God of the universe even makes an everlasting covenant with this man who has worries and openly discusses them with Him.  That is grace.  The upshot was that Abraham “believed in the Lord and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”  As Paul would say later in Romans 4, Abraham was saved by faith.  Now Abraham took that faith and with it stood firmly on the promises of God.

R. Kelso Carter wrote the uplifting hymn “Standing on the Promises”.  God’s promise to Abraham was an everlasting covenant.  That covenant pointed to and included our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He is the fulfillment of God’s promise that the promised Seed would come and bring hope and righteousness to mankind.  Abraham and his true descendants stood firmly on the sure hope of those promises of the sure and certain God.  Christ came into this world and those of the faith of Abraham embraced their long awaited Savior.  They had waited 2000 years for the promise to be fulfilled. 

During those millennia there had been many difficult days.  There had been slavery in Egypt and abuse by neighboring nations.  There had been discipline by their Holy God who was seeking to bring many sons to glory.  There was exile and deprivation.  In it all there were the sure and precious promises of God.  We have waited 2000 years since the Ascension of Christ for His promised return.  There has been persecution, war, famine, terrors by day and by night for His precious bride the Church.  But His promises are still true.  His coming is still certain.  We can, with Abraham, stand on the promises. 

R. Kelso Carter says in his second stanza, “Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail.  By the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God.”  Abraham didn’t see all the promises that God made to him be fulfilled in his lifetime.  Still he pressed on in faith as should we.  We can sing together with Abraham the chorus of this great hymn, “Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.”  By His abundant grace we stand on these promises.  

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