2 Pet. i. 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and •precious promises : that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust.
COMMENTATORS are not agreed with respect to the connexion of these words. Some connect " whereby" with "glory and virtue," in the preceding verse ; and understand it thus : "By which glorious energy of the Gospel are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises." Others, understanding the third verse parenthetically, connect my text with " God and Christ," in the second verse, and translate the passage thus : " By whom are given unto us," and so on. But, for the use which I am about to make
of the passage, it is of no importance to determine precisely what the connexion is. It is to the great- ness and preciousness of the promises that I propose to direct your attention : and, therefore, waving any further notice of the context, I will open to you the promises of God, and shew you,
I. Their intrinsic worth —
But how shall I attempt this ? Shall I bring them all in order before your eyes ? Many hours would not be sufficient for this arduous undertaking : let it suffice, then, to say,
They extend to all the necessities of sinful man —
[Even the things of this life are frequently and fully comprehended in them : for St. Paul says, " Godliness is pro- fitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to comea." And our blessed Lord has assured us, that, if we " seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all needful things shall be added unto usb." But " the things which pertain unto life and godliness0" are those which are more immediately referred to in my text : and there is no want which an immortal soul can feel, in reference either to time or to eternity, which is not richly provided for in the promises of our God. Pardon, and peace, and holiness, and glory, are all secured to us, in terms the most explicit that language can afford. Nor, if men had been permitted to dictate unto God what things should be made over to them, or how freely they should be bestowed, could they ever have ventured to express what God has expressed, or to ask them on such easy terms : for all the promises are to be apprehended simply by faith, and to be possessed by all who will truly and unfeignedly rest upon themd.]
But fully to declare their worth is impossible —
[Who shall appreciate a deliverance from the torments which are endured by those who are now cast into the lake of fire and brimstone ? or, who shall form a correct estimate of the glory and felicity of heaven ? None but those who have experienced the one or the other can form any just conception of either : nor could any one fully and adequately comprehend what salvation imports, unless he have both endured the evil from which a condemned soul is rescued, and partaken of the
a 1 Tim. iv. 8. b Matt. vi. 33. " ver. 3.
d Such a passage as Jer. xxxi. 33, 34, may be adduced as a brief specimen.
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