It's been pointed out to me that people use the term "the promises of God", and assume that everyone knows what that means. I wonder if anyone has ever made a full list of "the promises". I guess they have, but I think I'd be a bit disappointed to read it - it would suggest that God is somehow limited only to those matters that are recorded and set down.
I'd much rather think of it in terms of "the promise" of God - that there is in fact one key focus in God, and that is for everyone to be brought into an awareness of God's abiding care. The care is expressed in many ways, (almost unique to the needs of each person), but always expressed in terms such as those in Isaiah 61:1 - bringing good news, binding up the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty and release to those who are unfree. And the awareness is necessary both for those who are broken (so they become conscious of God's expectation for everyone - including themselves - to be healed) and for those whom God uses as agents of release (so they will see and respond in God's name to the needs of the people around them).
In this way the one Promise is expressed in many ways, and understood and described by people according to their circumstances.
And ultimately, of course, the life and ministry of Jesus, and his death and resurrection, are the absolute expression of God's Promise. For nothing 'will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.' (Romans 8:39)
