Section I. — We shall, first, shew the nature of this grace of hope, which will be best done by la3'ing down a plain description of it, and briefly explicating the parts. Hope is a supernatural gi-ace of God, whereby the believer, through Christ, expects and waits for all those good things of the promise, which at present he hath not fidly received. First, Here is the author or efficient cause of it, ' God,' who is called ' the God of all grace,' 1 Pet. v. 10; that is, the giver and worker of all grace, both as to the first seed, and the farther growth of it. It is impossible for the creature to make the least pile of grass, or being made, to make it grow ; and as impossible to produce the least seed of grace in the heart, or add one cubit to the stature of it. No, as God is the father of the rain, by which the herbs in the field spring and grow, so also of those spiritual dews and influences that must make eveiy grace thrive and flourish. The apostle teacheth us this, when he prays that God would ' perfect, establish, strengthen, settle' them ; and as of all grace in general, so of this in particular, Rom. XV. 13, where he is styled the ' God of hope,' and by whom we abound in hope also. This hope is supernatural, and therebj' distinguished from the heathen's hope, which, with the rest of their moral virtues, so far as any ex- cellency were found in them, came from God, (to whom every man that cometh into the world is beholden for all the light he hath, John i. 9,) and is but the remains of man's first noble principles ; as sometimes we shall see a broken turret or two stand in the midst of the ruins of some stately palace demolished, which serves for little more than to help the spectator to give a guess what goodly buildings once stood there.
Secondly, Hope's subject, — the believer. True hope is a jewel that no one wears but Christ's bride ; a grace with which no one is graced but the believer's soul. Christless and hopeless are joined together, Ephes. ii. 12 : and here it is not amiss to observe the order in v/hich hope stands to faith. In regard of time they are not one before another, but in order of nature and operation faith hath the precedency of hope. Faith closeth with the promise as a true and faithful word, then hope lifts up the soul to wait for the performance of it. Who goes out to meet him whom he believes will not come ? The pi'omise is as it were God's love-letter to his church and spouse, in which he opens his very heart, and tells all he means to do for her. Faith reads and embraceth it with joy, whereupon the believing soul, by hope, looks out at this window with a longing expectation to see her husband's chariot come in the accomplishment thereof: so Paul gives a reason of his own hope from his faith. Acts xxiv. 14, 15, and prays for the Romans' faith, in order to their hope, Rom. xv. 13.
Thirdly, Hope's object. 1. In general, something that is good. If a thing be evil, we fear and fly from it ; if good, we hope and wait for it. And here is one note of difference between it and faith ; — faith believes evil as well as good ; hope is conversant only about good. 2. It is the good of the promise ; and in this faith and hope agree : both their lines are drawn from the same centre of the promise. Hope without a promise, is like an anchor without ground to hold l)y ; it bears the promise on its name. ' I stand and am judged,' saith Paul, ' for the hope of the promise,' Acts xxvi. 6. So David shews where he moors his ship and casts his anchor; ' I hope in thy word,' Psa. cxix. 81. Tnie hope will trade only for true good ; and we can call nothing so that the good God hath not promised ; for the promise runs thus, ' No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly,' Psa. Ixxxiv. 11. 3. All the good things of the promise. As God hath encircled all good in the promise, so he hath promised nothing but good ; and therefore hope's object is all that the promise holds forth : only as the matter of the promise hath more degrees of goodness, so hope longs more earnestly for it. God is the chief good, and the fruition of him is promised as the utmost happiness of the creature : therefore true hope takes her chief aim at God, and makes all other promises in a subserviency to lift the soul nearer unto him. Ho is called, ' the hope of Israel,' Jer. xvii. 13. There is nothing beyond God, the enjoying of whom the believer projects ; and nothing short ijf (Jod that he can be conteiit with.
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t^YQ AND TAKE THE HELMET OF SALVATION.