First, That hope that accompanies salvation isu grace of God whereby we exi^ect good to come, waiting patiently till it corned
(1.) I call it a grace of God, because he is the donor of it ; and therefore he is called the God of hope : Rom. xv. 13, ' Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.' Now God is called the God of hope, because he is objective, the only object of our hope, and he is effective, the only author and worker of hope in the soul. Hope is no natural affection in men. Men are not bom with hope in their hearts, as they are born with tongues in their mouths. Hope is nobly descended, it is from above, it is a heavenly babe that is formed in the soul of man by the power of the Holy Ghost. And as hope is no natural affection, so hope is no moral virtue, which men may attain by their frequent actions ; but hope is the theological virtue that none can give but God.
(2.) I say it is a grace of God, whereby we expect good to come ; I say good, not evil, for evil is rather feared than hoped for by any.
The object of this hope hath four conditions :
1. It must be bonuTn, good.
3. Possibile, possible.
4. Arduum, hard or difficult to obtain.
(3.) I say hope is a grace of God, whereby we expect good to ^ome^ patiently waiting till it come. Hope makes the soul quiet and patient till it comes to possess the good desired and hoped for : Rom. viii. 25, ' But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.' The Hebrew word kavah, that is often translated hope, signifies a very vehement intention, both of body and mind, a stretching forth of the spirit or mind, in waiting for a desired good.
2. Secondly, That hope that accompanies salvation is always conversant about holy and heavenly objects, as about God and Christ -.^ 1 Tim. i. 1, ' Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.' In these words, Christ is set forth as the chief object of our hope, because by his merits and mercy, we hope to obtain the remission of our sins, and the eternal
■ Spes est expectatio eorum quce veri a Deo promissa fides credidit. — Calvin. 1 Tim. vi. 17. This very title, 'the God of hope,' may serve as a sovereign antidote against the blackest and horridest temptations ; for why should any despair of his mercy, who hath proclaimed, himself to be the God of hope ? Spes est virtus qua. inclinamur ad expectationem «onim quce Deut nobis promisit. — Perkins.
* 2 Cor. iv. 18. Hope fares well ; it keeps a prince's table; it lives upon honey and milk, oil and wine ; it lives upon the sweatmeats, the delicates of heaven, as God, Christ, and glory, Ps. xxxi. 24, xxxiii. 22, xxxviii. 16, xlii. 6, xliii. 5, xxxix. 7, Ixxi. 5, and XV. 6.
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salvation of our souls. Sometimes hope is exercised about the righteous- ness of Christ : Gal. v. 5, ' For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.' Sometimes hope is exercised about God the Father : 1 Peter i. 21, * Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory ; that your faith and hope might be in God \' Jer. xiv. 8, ' Oh the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in the time of trouble;' Chap. xvii. 13, '0 Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed ;' ver.l7, 'Thou art my hope in the day of evil.' Sometimes hope is exercised and busied about the word and promises : Ps. cxix. 49, ' Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope ;' ver. 81, ' My soul fainteth for thy salvation ; but I hope in thy word ;' ver. 114, 'Thou art my hiding-place, and my shield : I hope in thy word ;' Ps. cxxx. 5, ' I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope ;' Ps. cxix. 74, ' They that fear thee will be glad when they see me ; be- cause I have hoped in thy word ;' ver. 147, ' I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried : I hoped in thy word.' Hope in the pro- mise will keep the head from aching, and the heart from breaking ; it will keep both head and heart from sinking and drowning. Hope exer- cised upon the promise, brings heaven down to the heart.^ The pro- mises are the ladder by which hope gets up to heaven. Hope in the promise will not only keep life and soul together, but will also keep the soul and glory together; hope in the promise will support distressed souls ; hope in the promise will settle perplexed souls ; hope in the promise will comfort dejected souls ; hope in the promise will reduce wandering souls ; hope in the promise will confirm staggering souls ; hope in the promise will save undone souls.** The promise is the same to hope, that hope is to the soul ; the promise is the anchor of hope, as hope is the anchor of the soul. Look, what the breasts are to the child, and oil is to the lamp, that are the promises to hope, Rom. viii. 24.^ Hope lives and thrives, as it feeds upon the promises, as it em- braces the promises. The promises are the sweetmeats of heaven, upon which hope lives. And every degree of hope brings a degree of joy into the soul, which makes it cry out. Heaven, heaven, Heb. xi. 13 ; Ps. xvi. 11 ; Tit. iii. 7.
Again, hope is exercised about the glory and felicity, the happiness and blessedness that is at God's right hand. Titus ii. 13, 'Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ* Hope makes a man stretch out his neck and put forth his hand, and look as earnestly for the glorious appearing of Christ, as Sisera's mother did for the happy return of her son. The hoping soul is often a-sighing it out, Why are his chariot wheels so long a coming ? Col. i. 5, ' For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.' Hope in this place is taken by a metonymy, for the things hoped for, viz., all that glory and felicity, that blessedness and happiness, that is
' The Jewish Rabbins were wont to say, that upon every letter of the law there hangs mountains of profitable matter. Ah ! then, what abundance of comfort and sweetness may hope find, yea, does hope find in the promises.
* Ps. klii. 5, andoxix. 49, 60, compared, Hosea vi. 1, 2.
* The promises are hope's rich magazine.
* ^^tKrhix'H'*^"- Looking for Christ's coming as earnestly as men look and long for the coming of some special friends, or as innkeepers do for special guests.
506 HEAVEN ON EARTH. [KOM. VIII. 32-34.
laid up for us in heaven.^ So in Heb. vi. 18, ' Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.' Hope here is put for the object of hope, viz., heaven and happiness. Hope lays such fast hold, as the Greek word here signifies, xgar^tra/, upon heaven and happiness, that none shall ever be able to take those precious things out of hope's hand. So hope is put for the glorious things hoped for, Eph. i. 18. And thus you see those precious and glorious objects, about which that hope that accompanies salvation is exercised.