Lord, many times I am aweary quite
Of mine own self, my sin, my vanity — Yet be not Thou, or I am lost outright, Weary of me.
2. But not only has hope this purifying power, not only will it make us believe that we are meant to live with angels and not herd with animals, not only will it lift a man into a different state of mind altogether, and purify his character, but hope is also the strongest influence that we can exert over other people.
^ If you have read a little story for children called Little Lord Fauntleroy you have read a magnificent account of the influence of hope on others. You remember how the little lad goes to stay with his grandfather, and that grandfather is one of the most selfish, one of the meanest and most unkind of old men that have ever lived. But the boy believes in him. The boy, only about fourteen, keeps saying to his grandfather, " Oh, grand- father, how they must love you ; you are so generous, you are so kind, you are so considerate to every one you meet." And the lesson of that beautiful story is the influence of hope on 'character. The old gentleman cannot withstand the belief of his ■ boy ; and he grows to be the unselfish generous man that the boy thought him.
ROMANS VIII. 24, 25 63
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3. Hope is the greatest inspirer of corporate work. And here we have to beware of a travesty of hope. Those who serve on boards and committees know that we do not believe very much in the merely sanguine man — the man who has always got a scheme which he thinks perfectly infallible, which he carries through in spite of all advice, and who, by his glib tongue and power of talk, sometimes drags the committee or board into miserable disaster. Now in our proper fear of the merely sanguine man do not let us despise the hopeful man. So far from hope being a hindrance upon boards or committees, social settlements, or any other corporate work, hope is the inspirer that keeps them going. You have sometimes seen the summer breeze sway down the cornstalks in a great field ; they all bow beneath its magic power; that is how souls are bowed down by the influence of hope. One hopeful man will save a garrison ; one hopeful woman will inspire a parish.
^ The men of hope carry forward their fellows, as Matthew Arnold has well described, in words that gain impressiveness from their contrast to his own prevailing sadness —
Beacons of hope, ye appear ! Languor is not in your heart. Weakness is not in your word, Weariness not on your brow. Ye alight in our van ! at your voice, Panic, despair, flee away. Ye move through the ranks, recall The stragglers, refresh the outworn, Praise, re-inspire the brave. Order, courage, return ; Eyes rekindling, and prayers. Follow your steps as ye go. Ye fill up the gaps in our files, Strengthen the wavering line, Stablish, continue our march. On, to tbe bound of the waste, On, to the City of God.
iv. The Sphere of Hope.
1. " Hope that is seen is not hope." The whole point of St. Paul's argument in these two verses is that the attitude of
64 THE SAVING GRACE OF HOPE
hope, so distinctive of the Christian, implies that there is more in store for him than anything that is his already. And not only is this principle true with re^gard to the future life and things unseen, but it is supremely true with regard to a building up of character. For to whatever height of excellence men may attain, they will always see above them a vantage-ground which invites fresh effort.
^ The sphere of hope is " things not seen." " Hope that is seen is not hope ; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for ? " Therefore a Christian's real possession is not what he sees. Suppose God prospers him in this world and he has riches ; let him be grateful, but let him confess that those are not his treasures. One hour with the Lord Jesus Christ will bring more satisfaction to the believer than the largest measure of wealth. Although he may have prospered in this world, the saint will ridicule the idea of making the world his portion. A thousand worlds with all the joy which they could yield are as nothing compared with our appointed inheritance. Our hope does not deal with trifles ; she leaves the mice of the barn to the owls, and soars on eagle wings where nobler joys await her.
2. Now the greater part of our salvation belongs to the " things not seen." " If, while we were enemies, we were recon- ciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." Our salvation is partly of the past, but more of the future. For with God there are no unfinished beginnings, no inadequate completions. He is not like the foolish builder, who, without counting the cost, lays foundations wide and deep, and cannot complete the stately tower for which the foundations were planned. When God has appointed Jesus Christ as the chief corner-stone, what will the superstructure be ? We may meanwhile obscure the magnificence of His plan by the foolishness of our building. But though it be by the destruction of our work, His spiritual house shall be completed, of which apostles and prophets are the foundation, and victorious martyrs the pillars, and every stone a blameless saint. All this was before St. Paul's mind when he wrote, " in hope were we saved."