The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 440

ILnd good fortune, or if It were based upon the character and promises of fallible fellow-men, it would in such cases need rather to be checked and sobered tha.n to be encouraged, But just e.s fe.ith depends for its value upon the person on whom it rests eo le hope justifiable and wise only when based "J)M the p,romiSP,8 of the Bei!ng who~ oharo.ctcr is unchanging, and whose word is never broken. The Christian's hope ntends beyond this earthly life. There ha.ve been caeee in which the followers of Je8UB have been tempted to exclaim, "If in this life only we ha.ve hope in Christ, we are of o.11 men most miserable." But nothing is more distinctive of the Christian revelation than the clearness with which it speaks of a. life to come. By the resur- rection of our Lord Jesus from the dead, we are begotten "unto a living hope, of an Inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away." And the hope which we have is "e.n anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast., that entereth into that within the veil." By the power of the Holy Spirit, this blessed hope is awakened awl, fostered. His gracious influences counteract the earthly and depressing powers by which we are all beset, and make the mediation and the promises of our Saviour effective and helpful to us; so that we a.re led to abound in hope. The text reminds us thatfaith, and the joy and peace which faith brings, and these in Divine fulness, are the antecedents of the abundant hope of the Christian, And this is so. The heart that knows nothing of the cheerful gladness which religion imparts to the present can know nothing of the glowing anticipations which religion inspires with reference to the future, If we are to judge the future merely by what we see now, our outlook might be dim and cheerless. But the present is beheld by the medium of faith; and the same glass, when turned towards the coming ages, affords to llS the blessed prospect of Christian hope. It is instructive to observe the close connection between the joy and peace which Christians now have in believing, and the hope to which they are introduced by the gospel. The cheerful mind is likely to be the hopeful mind. The rule and the love of God have reference alike to the present and to the future. Our earthly privileges are the earnest of our immortal prospects. And these, in turn, cast something of their inspiring radiance upon the difficulties and the sorrows of the present. "Oh, who, in such e. world as this, Could bee.r his lot of pa.in, Did not one re.die.nt hope of bliss Unclouded yet remain ? That hope the Sovereign Lord he.s given, Who reigns above the ekiee : Hope that unites the soul to bee.van By faith's endearing tiee." II, But HOPE, THAT IS WORTHY OF THE NAME, WILL TRANSCEND OUB IND'ITIDU.U. PROSPECTS, We are united, by innumerable bonds, to our fellow-Christians and to our fellow-men; and our hopes must include others within their scope and range. Nothing was further from the generous heart and expansive charity of the apostle than any thought of limiting within narrow bounds the prospects and the hopes born of Christianity. Our religion is emphatically urzseifish. .And being so, those who come under its sway and share its spirit a.re constrained to take a wide, expansive vi.,w. They are members of a mystical body, and are concerned for the health and well-being of the whole. It is not enough to have a good hope of our own salvation; if the mind of Christ is in us, we shall desire "the edification of the body," as St. Paul phrases it. Enlightened and large-hearted Christians are more interested in the spread of Christianity than in anything beside on earth. It is their hope and prayer that the holy leaven may penetrate and vivify the whole mass of human society; that the tree of life may grow e.nd spread, until all nations shall sit with delight beneath its sh:i.dow. Taught by the Spirit of truth, they rely upon the faithful word of Christ, who has unfolded before hi nanity hopes so bright and glorious. Error may seem to prevl\il, o.nd we may tremble for tho truth. Superstition may encroach upon the simplicity of the gospel, and we may ask-le the old pngo.nism to revive? Lukeu-armness may seem to steal over nominal Christians, and to plll'nlyze the activities of the Churches. Yet tho Christian is not daunted by these "signs of the times," distressing though they be. Ho can join iu the triumphant ch11ut1 "W o will uot fear, t!1<,ugh t ho earth  THE EPISTLE OF PA.UL TO 'l'HE ROMANS. (ott. xv. 1-33.