"The Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Hope."—1 Tim.
1:1
"We are saved by Hope." (Rom. 8:24) Such is the pinnacle
on which the Spirit seats this grace. Without it, the soul would never
steadfastly adhere to Christ, it would yield to doubts and fears and
ultimate despair. Without this anchor, it would make shipwreck on some
dreary coast.
It is a delightful task to tell how Hope diffuses the
sweetest joy throughout life's course, and lifts a smiling head in trouble's
hour, and gilds each prospect with bright hues. Such grace is not of the
earth, and earthly: it is from heaven, and heavenly. It is implanted in the
soul by the working of the loving Spirit.
Let it be promised that our heavenly Father adds Hope to
His titles: "O the Hope of Israel, the Savior thereof in time of trouble."
(Jer. 14:8) And again, "Now the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that you may abound in Hope, through the power of the Holy
Spirit." (Rom. 15:13)
But to Jesus, at present, our eyes are mainly turned. O
Lord, You are our Hope, for truly You are our "All." Every supply of grace,
and help, and blessing, abounds in You! You are the inexhaustible storehouse
of all treasures for us. No lack remains to the children of Your love. Come,
then, and shine forth as "our Hope."
It is decreed that "we must through much tribulation
enter into the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22) Trials and troubles are as
numerous as the surrounding air. "Now for a season, if need be, you are in
heaviness through manifold trials." (1 Pet. 1:6) Heaven's inhabitants have
traveled through a land of sorrow. We read that "God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes." (Rev. 7:17) Therefore, in life's sad days, weeping
must have been their lot. Often the storm was fierce, raging, violent; the
wind assailed with fury; the waves uplifted threatening heads; rocks and
quicksands were ready to destroy; the yawning deep gaped as an inevitable
tomb; no harbor offered a retreat. But still despair was weak to crush the
heir of faith.
How could this be? Hope whispered, Fear not, for Christ
is near. It pointed to Jesus, ready to lull each storm, and to say, Peace,
be still. The sons of Hope "looked to Him, and were lightened, and their
faces were not ashamed." (Psa. 34:5) O Lord, be our constant Hope!
The page would find no end which portrayed all the region
in which Hope sweetly works. But let some of the diseases be slightly
specified in which this balm presents relief.
Sometimes means of support are diminished. Need shows a
ruthless visage. Poverty approaches with a cruel step. Anguish broods
over an impoverished family. This is Hope's season to sustain. It discloses
Jesus having all resources at His command. It recalls instances of marvelous
rescue from the grasp of ruin. It shows that His fullness never can be
drained. It reveals Him as the God of Elijah by the brook Cherith; as the
widow of Sarepta's stay; as ever the same in guardian care. Thus confidence
is implanted, that "God will supply all His people's needs according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) O Lord, our Hope, we look to
You in every hour of need.
Sometimes the fear of death weighs heavily. It is
granted that "goodness and mercy have followed during all the days of life:"
that no good thing has failed of all the abundance which rich promises have
held out as our portion: but still apprehension trembles, lest help may fail
when the feet tread the dark valley. The strength must fade, and vigor be
exhausted, and mental energies droop, and decrepitude totter. But these
prospects no more distress, when Hope draws near. Its hand contains a bright
supply for this especial need. It displays in glowing colors the assurance,
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you
shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you." (Isa. 43:2)
In quick succession it exhibits a long train of similar cordials. The dying
saint clasps them to his heart, and brightness illumines the passage by
which earth is left. Death has no more a repulsive look. It is welcomed as a
friend, which leads to the longed-for home. O Lord, we look to You! Be our
Hope in the hour of death!
This grace not only cheers the believer's dying bed: it
is his prop, his stay, his support, his strength, his enabling power, in
every circumstance of life. Sometimes all earthly help seems utterly to
fail. On the right hand there is no friend. On the left menacing foes come
on. In the rear there is terror and dismay. In the front destruction yawns.
Such was the case of David at Ziklag. On his return he found that the enemy
had attacked the town, and burned every house with fire, and left the
dwellings reduced to ashes. The wives and sons and daughters were carried
into captivity. No welcome voices cheered his coming. His eyes beheld one
scene of smoking desolation. His own followers were more than bewildered.
They regarded him as the cause of all this misery. They were impatient to
wreak vengeance on him. In their grief they threatened to stone him. All
friends on earth now failed. But Hope survived. The trembler was upheld amid
these billows of distress. "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God."
(1 Sam. 30:6) He reasoned, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? and why are
you disturbed within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the
health of my countenance, and my God." (Psa. 42:11) Thus amid all
disconsolations, Hope sings with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust
in Him"; (Job 13:15) and with the prophet, "Although the fig-tree shall not
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall
fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from
the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in
the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation." (Hab. 3:17,18)
A grace so bright, so joyous, the parent of such solace,
the sweetener of life's cup, the unfailing prop throughout earth's
pilgrimage, must rest on sure foundation. This tree of precious fruits must
spring from a root deep-seated in a fertile soil. The flame, which many
waters cannot quench, must be wondrously maintained. Some giant must uphold
the strength which many foes cannot lay low. It must have inherent and
abiding vitality. Verily it is so. Christ—and all that Christ is, and all
that Christ has done, and all that Christ is doing—is the Rock on which Hope
rests, and the source from which it draws supplies. Thus Hope's expectations
are bounded by no narrow circle. They are vast, as He is to whom all power
in heaven and earth is given. Christ shares the omnipotence of Jehovah. All
resources are in His mighty hands. To Him no case beyond relief can occur.
There is nothing too hard for Him to do. He speaks the word, and the
universe obeys. Hope estimates this power, and thus becomes more strong when
outward circumstances seem to fail, and outward prospects are most dark. O
Lord, we look to Your omnipotence as imperishable Hope!
Hope knows too that it rests on One who has His people
engraved on His heart. It is cheered by the precious word, "Can a mother
forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has
borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isa. 49:15) It has
read, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with
loving-kindness have I drawn you." (Jer. 31:3) Can Jesus thus love His
people, and will He not delight over them to bless them and to do them good!
Are not their interests His interest—their cause His cause! Is it not His
joy when they prosper and are in peace! Thus Hope is verily persuaded that
the heart of Christ is always warm with loving desire to avert distress. It
doubts not that every issue will be final blessedness. O Lord, we look to
Your love as our sure Hope.
Hope is renewed in strength, and mounts up with wings as
eagles, when it contemplates what Christ has suffered for His people. He has
redeemed them, but with what price! He paid not silver and gold for their
ransom. He gave not all the precious things of earth as their equivalent. He
heaped not worlds upon worlds and placed them as payment in the balance of
God's justice. All such expenditure would have been as unavailing as the
chaff. He gave Himself, His life, His blood. He gave so much that He could
give no more; and He gave this to bear the extremest curse of God, to endure
all the punishment, and all the miseries, and all the anguish which His
people must have suffered if they had wailed through all the endless ages
amid the torments of the lost. Hope sweetly reasons. He who has done so
much, will He not surely give all that His people really need! Therefore it
treads down all hosts of doubt, and against all timidities of reason,
"laughs at impossibilities, and says, It shall be done!" O Lord, we look to
Your suffering Cross as our sure Hope.
Hope too, with piercing glance, beholds the proceedings
at the throne of God. There it views Jesus, seated on the right hand of the
Majesty on high. It sees His extended hands, and hears His all-prevailing
cry. That cry is ever-living intercession. It cannot go forth in vain. It
must succeed. Therefore Hope lifts a joyful head, and sings amid all
menacing events, O Lord, Your throne on high is our sure Hope.
Hope too has a field from which it largely gleans. This
is the Book of Life, abounding in assurances of support. Each word in this
book is true as God can be. The heavens and the earth "shall perish: they
all shall grow old as does a garment, and as a vesture You will fold them
up, and they will be changed," "but the Word of the Lord endures forever."
(Heb. 1:11, 12; and 1 Pet. 1:25) Hope sets firm foot on this immovable rock,
and fears no failure. O Lord, Your Scriptures are our Hope.
The Holy Spirit too in His love, ever seeking the
believer's bliss, exhibits this grace in terms of potent teaching. Speaking
of the Hope which is set before us, He adds, "Which Hope we have as an
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that
within the veil." (Heb. 6:19) What the anchor is to a floating vessel, Hope
is to the soul. The anchor descending from the ship, grasps by tenacious
teeth a solid pavement. Thus it clings to an immovable foundation. The ship
cannot drift to rocks or quicksands; it cannot be torn away by tides or
billows. It rests in safety amid storms and adverse waves. Thus Hope, fast
holding Christ in heaven, within the veil, keeps the soul tranquil amid all
conflicts. Christ must vacillate before the clinging soul can be endangered.
O Lord, we anchor on You as our Hope.
Again, in the catalogue of the Christian's armor a helmet
is named, and the helmet is "the Hope of Salvation." (Eph. 6:17) As is the
helmet to the warrior in the day of battle, so is Hope to the soul. The head
thus guarded boldly meets the foe. It is upraised and knows no fear. While
this covering is unbattered, no fatal wound can be inflicted. Thus the Hope
of salvation gives all heroism in the fight of faith. He who shows the
promise of salvation written on his brow, will never fear that his
expectations will be frustrated. O Lord, our Hope, we look to You to be our
Helmet.
Believer, cultivate this precious grace. For this
purpose, diligently study Christ—His person, work, and love. Each day mount
higher on the ladder of heavenly knowledge. The more you know, the more you
will trust. Time will thus sweetly find its end, then Hope shall reap its
harvest, and be swallowed up in never-ending reality.
But caution should be added. Every grace has its vile
counterfeit. Many weeds resemble flowers. Tinsel may glitter, but it is not
gold. There is a false Hope. It sparkles for a little while, and then
expires in darkness. It may be easily detected. Mark the foundation on which
this cheat rests. Its foot is placed on some form of self, and on its own
doings and deserts. It claims no text of Scripture for its warrant. Christ
is not its "All." Therefore its end is hopeless woe.