And he

will be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death.” 1 has hope in death, hope after death. He hopes that, when his spirit. becomes "absent from the body," it will become "present with the Lord;" being with him where he is, and, beholding and sharing his glory, mingling with "the innumerable company of angels, and with the spirits of the just made perfect;" being "before the throne of God, and serving him day and night in his temple; while he who sits on the throne dwells among them, and they hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither does the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and lead them to the fountains of living waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." His "flesh also rests in hope." His hope is the hope of the resurrection to life; "the blessed hope of the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." He looks for Him from heaven, "to change his vile body, and fashion it like unto His own glorious body." He hopes that "this corruptible shall put on incorruption, this mortal shall put on immortality; that what is sown in corruption, shall be raised in incorruption; what is sown in dishonor, shall be raised in glory; what is sown in weakness, shall be raised in power; what is sown a natural body, shall be raised a spiritual body." He is looking for Him to come "the second time without sin for his salvation;" and his hope is, that "when He shall appear, he shall appear with Him in glory;" being "like Him, seeing Him as He is." He is hoping for this "manifestation of the sons of God;" this "adoption, the redemption of the body;" and his final hope is that, body and soul, "he shall forever be with the Lord." *

Such is the hope of the Christian with regard to himself; and he cherishes the same hope in reference to all his brethren in Christ. He hopes that Christ, who loved the church, will, after having purified her by the washing of water through the word, "present her to himself, as a bride adorned for her husband, a glorious church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." He hopes for a "gathering together" of all the faithful at the coming of the Lord; he hopes, that when the Lord descends from heaven, all the dead in Christ shall rise, all the living in Christ shall be changed, and that they shall " together be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air," and shall "together be made perfect."

The Christian, too, has characteristic hopes concerning the cause and kingdom of his Lord. He hopes for its ultimate triumph over all its opposers, all the powers of darkness, all the forms of evil, ignorance, error, superstition, fanaticism, idolatry, in all their endless diversities of false principles and depraved dispositions, which counter-work its benignant tendencies, and have hitherto rendered its progress so slow, and its influence so limited. He hopes for a period when the idols shall be utterly abolished, when "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord," when "the kingdoms of this world shall be

1 Phil. i. 6;

iii. 19. Col. i. 11. Heb. xiii. 5. Rom. viii. 28. 2 Cor. iv. 17. 2 2 Cor. v. 6-8. John xvii. 24. Heb. xii. 22, 23. Rev. vii. 15-17. Psal. xvi. 9. Tit. ii. 13. Phil. iii. 21. 1 Cor. xv. 42-44, 53. iii. 2. Rom. viii. 19, 23. 1 Thess. iv. 17.

Heb. ix. 28. 1 John

Eph. v. 25-27. 2 Thess. ii. 1. 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. Heb. xi. 40. χωρὶς ἡμῶν.

Οὗτοι πάντες—μὴ

come the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ," when "men shall be blessed in him, and all nations call him blessed."1 Such is the Christian's hope.

2

And this hope is not groundless, no airy dream, no uncertain probability. It rests on the power, and wisdom, and faithfulness, and benignity of God, pledged in a plain, well-accredited revelation of his will. It has come to him by "the word of the truth of the gospel," to understand, and believe, and love which, his mind and heart have been opened by the effectual working of the Good Spirit. He has formed these expectations not in consequence of following cunningly devised fables, but in consequence of believing that word, which brought along with it powerful demonstration, that it was "not the word of man, but as it is in truth the word of God, which worketh effectually in them believing it;" tranquillizing the mind, pacifying the conscience, purifying the heart, transforming the character. Thus he knows on whom he has believed, and in whom he hopes. His hope is in God. Jehovah is the hope of his people. They hope in his mercy: they hope in his word. Our Lord Jesus himself, and God, even our Father, who hath loved us, hath given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace."

66

"5

These hopes dwell in the heart of the Christian. There seems emphasis in the expression, "The hope that is in you." It has not merely been "set before" you, it has been embraced by you. It is not a mere professed hope; it is a real hope, a living, not a dead hope. But though it dwells in the heart, it does not, it should not, it cannot, remain concealed. From its very nature it must manifest itself both in words and in actions: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." "Knowing," says the apostle, referring to one leading object of the christian hope, "that he who raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you; we believe, and therefore speak." Christians cannot but speak of the things which they hope for; and "every one who hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure," whom they are hoping to see, and to whom they are hoping to be conformed when he appears." No. Christian hope cannot be concealed. What fills the mind to an overflow, must become manifest. Even the Old Testament believers "declared plainly, that they were seeking a country, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."7

"Let

The profession of hope on the part of the Christian is, moreover, matter of positive obligation. It is expressly commanded. It is necessarily implied in the duty of confessing Christ, and is requisite to our performance of our highest duties to our fellow-men. us hold fast the profession of our hope" (hope, not faith, is the genuine reading), says the apostle, "without wavering, for he is faithful that hath promised;" and he assures us that this is the proof of our belonging to "the house," the family of Christ, that "we hold fast the

2 Col. i. 5.

1 Thess. ii. 13.

1 Isa. xi. 9. Rev. xi. 15. Psal. lxxii. 17. "It is certain there is no hope, without some antecedent belief, that the thing hoped for may come to pass; and the strength and steadfastness of our hope is ever proportioned to the measure of our faith."-BENTLEY.

2 Thess. ii. 16.

'Heb. xi. 13, 14.

2 Cor. iv. 13, 14. 1 John iii. 3.

• Heb. x. 23.

confidence," that is, the free, fearless avowal of, "and the rejoicing of," the glory in, "the hope of the gospel, firm to the end." The Christian acts very unworthily who behaves as if he was ashamed of his hope, ashamed of a hope which will never make ashamed any who really cherish it. The avowal of the Christian's hope is necessarily implied in that confession of the mouth, which the apostle represents as equally, with faith in the heart, requisite in order to salvation. A Christian cannot declare his faith without avowing his hope; and he cannot neglect the declaration of his faith without exposing himself to that tremendous denunciation: "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before my Father who is in heaven. He that is ashamed of me and of my words, before this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." 2

It has been justly said, "To all who deliberately hold the truth captive, we are bound to declare that they do not possess the truth, or rather, that the truth does not possess them; does not dwell in them richly. Religious conviction, which refuses to express itself, is disowned by that very act."

Those doctrines which embody the Christian's hope are the saving truth. That every one who is in possession of that truth, should make it known to others, is the first duty which the second great commandment of the law, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," binds on the conscience. In presenting it to their belief, he must avow his own; and he cannot, as we have seen, avow his faith without professing his hope. "We are debtors of religious truth to our brethren," says one of the greatest writers of our age, "so soon as we ourselves become possessed of it;" "we are debtors in the strictest. sense of the term, for, properly speaking, the truth is not the exclusive property of any one. Every good, which may be communicated by its possessor without impoverishing himself, cannot remain exclusively his own. If this proposition be not true, morality falls to the ground. How much more does this hold good of a blessing which is multiplied by division of a spring which becomes more abundant as it pours out its waters?" The hope of the gospel is necessary to true comfort here, to perfect happiness hereafter. I am bound then to communicate, so far as man can do it, this hope to those who are destitute of it. How can I do this but by telling them what I hope for, and why I hope for it; showing them how that hope became mine, and how it may become theirs. For the Christian to keep his hope to himself, were it possible, would be to deny the bread of life to those who are perishing of hunger. Almost every denial may find some excuse but this. We are not bound to give bread to all men in all circumstances; but we do owe to all men, in all circumstances, the communication of saving truth.

Even though the Christian were disposed to conceal his hope, he would find it difficult to do so; for he is likely, as the apostle intimates, to be called to give an account of it: a reason of his hope is likely to be demanded of him. Such inquiries may originate in various and

1 Heb. iii. 6. Τὴν παῤῥησίαν καὶ τὸ καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος. • Vinet.

Matt. x. 33. Luke xii. 8.

opposite causes. Some, who are honestly inquiring after truth and happiness, having discovered that the hopes which the world offers to its votaries are liable to be disappointed, and even when realized cannot confer true permanent enjoyment, may ask a reason of the hope that is in the Christian, that they may see whether it meets the exigences of their case, and, if it does so, that they may find how they may become partakers of it; others may make such inquiries merely for the purpose of cavilling at, and casting ridicule on, the Christian and his hope; and others, armed with civil power, may call him in question for his hope and faith, and for his conduct as influenced by this hope and faith. In the primitive age, and in other ages too, the faith and hope of the gospel have often led their possessors to refuse compliance with what custom and law required, and to follow certain courses which custom and law condemned and proscribed; and Christians have, in consequence of this, often been "called before governors and kings, magistrates and powers," as their Lord forewarned them, to give an account of that hope which distinguished them from those among whom they lived, and of the grounds on which it rested. When the connection of the passage is carefully attended to, it can scarcely be doubted that it is to this last species of inquisition into the nature and ground of the Christian's hope, that the apostle directly refers.

Whatever may be the motives of the inquirers, it is the duty of the Christian, in ordinary circumstances, "to give an answer to every one who asketh him a reason of the hope that is in him." What the

1

apostle calls on Christians to do, is to defend their hope to those who called on them to give an account of it, for that is the force of the word rendered answer; apology, in the sense in which the word is used in reference to the apologies of the Fathers for Christianity, the publication of which was indeed just a specimen of obedience to the apostle's injunction,-a defence of the faith and hope of the gospel, by a statement of their grounds to those Roman magistrates who persecuted them. Every Christian, when called on to give an account of his hope, is to defend it. He is to do this, first, by distinctly stating what it is; by giving a plain account of what are the objects of his hope and this of itself, if candidly listened to, will go far to answer all the purposes of defence. But he must do more than this: he must be ready to show that what he hopes for is really promised in the Scriptures, and that these Scriptures are indeed " given by inspiration of God"-an infallible and authoritative revelation of the Divine mind and will, for the regulation of the religious sentiments and conduct of mankind, and therefore, a solid foundation for his hope. He must show that his hope is no mere imagination, but is founded on the most certain truth; and that in performing the duties, making the sacrifices, cherishing the expectations, which naturally flow from its admission, he is acting a reasonable, the only reasonable part, and that to abandon his hope, or to do anything inconsistent with it, were to act the part of a fool and a madman. And the Christian is to do this, not only where it may be done without inconvenience or hazard, but in the face of the greatest dangers, though sure to draw down on

1 Ατολογία.

himself ridicule, scorn, contumely, torture, death. "Consequences should be accounted for naught in the discharge of this duty, which is of an absolute nature; or, if considered at all, should be regarded only as motives and additional inducements to its fulfilment."

There are, however, cases in which a formal defence of the Christian's hope, even when he is called in question for it, could serve no good purpose. The command of our Lord is not superseded by, for it is not inconsistent with, that of his apostle: "Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again to rend you." It has been justly observed, "That the truth is not to be scattered at random like contemptible dust: it is a pearl which must not be exposed to be trodden under foot by the profane. To protect it by an expressive silence is sometimes the only way we can testify our own respect for it, or conciliate that of others. He who cannot be silent respecting it, under certain circumstances, does not sufficiently respect it. Silence is on some occasions the only homage truth expects from us. This silence has nothing in common with dissimulation; it involves no connivance with the enemies of truth; it has no other object than to protect it from needless outrage. This silence, in a majority of instances, is a language; and when, in the conduct of those who maintain it, everything is consistent with it, the truth loses nothing by being suppressed. Or to speak more correctly, it is not suppressed; it is vividly, though silently, pointed out; its dignity and importance are placed in relief; and the respect which occasioned this silence, itself imposes silence on the witnesses of its manifestation." The greatest of all witnesses to the truth, who, in delivering his testimony, set his face as a flint, not fearing the cross, despising the shame, maintained, on some occasions, a dignified silence even when questioned; but it was only where the truth had already been declared by him, and when a renewed declaration of it could have served no good purpose. His object was not to shelter himself, but the truth, from unnecessary insults. Generally, his conduct corresponded with the prophetic oracle concerning him: "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation."

But though Christians may not be required in every case to give an answer, even when questioned, respecting their hope, they must always hold themselves "ready" to do so when called on. To be "ready," is to be prepared, when called on, to state and defend the christian hope. For this purpose, it is necessary that the Christian should be constantly giving all diligence towards maintaining the full assurance of hope in his own heart; that he should be familiarly acquainted with the objects of his hope, as these are stated in the Holy Scriptures; and with the manner, too, in which those things, which it would seem, at first sight, to be folly and presumption in man to hope for, have become the object, the reasonable object, of his hope, and may become the reasonable object of the hope of every man who, like him,

1 Vinet.

2 Matt. vii. 6.

• Vinet.

4 Psal. xl. 9, 10.