SERMON XIII.

ON THE CHRISTIAN'S HOPE.

Rom. v. 2.

We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

"Be

THE next thing to the enjoyment of heaven, is the well-founded and joyful expectation of it. This expectation, when sufficiently strong, will so gild the scenes of this fading and transitory world, as to give to it a resemblance of the glorious state of felicity above. And this expectation it is the manifest design of the Gospel to communicate to man. ing justified by faith," saith the Apostle, "we have peace with God, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Whenever I set down to contemplate any subject connected with the Gospel of Christ, I never fail to be impressed with the very evident design which every where displays to bless the children of men. every where behold marks of compassion and bounty; such as could only proceed from Him whose goodness is, like his other attributes, infinite and incomprehensible. I perceive every where such an evident plan to bless, to exalt, and to ennoble fallen man, VOL. II.

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that in the greatness and uniformity of the design I am compelled to trace and acknowledge a Divine Öriginal. It every where supposes the present state of man to be poor and wretched, while it points out an adequate and entire remedy for all his evils, and opens to him such bright glimpses of everlasting glory as could only be derived from that blessed scene of universal love, where the boundless power of the Almighty is employed to perpetuate and diffuse consummate bliss. Behold, my brethren, the hope of your calling. Heaven is not merely held out to you as the doubtful and distant reward of long-continued service and undeviating obedience; it is offered freely as a gift, bespeaking the bounty of the illustrious Donor, and the honour of the Redeemer, on whose account and to whose glory it is given, freely given, to all who truly believe in Christ Jesus. And they are encouraged to rejoice in expectation of the prize of their high calling, and to receive the earnest of it in their souls.

God forbid that I should encourage any unfounded and delusive hopes of eternal happiness; yet, on the other hand, far be it from any minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to conceal or to obscure the infinite bounty of God. It is evidently his will that the sinful children of men, though unworthy of the least of his mercies, should upon their faithful reception of the Gospel of his beloved Son, be entitled not only to the enjoyment of heaven hereafter, but to the reviving hope and expectation of it here; that they should live in the constant view of it, enjoying in their souls the foretaste of it, and looking for and hastening unto the coming of Christ.

It is indeed to be lamented, that a very large proportion of nominal Christians do not enjoy this delightful anticipation. For though there are few who do not entertain a hope that they shall be saved at last, yet their hope is little more than the mere natural desire to be delivered from an alarming evil. It is a hope founded upon their wishes, rather than upon any declaration of the

word of God; it is a hope in contradiction to the general tenor of Scripture, rather than supported by it; it is a hope which affords no animating and delightful views, which awakens no interesting contemplations, which does not arm its possessor against the fear of death, or console him in the hour of affliction, which does not invigorate the spirit nor purify the soul.

It would be easy to assign several reasons why our minds are so faintly impressed with the glorious hope of immortality which the Gospel sets before us; but they may be reduced to these two: Men are either too little interested about religion to attend to it with sufficient seriousness, or they entertain some unhappy mistake respecting its nature.

The first of these causes is by far the most prevalent. Men are occupied by the business and cares of the world, and become indifferent to every higher object; or they are captivated by sensual pleasures, and are habitually gross and sensual. They have neither leisure nor inclination for what is spiritual and holy. Their conceptions of happiness are confined to the gratification of their corrupt appetites. All their hopes and expectations are riveted to earth. When they are told, that the joys of heaven are pure and spiritual, arising from religious views and feelings, from prayer and praise, and holy love to God, and ready obedience to him; they are conscious, though they may scruple to avow it, that these are exercises in which they can discover no delight, but which, on the contrary, are irksome and disgustful to them. Hence it is utterly impossible that they should anticipate with joy a mode of existence hereafter which appears insufferable to them here. Religion would destroy their enjoyments, It requires a state of mind with which their present pleasures are incompatible. The very nature, therefore, of heaven debars the greater part of mankind from deriving much joy from the contemplation of it. Were it a Mahometan paradise, it would be an object of much more general delight.

And even where there is felt some degree of interest about religion, an unhappy mistake respecting its true nature often prevents the enjoyment of the Christian hope of immortality. Such is the case wherever the glorious grace of the Gospel and the unsearchable riches of Christ are not fully understood. Religion may be imagined to be merely a system of restraints and punishments a scheme of painful moral discipline. God may be viewed only in the light of a Judge; and the office and death of the Redeemer may be overlooked and neglected. In this case, no sure and certain hope of a blessed immortality will cheer the soul,_or impart its reviving and invigorating influence. For Christ is the Sun of Righteousness, whose vivid beams quicken and illuminate the soul; dispel the mists of doubt, and impart at once the desires of heaven and the anticipation of it. Christ is the resurrection and the life. He is the hope of glory. In his light we see light. It is only the clear and stedfast view of the unspeakable mercy and grace of God, revealed in the Gospel of his Son; that mercy which, through his blood, cancels so freely innumerable offences; that grace which, for his sake, bestows on the most unworthy such infinite blessings, which can communicate peace and joy in believing. The Gospel must be considered in its proper light-as glad tidings of great joy-as the marvellous display of infinite mercy to man, ere it can impart to us a joy unspeakable and full of glory.

In opposition to that delusive and vain hope with which so many deceive themselves, let us now consider the nature of that joyful "hope of the glory of God" which the Scriptures represent as the delightful portion of true believers in Jesus Christ. I will first give a general view of it as derived from the sacred writings, and then exhibit more in detail the several parts of which it consists.

The true servants of God, then, are represented as placing a delightful and unshaken confidence in the security of his promises, and in the extent of his mercy.

"Because thou hast been my help," they say, "therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." "Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory." "My flesh, and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." "And now, Lord, what wait I for? Surely my hope is even in thee." "I have trusted in thy mercy: my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation." "Lord, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. Uphold me according to thy word, and let me not be ashamed of my hope." "As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness."

Such were the expressions of confidence in God of the holy fathers of the church, ere yet the Sun of Righteousness had arisen upon the world. After his appearance, the objects of hope become more distinct and luminous, and the confidence in God more strong and abiding. The Lord of the church himself had encouraged in his disciples a joyful hope of immortality. "Fear not, little flock: it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." "Let not your hearts be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also."

Agreeably to these declarations, the disciples of Christ are represented as "waiting for the adoption, for the redemption of the body;" as "groaning, being burdened in this tabernacle; not that they would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life;" as "waiting, through the Spirit, for the hope of righteonsness by faith: looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God;" as "looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the