04.01 The Heavenly Hope

CHAPTER I
THE HEAVENLY HOPE

"I live on hope and that I think do all who come into this world." Bridges. It is the writer’s observation that of all the doctrine of the Bible, the doctrine of hope has received the least attention from preachers generally and from theologians in particular. In the index of subjects in one of our largest and most popular theologies, the word hope does not appear.

"Knowledge begins with definition," so spoke Demosthenes. And since we wish to impart knowledge, we will begin with the definition of the word hope. In the general sense, hope is the expectation of future good. Hope consists of two things: desire and expectation. It cannot be truly said that a person hopes for something he does not desire; nor can he hope for something he does not expect to receive. To desire something with no expectation of receiving it, is not hope but despair. And to expect something that is not desired is not hope but dread.

Hope may be further defined as a quality in the human soul that anticipates the future with a sense of peace and pleasure; peace and pleasure commensurate with the worth of the object hoped for. Hope is concerned only about the future; we do not hope for what we already see or possess. "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that 25). What is hoped for must be waited for.

Hope is one of the principal springs of human endeavor. Without hope men would never attempt anything. If hope deferred makes the heart sick, then to be without hope would take the heart out of every undertaking. Without hope of harvest the farmer would not plant and cultivate. Without hope of pay the miner would not hazard his life in the treacherous mine. Without hope of profit the merchant would close shop. Without hope of winning nobody would every run for office. Without hope of happiness lovers would never march to the marriage altar. In all the wedding cake, hope is the sweetest of the plums. IS HOPE AN ASSET OR A LIABILITY! This may seem a strange question in the light of what we have already written. But the question is not so one-sided as one may at first judge. It is a question whether, on the whole, hope has given more pleasure than pain. Hope, in itself, is a happy quality in the human mind, but it often ends in disappointment. So often we do not get what we hope for; or, if we do get it, it is found to be worth less than we had thought. All of us know that many things we have hoped for in this life have never been realized. Hope often lies to us. It holds out prizes that are never won. It promises pleasures that are never enjoyed. Hope makes us toil and struggle and then fails to pay off. Hope so often turns out to be a false prophet. Parents entertain high hopes for their children only to be disappointed by their sins and failures. Pastors have hoped for faithfulness in church members who have not lived up to their promises. Pastors hope for cooperation from those who never give it. And the hope of a happy home has turned out to be a lie with many a husband and wife. Expiring hopes tell many a tale of sin and shame. And all this has caused one poet to write:

"Hope tells a flattering tale, Delusive, vain, and hollow. Ah! let not hope prevail, Lest disappointment follow." And Dryden, in a time of dejection, wrote:
"When I consider life, ’tis all a cheat, Yet fooled with hope, men favor the "deceit,"
But the poet Cowley writes in defense of hope and says: "Hope! of all ills that men endure, The only cheap and universal cure,"
And Shakespeare writes that,
"The miserable have no other medicine, But only hope."
Wordsworth expresses his doubt as to the worth of hope in these lines:

"Hopes! what are they? Beads of morning Strung on slender blades of grass; Or a spider’s web adorning
In a strait and treacherous pass." But Oliver Goldsmith says that,
"Hope, like a gleaming taper’s light,

Adorns and cheers our way." And so it is debated by the poets whether hope is a blessing or a curse. But the fact is, that all men have hope of some sort in some degree. As Pope puts it:

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never is, but always to be blest."

Hope is the chief pillar of life. Hope supports the mind under all changes, trials, and difficulties. A man without hope would soon go mad. It is fairly safe to say that every suicide who leaves a note reveals that he has lost all hope for future good. To be without hope is a sad expression in anybody’s language. It is a sad thing to hear in the sick room when the doctor looks grave and indicates there is no hope for the patient. It is a sad expression in the business office when the manager wrinkles his brow and says there is no hope of profit. It is a sad word on the high seas when the captain of the sinking ship says there is no hope of saving the ship, and calls all passengers to put on the life belts and make their way to the life boat. It is sad for the politician when the returns show he has no hope of being elected to the office for which he campaigned.

EARTHLY HOPES ARE DYING HOPES To hope only in this life is tragic. To hope only for things this side of the grave and eternity is most pathetic. And yet this describes the hope of the masses. A young man was being interviewed by an old preacher. He was asked what his plans and hopes were after he had finished high school. He replied that he would go on to college, work hard and graduate with honors.

"What then?" queried the minister. The young man said he would take postgraduate work in his chosen field, in the hope of being one of the most capable and successful. "What then?" continued the old preacher. The young man revealed his plans to marry, settle down in some good town, work at his profession, make a lot of money, and move in the best society. "What then?" persisted the old man. By this time the young man was not so glib, but he went on to say that he would finally become old, and have to retire, but that he hoped to have a competence for his old age. "What then?" continued the older man. The young man dropped his head and said, that of course, he would have to die. "What then?" the old man continued. And to this, he had no answer, for all his plans and hopes were this side of the grave and Eternity.

There are triple doors to the Cathedral of Milan, and over each door is an inscription. Over one is carved a beautiful wreath of roses and underneath is the legend: "All that which pleases is but for a moment." Over another is a sculptured cross and underneath are these words: "All that which troubles is but for a moment." And over the great central door are the words: "That only is important which is eternal." What a solemn reminder! "The hope of the righteous shall be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked shall perish" (Proverbs 10:28).

ETERNITY WITHOUT HOPE

Hell is a hopeless place, the place of eternal despair. To enter eternity without hope in Christ is to remain forever hopeless. The hope of the rich man was soon dispelled as Abraham told him of that impassable gulf between him and the blessings of God. The rich man did not ask for much, but he did not get even the little water for his burning tongue. When Napoleon was being crowned emperor of the French in 1804, there was one person in the huge throng who was neither overawed nor overjoyed by all the pomp and splendor of the occasion. And that person was his old Corsican mother. During the ceremonies she was heard to say over and over again, "So long as it lasts." She knew that the glory that was her son’s for the moment would end in despair. She realized that the crown being placed on his head was only a fading chaplet. She had no hope that his popularity would last, and we know from history that it did not last. The saddest thing about Napoleon was not his defeat at Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington. It was not his exile and loneliness on St. Helena. The saddest thing in the history of Napoleon was that day in May, 1821, when he died and his soul entered that place of which Dante wrote: "All hope abandon, ye who enter here." The hope of the writer is to challenge the reader to examine his hope in the light of eternity; or, as Peter puts it, give a reason for the hope that is in you. If your hope is built on anything other than Christ and Him crucified, such a hope will fail you in the day of judgment.

If some lost person, in the providence of God, shall take time to read these lines, let me warn him of the Christless grave and the fearful hell that awaits him. My sinner friend, me thinks I hear the breaking of the waves on the shore of eternity. You must go down into these waves sooner or later, and it may be sooner than you think. What if it should prove to be a sea of fire to you forever? What if every billow in that sea of flame should break over you? What if you must be drifting forever across that fiery sea, with words of Divine wrath driving you on, never to find a haven? Dear friend, stop trifling with eternal matters. Put an end to your careless career! Take the place of a sinner and trust the One mighty to save, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lost friend, there may yet be hope. This is not the day of despair, for we are still living in the day of salvation. Not yet has the great key grated in the lock to shut you forever in the dungeon. It is said of Christ, "he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth" (Revelation 3:7). He can open Heaven to you. He is the one and only Saviour. Trust Him with your whole heart. Rest in His blood, for nothing else can cleanse you from your sins. Find shelter, through childlike trust, beneath His cross, where the lightning bolts of Divine wrath cannot strike. Look up to Him; yea, come to Him, for he has said, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). Trust Him now, for there is danger in delay.

"This heavenly hope is all serene, But earthly hope now bright soe’er, Still fluctuates over this changing scene, As false and fleeting as tis fair."

-Reginald Heber