January 8

For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven.—Colossians 1:5.

In the former verse the apostle gave thanks for the faith and love of the Colossians. Some one of them might ask from Paul, Why do you give such thanks to God for our faith and love? What good shall accrue to us from thence? Do you not see plainly that the faithful and godly are despised and trodden upon by all? Paul answers, I give thanks not on account of the temporal advantage which you are about to derive, but on account of the heavenly felicity, which from thence I know to be reserved for you.

And here three things must be observed: The name of the heavenly reward; it is called hope, our hope. The manner: the reward is not said to be conferred immediately, nor only proposed and offered, but laid up, set apart for us. Lastly, the place must be remarked, in heaven.

1. The name of the heavenly reward, For the hope. Under the name of hope is comprehended whatever of good is to be expected in the life of glory. And by this word he intended to point out celestial happiness;

First—That from hence we may understand that this reward is to be expected by us with patience: for so the apostle in writing to the Romans says, If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. A patient expectation is the proper effect of hope, and therefore very necessary; because whatever is hoped for, is deferred: and delay by its very nature is distressing, unless patience attend us to sustain the mind. And this is the language of patience, which Tertullian thus expresses: "Some one may ask, When shall I come to this hoped-for joy? Patience answers, When God shall be pleased to give it: for no delay of that which will certainly come is long."

Secondly—The promised blessedness is called our hope, that is, the thing which we hope for. That hence we may be led to consider that this object alone is worthy of our hope; and that other frail and transitory things which are commonly hoped for and sought after, are, in comparison with this heavenly prize, rather to be trampled underfoot than hoped for or sought after.

Thirdly—By this term the carnal and worldly are reproved, who neither care nor hope for future blessedness; they covet only the pleasures of the present life, and into those they plunge themselves. But as Cyprian speaks, "The very fact itself of our being Christians is the substance of hope." If you find not comfort and pleasure in the things hoped for, you are a Christian in vain.

2. Laid up. Here he intimates the manner of the reward, that is to say, the way in which it concerns us in the present time. It is not given to us, nor are we brought into the possession of it, immediately: for this would subvert the nature of hope, and of the thing hoped for. For the present possession of any thing is enjoyment, not hope. Whence the apostle, Hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he hope for it? Neither is it said that this prize is only offered to us, and proposed; for it would weaken our hope, if the certainty of the things hoped for should depend upon ourselves and our disposition, so as either to be given to us or denied, according to the merit of our works. But it is said to be laid up for us, that is, hidden in reserve with God the Father. But if any thing be in reserve for us, even with a good and honest man, we entertain no doubt concerning its future recovery; nay, our goods are placed for that end with another, through fear of their not being in safety with ourselves. When therefore the apostle calls the kingdom of heaven the hope laid up for us, he shows that the godly ought to be certain of the attainment of life eternal; because it is as a treasure kept in store for his children by God himself their Father. Hence that saying of Christ, Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Admirably writes Clemens Alexandrinus concerning the certainty of the godly: "A faithful man hath the God whom he has loved; and by faith has received what is uncertain to others; and he obtains the promise; he possesses future things as present: nay, he hath so certain a persuasion, that he makes more sure of them than of present things." But whence this so great certainty, unless because he knows that this treasure is laid up for him?

3. In heaven. Behold the place where this treasure is! From which we learn that such is the nature of this treasure, that when once possessed it never afterwards can be taken away. For so says the Saviour, Hither thief approacheth not, nor moth corrupteth any thing here: as though he would say that all things laid up in heaven are beyond the toss of fortune, and the danger of loss.

Secondly—From the fact that the reward hoped for is laid up in heaven, we are given to understand, that it is not any thing low or mean, but divine, magnificent, and plainly celestial. Concerning all earthly things, Prudentius hath well said:

"Or gold, or pleasure, wanton mirth,

Wealth, honors, or prosperity;

Whatever evils chafe on earth,

When morning dawns,—as naught they be."

But as these earthly things pass away and vanish, and have nothing fixed or permanent about them; so "heavenly things stand on the solid basis of their perpetuity, and have nothing fading or transitory."

Thirdly—If our hope be laid up in heaven, there ought our mind to be perpetually directed: for where the treasure is, there is the heart. That saying of Paul is the saying of every true Christian; We have our conversation in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour. Upon this, Clemens has elegantly observed that every faithful person, even upon earth, verges upon a celestial nature and life. But such a forgetfulness of heavenly things hath taken possession of us, that that saying of Prudentius may justly be turned upon us:

"Regardless of its lofty birth, the mind

Ne'er wakes a thought th' Almighty Sire to find;

Ah! who with ardent longings soars on high

To gain th' eternal realms beyond the sky!"