Acts xxviii. 20.HOPE. The Hope of Israel, was the coming of the Messiah, the end of the Babylonish Captivity, and the happiness of Heaven. The Lord is the Hope of the righteous; their Hope shall not be confounded; on the contrary, the Hope of the ungodly shall perish: Spes impiorum Prov. x. 28. Job viii. 13. Psal. xvi. 9. Acts ii. 26. Rom. iv. 18. Wisd. xvi. 29. Zech. ix. 12.peribit: it shall be without effect; or they shall live and die without Hope. Hope deferred, maketh the heart sad; but when any one possesses what he desires, his soul is comforted. The flesh of the righteous shall rest in peace; shall expect with tranquility a future resurrection. Abraham against hope believed in hope, contra spem in spem, when being advanced in years, God promised him a son. The hope of the unthankful shall melt away as the winter’s hoar-frost. He speaks of the Israelites who neglected to gather Manna, which melted in the Sun; and so their hope vanished. The Prisoners of hope, Vincti spei, are the Israelites who were in Captivity, but were in hopes of deliverance.
Hope in the New Testament is generally taken for Hope in Jesus Christ, Hope of eternal Blessings, Hope of a future Resurrection: Gloriamur in spe gloriæ filiorum Rom. v. 2. Rom. v. 4, 5. Rom. xv. 4. 1 Cor. xiii. 13. 1 Tim. i. 1.Dei. Experience produces Hope, and Hope maketh not ashamed. Our Hope is founded on the patience and consolation which we derive from the Scriptures. Faith, Hope, and Charity make up the whole treasure of Christians. Jesus Christ is all our Hope: Christi Jesu spei nostræ. All our Hope in this life and the next, consists in his Merits, his Blood, his Grace, his Promises, and Spirit.