feek for honour, glory, and immortality. To SER M. these he will give eternal life; but to thofe that XVI. are contentious, against the plain truth of the Gospel which should rule and govern them, will he give tribulation and anguish, indignation and wrath. The former fort, who fhall have eternal life for their portion, are fuch, whose minds, hearts, and hopes are carried after great things; who feek for honour, glory and immortality; who disdain and fcorn this earth, and all fublunary things, and can fay, "non eft mortale quod "opto; I have fomething above, better than, "and beyond all that this earth can afford."

In a word, a true Chriftian is one that feeks that better, even the heavenly country, fo as not to ftoop to this world though there were never fuch opportunity for gaining it: he would not go back, though he had the opportunity of going into Egypt. And all this is by reason of the hope of coming to a better country. The Chriftian would not go back into the world, being called out of it; though he fhould have opportunities for it as good as other men: no, because he is seeking a better country; wherefore GOD is not afhamed to be called his Go D, "Such are of a great, a noble, and generous

fpirit, like my children;" faith GOD. "Such "are in fome measure worthy of me. They "difcover fomething of an excellent fpirit, heigh "tened proportionably to thofe great hopes " which I have fet before them."

And now,

U 2

2. WE

• Rom, 11. 6, 7.

Heb. xi. 16.

VOL.

2. We proceed to demonstrate this to be the II. true property of this same subject; which will be foon done, though we have but little time, if we do but confider these things about this hope.

(1.) CONSIDER the parent and author of it. It is a divine thing, it is part of the new creature, it owes its rife immediately to the Holy Ghoft; as the Apostle intimates, when he says, Now the GoD of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost". Far be it from us to think, that GOD fhould beget a hope in his, that should end in disappointment and fhame!

(2.) CONSIDER the object of this hope. Chriftians do not hope for creeping fhadows; they have no reason to be afhamed of fuch great things, as they hope for. They hope for the glory of GOD, for a kingdom that fhall not be fhaken, for the unfeen things of the other world. Their hope entereth into that within the vail, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jefus". A man that hath only pitched his hopes upon mean, base, low things, hath caufe to be afhamed that he was such a fool to hope fo; but the Chriftian's hope will never make him ashamed.

(3.) CONSIDER the ground of their hope.

They hope in GOD

his truth and promife.

upon the encouragement of Uphold me according to

thy word, that I may live; and let me not be afhamed of my hope, faith the Pfalmift. Thy

word

Rom: xv. 13.

Heb. vi. 19, 20. * Pal, cx 18.116.

word is that which I ground my hopes upon; SER M. fhall I be ashamed? I hope in thee, thy truth, XVI. thy power, and goodness; let me not be ashamed. That prayer is as much as a promise, that he fhould not be ashamed. Prayer, by divine infpiration, is as good as a promise. The prayer is, Let none that wait on thee be afbamed. The promise is exprefly, They shall not be ashamed that wait for me. It is true, indeed, if there were not a proportionable ground for one's hope, a man might be afhamed of his hope; as well because it is too big, as because it is too little. But if there be a real ground for it, a word of promise from that GoD who cannot lye; then there is no caufe to fufpect the matter. There is no reason why any should be ashamed, let his hope be never fo high, when he hopes only for what God has promised.

Now, to make fome brief ufe of what has been faid;

I, SEE the highly privileged ftate of Chriftians; though in this prefent condition of little and low injoyments, yet their cafe is fo good as that they fhall not be ashamed. They shall have heightened spirits, their minds fhall be greatened by their hopes, even while it is little that they can injoy in one kind or another,

IL. HENCE confider and contemplate the different state of other men. It is not faid, concerning their hope, it fhall never make them afhamed. There is no body that warrants their

U 3
Ifai. XLIX. 23.

↑ Pfal. xxv. 3.

hope

VOL. hope to them. The Chriftian's hope hath a very
II. good warrant. I warrant you
I warrant you for your hope,

that it fhall never make you afhamed; but what
have other men to warrant their hope? they
have no one that undertakes to guarantee it; and
therefore they are left liable to a fhameful difap-
pointment, and bitter disgrace upon that account.
Yea, they are not only liable thereunto, but it
is a fure and certain matter that it will end fo;
for Their hope fhall be as the giving up the ghost.
We commonly fay, "As long as there is life
"there is hope;" but their hope comes at length
to the giving up the ghoft, and then the man
is gone. A wicked man's hope quite vanishes
away; it does not remain weak, and feeble,
and infirm only, but it is abfolutely gone, and
become nothing at all: as we have no hope at
all concerning a perfon, when he hath once given
up the ghoft. Let the object of their hope be
what it will, either fuch do hope for vain things,
which are gone when they expire; or if their
hope lies towards better things, it is a vain
hope. If they hope not for vain things, yet they
hope for thefe better things vainly, having no
ground nor reafon for their hope; and fo ftill
it perifhes, and, as the giving up the ghoft,
comes to nothing. Or it makes them afhamed,
and defpifed; finks them into horror, amaze-
ment and confternation, and fo much the more,
by how much the ftronger was their hope. Such

a disappointment is a moft confounding thing ;S ER M. when a perfon expects it fhould go well with XVI. him, yet he perifshes, and all his hope turns on a fudden into horror!

III. WE learn hence alfo, that hope muft needs be a very great thing in the life of a Chriftian; and a most intimate, effential part of his Christianity. It is that which holds his foul in life. This property of hope, that it maketh not afbamed, as was faid before, is not to be understood as merely negative: it is that which eftablishes the heart; invigorates, and gives life to the foul. Indeed you would make a poor thing of Christianity, if you abftract and separate this hope from it. If in this life only (fays St. Paul) we have hope in Chrift, we are of all men most miferable. The most peculiar and distinguishing things in the hope of a Christian, objectively taken, are things beyond time. But if all we were to get by Chrift were to be compaffed within time, then we were very miserable creatures indeed; we should make a bad bargain of it, if we had no more by Chrift, than what time can hold, and deal very poorly by our felves.

A CHRISTIAN lives by hope all along, from first to last. He is born to hope, begotten to a lively hope, is faved by it; as if it had been faid, he were loft if it was not for this hope. This then is the great, the momentous thing in the life of a Chriftian; for if it were not for this,