to the E f> H ESI A N S. three, and in this Verfe we have two of them laid down, The Frfi i<; what;,~ the Hope of thdr calling: The s:cond IS, wh.•t " the l'tthff of the Glory of hu .Ser. XX. Ittheritrmce i 11 the Saints. There IS nothmg diificult m thefe words but only this, ~ What ;, the hope of their Ca!Ji11g. I /hall prefcnt t!•c. diiiiculry to you; and I will tell you what my apprehenlion and Judgment of It 1s. Hope it is taken (fay Interpreters) for two things; Either for the thing hoped f~r osColoffl•)• For the hope (faith he) which is laid up i11 Heave11, that is H;aven it felf, the thing hoped lor: So Ttt,I .q. Looking for the 61effed hope, char is, the thing hoped for. .Or elfe in the Second place, it is taken for the Grace of Hopt; not tor the obJed, but for the Grace of Hope, by which we do hope. And it is fometimes put for affitrmtce of our mterelt in the thing hoped for l as I .1oh.~.z. ~- Now wt are the So11s of _God, fmh he, a1td he that bath thJS hope i11 him, that is, bath an alfurance of tillS, IS confident of this, hepurifeth himfetj as God JS pt~re. And fo hkew1fc Rom. ) . 4, 'j, E:rpertt11ce, 6reedeth Hope, a11d Hopem,,keth 11ot ajhamed, that is, it worketh an Afl.urance that Jeaveth not the Soul in confufion; Becauje the love of God;, jbed a6road in our hearts, ( [o it followeth.) So that by Hope there, he meanerh alfurance of Salvation; 'as likewife Rom. I)· That jou mtl)' abotmd ;,, hope thro11gh the power of the Holy Ghojl. Now, my Brethren, Interpreters do generally carry it by Hope to be meant, here, the thing hoped for, I find almofi all Interpreters go that way, re– flraining it to the thing hoped for; And (fay they) t_he Apo(\le, what he calleth' Rope in thefe worcls, he more plamly explameth 10 the next words, that he meaneth by Hope the thing hoped for; he tclleth you in the next words what it is, what is the richts of the glory ol his ltiherita11ce, (faith he:) So that what he meaneth by Hope in the one, he plainly exprelfeth in the other. Only he callerh it Hope here in the fir(\ fentence, tolhew that it is but io Hope, but it is to come in the World to come; and to thew, that the highelt Joy that we have here, is bur in hope to what is to come. For as it is Rom. 8, 24, What aman feeth, that he doth 1101 hope for. By Rope ·there, he meaneth the Objed of Hope. And it is called the Hope of yottr CaOi11g, or (fly they) the Hope of his Calling. Why? Becaufe it is that unto which we are called. Read 1 The[J.2. 12, 1 ~· Who hath calltdJ·ou, faith he, to hu Ki11gdom andG!or)'· So then the meaning of the Apoltle (fay they) is this, He prayerh that they may know what great things are laid up in Heaven for them, which God callerh to them to hope tor, which are annexed to their Calling. . ' I find Zanchy thinks the Grace of Rope fhould be here meant; not fo much the thing hoped for, as the Grace by which we hope for this thing hoped for: And fo they interpret it thus, The Hope ofhis Caltitzg; that is,fay they,the Hope which God calleth us to have of that Glory that is to come, which God com– mandeth us to have, and calleth us to; Therefore,fay t/;ey,it is called the Hope of his Calli1tg. And his meaning is this,He prayeth that they may know what great hopes and alfurance God would have us Chriltians to have of the Life to come. NowtothisTnterpretationpf theirs, I add but this, That by Ropt is here meant thegrozmdof Hope; it is not meerly the Grace of Hope by which we do hope, but the ground which Go,! cloth give us to hope upon; the grounds and the Evidences that we have for eternal life, that that fhould be the Apo(\fe's meaning. And I find, that Za11chy falleth into this, :and fo hinted me indeed to it; for he explaineth it thus, That they might k11ow their Hope is founded upon the mo(\ infallible and certain grounds that can be. • I mull give you Scripture for this, to thew where Hope is put for the ground of Hope : I will give you but one. Rom. 4· I 8. there it is laid, that .Abraham agai11fl hope, believedi11 hopt. What is the meaning of tl~t ? He did againfl: , all grounds of hope, believe. He mentioneth the grounds that might difcou· rage him, in the next Verfe; faith he, His ·body was dead, 6ein,~ an htmdred Y•ors old, aqd Sarahs womb was dead; yet againfi all hope, that is, againfr all grounds of hope, he believed in hope. · So
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