6o4 H 0 P E coMPARED TO AN A N C H 0 R. Book IV. METAPHOR. ferve the Head from Danger, yet it cannot preferve the Breall:, but that may be wounded by Sword orDart. Ill. Men may have Helmets on, and yet notwithftanding lofe the Day, be overcome, and fly before their Enemies, with Shame and Difgrace. D IS PAR IT Y. fcience, as well as the Judgment, from being cor• rupted by the Wounds of Error, and rotten Prin– ciples, carried on by the cunning Craftin<fs of Men whereby they lie in wait to aeceive. Ill. But he that engageth in this fpiritual Ar– mor, of which the Helmet is a part, Ha'IJing on the whole Armor of God, Epb. vi. doth not only make a Chrill:ian to withll:and the Enemy, but alfo to ll:and againft any Afiault. Hope of Salva– tion maketh not ajhamed, Rom. v. 5· I N F E R E N C E S. I. FROM hence you may perceive, how exceeding ufeful Hope is to all true Chrifii• ans, in their fpiritual Warfare with the Enemies of the Soul. II. It !hews that a Chrill:ian's Life is a Life of Hope or ExpeCtation : The Pro– mifes of God are not prefently accompli!bed; he feems to ftay long, ere he makes good what he hath engaged to gove to them. Ill. And though he ftay long before he performs his Promifes to us, yet they fi1all be accomplilhed at ]aft, in the bell Time, to the eternal Joy of our Hearts. Hope deferred makes the Heart f1ck, but when it comes, it is a Tree of Life. '!'he Vifion i> for an appointed 'Iime, but at the End it jhallfpeak, and not lie, &c. IV. That though God flay long before he performs his Word and Promife, yet it · is our Duty to wait patiently till it be fulfilled. Wait for it, becaufe it jhallfurely come,&c. V. That Hope pacifies and quiets the Soul of a Bdiever, till the Promifes be ac• complilhed and fulfilled. It may alfo ferve to caution every Chriftian to take heed he does not take a counter– feit Helmet. There is a Hope that will prove like a Spider's Web. Though a rrue and lively Hope maketh not afhamed, yet fame Men will one Day be afi1amed of their Hope, &c. See Hope the Anchor of the Soul. H 0 p E COMPARED TO AN A N c H 0 R. ·Which Hope we have as the Anchor of tLe Soul, both jim and j/tdj8fl, &c. Heb. vi. rg, HOPE is not only compared to an Helmet, but alfo ro an Anchor, as the Soul is compared to a Ship, which Metaphor is opened under its proper Head. !12!fe.ft. What is this Hope that is called the Anchor of the Soul? Anfw. I. Negatively. l t is not a Hope of being rich, great, and mighty in the W orld. They e!leem not Things below at fuch a rate, as to make them their Hope: If I have made Gold my Hope, or have [aid to the fine Gold, thou art my Cmifi– dence, &c. Job xxxi. 24. Gold is put here, by a Synudoche of the Part for the Whole, for all earthly Things; fo that whereas Job faith, If I have made Gold my Hope, his meaning is, if I have made any good Things on Earth my Hope. ' There is great Difference, faith Mr. Caryl, between hoping for Gold, and making ' Gold our Hope; we may hope for worldly good Things, .but we mull: not make ' any Thing of this Life our Hope. And further he faith, ' To make Gold, either gotten, or to be gotten, our Hope, implieth thefe four 'Things: ' 1 • An hi"h E!l:imation of if, as that which can do great Things for us, or f\and • us in !tead, beyond any other thing, to make·us happy. • 2 • A longing Oefire after it. There is always fo much D efire of that we hope • for, that the Thing hoped for is fometimes exprdfecl by the D : fire. Hope deferred • maketh the Heart fick; but when the Defire, that is, the Thing hoped for, cometh, ' it is a T ree of Life, Prov. xiri. 12. _ ' 3· Utmoft and tmw~aried Endeavors to obtain it. That wh'ch a Man makes his • Hope, he will make his Work, and never-ceafeth workmg to!. he hath at tamed It, or • is convinced there is no pofiibility of anaining it. 2 ~ 4· T"
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