CHAP.I.2. 28 Hope looketh at things weh in the vaile. Ront.8.:3. (.4 Co rxsw.entarìe vpon the obie&: it is not conuerfant about tncmentanie and fleeting matters, nor í.nfittcth in things bclow;but about durable,& eternal( thing, to come: andnot ()tidy comforteih the fotile here below in earth,but crowueth it hereafter in heauen, And this grace it is which putteth lath a difference between the godly,and the wicked;that whereas chefeare well appaied, and contented with things prefent ,&wifh for molt part,therewere no other heauen, then that happines they enioy here vpon earth: the other looke vpward, andoutward,and fee a farce off; and are fuch as waste for the adoption offonnes, and the redemption of their bodies , which is the full harueft ofchofc firh fruits which they hauealreadie receiued. 4 Fourthly, is is added in the defcription , that this grace of hope loth firrnely andnot waueringlyexpe& this eminent obieát :and this it doth, both becaufe it is grounded not (as thePapihs teach) vpon mans merit, power, orpromifes,but vpon the molt firmeproniileofGod,(more (a- ble then thehills) of which mention is made in the next words : as silo in that the holy Gholt,who firft worketh it, Both alto nourifh it,yeaand fo fealeth it vp vnto the heart,as it can never name afhamed: it may indeed be tolled and (hakenwith manykinds of temprations,yet in the patient attendingvpon the Lord,it holdethout,and failed) not. Fiftly, the fruit or effe& cf it, is in the (act wordsexpreffed, namely, 5 I that it prouoketh vnto all holy duty , yea and continueth the beleeuer in it. Thus Abraham by faith obeyed God, and held out,loolçi ä for the recoen pence ofreward: whence it is , that as true faith is called in the Scriptures, a liming faith,fo foundhope is silo called a lively hope,that is,luch an one as is effeEtuall in the heart ofthe belecuer,to hirrehim vp voto all hea- venly conuerfation. Yfe. This do&rine teachethvs what a rare thing this grace ofhope is among men,and that the thing it felfe is not to common in the world,as the opinion of it.Aske any man how be meanech to be faued,the anfwer will be; he hopeth well; and he truPteth in God , that hoping well, he (hall baue well: but if this do&rine be true, it fol(owech , that as faitbú i not ofail, no more is hope. For it is a grace peculiar to the Saints who 2 are very fewe in comparifon of the multitude. And is a companion of 3 faith, which is not the portion of the mott. It catteth anker in heauen, and l}riuethnot to become the beire ofthe earth,as molt men do, whole whole studies are to plant and build,and call the houfes after their owne names, and mile their families, and make themfelues great in the earth: ofwhomwe heare the holy Ghoft fpeaking,that their hope isonely in 4 thislife,and they haue nohope in their death. It is allo accompanied withmany graces, which are not the garlands of euery head , nor the 5 beauties ofany,but the fpoufesoflefus Chria. It is not found but in an heart 110;1.5.5. Hope the fare anchorof the foule. Hcb. r t.ß. Co1of( r.5. t.Pet.t.3. S.iefallible propertiesof Christian hope, J
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