-- Tit. 5. Directions against sinful Hopes
laughed, and played, and jested, and taught you immoderate or carnal mirth: and whether you live like the disciples of a crucified
Christ. 5. Think on the ordinary way to heaven, described in Scripture; which is through many tribulations, afflictions, fasting, temptations, humiliations, sufferings, and mortifications: and think whether a wanton, jesting, playful life be like to this. 6. Think of the course of the ancient and excellent Christians, who went to heaven through labour, and watchings, and fasting, and poverty, and cruel persecations, and not through carnal mirth and sport. 7. Think of the many calamitous objects of sorrow that are now abroad in the world!
Of the millions of heathens and mahometans, and other strangers and enemies to Christ! Of the obstinate Jews; of the dark lamented corruptable state of the Greek Armenian, Ethiopian and Roman churches where religion is so woefully obscured and dishonoured by ignorance, error superstition, and profaneness: of the papal tyranny and usurpation; and of the divided state of all the churches, and the profaneness, and persecution, and uncharitableness, and contentions, and mutual reproaches and revilings, which make havock for the devil among the members of Christ.
Tit. 5. Directions against sinful Hopes Hope is nothing but a desirous expectation: therefore the directions given before, against sinful love and desire, may suffice also against sinful hopes, save only for the expecting part. Hope is sinful; 1. When it is placed ultimately upon a forbidden object: as to hope for some evil to yourselves which you mistakingly think is good. To hope for felicity in the creature, or to hope for more from it, than it can afford you. To hope for the hurt of other men; for the ruin of your enemies; for the hindrance of the Gospel, and injury to the church of Christ. 2.
When you hope for a good thing by evil means: as to hope to please God, or to come to heaven by persecuting his servants, or by
ignorance, or superstition, or schism, or heresy, or any sin. 3. To hope ungroundedly for that from God, which he never promised. 4.
To hope deceitfully for that from God which he hath declared he will never give. All these are sinful hopes. But it is not these last that I shall here say much to, because I have said so much already of them in many other writings.
Direct. I. 'Hope for nothing from God against faith or without faith; that is, for nothing which he hath said he will not give, nor for any thing which he hath not promised to give, or given you some reason to expect.' To hope for that which God hath told us he will not give, or that which is against the holiness and justice of God to give, this is but to hope that God will prove a liar, or unholy, or unjust, which are wicked and blaspheming hopes. Such are the hopes which abundance of ignorant and ungodly persons have; who hope to be saved without regeneration, and without true holiness of heart or life; and hope to be saved in their wilful impenitence or beloved sins: who hope that God forgiveth them those sins, which they hate not, nor will be persuaded to forsake: and hope that the saying over some words of prayer, or doing something which they call a good work, shall save them though they have not the spirit of Christ: or that hope to be saved, though they are unsanctified, because they are not so bad as some others, and live not in any notorious, disgraceful sin: all these believe the devil who tells them that an unholy person may be saved, and believe that the Gospel is false which saith, "without holiness none shall see the Lord;" and they hope that God will prove unholy, unjust, and false to save them, and yet this they call a hoping in God. Hope for that which God hath promised, and spare not; but not for that which he hath said he will not do, yea, protested cannot bef.
Direct. II. 'When thou hopest for any evil to others, or thyself, remember what a monstrous thing it is to make evil the object of thy hope, and how those hopes are but thy hastening unto chosen misery, and contradict themselves.' For thou hopest for it as good; and to be greedy for evil on supposition that it is good, doth shew thy folly that wilt try no better the objects of thy hopes: like a sick man that longs and hopeth for that which if he take it will be his death.
Thus sinners hope for the poisoned bait.
Direct. III. 'Understand how much of the root of worldliness consisteth in your worldly hopes.' Poor worldlings have little in possession to delight in; but they keep up a hope of more within them. Many a covetous or ambitious wretch, that never reacheth that which he desireth, yet liveth upon the hopes of it: and hope is it that setteth and keepeth men at work in the service of the world, the flesh and the devil; as divine hope doth set and keep men at work for heaven, for their souls, and for Jesus Christ. And many an hypocrite that loseth much upon the account of his religion, yet sheweth his rottenness by keeping up his worldly hopes, and going no further than will stand with those.
Direct. IV. 'Hath not the world deceived all that have hoped in it unto this day?' Consider what is become of them and of their hopes? What hath it done for them, and where hath it left them? And wilt thou place thy hopes in that which hath deceived so many generations of men already?
Direct. V. 'Remember that thy worldly hopes are a sin so fully condemned by natural demonstration, that thou art utterly left without excuse.' Thou art certain beforehand that thou must die: thou knowest how vain the world will be then to thee: and how little it can do for thee; and yet art thou hoping for more of the world!