(3.) I say hope is a grace of God, whereby we expect good to come,
hope is no natural affection in men. Men are not born with true hope in their hearts, as they are born with tongues in their mouths. Hope is nobly descended, it is from above, it is a heavenly babe which is formed in the soul of man by the power of the Holy Spirit. And as hope is no natural affection, so hope is no moral virtue, which men may attain by their frequent notions; but hope is the gracious virtue which none can give but God.
(2.) I say it is a grace of God, whereby we expect good to come; I say good, not evil, for evil is rather feared than hoped for by any. The OBJECT of this hope has four qualities:
1. It must be bonum—good.
2. It must be Futurum—future.
3. It must be Possibile—possible.
4. It must be Arduum—hard or difficult to obtain.
(3.) I say hope is a grace of God, whereby we expect good to come, patiently waiting until it comes. Hope makes the soul quiet and patient until it comes to possess the good desired and hoped for: Rom 8:25, "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." The Hebrew word, which is often translated hope, signifies a very vehement intention, both of body and mind, a stretching forth of the spirit or mind, in waiting for a desired good.
2. Secondly, That hope which accompanies salvation is always conversant about holy and heavenly objects, as about God and Christ. 2 Cor 4:18, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Hope fares well; it is nourished at a prince's table; it lives upon honey and milk, oil and wine; it lives upon the sweetmeats, the delicacies of heaven—as God, Christ, and glory, Psalm 31:24; Psalm 33:22; Psalm 38:15; Psalm 42:5; Psalm 43:5; Psalm 39:7; Psalm 71:5, and Psalm 15:5.