The Works of John Bunyan, vol 1 by John Bunyan (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

[THIRD. Inferences from the exhortation.]

Now we come to those inferences that do naturally flow from this exhortation, and they are in number four.

First. That hope and the exercise of it, is as necessary in its place, as faith, and the exercise of it. All will grant that there is need of a daily exercise of faith; and we are bid to hope unto the end, because hope is the grace that relieveth the soul when dark and weary. Hope is as the bottle to the faint and sinking spirit.

Hope calls upon the soul not to forget how far it is arrived in its progress towards heaven. Hope will point and show it the gate afar off; and therefore it is called the hope of salvation. Hope exerciseth itself upon God.

1. By those mistakes that the soul hath formerly been guilty of, with reference to the judgment that it hath made of God, and of his dealings with it. And this is an excellent virtue. ‘I said,’ once says the church, that ‘my hope is perished from the Lord,’ but I was deceived; ‘this I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope’; that is, why, if I give way to such distrusting thoughts, may I not be wrong again? (Lam 3:18-21). Therefore will I hope! This virtue is that which belongs to this grace only; for this and this only is it that can turn unbelief and doubts to advantage. ‘I said in my haste,’ said David, ‘I am cut off from before thine eyes’; nevertheless I was mistaken; ‘thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee’ (Psa 31:22). And what use doth he make of this?

Why, an exhortation to all good men to hope, and to take advantage to hope from the same mistakes. I think I am cast off from God, says the soul; so thou thoughtest afore, says memory, but thou wast mistaken then, and why not the like again? and therefore will I hope. When I had concluded that God would never come near me more, yet after that he came to me again, and as I was then, so I am now; therefore will I hope.

2. True hope, in the right exercise of it upon God, makes no stick at weakness or darkness; but rather worketh up the soul to some stay, by these. Thus Abraham’s hope wrought by his weakness (Rom 4). And so Paul, when I am weak, then I am strong; I will most gladly therefore rejoice in mine infirmities (2 Cor 12). But this cannot be done where there is no hope, nor but by hope: for it is hope, and the exercise of it, that can say, Now I expect that God should bring good out of all this. And as for the dark, it is its element to act in that: ‘But hope that is seen is not hope’ (Rom 8:24). But we must hope for that we see not. So David, ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul? hope thou in God.’ Christians have no reason to mistrust the goodness of God, because of their weakness, &c. ‘I had fainted unless I had believed to see’ (Psa 27:13). By believing there, he means hoping to see, as the exhortation drawn from thence doth import.

3. Hope will make use of our calling, to support the soul, and to help it, by that, to exercise itself in a way of expectation of good from God. Hence the apostle prays for the Ephesians, that they may be made to see what is ‘the hope of their calling’; that is, what good that is which by their calling they have ground to hope is laid up in heaven, and to be brought unto them at the appearance of Jesus Christ (Eph 1:17,18). For thus the soul by this grace of hope will reason about this matter: God has called me; surely it is to a feast. God has called me to the fellowship of his Son, surely it is that I may be with him in the next world. God has given me the spirit of faith and prayer; surely it is that I might hope for what I believe is, and wait for what I pray for. God his given me some tastes already; surely it is to encourage me to hope that he purposeth to bring me into the rich fruition of the whole.

4. Hope will exercise itself upon God by those breakings wherewith he breaketh his people for their sins. ‘The valley of Achor’ must be given ‘for a door of hope’ (Hosea 2:15). The valley of Achor; what is that? Why, the place where Achan was stoned for his wickedness, and the place where all Israel was afflicted for the same (Josh 7).

I say, hope can gather by this, that God has a love to the soul; for when God hateth a man he chastiseth him not for his trespasses.[17]

‘If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons’ (Heb 12:8). Hence Moses tells Israel, that when the hand of God was upon them for their sins, they should consider in their heart, ‘that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee’ (Deut 8:5). And why thus consider, but that a door might be opened for hope to exercise itself upon God by this? This is that also that is intended in Paul to the Corinthians, ‘When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world’ (1 Cor 11:32). Is not here a door of hope? And why a door of hope, but that by it, God’s people, when afflicted, should go out by it from despair by hope?

[Second.] But it is to be inferred, secondly, That the exercise of hope upon God is very delightful to him: else he would not have commanded and granted us a liberty to hope, and have snibbed those that would hinder. ‘Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him; upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine’ (Psa 33:18,19). That God is much delighted in the exercise of this grace, is evident, because of the preparation that he has made for this grace, wherewith to exercise itself. ‘For whatsoever things were writ aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope’ (Rom 15:4). Mark, the whole history of the Bible, with the relation of the wonderful works of God with his people from the beginning of the world, are written for this very purpose, that we, by considering and comparing, by patience and comfort of them, might have hope. The Bible is the scaffold or stage that God has builded for hope to play his part upon in this world. It is therefore a thing very delightful to God to see hope rightly given its colour before him; hence he is said, ‘to laugh at the trial of the innocent’ (Job 9:23). Why at his trial? Because his trial puts him upon the exercise of hope: for then indeed there is work for hope, when trials are sharp upon us. But why is God so delighted in the exercise of this grace of hope?

1. Because hope is a head-grace and governing. There are several lusts in the soul that cannot be mastered, if hope be not in exercise; especially if the soul be in great and sore trials. There is peevishness and impatience, there is fear and despair, there is doubting and misconstruing of God’s present hand; and all these become masters, if hope be not stirring; nor can any grace besides put a stop to their tumultuous raging in the soul. But now hope in God makes them all hush, takes away the occasion of their working, and lays the soul at the foot of God. ‘Surely,’ saith the Psalmist, ‘I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother, my soul is even as a weaned child.’ But how came he to bring his soul into so good a temper? Why, that is gathered by the exhortation following, ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever’ (Psa 131:2,3). It was by hoping in the Lord that he quieted his soul, and all its unruly sinful passions.

2. As hope quasheth and quieteth sinful passions, so it putteth into order some graces that cannot be put into order without it: as patience, meekness, silence, and longsuffering, and the like.

These are all in a day of trial out of place, order, and exercise, where hope forbeareth to work. I never saw a distrusting man, a patient man, a quiet man, a silent man, and a meek man, under the hand of God, except he was ‘dead in sin’ at the time. But we are not now talking of such. But now let a man hope in the Lord, and he presently concludes this affliction is for my good, a sign God loves me, and that which will work out for me a far more and exceeding and eternal weight of glory; and so it puts the graces of the soul into order (Luke 21:19). Wherefore patience, by which a man is bid to possess or keep his soul under the cross, is called ‘the patience of hope’ (1 Thess 1:3). So in another place, when he would have the church patient in tribulation, and continue instant in prayer, he bids them ‘rejoice in hope,’ knowing that the other could not be done without it (Rom 12:12).

3. God takes much delight in the exercise of hope, because it construeth all God’s dispensations, at present, towards it, for the best: ‘When he hath tried me I shall come forth like gold’ (Job 23:10). This is the language of hope. God, saith the soul, is doing of me good, making of me better, refining of my inward man. Take a professor that is without hope, and either he suffereth affliction of pride and ostentation, or else he picks a quarrel with God and throws up all. For he thinks that God is about to undo him; but hope construeth all to the best, and admits no such unruly passions to carry the man away.

4. Therefore hope makes the man, be the trials what they will, to keep still close to the way and path of God. ‘My foot,’ said hoping Job, ‘hath held his steps, his way have I kept and not declined, neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips’ (Job 23:11,12). And again, ‘Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way: though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death’

(Psa 44:18,19). But how came they thus patiently to endure? Why, they by hope put patience and prayer into exercise. They knew that their God was as it were but asleep, and that in his time he would arise for their help; and when he did arise he would certainly deliver. Thus is this psalm applied by Paul (Rom 8).

[Third.] There is also inferred from this exhortation, that the hope of those that are not Israelites is not esteemed of God.

‘Let Israel hope.’ The words are exclusive, shutting out the rest.

He doth not say, Let