“Faith cleaves to the promise as a true and faithful word, and then hope
lifts up the soul to wait for the performance of it.
True hope is a
precious gem, which no one can wear but Christ's bride, for Christless and
hopeless are joined together Ephesians 2:12. Because hope and faith are
inevitably related, let us now look at their relationship. In regard to time,
one does not come before the other; but in order of nature and operation, faith
takes the precedence.
First, faith
cleaves to the promise as a true and faithful word, and then hope lifts up the
soul to wait for the performance of it. Who runs out to meet someone that he
believes will not come? The promise is God's love letter to His bride in which
He opens His very heart and tells everything He will do for her. Faith reads
and embraces it with joy, while hope looks out of the window with a longing
expectation to see her husband's chariot coming toward her.
We run away from
an evil thing; but if it is good we wait for it. Both hope and faith draw their
lines from the same center of the promise, but there is one important
difference between them. Faith believes evil as well as good; hope will not
talk about anything but good. Hope without a promise is like an anchor without
ground to hold by; it carries the promise on its name. David shows where he
moors his ship and casts his anchor-- "I hope in thy word" Psalm
119:81. And God's design fits the highest hope a Christian can have: "No
good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11.
Just as God has
encircled all good in the promise, so He promises nothing but good. The object
of hope is everything that the promise holds. God Himself is the highest good
and His fullness is promised as the believer's highest joy. Therefore true hope
aims at God and lifts the soul nearer Him, "the hope of Israel" and
"the fountain of living water" Jeremiah 17:13.
”
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete
Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617
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