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I. It is most important for us to ascertain that the cherished hopes on which we have staked our all are well-grounded. Most sad it is to see a man expending his energies in pursuing an object that exists only in his imagination; and the servants of God would be, as St. Paul says, the most miserable of men if their expectations turned out to be delusions. They would have sacrificed all and gained nothing; greed and sensuality would indeed be the highest wisdom. But the sight of the goodness and power that rule this universe, and our sense of right and equity, utterly forbid such a conclusion. Religion and revelation provide us with assurance stronger still. We know that God exists, infinite, merciful, equitable; we know that He has spoken to us, and that we possess His actual words; all this He has further confirmed to us in Jesus Christ, whose life renews the old promises and bestows still better ones. So we have learnt the fatherly goodness of God towards men, the bounty with which He provides for our salvation, the forgiveness that is ready for every sinner, and the patience which awaits his repentance. Imagine all that you can of omnipotence, of intense love, of tenderness to human weakness and folly, of provision for men s salvation, and then remember that the reality exceeds ten thousand times all the possibilities of imagination. How abundant are the grounds of your hope! The greatest offence against God is to set a limit to your hope and trust. Hope in Him and you will never be confounded.
II. 1. Consider in general the operations of God as revealed in nature. "Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made" (Wisd. xi. 25). All things are provided with what they need for the purposes of life and for their perfection; all the arrangements of the universe are harmonious, efficient, progressive. "Are not you of much more value than they?" (Matt. vi. 26). How much you have reason to expect from God in the way of present help and the future attainment (Page 171) to perfection, considering that man is the highest work of His hand on earth, and that all the expenditure of goodness on the rest of creation is for his sake!
2. Consider the operations of God as manifested in Christ Our Lord the work of the Incarnation, the life, the labours, the death of Jesus. He who did so much for us will not neglect anything else which may be necessary for our salvation; nor will He allow His great work to end in futility. The enormous energies put in motion in the Redemption must have an infinite and lasting effect on the souls of the redeemed. Let no temptation make you mistrust the goodwill of God towards men. Whatever you need or desire, you may justly hope for more; however much God has hitherto done for you, He will yet do more.
III. Some may say, however, The fulfilment of our hopes depends on ourselves as well as on God; may it not be that our sinfulness will counteract the divine goodness? Consider the character of the present dispensation. It is not like that of the angels. They were tried; and heaven was the award of the faithful, hell of the wicked. As regards men, God has arranged for the restitution of the unworthy, and for making a new creation out of the ruins left by sin. Hell was not made for sinful men, but for the devil and his angels (Matt. xxv. 41). Under the economy of Redemption heaven is the place for sinners. It was for them and not for the just that Christ came. The great glory of God and the joy of His angels consists in the sight of the sinner turning to penance. Our sins and miseries actually constitute our claim on God's mercy, and, we might almost say, our qualification for heaven; for even the greatest saints must present themselves before the throne in the garb of sinners; and when we appeal to God's love, it must be on the ground of our sins and not of our virtues. God has allowed us to become sinners, not that He might take vengeance on us, but that He might exercise His greatest power in His greatest mercy. Repent only, and your past sins will become a motive for increased and not for diminished hope.
