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I. The two sins against Hope are Despair and Presumption; and each results from the suppression of one, and the excess of the other element of the virtue hope and fear. Despair is an aversion from our final beatitude and ceasing to struggle for it, as if it were unattainable. Its malice consists in that it denies the goodness of God, His care for us, and fidelity to His promises. This was the sin of Cain and Judas. Forgiveness was ready for each, but they said, "My iniquity is greater than that I can deserve pardon" (Gen. iv. 13). There is another and less acute form of despair; it is the state of those who, having no faith, look forward to nothing beyond this life, strive for nothing, and therefore obtain nothing. A long course of sin and resistance to truth and grace leads to a state of practical irreligiousness; then belief in every revealed doctrine gradually ceases, and with it all higher hopes; and then such sinners pass into the ranks of those numerous ones "who, despairing, have given themselves up to the working of all uncleanness unto covetousness" (Eph. iv. 19). Despair is a foretaste of the hopeless misery of the lost. Never admit the fear that holy living is impossible, or temptation too strong, or that the means of salvation will fail you. Do not fear the insufficiency of your works or of your dispositions when you have done your best. Your works are all of necessity imperfect, but the merits of Our Lord compensate, and make them acceptable.
II. The second sin against Hope is Presumption on God's mercy. Presumption is a rash and ungrounded expectation that we shall attain to beatitude without fulfilling the necessary conditions, neglecting to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, thinking that God will do all, and that we do not need to co-operate with grace. This conception is again a distortion of the true idea of God, by ignoring His rigid holiness, and making mockery of His commands and threats. Presumption is an attempt to take (Page 175) advantage of the mercy of God, as an inducement to continue in sin, to dishonor Him by reason of His very goodness, and to make Him serve in our iniquities. It insults the all-wise, all-seeing God by trying to hoodwink Him, and get all the pleasure of sin with all the reward of obedience. Such is the sin of those who will not answer when God calls, but expect Him to wait until they are ready; or of those who intend to repent, but defer it till their dying day, so that they may enjoy both worlds to the full. Such cleverness is very likely to overreach itself, for God is not to be mocked. Presumption, like despair, is a sin against the Holy Ghost, not easily repented of and cured. Guard yourself against the remotest approaches of this sin, by holy fear, great awe of the Divine Majesty, and exactness in carrying out promptly every inspiration.
III. There is another form of Presumption opposed to Hope. This is a reliance on our own powers and virtues instead of on God, a misplaced hope in ourselves. Such was the sin of the Pharisee. This is exhibited variously. We perhaps think ourselves capable of doing well by the force of our own right hand, we trust in our own ability to resist temptation without constant prayer and the Sacraments, and we have no hesitation in exposing ourselves to perils of sin. Or it may be that we put our confidence in our firm faith, or outward religious practices, or consider ourselves to be already justified, confirmed in goodness, and beyond the danger of sin and eternal loss. Again there is a presumption which takes the form of pride in our natural virtues, and contempt for the supernatural ones and the grace that is necessary for them. We deceive ourselves by imagining that our presumption is an honourable self-reliance and independence of character, when it is only the pride that offends God and induces a fall. Even your virtues may become a source of danger and material for sin, "Let him that thinketh himself to stand take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. x. 12).
