Hope

Messiah, King of Israel, Redeemer of the nation, son of David, heir of David’s throne, He was the great national hope; a hope that had been cherished age after age, and had not died out; nay, was now more cherished than ever because of present oppression, and because the time foretold was fast running out. Now wise men came from the far East telling them they had seen the star of their new-born King; now the Gentile came to say that he had heard of the glorious birth. Should they be troubled1? Should they not rejoice? Should they not say like Jacob, “I have waited for thy salvation,” or like Simeon, “Now let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” But the announcement that their hope is realised, their great national expectation fulfilled, occasions only trouble!

Verse 1

As pants the hart for cooling streams
When heated in the chase,
So longs my soul, O God, for Thee,
And Thy refreshing grace.

Verse 2

For Thee, my God, the living God,
My thirsty soul doth pine;
O when shall I behold Thy Face,
Thou Majesty Divine!

Verse 3

Why restless, why cast down, my soul?
Trust God; and He’ll employ
His aid for Thee, and change these sighs
To thankful hymns of joy.

Verse 4

Why restless, why cast down, my soul?
Hope still; and thou shalt sing
The praise of Him who is thy God,
Thy health’s eternal Spring.

Verse 1

Behold what wondrous grace
The Father has bestowed
On sinners of a mortal race,
To call them sons of God!

Verse 2

Nor doth it yet appear
How great we must be made;
But when we see our Saviour here
We shall be like our Head.

Verse 3

A hope so much Divine
May trials well endure,
May purge our souls from sense and sin,
As Christ the Lord is pure.

Verse 4

If in my Father’s love
I share a filial part,
Send down Thy Spirit like a dove
To rest upon my heart.

Verse 5

We would no longer lie
Like slaves beneath the throne;
My faith shall “Abba, Father,” cry,
And Thou the kindred own.

Verse 1

Children of the heavenly King,
As ye journey, sweetly sing;
Sing your Saviour’s worthy praise,
Glorious in His works and ways.

Verse 2

We are travelling home to God
In the way the fathers trod;
They are happy now, and we
Soon their happiness shall see.

Verse 3

Shout, ye little flock, and blest;
Ye on Jesus’ throne shall rest;
There your seat is now prepared,
There’s your kingdom and reward.

Verse 4

Lift your eyes, ye sons of light,
Zion’s city is in sight;
There our endless home shall be,
There our Lord we soon shall see.

Verse 5

Fear not, brethren; joyful stand
On the borders of your land;
Jesus Christ, your Father’s Son,
Bids you undismayed go on.

Verse 6

Lord, obediently we go,
Gladly leaving all below;
Only Thou our Leader be,
And we still will follow Thee.

Verse 1

Commit thou all thy griefs
And ways into His hands,
To His sure truth and tender care,
Who earth and heaven commands.

Verse 2

Who points the clouds their course,
Whom winds and seas obey,
He shall direct thy wandering feet,
He shall prepare thy way.

Verse 3

Give to the winds thy fears;
Hope, and be undismayed;
God hears thy sighs, and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head.

Verse 4

What though thou rulest not?
Yet heaven and earth and hell
Proclaim, God sitteth on the throne,
And ruleth all things well.

Verse 5

Leave to His sovereign sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou wondering own, His way
How wise, how strong His hand!

Verse 6

Thou seest our weakness, Lord;
Our hearts are known to Thee:
O lift Thou up the sinking hand,
Confirm the feeble knee.

Verse 7

Let us, in life, in death,
Thy steadfast truth declare,
And publish, with our latest breath,
Thy love and guardian care.

Verse 1

Jesus, my Strength, my Hope,
On Thee I cast my care;
With humble confidence look up,
And know Thou hearest my prayer;
Give me on Thee to wait,
Till I can all things do;
On Thee, almighty to create,
Almighty to renew.

Verse 2

I want a sober mind,
A self-renouncing will,
That tramples down and casts behind
The baits of pleasing ill;
A soul inured to pain,
To hardship, grief, and loss;
Bold to take up, firm to sustain,
The consecrated cross.

Verse 3

I want a godly fear,
A quick-discerning eye,
That looks to Thee when sin is near,
And sees the tempter fly;
A spirit still prepared,
And armed with jealous care;
For ever standing on its guard,
And watching unto prayer.

Verse 4

I rest upon Thy word;
Thy promise is for me;
My succor and salvation, Lord,
Shall surely come from Thee:
But let me still abide,
Nor from my Hope remove,
Till Thou my patient spirit guide
Into Thy perfect love.

Verse 1

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 2

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest upon unchanging grace;
In every rough and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 3

His oath, His covenant, and His blood
Support me in the sinking flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 4

When I shall launch in worlds unseen,
O may I then be found in Him;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 1

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 2

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest upon unchanging grace;
In every rough and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 3

His oath, His covenant, and His blood
Support me in the sinking flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 4

When I shall launch in worlds unseen,
O may I then be found in Him;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Verse 1

O very God of very God,
And very Light of Light,
Whose feet this earth’s dark valley trod,
That so it might be bright;

Verse 2

Our hopes are weak, our fears are strong,
Thick darkness blinds our eyes;
Cold is the night, and O, we long
That Thou, our Sun, wouldst rise!

Verse 3

And even now, though dull and gray,
The east is brightening fast,
And kindling to the perfect day
That never shall be past.

Verse 4

O guide us till our path is done,
And we have reached the shore
Where Thou, our everlasting Sun,
Art shining evermore.

Verse 5

We wait in faith, and turn our face
To where the daylight springs,
Till Thou shalt come, our gloom to chase,
With healing in Thy wings.

Verse 6

To God the Father power and might
Both now and ever be;
To Him that is the Light of Light
And, Holy Ghost, to Thee.

O Lord our God, we pray that we may not be of those who think they see and are blinded by the light. Help us all to fix our faith and our hope on that Son of God, and to be His in very deed and truth, not only in word but in our inmost lives, in the depths of our hearts, in the foundations of our thinking, and in all the energies of our activity. We come to Thee with humble thanksgiving that Thou dost permit us thus to gather ourselves together, and together to receive from Thee, as we trust, some impulses that may help us on our journey. Thou knowest each of us here before Thee, and all our present want; and we pray that every one of us may wish for, and may get from God, the things that we most require. Thou hast often seen our foolish desires; some of them Thou hast granted, and some of them Thou hast withheld. We thank Thee that there are desires which are sure to be granted, and we pray that we may increasingly long for the things which Thou dost long to give, and confine our seeking to those gifts which we shall be sure to find. We thank Thee that there is one region in which Thou canst do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, and will do it. O Lord, help us to wish most for what is best, and to influence desire and hope, as well as faith and trust, and submission, and obedience, that Thou hast Thyself manifested and brought to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Behold here a broad foundation for the faith of a Christian! We are told in the Gospel to come to Jesus, to believe on Jesus, to live the life of faith in Jesus. We are encouraged to lean on Him, to cast all our care on Him, to repose all the weight of our souls on Him. We may do so without fear. He can bear all. He is a strong rock. He is Almighty. It was a fine saying of an old saint, ‘my faith can sleep sound on no other pillow than Christ’s omnipotence.’ He can give life to the dead. He can give power to the weak. He can ‘increase strength to them that have no might.’ Let us trust him, and not be afraid. The world is full of snares. Our hearts are weak. But with Jesus nothing is impossible.