Hope

Hope, as the classic Reformed and Puritan authors describe it, is not a vague wish or a fragile optimism. It is a steady, confident expectation of future glory, built entirely on the promises of God and the finished work of Christ. This hope matters because it carries believers through present sorrows, strengthens patience, and fills the soul with joy even before the promised inheritance is received. The writers represented here—chiefly Charles Spurgeon and Matthew Henry, with a supporting word from Jonathan Edwards—treat hope as both a gift of grace and a duty to cultivate. They root it in justification, feed it with Scripture, and direct it toward the glory that will certainly be revealed.

Hope rests on justification, not on personal merit

For Spurgeon, the door of hope opens exactly where human boasting closes. The same truth that silences every claim of self-righteousness also invites sinners to expect blessing from God. He writes that the gospel truth which excludes boasting also gives hope to those who have nothing of their own to offer. Soul, THE VERY GATE WHICH SHUTS OUT BOASTING, SHUTS IN HOPE AND JOY FOR YOU Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Grace Exalted—Boasting Excluded” This is the logic of grace: because acceptance with God depends on Christ’s righteousness received by faith, the ungodly may come with confidence. Henry makes the same point when he observes that a person’s former ungodliness is no bar to justification upon believing, so there is no room for despair (Romans 4:5). The ground of hope is not the sinner’s past record but God’s present promise.

Spurgeon presses this further in his treatment of Romans 5:1–2. Because believers are justified by faith, they have peace with God and can rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And after that, we may “rejoice in hope of the glory of God,” that “being justified by faith we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Justification by Grace” Peace with God, he says, should produce overflowing joy and a foretaste of heavenly joy. And so should every Believer feel he ought to be, because this great salvation, this solid hope, this rocky foundation for our everlasting peace should give us quiet, and calm, and security, till our joy should overflow and become an anticipation and an foretaste of the joy of Heaven Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Peace By Believing” Henry agrees that only those who now have access by faith into God’s grace can hope for the glory of God in heaven (Romans 5:2). The order is important: justification first, then peace, then hope. Hope is not the foundation of salvation but its fruit. Those who hope for heavenly glory, Henry adds, have reason to rejoice now, and it is their duty to do so (Romans 5:2).

Hope believes God’s promise against natural appearances

The clearest biblical example of this is Abraham. Spurgeon points to Romans 4:18, where Abraham believed against all natural hope, trusting God’s promise that he would become the father of many nations despite his old age and Sarah’s barrenness. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall your seed be. He was an old man, with a very aged wife, yet the Lord promised that he would be "the father of many nations Charles Spurgeon, sermon “The Two Pillars Of Salvation” Henry echoes this, noting that Abraham believed God’s promise even when all natural hope and human reasoning were against him (Romans 4:18). In both writers, the emphasis falls on the object of faith: the promise itself, not the visible circumstances.

Spurgeon draws practical conclusions from Abraham’s example. At times of humiliation, believers should exercise unabated faith, because the fulfillment of God’s promise is not endangered but is actually drawing near. At such seasons of humiliation it is our privilege to exercise unabated faith, for the fulfillment of the promise is not imperiled, but rather may be looked upon as drawing near Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Unstaggering Faith” Even when conversion seems impossible by human standards, believers should not give up because God has promised to answer those who seek Him. The work is impossible with us, but do we therefore give up the attempt? No, for is it not written, "I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek you My face in vain Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Unstaggering Faith” Spurgeon also applies this to the fruit of Christ’s suffering: Christ must see the fruit of His suffering in the conversion of sinners, and believers may confidently expect this because of God’s promise. There is another promise, "He shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied." Christ must see of His soul's travail. He must see of it in this place, too Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Unstaggering Faith” Hope, then, is not passive resignation but active, pleading confidence in what God has said He will do.

Spurgeon also addresses the believer who has lost the felt sense of peace. Believers who have lost their peace should trust in God’s promise alone, even when they see no evidence in themselves. When you cannot see a single reason why you should be saved except that God says you shall, let that be enough for you. When you have nothing here, or there, or anywhere to look to. When there is no hope for you except in that Man whose wounds are bleeding, always think that is enough— because it is—and come to Christ just as you came at first Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Peace By Believing” This is a crucial pastoral word. Hope does not depend on inward feelings or visible progress but on the bare word of God. When evidence is absent, the promise remains. Believers should continue in steady, confident joy, patiently pleading for the fulfillment of God’s promise, because God will honor such trust and grant the desire of their hearts. Go on, then, in steady, holy, confident joy, looking for the end of our faith and patiently pleading until we reach it. The Lord will honor and comfort us in so doing, and in the end He will grant us the desire of our hearts, for none that trust in Him shall ever be confounded, world without end Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Unstaggering Faith”

Hope is strengthened by tribulation and experience

Henry gives sustained attention to the chain in Romans 5:3–5. Believers glory not merely despite tribulations but even in them, because tribulations are working for them a weight of glory. We glory in tribulations also; not only notwithstanding our tribulations (these do not hinder our rejoicing in hope of the glory of God), but even in our tribulations, as they are working for us the weight of glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17 Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” This is not a stoic endurance of pain but a joyful recognition that God is using suffering to produce something eternal. Experience strengthens hope, Henry says, serving not so much as the ground of hope but as its evidence and a special friend to it. He who, being thus tried, comes forth as gold, will thereby be encouraged to hope. This experiment, or approbation, is not so much the ground, as the evidence, of our hope, and a special friend to it Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The distinction matters. Hope rests on God’s promise, but experience confirms that the promise is real. When believers have seen God sustain them in past trials, their expectation of future deliverance grows more solid.

This hope, Henry insists, does not make ashamed, because it will not deceive us, and it keeps believers from being ashamed of their sufferings. This hope maketh not ashamed; that is, it is a hope that will not deceive us. Nothing confounds more than disappointment. Everlasting shame and confusion will be caused by the perishing of the expectation of the wicked, but the hope of the righteous shall be gladness, Prov. x. 28 Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The believer can endure public shame and private pain because the outcome is certain. Henry returns to this theme in Romans 8:18, where a believing view of the glory to be revealed supports the spirit under all present sufferings. There is nothing like a believing view of the glory which shall be revealed to support and bear up the spirit under all the sufferings of this present time Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Future glory is spoken of as the reward of present sufferings and the accomplishment of present hopes. Now this future glory is further spoken of as the reward of present sufferings and as the accomplishment of present hopes Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The weight of glory outweighs the weight of affliction, and the hope of that glory makes the affliction bearable.

Hope longs for the fullness of what the Spirit has begun

Henry develops this from Romans 8:23–25. Believers have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, which both stirs up their desires and strengthens their hopes for future glory. It is our having received the first-fruits of the Spirit, which both quickens our desires and encourages our hopes, and both ways raises our expectations Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Grace is the beginning of glory, so present spiritual blessings make believers long for the full enjoyment of heavenly glory. Grace is the first-fruits of glory, it is glory begun. We, having received such clusters in this wilderness, cannot but long for the full vintage in the heavenly Canaan Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The first-fruits are not the whole harvest, but they guarantee that the harvest is coming. Even those who have received rich present blessings from the Spirit still groan inwardly with earnest, united desire for something greater. In having the first-fruits of the Spirit we have that which is very precious, but we have not all we would have. We groan within ourselves, which denotes the strength and secrecy of these desires Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments”

Henry is careful to interpret this groaning rightly. The groaning of believers is not a sign of death but of spiritual life, like the pains of a woman in labor. Present receivings and comforts are consistent with a great many groans; not as the pangs of one dying, but as the throes of a woman in travail—groans that are symptoms of life, not of death Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” It is the ache of new life straining toward completion, not the despair of a dying hope. Believers are saved by hope, meaning their happiness is not yet in present possession but is something future that must be trusted for. Our happiness is not in present possession: We are saved by hope. In this, as in other things, God hath made our present state a state of trial and probation—that our reward is out of sight Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Faith looks to the promise while hope looks to the thing promised; faith is the evidence and hope the expectation of things not seen. Faith respects the promise, hope the thing promised. Faith is the evidence, hope the expectation, of things not seen. Faith is the mother of hope Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” This distinction between faith and hope is characteristic of Henry’s careful exposition. Faith grasps the word; hope waits for the reality. Believers need patience to endure present sufferings and delays while waiting for the glory that will surely come. In hoping for this glory we have need of patience, to bear the sufferings we meet with in the way to it and the delays of it. Our way is rough and long; but he that shall come will come, and will not tarry Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments”

Henry also sees this longing reflected in the creation itself. The creation eagerly awaits the revealing of the sons of God, being subject to vanity not willingly but by God’s decree, yet with hope of deliverance. he observes an expectation of this glory Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Heaven is sure because God would not raise and encourage the saints’ hopes only to disappoint them. Heaven is therefore sure; for God by his Spirit would not raise and encourage those hopes only to defeat and disappoint them. He will establish that word unto his servants on which he has caused them to hope (Ps. cxix. 49 Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The very existence of hope in the believer is evidence that God intends to fulfill it.

Hope produces joy, patience, and prayer

Henry draws practical duties from Romans 12:12. God is honored when believers rejoice in their hope and take delight in their confidence in him. God is worshipped and honoured by our hope and trust in him, especially when we rejoice in that hope, take a complacency in that confidence, which argues a great assurance of the reality and a great esteem of the excellency of the good hoped for Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Rejoicing in hope supports patience under affliction. Observe, Those that rejoice in hope are likely to be patient in tribulation. It is a believing prospect of the joy set before us that bears up the spirit under all outward pressure Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The two are linked: joy in the promised future enables endurance in the painful present. Prayer should be constant, fervent, and persevering, and it supports hope and patience. Prayer is a friend to hope and patience, and we do in it serve the Lord. Proskarterountes. It signifies both fervency and perseverance in prayer. We should not be cold in the duty, nor soon weary of it Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Hope does not make believers passive; it drives them to their knees.

Henry also connects hope to the nearness of final salvation. The nearness of final salvation should make believers more diligent and lively in their Christian course. Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed—than when we first believed, and so took upon us the profession of Christianity. The eternal happiness we chose for our portion is now nearer to us than it was when we became Christians Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Because the night is passing and the day of full salvation is approaching, believers must put off the works of darkness. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; therefore it is time to dress ourselves. Clearer discoveries will be quickly made of gospel grace than have been yet made, as light gets ground Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The certainty of the end shapes the character of the present. The victory over Satan will be speedy, and believers should hold out in faith and patience because the end is near. The victory shall be speedy: He shall do it shortly. Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come. He hath said it, Behold, I come quickly. When Satan seems to have prevailed, and we are ready to give up all for lost, then will the God of peace cut the work short in righteousness Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments”

Hope is fed by Scripture and produced by the Spirit

Henry gives Scripture a central role in sustaining hope. The end of Scripture-learning is that believers might have hope of eternal life through patience and comfort of the Scriptures. That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. That hope which hath eternal life for its object is here proposed as the end of scripture-learning. The scripture was written that we might know what to hope for from God, and upon what grounds, and in what way Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Patience and comfort presuppose trouble and sorrow, which are the lot of the saints in this world, and both serve to befriend the hope that is the life of our souls. Patience and comfort suppose trouble and sorrow; such is the lot of the saints in this world; and, were it not so, we should have no occasion for patience and comfort. But both these befriend that hope which is the life of our souls Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Patience under troubles strengthens hope, while impatience is destructive to hope; and the comfort that springs from the word of God is a great stay to hope as an earnest of the good hoped for. The more patience we exercise under troubles the more hopefully we may look through our troubles; nothing more destructive to hope than impatience. And the comfort of the scriptures, that comfort which springs from the word of God (that is the surest and sweetest comfort) is likewise a great stay to hope, as it is an earnest in hand of the good hoped for Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Scripture does not merely inform the mind; it comforts the heart and anchors the expectation of glory.

But Henry is equally clear that hope is not a human achievement. God is both the object of our hope and the one who produces hope in us. He is the foundation on which our hope is built, and he is the builder that doth himself raise it: he is both the object of our hope, and the author of it Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Hope that is not fixed on God and produced by his working is mere fancy and will deceive. That hope is but fancy, and will deceive us, which is not fastened upon God (as the goodness hoped for, and the truth hoped in), and which is not of his working in us Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The joy and peace of believers arise chiefly from their hopes of what is laid up for them. The joy and peace of believers arise chiefly from their hopes. What is laid out upon them is but little, compared with what is laid up for them; therefore the more hope they have the more joy and peace they have Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Christians should desire and labor for an abundant, well-established hope that will not make ashamed. We do then abound in hope when we hope for great things from God, and are greatly established and confirmed in these hopes. Christians should desire and labour after an abundance of hope, such hope as will not make ashamed Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Abounding hope is produced and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by our own power. This is through the power of the Holy Ghost. The same almighty power that works grace begets and strengthens this hope. Our own power will never reach it; and therefore where this hope is, and is abounding, the blessed Spirit must have all the glory Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Here Henry holds together human responsibility and divine sovereignty. Believers are to labor for hope, but the power to hope comes from the Spirit.

Hope extends to the conversion of others

Henry applies hope not only to personal salvation but also to the salvation of others, especially the Jewish people. Gentiles should not insult the fallen Jews but rather pity them and desire their conversion, because their restoration would bring great blessing to the church. It would be as life from the dead; and therefore they must not insult and triumph over those poor Jews, but rather pity them, and desire their welfare, and long for the receiving of them in again Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” The conversion of some Jews to Christ is a first-fruits that promises a larger future harvest among the Jewish people. Some by the first-fruits understand those of the Jews that were already converted to the faith of Christ and received into the church, who were as the first-fruits dedicated to God, as earnests of a more plentiful and sanctified harvest. A good beginning promises a good ending Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Those who have experienced God’s distinguishing grace should use that experience to hope and pray for others who remain in unbelief. Those that have themselves experienced the grace of God, preventing, distinguishing grace, may thence take encouragement to hope well concerning others Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” This is a corporate dimension of hope. The same grace that saved one sinner can save another, and the evidence of grace in one life becomes a ground of expectation for grace in others.

Edwards adds a subtle point about the relationship between practice and hope. Practicing a virtue that resembles a promised benefit tends to renew the sense and hope of that blessing and to convince the conscience that neglecting the duty would make denial of the benefit just. by reason of the natural likeness that there is between the virtue and the benefit, the one has the greater tendency to bring the other to mind; the practice of the virtue tends the more to renew the sense, and refresh the hope, of the blessing promised; and also to convince the conscience of the justice of being denied the benefit, if the duty be neglected Jonathan Edwards, “Justification by Faith Alone” In other words, obedience strengthens hope, not because obedience earns the blessing, but because it aligns the soul with the character of the promised good. Neglect of duty weakens hope by making the denial of the blessing seem deserved. This is a distinct emphasis from Henry and Spurgeon, who focus more on the objective promise than on the subjective effect of obedience. But the three agree that hope is not a static feeling; it is shaped by how believers live.

Spurgeon also speaks of hope in the hour of death. Grace sustains believers in death, giving them comfort, hope, and visions of eternity as they pass from this life. And so, Beloved, when you come to die, Grace shall bear you up in the midst of Jordan and you shall say, "I feel the bottom and it is good." When the cold waters shall chill your blood, Grace shall warm your heart Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Reigning Grace” The hope that begins at justification and grows through tribulation reaches its climax when the believer finally sees what has been promised. Henry likewise notes that Paul asked the Romans to pray that he might come to them with joy, since all our joy depends on the will of God. That I may come unto you with joy. If his present journey to Jerusalem proved unsuccessful, his intended journey to Rome would be uncomfortable. If he should not do good, and prosper, in one visit, he thought he should have small joy of the next: may come with joy, by the will of God. All our joy depends upon the will of God Matthew Henry, “Exposition of the Old and New Testaments” Even the joy of reunion and service is a gift to be sought from God.

Across these authors, hope is a rich and active grace. It rests on justification, believes the promise against appearances, grows through suffering, longs for the fullness of the Spirit’s work, produces joy and patience, is fed by Scripture, and extends to the salvation of others. The differences are mostly in emphasis: Spurgeon stresses the boldness of faith against natural hope, Henry develops the chain of tribulation, experience, and hope, and Edwards highlights the moral effect of practice on hope. But all agree that hope is certain, God-given, and essential to the Christian life.