Book I, Part 2, Chapter 7. Of the sixth Privilege of Virtue, viz. the Hopes the Just have in God's Mercy, and of the vain Confidence of the Wicked

1. The comfort of a good conscience is always accompanied with that particular hope virtuous men live in : of which the apostle says, That they comfort themselves up with hopes, and are patient in their tribulations (Rom. xii. 12) ; advising us to make our hope the subject of our joy, and, in virtue of the same, to suffer with patience whatever crosses may happen, assuring us that God himself is our assistance, and the reward of our sufferings. This is one of the greatest treasures of a Christian life : these are the riches, this the inheritance of the children of God ; it is the common haven against all the storms of this life, and the best remedy we have against all our miseries.

2. But not to deceive ourselves, we must observe here, that, as there are two sorts of faith, the one, a dead faith, which performs no actions of life, and is that which bad Christians have ; the other, a lively one, the effect of charity, by which the just perform the actions of life; so there are two sorts of hope, the one a dead hope, which neither enlivens the soul, nor assists her in her operations, nor comforts her in her troubles ; such a hope as the wicked have ; the other is a lively hope, as St. Peter calls it (1 Pet. i. 3), because it produces the effects of life, as those things do which have life in them ; that is, because it encourages, enlivens and strengthens us, in our way to heaven, and gives us breath and confidence amidst all the dangers and troubles of this world. Such a hope as this the chaste Susanna had, of whom we read (Dan. xiii. 42, 43), that after she was condemned to die, and as they were leading her through the streets, to be stoned to death, yet her heart trusted and confided in God. David had such a confidence, when he said, Be mindful, 0 Lord, of thy word to thy servant, in which thou hast given me hope. This hath comforted me in my humiliation ; because thy word hath enlivened me. Ps. cxviii. 49, 50.

3. This hope works many and very* wonderful effects in the souls of those who are filled with it; and that in a greater measure, by how much the more it partakes of charity and the love of God, which gives it life. The first of these effects is to encourage man to continue in the way of virtue ; in hopes of the reward he is to receive ; for as all the saints testify, the surer man is of his reward, the more willing he is to run through all the miseries of this world. St. Gregory says, " Hope is so strong, as to be able to lift up our hearts to the joys of heaven, and to make us quite insensible to the miseries of this mortal life ;" Moral. 1. xvi. c. 13. Origen says, " The hope of future glory gives those persons much ease, who are toiling in this life for obtaining it; as we see the hopes of victory, and of reward, mitigate the pains of the wounds the soldier receives in war." St. Ambrose says, " An assured hope of reward makes toil seem less, and lessens the apprehensions of dangers ;" St. Ambr. in Ps. xii. St. Jerome says, " Any labor seems light and easy, when we put a value on the reward ; because the hopes of what we are to receive make us think there is no trouble in what we have undertaken ;" Epist. ad Demet. c. 9. St. Chrysostom is much fuller on this matter : " If," says he, " a tempestuous sea is not able to frighten seamen, if the hard frosts and violent rains of winter are no discouragements to the husbandman, if neither wounds nor death itself can daunt the soldier, and if neither falls nor blows can dishearten the wrestler, whilst they think of the deceitful hopes of what they propose to themselves for the reward of their toils and labors ; how much less ought they, who aspire to the kingdom of heaven, to take any notice of the difficulties they may meet with in their journey thither? Therefore, O Christian, consider not that the way of virtue is rugged and uneven, but reflect on what it will lead you to ; and do not, on the contrary, falsely persuade yourself, that the path of vice is smooth and pleasant, but think of the precipice it will bring you to." St. Chrys. Horn. 18. in Genes. O, how true is every word this great saint speaks ! for will any man be so mad, as willingly to follow a path that is strewed with flowers, if he is to die when he comes to the end of it ? And who is there that will refuse to take another that is rugged and uneasy, if it leads to life and happiness ?

4. Nor does this hope serve only for attaining so happy an end, but assists us in the means that tend to it, and in bearing with all the miseries and necessities of this life. For it is this that supports a man in tribulation, that defends him in danger, that comforts him in afflictions, that assists him in sickness, and supplies all his necessities and wants, because it is by means of this virtue that he obtains mercy from God, who helps us on all occasions. We have evident proofs of this throughout the Holy Scripture, but particularly in the Psalms ; so that there is scarce any one of them wherein the royal prophet does not highly commend this virtue, and speak of its wonderful effects and advantages, as being, without doubt, one of the greatest treasures and comforts the virtuous can possibly enjoy in this life. To prove this, I will make use of a few passages of the Scriptures, but shall be forced to pass by many more than I can be able to quote. The prophet Hanani tells king Asa, The eyes of the Lord behold all the earth, and give strength to them that with a pure heart trust in him ; 2 Paral. xvi. 9. The prophet Jeremias says, The Lord is good to those that hope in him, and to the soul that seeks after him. And in another place it is said, that the Lord is good, he strengthens his servants in the day of tribulation, and knows all those that hope in him (Nahum i. 7) ; that is, he takes care to relieve and assist them. Isaias says, If you will return to me, and rest in me, you shall be safe ; your strength shall be in silence and hope ; Isa. xxx. 1 "). By silence is to be understood here, the inward rest which the soul enjoys amidst all her troubles : now this rest is nothing else but the particular effect of this hope, which banishes all kind of solicitude and immoderate trouble by the favor it expects from the mercy of God. The book of Ecclesiasticus says (ii. 8, Q. 11), " You who fear the Lord, put your trust in him, and you shall not lose your reward. You who fear the Lord, hope in him, and his mercy will be your delight and comfort. Consider, O ye children, all the nations of the world, and know that nobody ever yet hoped in the Lord and has been confounded." Solomon's 18 M2 advice to us, in his Proverbs, is this : " In all your ways think of the Lord, and he will direct all your steps ;" Prov. iii. 6. The prophet David says, in one of his psalms, " Let those who know thy name, O Lord, hope in thee, because thou hast never forsaken those that seek thee;" Ps. ix. 11. And in another psalm, he says, " I have put my hope, O Lord, in thee, and therefore I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy ;" Ps. xxx. 7, 8. And in anothei place he says, " Mercy shall surround him that puts his trust in the Lord ;" Ps. xxxi. 10. He has much reason to say, shall surround, to let us know that he shall be surrounded on all sides with this mercy as a king is with his guards, for the security of his person. He treats this subject more at large in another psalm, where he says, " With expectation 1 have waited for the Lord, and he was attentive to me. And he heard my prayers and brought me out of the pit of misery, and out of the mud which I stuck in. And he set my feet upon a rock, and directed my steps. And has put a new canticle into my mouth, a song to our God. Many shall see this, and shall fear, and they shall hope in the Lord. Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord ; and who has turned his eyes from vanities and deceitful follies." Ps. xxxix. 1 — 7. From these words we may learn another extraordinary effect of this virtue, which is to open a man's mouth and eyes, that he may be sensible, by his own experience, of the fatherly tenderness of God, and may sing a new song with a new delight, for the new favor he has received, to wit, the assistance he hoped for. If we were to cite all the verses in the Psalms, nay, and all the entire psalms that treat on the subject, we should never have done ; for the whole psalm which begins, " They who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion," is to this purpose ; Ps. cxxiv. Heb. cxxv. And so is the psalm which begins, " He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High ;" Ps. xc. Heb. xci. They neither of them speak of any thing else but the extrordinary advantages of those who put their trust in God, and live under his protection. For this reason, St. Bernard, writing on these words of the psalm, " O Lord, thou art my refuge," speaks thus : " Whatever I am to do, or whatever I am to omit, whatever I am to suffer, or whatever I am to desire, you, O Lord, are my hope. It is this hope that makes you perform every thing you have promised, and it is you that are the chief cause of this hope of mine. Let another allege the good works he has done, and please himself with having undergone all the heat and burthen of the day ; let him say, with the Pharisee, that he has fasted twice a week, and that he is not as other men ; I, for my part, will cry out with the prophet, It is good for me to cleave to the Lord, and to put my trust in God ; Ps. lxxii. 28. If any one promises me a reward, it is by your mercy alone that I shall hope to obtain it : if any one should make war against me, my hopes of overcoming shall be in you. Should the world set on me, should the devil roar at me, should the flesh rebel against the spirit, I will hope in none but you. Since, therefore, the Lord is alone able to assist us, why do we not banish immediately out of our hearts all these vain and deceitful hopes ? And why do not we, with fervor and devotion, stick to so secure a hope as this is?" The saint, immediately after, has these words ; " Faith says, God has laid up inestimable benefits for those that serve him faithfully ; but Hope says, it is for me that keeps them ; and as if this were not enough, Charity cries out, I will hasten and take possession of them;" St. Bern. Serm. 9. Ps. xc. 2.

o. Behold how advantageous this virtue is, and how necessary on several occasions. It is like a secure haven which the just put in at in bad weather ; it is like a strong shield to keep off the attempts of the "syorld ; it is like a magazine of corn in time of famine, whither the poor resort to relieve their wants ; it is the tent and shade which God promises his elect, by the prophet Isaias, to shelter them from the burning heats of summer, and from the storms and tempests of winter ; that is, from the prosperity and adversity of this world. To conclude, it is a universal remedy for all our evil, because it is certain that whatsoever we hope with justice, faith and prudence to receive from God, we shall not fail of obtaining it, provided it is for our good. For which reason, St. Cyprian says, " that God's mercy is a fountain of healing waters, that hope is a vessel to receive them, and that the cure will be proportioned to the largeness of the vessel ; for if we consider the fountain, it is impossible it should ever be dried up." So that as God himself told the children of Israel (Josu. i. 3), that whatever place they did but so much as set their foot on, it should be theirs ; so, as much mercy as man shall put his confidence in, shall be his own. So that, according to this, he who, inspired by God, shall hope for all things, shall accordingly obtain all things. Thus, this hope seems to be a resemblance of the divine virtue and power which redounds to the honor of God. For, as St. Bernard very well observes, "nothing so much discovers the omnipotence of God, as that we see he is not only almighty himself, but that he in some manner makes all those so who hope in him ;" Serm. 85. in Cant. Did not Josue partake of that omnipotence, who from the earth commanded the sun to stand still in the firmament? Josu. x. 13. Nor was his power less, who bid king Ezechias choose which he would, either to have the sun go back or advance so many degrees ; 4 Kings xx. 9, 11 ; Isa. xxxviii. 8. It is his giving his servant such power as this, that promotes the greatness of his glory in a particular manner ; for if Nebuchodonosor, the great king of the Assyrians, valued himself on having so many princes to obey and serve him, that were kings as well as he, how much more reason has Almighty God to glorify himself, and say that those who serve him are in some measure gods, inasmuch as he communicates so much of his power to them.

§ I. Of the vain Hopes of the Wicked. — 6. You see here what a vast treasure the virtuous enjoy, whilst the wicked have no share of it ; because, though they have not entirely lost all hope, yet what they have is only a dead one ; because it is deprived of its life, so that it cannot work any of those effects on them which we have spoken of. For as nothing enlivens hope so much as a good conscience, so nothing ruins, it more than a bad one, because it generally walks in dread and fear, as being sensible how unworthy it is of the Almighty's grace. So that distrust and fear are the inseparable companions of a bad conscience, as the shadow is of the body. By which it appears, that such as man's happiness is, such is his confidence ; for as* he places his happiness in worldly treasures, so his trust is in them, because all his glory is in them, and it is to them he has recourse in time of affliction. The Book of Wisdom takes notice of this kind of hope; where it is said, that " the hope of the wicked is like a flock of wool, which is blown away by the wind, and like a light foam which is scattered by the waves, and like a cloud of smoke which vanishes in the air ;" ch. v. 15. Judge by this how vain such a hope must be.

7. Nor is this all ; for it is not only an unprofitable but a prejudicial and deceitful hope, as God himself has declared to us by the prophet Isaias, saying, " Wo to you, children, that have forsaken your Father, who have taken • counsel, but not of me, who have begun a web, but not in my spirit, that you might add sin to sin. You have sent into Egypt for help without consulting me, expecting help from Pharao's forces, and putting your trust in the protection of Egypt. But Pharao's strength shall turn to your confusion, and the trust which you placed in Egypt's protection shall be to your disgrace. All those that have trusted in the people have been confounded, because they could neither help them nor do them any good ; on the contrary, they have put them to greater shame and confusion." Isa. xxxi. 1, 3. These are the prophet's own words, who, not thinking that he has said enough, yet continues in the next chapter to make the same reproach to them, saying, " Wo to those that go down for help into Egypt, placing their trust in their horses, and confiding in their chariots, because there are many, and in their horses, because they are very strong, who have not their hope in the Holy of Israel, nor sought after the Lord. For the Egyptian is a man and no God, and their horses are flesh and not spirit ; and the Lord will stretch out his hand, and both he that assists and he that assisted shall fall, and 'hey shall be all destroyed together." Isa. xxxi. 1, 3.

8. See here the difference there is between the hope of the just and that of the wicked ; for the hope the wicked have is that of the flesh ; but the spirit, that of the just. Or, if this does not thoroughly express it, man is the hope of the wicked, whilst the hope of the just is God ; by which it appears, that there is the same difference between these two hopes, that there is between God and man. It is on this account the psalmist, with a deal of reason, advises us to bewTare of the one, and invites us to the other, with these words : " Put not your trust in princes, nor in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. Their life shall have no end, and they shall return to the earth out of which they have been created, and then all their designs shall perish. Happy is the man who has the God of Jacob for to help him, and whose hope is in the Lord his God, who created heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them." Ps. clxv. 3, 4. 5. Here we plainly see how different these two hopes are. The same prophet expresses it again in another psalm, where he says, " Our enemies have relied upon their chariots and their horses; but as for us, we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. They have been taken and are fallen, but we have risen and stand upright." Ps. xix. 8, 9. Consider now how the effects of their hopes are proportioned, to what they are founded on, since ruin and destruction are the consequences of the one, and victory and honor of the other.

9. For this reason, they who rely on the first of these hopes are rightly compared to the man in the gospel, who built his house on the sand, which was beat down by the first storm that arose ; but they who rely on the other, are like him that built his house on a firm rock, so that neither winds nor waves, nor any tempests whatever, were able to shake it ; Matt. vii. 24, 25, 26, 27. The prophet Jeremy explains the same difference by a very proper comparison: "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like tamarick in the desert, and he shall not see when good shall come ; but he shall dwell in dryness in the desert, in a salt land and not inhabited." Jer. xlii. 5, 6. But speaking immediately after of the just, he says, " Blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his confidence. And he shall be as a tree that is planted by the waters, that spreadeth out its root towards moisture; and it shall not fear when the heat cometh. And the leaf thereof shall be green, and in the time of drought it shall not be solicitous, neither shall it cease at any time to bring forth fruit." Ibid. ver. 7. 8. Now what more need be said, were men in their right senses, to show how different the condition of the virtuous is from that of the wicked, and how much more happy they are than these, on the bare account of hope itself. Is it possible for a tree to flourish better in any place, than in such a one as the prophet has here represented ? it fares exactly after the same manner with a virtuous man, for there is nothing imaginable but what goes well with him, because he is planted near the streams of the waters of divine grace. But, on the other hand, it is impossible for a tree to be in a worse condition, than to branch all out into wood, and to bear no fruit, because of its being set in a bad ground, and in a place where no one can come to prune it. This may convince the wicked, that it is their greatest misery to turn away their eyes and hearts from God, who is the fountain of living waters, to fix them on creatures, and to rely on their assistance, who are themselves so weak, and so deceitful, and may be truly called, " a dry, barren and uninhabitable land." By this we may see how much the world deserves our tears, being planted in so bad a soil, as having placed its hope in things that are so unable to assist it, if that may be called a hope, which is in itself so far from being so, that it is, on the contrary, nothing but confusion and deceit.

10. What misery is to be compared with this ? Can there be any greater poverty, than to live without this hope ? For if sin has reduced man' to such a low condition, that he can find no relief, but from the hope he has in God's mercy, what will become of him, if this anchor, which is the only support left him, should fail ? We see all other creatures are in their way perfect at their birth, and provided with all things necessary for the preservation of their being. Man, on the contrary, by reason of sin, comes in such an imperfect manner into the world, that he has scarce any thing in himself that he stands in need of, but requires that every thing should be brought to him, and lives on the alms which Almighty God's mercy distributes. If, therefore, he were destitute of this means, what kind of life would his be, but an imperfect and defective one, subject to a thousand mise-ries and wants ? What is it else, but to live without hope, to live without God ? What, therefore, has man left of his ancient patrimony to live on, if this support be taken from him? Is there any nation in the world so barbarous as not to have some knowledge of a God, as not to pay some kind of honor and worship to him, or to hope for some favor from his providential care ? When Moses had been absent but for a /ittle while from the children of Israel, they imagined they were without their God ; and being as yet very raw and ignorant, they immediately cried out to Aaron to make them a God, because they were afraid to go on any farther without one. By which it appears, that man is taught by nature that there must of necessity be a God, though he is not always so happy as to know the true, and that he is sensible of his own weakness, though he is at the same time ignorant of the cause of it, and, therefore, runs naturally to God for a remedy against it. So that, as the ivy seeks some tree to support it, that so it may creep upward, not being able to support itself, and as woman naturally has recourse to the assistance and protection of man, her own imperfection telling her she wants his help, so human nature, being reduced to the utmost extremity, seeks after God to defend and protect her. And since nothing is more evident than this, what kind of life must those men live, who are unhappily neglected and forsaken by God?

11. I would willingly know of those who are in such a condition, who it is that comforts them in their afflictions; to whom they have recourse in dangers ; who looks after them when they are sick ; to whom they can discover their ailments ; whom they consult in their difficult affairs ; with whom they hold a correspondence, with whom they converse, and whom they desire to assist in all their necessities ; with whom they discourse, lie down and rise. In short, how can they, who are deprived of this help, get out of the confusion and disturbances of this life ? If a body cannot live without a soul, how is it possible for a soul to live without God, who is as absolutely necessary for preserving the life of the soul, as the soul is for preserving that of the body ? And if, as we have said before, a lively hope is the anchor of life, what man will be so rash as to venture out into the stormy sea of this world, without carrying this anchor along with him ? If hope is the shield with which we are to defend ourselves against our enemies, how can men dare to go without that shield into the very midst of so many foes ? If hope is the staff that has supported human nature ever since the general distemper wherewith our first parents infected it, where will feeble and impotent man be, if he has not this staff to keep him up ?

12. We have here sufficiently explained the difference there is between the hope of the good and that of the bad, and consequently between the condition of the one and the other ; for the one has God to protect and defend him, whilst the other puts his trust in the staff of Egypt, which, if he venture to lean on, will break and run into his hand ; because the very sin man commits, in placing his confidence there, is enough to make God let him know, by his own fall, how foolishly he has deceived himself: as he has declared by the prophet Jeremy, who, foretelling the destruction of the kingdom of Moab, and the occasion of it, uses these words : " Because you have put your trust in fortifications and in your riches, you yourself shall be taken; and Chamos," which is the god in which you have trusted, " shall be carried into captivity, with his priests, and with his princes ;" Jerem. xliv. 7. Consider now, what a kind of succor this must be, since the very seeking and trusting in it is certain ruin and destruction.

This shall suffice to show how great a privilege this of hope is ; and though it may seem to be the same with the particular providence we have treated of already, which God extends towards those that serve and love him, there is yet as much difference between them as is between the effect and its cause. For though there are several causes and beginnings of this hope, as the goodness and truth of God, the merits of our Saviour, and the rest ; however, his paternal providence, from which this confidence proceeds, is one of the chief, because the knowledge that God has such particular care over him is the cause of this confidence in man.