Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1384
Delivered on Lord’s-Day Morning, November 11, 1877
“Now the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13.
THIS is one of the richest passages in the Word of God. It is so full of instruction that I cannot hope to bring out even so much as a tenth of its teaching. The Apostle desired that the Roman Christians might be in the most delightful state of mind, that they should be filled with joy and peace and that this should lead on to yet further expectations and create an abundance of hope in their souls. See, dear Friends, the value of prayer, for if Paul longs to see his friends attain the highest possible condition, he prays for them! What will prayer not do? Whatever you desire for yourself or for another, let your desire be prepared like sweet spices and compounded into a supplication—then present it to God and the benediction will come.
I gather, also, from Paul’s making this state of happiness a subject of request unto God, that it is possible for it to be attained. We may be filled with joy and peace in believing and may abound in hope! There is no reason why we should hang our heads and live in perpetual doubt. We may not only be somewhat comforted, but we may be full of joy! We may not only have occasional quiet, but we may dwell in peace and delight ourselves in the abundance of it. These great privileges are attainable, or the Apostle would not have made them the subjects of prayer. Yes, and they are possible for us, as the meaning of the Epistle to the Romans was not exclusively for the Romans, so this text belongs to us, also. The words still rise to Heaven as the prayer of the Apostle for us, upon whom the ends of the earth are come, that we, also, may be filled with joy and peace and abound in hope through the Holy Spirit.
The sweetest delights are still grown in Zion’s gardens and are to be enjoyed by us—and shall they be within our reach and not be grasped? Shall a life of joy and peace be attainable and shall we miss it through unbelief? God forbid! Let us, as Believers, resolve that whatever privilege is to be enjoyed we will enjoy—whatever lofty experience is to be realized, we will, by God’s gracious help, ascend to it, for we wish to know to the fullest the things which are freely given to us of God. Not, however, in our own strength will we thus resolve, for this condition of faith, joy and peace must be worked in us by God alone.
This is clear enough in the text, for it is the God of Hope who, alone, can fill us with joy and peace. And yet again, our hope which is to abound will only abound through the power of the Holy Spirit. The fact that the happy condition described is sought by prayer is a plain evidence that the blessing comes from a Divine source and the prayer itself is so worded that the doctrine is prominently presented to the mind. So, Brothers and Sisters, while we resolve to obtain everything of privilege that is obtainable, let us set about our efforts in Divine power, not depending upon our resolutions, but looking for the power of the Holy Spirit and the energy of the God of Hope.
I shall need you to follow me while I notice, concerning the blessed state of fullness of joy and peace, first, from where it comes. Secondly, what it is, taking its delights in detail. And then, thirdly, what it leads to. We are to be filled with joy and peace that, “we may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
I. If there is, then, such a condition as being divinely filled with all joy and peace in believing, FROM WHERE DOES IT COME? The answer is, it comes from “the God of Hope.” But in order that we may see how it comes, let us look a little at the chapter in which we find our text, for the connection is instructive. To know joy and peace through believing, we must begin by knowing what is to be believed—and this we must learn from Holy Scripture, for there God is revealed as the God of Hope. Unless God had revealed Himself, we could not have guessed at hope, but the Scriptures of Truth are windows of hope to us.
Will you kindly read the 4th verse of the chapter and note how strikingly parallel it is to our text—“For whatever things were written before, were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” See, then, the God of Hope is revealed in Scripture with the design of inspiring us with hope! If we would be filled with faith, joy and peace, it must be by believing the Truths of God set forth in the Scriptures. Before we have any inward ground of hope, God Himself, as revealed in the Bible, must be our hope. We must not ask for joy, first, and then found our faith upon it, but our joy must grow out of our faith—and that must rest only upon God.
Our Apostle sets us an example of how to use the Scriptures, for in this chapter he searches out the Truth from Moses, David and Isaiah, and then places one text with another and gets a clear view of the testimony of God. What is very much to our point, he sees in those Scriptures that to us Gentiles, God has of old been set forth in the Scriptures as the God of Hope. Before it seemed as if salvation were of the Jews and of the Jews, alone, and we were shut out. But now, on turning to the Old Testament itself, we discover that God had spoken good things concerning us before we knew Him. There was always hope for the Gentiles—and though Israel perceived it not—Patriarchs and kings and Prophets full often spoke words which could not be interpreted otherwise.