Romans 5:5 And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. I. ITS SOURCE AND SEAT. 1. Its source: "the love of God." False religions spring from fear, but true religion springs from love. God's love, as revealed in the gift of His Son, begets love in us, and just as the sun is the author of life in the natural world, so God is the Author of all life and light in the human soul. 2. Its seat: "in our hearts." All life and growth must begin within, or they will prove to be nothing but fruitless fungus. Morality in the life may be the outcome of self-respect, or early culture, or fear of shame and sorrow. Personal piety has to do not only with the conduct, but the character; and the character is decided by the condition of the heart in the sight of God. Out of the heart are the issues of life, and if the love of God be there holiness will be stamped upon thought, word, and deed. The love of God diffuses itself in the heart like light, life, warmth, fragrance, and spreads through every avenue of the soul till the possessor of it becomes a temple of the Holy Ghost. II. ITS OPERATION AND OUTCOME. Hope is the natural and inevitable outcome of love. We expect to derive joy and blessedness from the persons upon whom our affections become fixed, and who take possession of our hearts, and we are "not ashamed" of those we love, but are ready at any time to acknowledge them and identify ourselves with them. Courageous and confiding hope — 1. Sanctifies. If we love God, and hope one day to see Him and be with Him, we shall seek to please Him and become like Him. 2. Sustains. While we look at the things which are unseen and eternal, the sorrows and sufferings of the present seem very light and small. 3. Stimulates. Hope, springing from love in the heart, will quicken all the faculties of the mind and fire all the passions of the soul. Love will constrain to consecration, and hope stimulate to action. III. ITS GENERATOR AND GUARDIAN. Whatever the means we use, or the channels through which Divine blessings come to us, they all proceed from the Holy Ghost which is given unto us; the rise, progress, and perfection of personal piety must be attributed to that source. Let us, then, be careful that we grieve not, quench not the Holy Spirit, nor dishonour God by trusting too much to outward forms and worldly noise and show. If we lose the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, if the love of God expire in our hearts, there will only remain within us the white ashes of a former fire, and "Ichabod" will be written upon our desolated and darkened brows. (F. W. Brown.) Parallel Verses KJV: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. |
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