THOU ART MY HOPE IN THE DAY OF EVIL.

 

Thou art my hope in the day of evil.
Jeremiah 17:17

 
EVIL days will come, and
  they will always try the basis of our hope.
 
If we are hoping in any thing within us,
  in any thing done by us, or
  in any creature connected with us,
  our hope will give way in the evil day.
 
We may have to pass through days of afflictions,
  temptations, poverty, bereavement, persecution,
  comparative uselessness, old age, and
    death and all these are called evil days.
 
Remember the days of darkness,
  for they shall be many.
 
But every believer has God for his hope.
 
He can say,
  I will hope because of the promises made,
     exactly suited to the evil days;
  the character in which God is revealed,
     calculated to inspire with courage and comfort;
  the perfection which God possesses,
    even mercy, patience, and power; and
  because of the medium he has opened for
  the conveyance of his blessings,
    even Jesus his beloved Son.
 
I will hope for patience, to be quiet;
  for strength, to support me;
  more blessings, to supply me;
  for success, to crown me; and
    for deliverance, to fill me with joy.
 
Nothing out of God is sufficient to produce, sustain, or
  answer a Christian’s hope.
 

We trust upon the sacred word,

The oath and promise of the Lord,

And safety through each tempest sail,

The Christian’s hope can never fail.

 
James Smith 1849