Hope

“If we have any interest in God, if we have any hopes of blessedness in beholding of his glory unto eternity, we cannot but desire a view (such as is attainable) of this infinite, manifold wisdom of God in this life. But it is in Christ alone that we can discern anything of it; for him has the Father chosen and sealed to represent it unto us. All the treasures of this wisdom are hid, laid up, and laid out in him; — herein lies the essence and form of faith. Believers by it do see the wisdom of God in Christ, in his person and office, — Christ the wisdom of God. Unbelievers see it not, as the apostle argues, 1 Cor. i. 22–24. ~ The Glory of Christ by John Owen”

“Men, for the most part, are not lost enough in their own feeling for a Saviour. A holy despair in ourselves is the ground of true hope. In God the fatherless find mercy (Hos. 14:3); if men were more fatherless, they should feel more God's fatherly affection from heaven, for the God who dwells in the highest heavens dwells likewise in the lowest soul (Isa. 57:15). Christ's sheep are weak sheep, and lacking in something or other; he therefore applies himself to the necessities of every sheep. He seeks that which was lost, and brings again that which was driven out of the way, and binds up that which was broken, and strengthens the weak (Ezek. 34:16). His tenderest care is over the weakest. ~ The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes”

“See a flame in a spark, a tree in a seed. See great things in little beginnings.”

“Ye have lost a child; nay, she is not lost to you, who is found in Christ; she is not sent away, but only sent before; like unto a star which, going out of sight, does not die and vanish, but shines in another hemisphere.”

“Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye.”

“We are now come to the banquet, and Christ is the founder of it; nay, he is the Feast itself. He is the Author of it, and he it is that we feed upon.”

“There is in Christ enough to satisfy all the hungry souls in the world, he himself being present at this heavenly banquet.”

“If he bring us to heaven through a valley of tears, it is no matter, for in heaven all tears shall be wiped from our eyes.”

“Heaven is won or lost on earth; the possession is there, but the preparation is here.”