Hope may be considered as a _mental stimulus_: It is to the mind what
the blood it to the body: If the circulation of the latter is arrested,
the powers of life collapse; if Hope deserts us, despair commences her
gloomy reign, and blackens every prospect. Few are free from the
intrusions of this unwelcome visitor when assaulted by the calamities of
life, when the gay visions of imagination vanish from their sight, and
when the anguish of remorse preys upon the soul. Since each earthly
dependance must fail, how miserable is he whose only objects of Hope are
confined to the present world, and how often must his heart flag for
want of this necessary stimulus. Hence appears the glorious advantage of
that man, whose Hope, grounded on a faith in divine Revelation, extends
through eternity. This is the prerogative of the Christian, and from
hence he draws a never-failing supply in whatever state he is destin’d
to appear.