The Righteous Hope for Gladness Amid Life's Vicissitudes

The hope of the righteous shall be gladness.—Proverbs 9:28

On hopes and disappointments, Joseph S. Exell (1887) offers this Victorian meditation: We are not to expect permanence in our acquisitions. Providence bestows prosperity upon some longer than others, yet since that duration remains hidden from us, all confident expectations lack foundation. Human life never stands still like a mountain or rock, nor flows as a steady stream with constant tenor.

Amid such vicissitudes, who can reckon upon the future? All are subject to faults; all are exposed to troubles. To look for entire exemption is to court disappointment. Yet we must not sadden the present hour by dwelling on future sorrows. What Adonai gives us, let us cheerfully enjoy and render thanks.

Virtue conjoined with prudence may reasonably afford prospect of good days. Furthermore, in our intercourse with others, we must not expect all the satisfaction we fondly wish. The individual's condition exhibits only an imperfect view when considered alone. In human affairs we are closely interwoven together, opening fields where our wishes find ample range. Among all persons, many expectations must perish; many disappointments be endured.

In intimate friendships and domestic life, moderation in expectations proves essential. The nearer men approach each other, the more numerous the points of contact—and thus greater pleasure in perfect symphonia (harmony), yet also more grating pain when discord strikes. The righteous find their gladness (chara, joy) not in circumstance's permanence, but in trusting Yahweh's constancy through life's changing seasons.