Paul’s Theology of Hope in Poetic Verse (Gupta)

William Cowper (18th century poet) wrote this poem on Christian hope. Anthony Thiselton cites this poem as an appropriate rendition of Paul’s theology of hope as expressed in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (Blackwell  Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 35).

These shall last when night has quench’d the pole,

And heav’n is all departed as a scroll:

And when, as justice has long since decreed,

This earth shall blaze, and a new world succeed,

Then these thy glorious works, and they who share

That hope which can alone exclude despair,

Shall live exempt from weakness and decay,

The brightest wonders of an endless day.