Hope's Foundation

Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισα, σῶσόν με. Νομιζόμενον ἁπλοῦν εἶναι καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ τυχόντος ὑγιῶς ἀναφέρεσθαι δύνασθαι τὸ, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισα, σῶσόν με, τάχα οὐ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. Ὁ γὰρ ἐπ' ἄνθρωπον ἐλπίζων, ἤ ἐπ' ἄλλο τι τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον μετεωριζόμενος, οἶον ἐπὶ δυναζτείαν, ἢ χρήματα, ἢ τι τῶν παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς νομιζομένων εἶναι λαμπρῶν, οὐ δύναται εἰπεῖν· Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισα. Παράγγελμα γάρ ἐστι, μὴ ἐλπίζειν ἐπ' ἄρχοντας· καὶ, Ἐπικατὰρατος ἄνθρωπος, ὅς τὴν ἐλπιδα ἔχει ἐπ' ἄνθρωπον. Ὥωσπερ οὐδὲ σέβειν ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὸν Θεὸν προσῆκεν, οὕτως οὐδὲ ἐπὶ ἄλλον ἐλπίζειν ἤ ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν τῶν πάντων Κύριον.Ἐλπὶς γάρ μου, φησὶ, καὶ ὕμνησις μου ὁ Κύριος. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Ζ'

'Lord my God in you I have hoped, save me.' 1 It may be thought that this is a simple matter and that one may with ease bring forth the correct meaning of 'Lord my God in you I have hoped, save me,' but perhaps it is not so. For the one who hopes in man or the one who is lifted up on account of something in the midst of life, some power, some wealth, or anything of those things thought to be splendid in the world, is not able to say, 'Lord, my God in you I have hoped.' It is taught: 'Do not hope in the princes of men,' 2 and ' Cursed the man who founds his hope on man.' 3 Thus as we should worship nothing apart from God, so in nothing we should hope but God. ' For my hope,' he says, 'and my song are the Lord.' 4 Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 7 1 Ps 7.1 2 Ps 145.2 3 Jer 17.5 4 Ex 15.2