Now the God of hope
This character is taken from the latter part of ( Romans 15:12
) , and is occasioned by it, "in him shall the Gentiles trust",
or "hope"; and is proper to God as he is the author and giver of
this grace; for naturally men are without it; that which is a
good hope is the gift of God, and through his grace, and is
wrought in the heart in regeneration; for to this are the
children of God begotten again. Moreover, God is the object of
it; not wealth and riches, nor works of righteousness, but
Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, particularly Christ, is called
the believer's hope; that is, the object of it, in whom the
Gentiles hope and trust. Likewise, it is God that encourages to
the exercise of it by the proclamations of his grace, and mercy,
and plenteous redemption; by the discoveries of his love, and
views of interest in him; and by bringing to mind the past
experiences of his goodness: he preserves and maintains this
grace useful and lively, firm and steadfast, at least in being,
which sometimes seems almost perished and gone; he increases it,
and causes his people to abound in the exercise of it, and
continues it even unto death. The Ethiopic version reads, "the
God of our promises", which are what hope has respect unto, and
builds upon:
fill you with all joy and peace in believing.
This is a petition to the God of hope. The apostle has recourse
again to prayer, knowing that all his exhortations would be
useless, without the grace of God accompanying them: and it is
observable, that he prays for the same things mentioned in the
above prophecies and promises, as joy, peace, and hope; for
though God has promised ever so great things concerning his
people, he will be inquired of by them to do them for them. One
part of this petition is, that God would "fill them with all
joy"; not with every kind of joy; not with worldly joy, or with
the joy of hypocrites, who rejoice in sin, or in their own
boastings, which is evil; but with spiritual joy, joy in God as a
covenant God and Father; in Christ, in his person, righteousness,
and salvation; and in the Holy Ghost, the author of it, whose
fruit it is; and in the Gospel, doctrines, blessings, and
promises of it; and in the view and hope of the heavenly glory,
amidst various afflictions and tribulations: and it designs an
abundance of it, even a fulness thereof; though the petition
implies, that as yet it is not full; it is frequently interrupted
and broke in upon by the corruption of nature, and falls into
sin, by the temptations of Satan, through divine desertions, and
various trials and exercises; yet it supposes it may be
increased, as by the renewed discoveries of the love of God, of
interest in Christ, and through the gracious influences of the
Spirit; and even made full and complete, though not in this, yet
in the other world: another branch of the petition is, that God
would fill with "peace", with a sense of their peace with him,
made by the blood of Christ; with a conscience peace in their own
breasts, arising from a view of their justification by the
righteousness of Christ, and from the sprinklings of his blood
upon them; and also with peace one among another, which was much
wanting, and the apostle was very desirous of: and all this he
asks, that it might come to them "in believing"; in the way of
faith, and the exercise of that grace; for joy comes this way;
faith and joy go together; where one is, the other is also; and
as the one increases, so does the other; a believing view of
interest in Christ is attended with joy unspeakable, and full of
glory: and so peace comes in at the door of faith: there is no
true peace till a soul is brought to believe in Christ; and that
is promoted and increased by repeated acts of faith on Christ, or
by a constant living by faith on him; see ( Isaiah 26:3 ) . The end
for which this petition is made is,
that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy
Ghost.
By hope is meant that grace which God is the author, object, and
promoter of; and the Syriac version reads it, (hrbob) , "in his hope", or "the hope
of him"; of enjoying him, of meeting with him, and having
communion with him in his house and ordinances; of having fresh
supplies of grace from him, and of being favoured with all the
blessings of grace laid up in an everlasting covenant, and at
last with eternal life and glory: to "abound" herein, is to be in
the free and frequent exercise of this grace, being encouraged by
the grace of God, and an enlarged experience of it, and supported
by faith, the substance of things hoped for: and this "through
the power of the Holy Ghost"; not by might or power of man, but
by that same divine power which first began the good work, and
must fulfil it; which at first implanted the grace of hope, and
must perform the work of that, as of faith. The same power is
requisite to cause grace to abound, or saints to abound in the
exercise of it, as was to the first production of it. The Vulgate
Latin reads, "that ye may abound in hope, and in the power of the
Holy Ghost"; but there is no copulative in the Greek text.
