Instructions for both weak and strong
10 Again, it says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.”
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In observing this progression, the Gentiles might seem to be latecomers to the church, but their inclusion was not an afterthought on God’s part or the alternative to a failed first plan. No, the Gentiles were a part of God’s gracious plan all along. That Gentiles were indeed the object of God’s mercy from the beginning is evident from four Old Testament quotations Paul now presents:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing hymns to your name.”
[Psalm 18:49; see also 2 Samuel 22:50] “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
[Deuteronomy 32:43] “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
and sing praises to him, all you peoples.” [Psalm 117:1]
“The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations;
the Gentiles will hope in him.” [Isaiah 11:10]
These verses lead Paul into a prayer asking for the blessing of hope on the part of both weak and strong, be they Jew or Gentile. He prays, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The NIV’s double use of “hope” in this verse is a faithful translation of the term used in the original. A possible confusion, however, lies in the fact that our English understanding of the term hope allows for considerably less than what the original intended. We might say, “I hope to finish this job today,” or “I hope the rain won’t spoil our picnic.” That use of hope leaves considerable room for doubt and uncertainty as to whether these desires will come to be.
There is none of that uncertainty in what Paul is saying here. Joy and peace from God come “as you trust in him.” Hence Paul intends hope to mean “sure and certain confidence.” We might paraphrase the verse as follows: “May the God who gives certainty fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with sure confidence worked by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
The joy and peace brought by being absolutely sure of God’s loving care both for the present and for all eternity is something that the Holy Spirit works through the Word, the means of grace, as Paul will be pointing out in the next section.