Day 3 - Week 63 - Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy andn peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:12 "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.'"

From John Gill's Exposition of the Bible:

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.

John Gill makes me think.  Even though you have to work through the old-style language that he uses (he did write this in the early 1700s), he just gives me insight and thoughts regarding Scripture that I would miss otherwise.    In this passage, he reminds me that  "hope" is from God and that men are naturally without it.  I had not really thought about that, but I know that in my life if I did not have my faith in God, there really would be no hope.    And not only is God the giver of hope, but He is also the object of our hope.  There is nothing else in comparison.

Gill agrees.  He states, "God is the object of it; not wealth and riches, nor works of righteousness, but Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, particularly Christ."

And then, in only the miraculous way that God can devise, He not only is the giver and the object of our hope, but through the Holy Spirit, He is the encourager of our hope.  I truly love the way Gill explains this aspect of God's relationship to the hope that we have, "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 discoveries of His love prompt us to increase our hope in Him incrementally.  We realize He loves us more than we thought previously and we have more hope in His promise of continuing and abiding love.  Bringing to mind the past experiences of His goodness reminds us that He is faithful, that He stands true to His word, and that we are assured of the hope that is within us, and that hope grows.  Even when our hope sometimes seems almost perished and gone, He is gracious and increases it, and we continue in our hope in God, "even unto death."

Gill includes the Ethiopian translation, "the God of our promises."  That's right.  We have hope in the God of our promises, because His promises always come true.  That's the testimony of the Bible to us...we can stand on God's promises...and those promises change our hope from "wishful thinking" to a firm foundation for our lives.

Standing on the Promises of God

Russell K. Carter - published 1886

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.