Bede

“You who were once not a people but now are the people of God, who did not seek after mercy but now have received mercy.” By these verses he indicates clearly that he has written this letter to those who had come from the Gentiles to the faith, who were once separated from the way of life of the people of God but then through the grace of faith were joined to his people and obtained the mercy that they did not know how to hope for. He takes them, however, from the prophet Hosea, who predicted the calling of the Gentiles and said, “I shall call [those who were] not my people my people and [those who did] not receive mercy [a people] having received mercy. And it will be in the place where it was said, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called sons of the living God.”