Texts in Conversation
Paul in Romans uses Psalm 18 to support the place of other nations in a story once centered on David. The psalm first praised God for saving the king and broadening his rule, and Paul reshapes this to show praise coming from non-Israelite people.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Psalm 17:50
Septuagint
47 The Lord lives! And blessed is my God! Let the God of my salvation be exalted! 48 O God, the one who gives vengeance to me and places peoples under me, 49 my deliverer from angry enemies, from those who rise up against me. You will raise me up. From the unjust man you will rescue me. 50 On account of this, I will give thanks to you among the nations, O Lord. And I will sing psalms to your name. 51 God is magnifying the salvation of his king and making mercy to his anointed one, to David and to his seed until eternity.”
Romans 15:9
New Testament
7 Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God’s glory. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.” 10 And again it says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.”
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Notes and References
"... There is little consensus, but Hays’ messianic exegesis, which evokes the narrative of the psalm and locates Christ’s proclamation in the context of the Davidic Messiah, seems likely, providing, as Hays argues, a framework for reading the whole catena. Paul makes use of this psalm of thanksgiving, attributed to the Lord’s servant, David, by highlighting the psalmist’s confession of the Lord among the nations. ‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name.’ This first citation (Romans 15:9) is likely to be from Psalm 18:49 (LXX 7:50), although LXX 2 Samuel 22:50 is a possible source because of its similar wording. It is represented verbatim apart from the omission of the vocative κύριε, quite possibly, as Hays says, because it is the 'Lord' who speaks. Christ is the one who has welcomed Jew and Gentile, so it is quite possible that he himself is standing in the midst of the eschatological congregation, offering praise to God. Wagner sees Christ as the referent, but he also points out that Paul perceives his own ministry to be following that of Christ ..."
Whittle, Sarah
Covenant Renewal and the Consecration of the Gentiles in Romans
(pp. 136-137) Cambridge University Press, 2015
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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