Singing Praise to God, Among the Gentiles

Paul often quoted from the "Old Testament" as authoritative scripture. For example, here are four quotes from four different OT passages, in four consecutive verses written by Paul:

Rom 15:9-12 WEB 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.” 10 Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” 11 Again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him.” 12 Again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope.”

Something that might interest this list is that the first quote comes from Psalm 108:3, in the context of the very phrase Paul uses elsewhere -- "sing and make music with the inner person" -- and these two Paulian quotes sandwich a detail about how this singing God's praise amongst the Gentiles will take place:

Psa 108:1-3 WEB 1 My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and I will make music with my soul. 2 Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn. 3 I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations. I will sing praises to you among the peoples.

This is how Paul expected his readers to understand singing and making melody in the inner person, as they sang praise to God among the Gentiles. It's how his authoritative scripture described the process.

 

Originally published at:
https://kentwest.blogspot.com/2021/08/singing-praise-to-god-among-gentiles.html