Romans 15:9 Kommentar

The apostle, in this chapter, continues the discourse of the former, concerning mutual forbearance in indifferent things; and so draws towards a conclusion of the epistle. Where such differences of apprehension, and consequently distances of affection, are among Christians, there is need of precept upon precept, line upon line, to allay the heat, and to beget a better temper. The apostle, being desirous to drive the nail home, as a nail in a sure place, follows his blow, unwilling to leave the subject till he has some hopes of prevailing, to which end he orders the cause before them and fills his mouth with the most pressing arguments. We may observe, in this chapter, I. His precepts to them. II. His prayers for them. III. His apology for writing to them. IV. His account of himself and his own affairs. V. His declaration of his purpose to come and see them. VI. His desire of a share in their prayers.

INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 15 The apostle in this chapter pursues his exhortation to mutual affection and forbearance, notwithstanding their different sentiments about the use of meats, and observation of days; excuses his writing so freely to them, which they might bear with, in consideration of his being an apostle, especially an apostle of the Gentiles, and which office he magnified and fulfilled everywhere; gives them the reasons why he had not as yet been with them though he greatly desired it, encourages them to expect, a visit from him; and concludes with earnestly entreating them that he might have a share in their prayers: and first, as an inference from what he had said in the preceding chapter, he lays it down as a duty incumbent on himself, and all that were strong in the doctrine of Christian liberty, to bear with the infirmities of weak Christians, and not please themselves, but others, Rom 15:1, which he enforces, from the usefulness of it, it being for the good and edification of others, Rom 15:2, and from the example of Christ, who pleased not himself, Rom 15:3, and which is proved from a passage of Scripture in Psa 69:9, the pertinency of which passage, and the citation and application of it to Christ and the present case, are vindicated from this consideration, that whatever was written in former times, was for the use of the saints under the Gospel dispensation, Rom 15:4, and that the exhortation might have its effect upon them, be puts up a prayer to God for them, that such a temper of mind might be in them, which would be for the glory of God, Rom 15:5, and then he repeats his exhortation, Rom 15:7, that they would affectionately receive one another; which he urges by the example of Christ, who had received them to the glory of God; and that they might glorify him, and this was one way of doing it: and that this argument might have the greater weight with both parties, he observes, that Jesus Christ had a special regard to the Jews, and was their minister, sent unto them to fulfil the promises made unto their fathers, and had received them; and therefore though they were weak, they were not to be despised, grieved, and offended, Rom 15:8, and as for the Gentiles, it was a clear case that God had had long ago a design of mercy to them, and that they were to be, and were now received by Christ, and so under obligation to glorify God for his mercy; and therefore not to be judged and condemned, though they did not conform to the ceremonial law; and this he proves in Rom 15:9, from several passages of Scripture in Psa 18:49, and closes this argument he had so long insisted on with a prayer to God for them, that they might be in the exercise of faith and hope; and, in the exercise of those graces, be filled with joy and peace, Rom 15:13, and in order to prevent an objection that might be made to these prayers and exhortations of his, that they suggested that they were wicked and ignorant men, devoid of affection, and knew not how to behave to each other, nor to exhort one another, the apostle softens such a resentment, by calling them brethren, and by expressing his persuasion of their abundant goodness, knowledge, and abilities, Rom 15:14, and excuses the freedom he took with them by observing, that he only acted the part of a monitor, Rom 15:15, and the rather this freedom might be allowed him, on account of the great gifts bestowed upon him, qualifying him to be an apostle of Christ; and especially as he was an apostle of the Gentiles and so their apostle, Rom 15:16, and on account of his office, gifts, and usefulness, he had reason to glory; though through Christ only, and in things relating to God, and not himself, Rom 15:17, when he takes an occasion to enlarge on his ministry, and magnify his office; partly from the end and success of it, bringing the Gentiles to the obedience of Christ, Rom 15:18, and partly from the means and causes of such success the preaching of the word, working miracles, and the power of the Holy Ghost; and from the extent of it, reaching from Jerusalem to Illyricum, Rom 15:19, and from the difficulty which attended it, he preaching in places where the Gospel was never preached before, and which he chose to do, Rom 15:20, and which was necessary to be done, according to a prophecy in Isa 52:15, which he cites, Rom 15:21, and observes, that it was his preaching in these many and distant parts that was the reason of his not having been with the saints at Rome, Rom 15:22, but now gives them reason to expect his coming; partly because he had finished his travels in those countries, and partly because of the vehement desire he had to see them, Rom 15:23, and besides, an opportunity seemed to be offering, he intending to take a journey to Spain, when it would lie in his way to come to Rome, and be for his advantage, Rom 15:24, in the mean while he informs them what he was engaged in, to carry the contribution of the Macedonian and Asian churches to Jerusalem, for the poor saints there, Rom 15:25, on which contributions he enlarges, showing not only who made them, and for whom, but the source and spring of them, they arose from their good will and pleasure, Rom 15:26, and yet they were debtors, and under obligation to do what they did; it was but a piece of justice and equity, since those churches had received of the spiritual things of the Jews, Rom 15:27, and as for his coming to them, he acquaints them of the time that it would be, when he had finished the above service and labour of love, and when he should come into Spain, as he had before signified, Rom 15:28, and of the manner in which he should come, of which he was fully persuaded, as that it would be with the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, Rom 15:29, and then with great importunity desires them to pray for him, and that very earnestly, Rom 15:30, particularly that he might be delivered from his enemies in Judea, and that the saints there would accept of what he brought them from the Gentiles, Rom 15:31, and that, if it was the will of God, he might come to them and be refreshed with them, Rom 15:32, and then closes the chapter with a salutation of them, or a wish that the God of peace might be with them, Rom 15:33.

And again he saith,.... God or Christ, in Deu 32:43; rejoice ye Gentiles with his people; which from the Hebrew text are by some rendered, "rejoice his people O ye Gentiles"; to which agree the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, who render it, "praise O ye nations his people"; or as some copies of the former, "the judgment of his people"; and the latter adds, the house of Israel. The note of R. Sol. Jarchi on the text is, "at that time the nations shall praise Israel; see what is the praise of this people that cleave unto the Lord, &c.'' But the design of this song is to praise God, and not the people of Israel; who in it are severely reproved for their many iniquities, and especially their very great ingratitude to God, and are threatened with the heaviest judgments. This is seen by other Jewish writers, who interpret the words accordingly, as R. Aben Ezra does, whose note is "then shall they praise him, when God shall avenge their blood;'' and to this sense is the Jerusalem Targum, "praise before him O ye people, praise him O his people of the house of Israel;'' but the words may be better translated either thus, "rejoice O ye nations, his people"; that is, ye Gentiles who are his people, whom God has taken into his covenant, and whom he will declare as such in his own time, which time was now come, and therefore had reason to rejoice; see Pe1 2:9; or thus, "rejoice ye Gentiles, and his people"; let both Jews and Gentiles rejoice; let them rejoice together when they come to be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of the same promises and privileges; when they shall be together in one fold, under one shepherd; and especially when the fulness of each of them is brought in, and God has avenged himself of his and their enemies; and which agrees with the apostle's sense, and whose version is supported by the Septuagint interpreters; and his supplement is to be justified, there only wanting a copulative in the Hebrew text, which is often the case in that language, and which may easily be supplied by "and" or "with"; as it is with the latter by the apostle, in perfect agreement with the sense of the words.

"And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy." But what he means is this. Those of the Jews would have had promises, even though they were unworthy. But thou hadst not this even, but wast saved from love towards man alone, even if, to put it at the lowest, they too would not have been the better for the promises, unless Christ had come. But yet that he might amalgamate (or temper) them and not allow them to rise up against the weak, he makes mention of the promises. But of these he says that it was by mercy alone that they were saved. Hence they are the most bound to glorify God. And a glory it is to God that they be blended together, be united, praise with one mind, bear the weaker, neglect not the member that is broken off. Then he adds testimonies, in which he shows that the man of the Jews ought to blend himself with those of the Gentiles; and so he says, "As it is written, For this cause I will confess to Thee among the Gentiles, O Lord, and will sing unto Thy Name."

It is written in the seventeenth psalm [LXX] that the Gentiles will be admitted to the grace of God in order to receive salvation. For this is the voice of Christ, which predicted what would happen in the future.

Paul deprives the Jews of presumption when he teaches that it was foretold that the Gentiles would be saved, even though this was not announced to them. Christ accepts those Gentiles who have received mercy because they too belong to his body.

Those who came from the Jews, although they were unworthy, nevertheless had the promises; but you, called from paganism, were saved by lovingkindness alone. Therefore you are especially obligated to glorify God. And God is glorified when you live in union and unity among yourselves, when you bear with the weak.

Then when he says, but that the gentiles, he shows that even the gentiles were accepted by Christ: first, he states his proposition; second, he confirms it with an authority, at as it is written. First, therefore, he says: It has been stated that Christ accepted the Jews in order that the promises made to the patriarchs be fulfilled. But the promises were not made to the gentiles. Hence, this does not apply to the gentiles, because they were accepted on account of mercy. And this is what he says: but that the gentiles are to glorify God for his mercy extended to them by Christ; because, although he did not preach to them in person, he sent them his disciples, who exercised their ministry among them as he had done among the Jews: go, therefore, and teach all nations (Matt 28:19); the earth is full of the Lord's mercy (Ps 33:5); his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation (Luke 1:50). Thus, the Apostle attributes the conversion of the Jews to God's truth but that of the gentiles to his mercy. But a psalm says: all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth (Ps 25:10), which seems to contradict this. The answer is that in ascribing the call of the Jews to God's truth he does not exclude mercy, because the Apostle himself, who was born of the Jews, says: I received mercy (1 Tim 1:13). It was also an act of mercy that God made the promises to the patriarchs about the salvation of their descendants. Similarly, in ascribing the call of the gentiles to God's mercy he does not exclude God's truth entirely, because it also pertained to divine truth that he should fulfill his intention concerning the salvation of the gentiles. Of this intention the Apostle says in Ephesians: it was a mystery hidden for ages in God (Eph 3:9). But one form of truth, namely, the fulfillment of promises, is considered in the call of the Jews, that is not considered in the call of the gentiles, to whom the promises were not made. Then when he says, as it is written, he confirms with an authority what he had said about the conversion of the gentiles. For although the call had not been promised to the gentiles, it was not unplanned but was foretold by the predictions of the prophets. He adduces four authorities, the first of which contains Christ's thanksgiving to the Father for the conversion of the gentiles achieved by him. Hence he says: as it is written, (Ps 18:50), you made me the head of the gentiles; you exalted me above my adversaries. O God the Father, I, Christ, will praise you with thanksgiving among the gentiles, for the conversion of the gentiles accomplished through me and will sing with new exaltation of mind to your name, which has been manifested to them, as it says in John: I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave to me (John 17:6). Or in another way: I will confess to you among the gentiles, i.e., I will make the gentiles confess to you with a confession of faith: let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you (Ps 67:5) and I will sing to your name, i.e., I will make the gentiles sing to you a song which consists in the exultation of a renewed spirit: O, sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth (Ps 96:1).

The strong should bear the infirmities of the weak, and each strive to please, not himself, but his neighbor, after the example of Christ, Rom 15:1-3. Whatsoever was written in old times was written for our learning, Rom 15:4. We should be of one mind, that we might with one mouth glorify God, Rom 15:5, Rom 15:6. We should accept each other as Christ has accepted us, Rom 15:7. Scriptural proofs that Jesus Christ was not only the minister of the circumcision, but came also for the salvation of the Gentiles, Rom 15:8-12. The God of hope can fill us with all peace and joy in believing, Rom 15:13. Character of the Church of Rome, Rom 15:14. The reason why the apostle wrote so boldly to the Church in that city - what God had wrought by him, and what he purposed to do, Rom 15:15-24. He tells them of his intended journey to Jerusalem, with a contribution to the poor saints - a sketch of this journey, Rom 15:25-29. He commends himself to their prayers, Rom 15:30-33.

And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy - As the Jews were to glorify God for his truth, so the Gentiles were to glorify God for his mercy. The Jews received the blessings of the Gospel by right of promise, which promise God had most punctually and circumstantially fulfilled. The Gentiles had received the same Gospel as an effect of God's mere mercy, having no right in consequence of any promise or engagement made with any of their ancestors, though they were originally included in the covenant made with Abraham; and the prophets had repeatedly declared that they should be made equal partakers of those blessings with the Jews themselves; as the apostle proceeds to prove. I will confess to thee among the Gentiles - This quotation is taken from Psa 18:49, and shows that the Gentiles had a right to glorify God for his mercy to them; and we shall see the strength of this saying farther, when we consider a maxim of the Jews delivered in Megillah, fol. 14: "From the time that the children of Israel entered into the promised land, no Gentile had any right to sing a hymn of praise to God. But after that the Israelites were led into captivity, then the Gentiles began to have a right to glorify God." Thus the Jews themselves confess that the Gentiles have a right to glorify God; and this on account of being made partakers of his grace and mercy. And if, says Schoettgen, we have a right to glorify God, then it follows that our worship must be pleasing to him; and if it be pleasing to him, then it follows that this worship must be good, otherwise God could not be pleased with it. Dr. Taylor gives a good paraphrase of this and the three following verses: As you Jews glorify God for his truth, so the Gentiles have a right to join with you in glorifying God for his mercy. And you have Scripture authority for admitting them to such fellowship; for instance, David says, Psa 18:49, Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing praises unto thy name. And again, Moses himself says, Deu 32:43, Rejoice, O ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, it is evident, from Psa 117:1, Psa 117:2, that praise to God is not to be confined to the Jews only, but that all people, as they all share in his goodness, should also join in thanks to their common benefactor: O praise the Lord, all ye nations, (Gentiles), praise him all ye people; for his merciful kindness is great towards us; and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Again the Prophet Isaiah expressly and clearly declares, Isa 11:10, There shall be a root of Jesse, (that is, the Messiah), and he shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, and in him shall the Gentiles hope: ελπιουσιν· And thus the apostle proves, both to the Jews and to the Gentiles, who were probably unwilling to join with each other in religious fellowship, that they had both an equal right to glorify God, being equally interested in his mercy, goodness, and truth; and that, from the evidence of the above scriptures, the Gentiles had as much right to hope in Christ, for the full enjoyment of his kingdom, as the Jews had: and, taking occasion from the last word hope, ελπιουσιν, which we improperly translate trust, he pours out his heart in the following affectionate prayer.

SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED AND CONCLUDED. (Rom 15:1-13) We then that are strong--on such points as have been discussed, the abolition of the Jewish distinction of meats and days under the Gospel. See on Rom 14:14; Rom 14:20. ought . . . not to please ourselves--ought to think less of what we may lawfully do than of how our conduct will affect others.

that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy--A number of quotations from the Old Testament here follow, to show that God's plan of mercy embraced, from the first, the Gentiles along with the Jews. as it is written-- (Psa 18:49). I will confess to--that is, glorify thee among the Gentiles.