The passage in question is Romans 10, in which Paul quotes from Psalm 19. Paul writes, “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world’” (Romans 10:18). Why does Paul quote this particular passage in support of his argument? The question is rarely asked. Instead, people are content with Charles Hodge’s explanation. He writes, “Paul, of course, is not to be understood as quoting the Psalmist as though the ancient prophet was speaking of the gospel. He simply uses scriptural language to express his own ideas, as is done involuntarily almost by every preacher in every sermon” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 349).
A view such as Hodge’s does not do justice to the nature of Scripture. Everything God does or says occurs within the context of the covenant. Consequently, the activities and words of God have their own meaning. The Holy Spirit, by making creation and Scripture a part of the covenantal context, has revealed himself as a Divine Theologian. The human authors of Scripture, because they are recording the Word of Christ, are also engaged in theology. It is not acceptable to use scriptural language to express one’s own ideas. The language must be used to express the intended idea of the authors. We must, therefore, conclude that any subsequent use within scripture of a prior scriptural passage either assumes or constitutes the proper exegesis of that passage.
How, then, does Paul read David? The most common take on Psalm 19:1-6 is that it is about General Revelation as it is found in nature. When this is combined with the view that Paul is speaking about the Israelites, the following interpretation results: Just as the heavens reveal God to the entire world, even so, the prophets preached to all of Israel. Or, supposing that Paul is speaking about the Gentiles, a similar interpretation results: Just as the heavens reveal God to the entire world, even so, the gospel from the time of Christ to Paul’s time had gone out to the whole world. F. F. Bruce writes, “It is unnecessary to suppose that Paul regarded Psalm 19:4 as a regular prediction of the world-wide dissemination of the gospel; the dissemination of the gospel, it is implied, is becoming as world-wide as the light of the heavenly bodies” (The Letter of Paul to the Romans, 197). Both of these views amount to nothing more than an argument from analogy.
Nonetheless, analogies are not inherently evil. In fact, they are essential to the typological nature of scripture. Paul actually is making explicit an analogy between Natural revelation and the gospel. The point we must remember, however, is that this analogy was already embedded in the words of David. Paul does not reference David to support his own answer to the question, “Have they not heard?” Rather, Paul quotes the Psalm because David has already answered the question. This is rarely acknowledged because the object of Paul’s question is readily apparent from Romans 10:16. Paul is asking, “Have they not heard the gospel?”
Paul’s theology is informed by that of David; therefore, we will now consider this for ourselves. When David writes of the declaration of God’s glory in creation, he is interpreting the creation according to the covenant. While presenting his case that creation is fashioned upon the model of the Glory-cloud and is, therefore, covenantal, Meredith G. Kline observes, “The heavens declare the glory of God in the special sense that they are a copy of the archetypal Glory of God” (Images of the Spirit, 20).
Covenant theology is uniquely about Christ. He receives the blessings of the covenant in exchange for fulfilling its obligations. The basic flow of the covenant can be seen in the WCF (VII.ii), which concerns the Covenant of Works made with Adam. In this covenant, life is promised to Adam and “in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.” Adam’s role in the Covenant of Works is modeled after that of the Son of God in the Intratrinitarian Covenant. We also know that, upon Adam’s failure to fulfill the obligations of the Covenant of Works, Christ is made the Federal Head in his place. Adam only exists to serve the purposes of Christ, who alone is the Alpha and Omega of the covenant.
Having presupposed the covenant as the context for the creation, David uses the sun to depict the movement of Christ within the covenant. Consider the threefold imagery in Psalm 19:5, 6. The sun is like a bridegroom leaving his chamber; like a strong man, the sun runs its course with joy; nothing is hidden from the heat of the sun. Christ is the bridegroom of his church (Revelation 21:2,9); Christ ran the race before us, enduring the cross for the joy that was set before him (Hebrews 12:2,3); Christ is the one to whom we must give account, from whose eyes no creature is hidden (Hebrews 4:13). Note that, in all three cases, Christ is depicted in a covenantal relationship.
In the concluding section of Psalm 19, David presupposes the covenant, in terms of the treaty structure of Special revelation, as the context for Redemptive History. This time, he uses himself to depict the movement of Christ within the covenant. The declaration of the covenant is recorded in terms of law, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, and rules. This covenantal declaration is of those obligations, the keeping of which are necessary for the servant to be rewarded. See Psalm 19:11, “Moreover, by them is your servant warned; and in keeping them there is great reward.” David’s juxtaposition of “your servant” with the first person singular pronoun identifies this servant as himself. However, when we consider the servant in terms of the theology of this Psalm, he is identified as the one who must keep the Covenant of Works. The servant is Christ. Yet, by noting the pleas of the servant to be declared innocent from hidden faults, and kept back from presumptuous sins, the idea that Christ is the servant is rarely considered. Why, after all, would Christ address the LORD as, “My redeemer”?
If Christ is not evident in this passage, it is because due consideration is not being given to the theology of the history of salvation. This history is depicted throughout the Old Testament; however, it objectively takes place within the life of Christ. We are justified because Christ was declared innocent from hidden faults. Presumptuous sins have no dominion over us because Christ was kept back from them. We are blameless and innocent of great transgression because of our union with Christ. David’s identity with Christ is our identity with Christ. Consequently, the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts are acceptable to God because he is Christ’s rock and redeemer.
When David wrote, the covenant, of which Christ is the focus, had already been declared. David does not claim that the journey of the sun through the heavens constitutes the declaration of the covenant. That declaration occurred when the Spirit-infused throne room of God served both as the covenantal model for creation and as the paradigm for Adam’s creation in the imago Dei. The journey of the sun is God’s republication of this declaration. Psalm 19 is David’s interpretation thereof.
In this light, witness the theology of Paul, called by God as an apostle to the Gentiles. We have already noted that the content of what has been heard is the same for both David and Paul. David has already made the analogy between the sun in the heavens and the revelation of Christ in the covenant. Paul identifies this revelation as the gospel. Yet, if the original declaration of the covenant is coterminous with the creation, how can it be a declaration of the gospel? Adam had not yet fallen. It is that declaration without which the gospel would be meaningless. This declaration had to be made to Adam before he fell; that is, while all those who are in Adam were still within the favor of God. It could not be a post-fall event; otherwise, not being able to promise the reward of the covenant, it could not form the basis for the future declaration of the gospel to the world.
Paul’s dependence on the theology of David is for the purpose of defending his own ministry to the Gentiles. Despite the insertion of “Israelites” by some translations in Romans 10:16, it does not occur in the original language. Consequently, the “they” of vs. 18 is not limited to Jews. Its meaning needs to be determined by vs. 12, which says, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek.” The ones to whom Paul is compelled to preach the gospel are all of those in Adam to whom the first declaration of the covenant was made.
This declaration of the covenant was made by Christ. It was Christ saying to his people, “I will live in union with you forever.” Even so, the declaration of the gospel must also be made by Christ. Paul defends his ministry to the Gentiles, not to exalt himself, but because the preached Word is the means whereby Christ reveals himself. Just as David has taken on the identity of Christ in the form of a servant, Paul takes on the identity of Christ in the form of a preacher. He asks in Romans 10:14, “How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” The translation of the first question is misleading. It does not only concern belief in him of whom they have heard; rather, the issue is belief in him whom they have heard. There is no “of.” Ultimately, Paul is defending the right of Christ to preach his own gospel. Romans 10:17 concludes, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Posted by kcourter at outubro 10, 2003 4:34 PM