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The Response of the Redeemed - Psalm 22:22-31

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
    the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
    but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
    May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.

The second half of Psalm 22 deals with the response of the afflicted to the Lord’s deliverance. This part of the psalm cannot reflect the experience of Christ in the same way that earlier verses foretold certain aspects of His crucifixion. Jesus did not experience deliverance in the same way that David did and we do. God the Father raised him, but being at the same time God Himself, it was impossible for Christ to stay dead. “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it (Acts 2:24).”

At the same time, however, these verses still have Messianic implications. David speaks here of the worship and praise and celebration and provision after his time of suffering was over. He will tell others about his deliverance and praise God for it (vv. 22, 25). He will also call on others to praise Him, too (v. 23). He praises God for remembering him, for not rejecting him when he was despised and rejected by men (v. 24). And he celebrates God’s provision, that the “afflicted shall eat and be satisfied (v. 26).”

Beginning with verse 27, however, David describes worship in a setting other than Jerusalem. Here he is speaking about the worship that will take place in heaven when Jesus Christ’s kingdom is fully realized.

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.

The same Christ Who suffered and died on the cross was raised to life and ascended to glory in heaven, where He reigns at God’s right hand. “Kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations.” Christ’s kingdom includes not just Israel, but all nations, and all the families of the nations worship Him. When He returns to consummate His kingdom, one of its characteristics will be this type of universal worship.

We live in between the time of David and the time of Christ’s kingdom fully realized. During this time we can worship Him and celebrate the deliverance from sin and death on a scale wider than what David knew. We can rejoice in His provision, not just for our tired and hungry bodies, but for our souls. But during this time another thing we do is share this great salvation, as David did (v. 22). Verses 30 and 31 are for us:

30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Let us tell the coming generation of our great salvation. Let us proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn. Praise Him for His saving mercy!

Fri, 07/18/2014 - 12:55 -- john_hendryx

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