I Will Praise You (Psalm 22:22-28)

²² I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you^[f] I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.

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What is striking in this section is the picture it portrays of the result of the Savior’s work.

The one who was forsaken by God has completed His work.  Two main results are depicted:  Worship and Mission.  First, he describes how the name of the Lord will be praised among God’s people.  God had not in fact utterly forsaken His people, but rather had come to save them.  As a result, His people will praise Him.

The other result is that all the ends of the earth will turn to the Lord.  This is a picture of the fulfillment of the Great Commission.  The worship will not be limited to the children of Israel, but will involve all the ends of the earth, because the Lord is Lord of all.

If this is the ultimate result of Christ’s work, what should be the result of His work in my life today?  What I see here is an encouragement to worship and witness.  I am to worship my Lord  – preferably in the assembly, but that may not be possible on this given day – and then give witness to Him among the nations.  That I can do this day through my words and deeds.

So my prayer today is that the beautiful completed picture in these verses would be seen in my life today as well, as I worship my Savior, and give witness to Him by words and deeds.

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