Psalm 22

²⁷             The ends of the earth shall remember

                        and turn to the Lord.

            All the tribes of the nations

                        shall worship before You.

²⁸             For dominion belongs to the Lord,

                        He rules over the nations.

²⁹             Before Him shall the proud of the earth feast and worship;

                        before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

                        those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰             Posterity shall serve him;

                        It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation.

³¹             His righteousness shall be proclaimed

 to a people yet unborn:

            He has finished it!

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He Has Done It!

For the Lord’s Day:  the 21^st of November 2004

 

Introduction:  The Congressional Record, which is the daily record of the activities of Congress, has long had a policy of sending the carefully transcribed comments to the members of Congress for their emendation, extension or change.  Since these comments are often recast in a more positive light before a watching world, we often get a sense that this posture is strange indeed?  However, in a literary sense – every author is allowed the final word over what he places in print.  Even Calvin and Luther edited their sermons afterwards to better reflect what they truly meant to say.  I start with this example so that we may better understand the ending of this particular psalm. 

 

The last words on the meaning of this Psalm, come to us from the cross of Christ.  “It is finished,” He announced and immediately “he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”  (John 19: 30) Of course in David’s earlier version, the first edition:  the last line reads differently, simply translated it reads:  “that He has done it.”  I have not been afraid of editing that same last line in these prophetic words:  “He has finished it!”  We then leave it to the author of live to substitute the appropriate noun to demonstrate the final accomplishment of this majestic “Psalm of the Cross.”

 

Of course, we live in a time different from that of David, we have read the final chapters of the revelation story begun so many ages before, in the oldest book of the Bible, by Job - who even then, saw a vision of the end when his own Redeemer would live and reign.  Thus, we like Spurgeon are free to see and taste the Lord of life in every word and phrase writ large in this psalm celebrating the final victory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Forgive me for starting with the ending of this precious section, but it must indeed frame our understanding of what the Lord through David is declaring for all mankind.  Delitzsch too catches the prophetic implications here when he writes:  “The call to thanksgiving is now ended; and there follows a grateful upward glance towards the Author of the salvation; and this grateful upward glance grows into a prophetic view of the future.”

 

Calvin too senses the majestic message of prophetic revelation before us:  “This passage, beyond all doubt, shows that David stops not at his own person, but that under himself, as a type, he describes the promised Messiah.”

 

Development:  With that introduction, we may begin our verse by verse meditation.  Verse twenty-seven looks beyond the apparent limited reign of God over Israel and senses a time when:

 

“The ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.

                All the tribes of the nations shall worship before You.”

 

Now let us understand this prophecy within the clear implications and pronouncements of the scriptures.  On the final day all the tribes of the nations shall have representatives who have come to the Lord of all the earth in worship and homage.  These various families, clans, tribes and nations shall extend even to the very ends of the earth.  The gospel of grace shall claim adherents from every people known to inhabit the world.  Of course, we well understand as orthodox Christians that the proposition that “anyone” can come to and know the Lord is not the same as the false understanding that “everyone” has the same opportunity.  This vision was known even in the Old Covenant Church and there were classic examples of pagans who came to know, love and worship the God of David.  Even within the palace guard, the heroic warriors gathered from all over the Middle East – we know several who worshipped David’s God and served God’s glorious earthly king, counting such service to David’s own greater Son to come.

 

The next verse, the twenty-eighth is simple in its proposition:

 

“For dominion belongs to the Lord,

                He rules over the nations.”

 

Even before the coming of God’s only Son, the Lord of heaven rules over all the nations to whom Christ shall have dominion in the Kingdom of God.  Here we sense that God is, was and always will be the only sovereign ruler over all creation.  The handful of adherents who served David in his time, were to be but a sampling of the greater gathering of tribes and clans around the cross and banner of Christ our King.  Before they were converted, the Irish had a tradition of a “High King” over all the green lands of their faire isle.  In spite of bloodshed and all manner of wars between the various tribes, it was finally only under the banner of Christ that this Irish expectation was proclaimed in the wonderful Eighth Century hymn:  “Be Thou My Vision.”  “High King of heaven, my treasure thou art,” the Irish sang in wonderous awe of the faithful fulfillment of their long expectation.  “Christ shall have dominion over land and sea!” as another missionary hymn declares.  David senses these blessings long ages before.

 

Verse twenty-nine is somewhat difficult as my Translator’s Handbook admits.  While there are various opinions on how best to translate this poetry, I have gone with as literal an application as I could:

 

“Before Him shall the proud of the earth feast and worship;

                before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

                those who cannot keep themselves alive.”

 

In this threefold declaration, David senses the two types of people who at long last will stand before the Lord of heaven, when He comes again at the end of the age.  In the first line, I believe we read of the church – those who were formerly proud in their own sin, but have been brought to the great feast and worship of heaven.  In line two, we have the worldly wicked who must finally acknowledge the Lordship of Christ and then go the way of all the earth.  Both groups are evaluated in the sense that their final keeping is not in their own hands, but fully in the hands of Him to come.

 

Application:  In the last two verses, Calvin tells us the events foretold here are not transitory, but the work of the church is declared:  “The perpetuity of the Church is here abundantly proved, and in very clear terms: not that it always flourishes or continues in the same uniform course through successive ages, but because God, unwilling that his name should be extinguished in the world, will always raise up some sincerely to devote themselves to his service.”

 

David of course has not the benefit of hindsight that we within the Church possess in our day.  However – the clarity of his words should inspire us to know that just as David’s kingdom and rule were carefully under the guidance and protection of the Holy Spirit, so too are our days and times.  Recently, a young lady or my acquaintance had a bad day, but it providentially came out well.  She was frustrated with the accidents which she avoided only by the grace of the Lord.  I gently reminded her that while she should be more careful in what she did day to day, yet still she should be glad to see the protective hand of the Lord around her.

 

“Posterity shall serve him;

                It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation.

His righteousness shall be proclaimed

to a people yet unborn:”

 

In these words, we should hope for the ongoing prosperity of Christ’s Church, that even in interesting times, the Lord is still working and whenever the shadows of the worldly ignorant are pushed back, it is the work of the Lord in bringing many souls into His kingdom.

 

All of these meditations should lead us to the obvious conclusion of history.  As we look forward to that great day when all heaven breaks loose, we can look back to the hopeful words of David at the end of this precious Psalm:  “He has finished it!”

 

And as we began, so shall we finish – in the great Amen to this Psalm, when Christ took the prophetic words of David and put it into the grand declaration of His kingdom brought in:  “It is finished!”  It is finished because Christ has simply and aptly declared:  “I have finished it!”  Even as David hoped, so may we.  “Come quickly Lord Jesus come quickly” and complete the final chapter of history.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

 

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

The Westminster Confession & Catechisms.

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