Psalm 22:24-30 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 22:24-30 on biblegateway.com
Verse 24For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him.
Verse 25From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
Verse 26The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever!
Verse 27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
Verse 28For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
Verse 29To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
Verse 30Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
Devotion
This psalm has been referred to as the magnum opus of the Psalms. Its opening words became the most agonizing of the seven words from the cross. It was quoted derisively by Jesus’ enemies.
Yet it is also a glad hymn of praise and triumph. It is a vision of what is yet to be. It includes remembering and turning to the Lord and worshipping him. In this way, it foreshadows the gospel story – from suffering to redemption in Christ. And it looks forward to the day in which, as Paul says, “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess” (Phil 2:10-11). Those who believe will become evangelists; that is, “future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it” (vv. 30ff).
How fervently do we long for the day when this shall be accomplished.
Prayer
O Lord, grant that we may always glorify you in word and deed. Amen.