Analyzing Psalm 22: The Lord Rules Over the Nations
Psalm 22:27-28; Romans 5:8 - Jesus thought of ME on the cross as He loved us so much that He gave Himself for our sins.
”All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord’s And He rules over the nations.“
Psalms 22:27-28 NASB1995
As God remembers the Forsaken ones, He sees all of the world remembering and turning to Him. Let’s do some words in Hebrew to see deeper meanings!
Ends comes from the Hebrew word אֶפֶס or ʼepheç. Using the Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon from the Blue letter Bible this is a good definition:
End, extremity, only in the poetic phrase אַפְסֵי אֶרֶץ (Psalm 59:14 הארץ א׳) ends, extreme limits, of the earth, used especially hyperbolically.
Earth comes from the Hebrew word אֶרֶץ or ʼerets with the following Biblical usages:
land, earth
earth
whole earth (as opposed to a part)
earth (as opposed to heaven)
earth (inhabitants)
land
country, territory
district, region
tribal territory
piece of ground
land of Canaan, Israel
inhabitants of land
Sheol, land without return, (under) world
city (-state)
ground, surface of the earth
ground
soil
(in phrases)
people of the land
space or distance of country (in measurements of distance)
level or plain country
land of the living
end(s) of the earth
(almost wholly late in usage)
lands, countries
often in contrast to Canaan
Several, if not all, of these usages seem appropriate to the context of this passage.
Remember comes from the Hebrew word זָכַר or zâkar, with the following Biblical usages:
to remember, recall, call to mind
(Qal) to remember, recall
(Niphal) to be brought to remembrance, be remembered, be thought of, be brought to mind
(Hiphil)
to cause to remember, remind
to cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance
to mention
to record
to make a memorial, make remembrance
At the extreme limits of the Earth (to include all countries, all inhabitants), the people will recall and turn to the Lord. This is not limited to the people of Israel. Jesus came to redeem every human soul on Earth who would believe! Each person in the photo below is a unique soul, created in God’s image. All they have to do is turn and remember Him!
I really like this commentary in Enduring Word:
All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD: The faithfulness of God to the Forsaken One even becomes the base for bringing all the ends of the world to the LORD. Not only is it true that the LORD has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted (Psalm 22:24), but He uses that affliction to reach all the ends of the world for the knowledge of God, for repentance unto Him, and for His worship (all the families of the nations shall worship before You).
We may say that this section of Psalm 22 shows the second great reason why Jesus went to the cross: out of simple love for those who would believe on Him and His saving work, and therefore remember and turn to the LORD. It is not an overly-sentimental exaggeration to say that Jesus thought of His redeemed and loved them up to the cross and on the cross.
Hebrews 12:2 says of Jesus: who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame. Psalm 22 powerfully displays that joy, both in His obedience to and glorifying of His God and Father, and the joy of rescuing and loving those who would trust on Him; that there would be brethren that He declared the name of God unto (Psalm 22:22).
“In that last happy interval, before he actually gave up his soul into his Father’s hands, his thoughts rushed forward and found a blessed place of rest in the prospect that, as the result of his death, all the kindreds of the nations would worship before the Lord, and that by a chosen seed the Most High should be honored.” (Charles Spurgeon)
“I think it is an absolutely wonderful thought and one that should move us to the most intent love for and devotion to Jesus Christ. You and I were in Jesus’ thoughts at the very moment of his death. It was for you and me explicitly and for our salvation from sin that he was dying.” (James Montgomery Boice)
Think about this! The suffering and death of Jesus on the cross was not some remote historical event that occurred over 2,000 years ago. He, in that instant of time that stretches for eternity, had ME (Barb Sande) in His thoughts because He loves me. He had YOU, dear reader, in His thoughts, even though we will be born in the distant future after that event. He had every single human soul on His mind from the time of Creation, offering us the gift of salvation if we repent and believe on Him. The end has not yet come, so there is still time stretching into an unknown future for seeing and remembering and turning to this love. I am reminded of this verse, which seems even more profound now:
”But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.“
Romans 5:8 NASB1995
He saw my sins. He saw your sins. He saw the sins of a mass murderer running a concentration camp and killing people he hates. He saw the sins of those we would now call saints. He saw the sins of those who have chosen to look away from Him and turn to this world for comfort. He saw the sins of those who preceded Him in life. He saw those innumerable sins and gave Himself so we can join with Him if we repent and believe. Well, I’m in tears right now. I didn’t expect to find this insight for these verses today. That’s what I love about doing this - the two dimensional words on a page jump out and live when you dig into the meanings a little bit more. I can never think of the crucifixion the same way again. It is truly personal! I want to shout from the rooftops to those who don’t believe: He believes in you and thought of you while He suffered and died, in love, for you. Put aside your arrogance, your pride, your self-righteousness and your skepticism and look to the cross.
One more word from the Hebrew: The nations that the Lord rules over are גּוֹי or gôwy, which usually means Gentiles or heathen nations. Not only does the Lord rule over His chosen people of Israel, He rules over everyone else. The Pharisees really distorted the meaning and purpose of the Messiah and even the early believers (see my series on Galatians) distorted the Promise to think that the laws were what mattered more than anything else, even above His undying grace. Here is what Enduring Word says about His rule and craving the kingdom:
For the kingdom is the LORD’s, and He rules over the nations: The experience of affliction and crisis did not make the formerly Forsaken One lose any sense of confidence in God’s power and authority. The LORD’s reign over the nations makes sense of both His prior crisis and the call to all nations to worship before the LORD (Psalm 22:27).
This reminds us that one day Jesus will reign over all nations. It would be unthinkable otherwise. “Is Christ, the great King, satisfied to settle down in a corner of the world as ruler over one scanty province?” (Charles Spurgeon)
“Our new-born nature craves for the spread of the Redeemer’s kingdom, and prays for it instinctively.” (Charles Spurgeon)
My next devotional examines Psalm 22:29 - All will bow down before Him. There will be one more devotional on Psalm 22 (I will not do a separate summary of this one), then I plan to dive into the epistle of 1 John.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I am humbled, grateful and joyful to know that You thought of ME while taking on the sins of the world. Please forgive me for my sins and help me to grow in faith and obedience. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 3/17/2024 to review the lexicon for ends, earth, remember and nations.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Sorry for the stupid question Barb but the picture with the flags at the beginning do you know where that is at? Just curious