“The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” – Psalm 22:26-28
As David closes out this psalm he proclaims the answering of prayer by Yahweh will result in praise from the singer, from elect of Israel, and from the nations. The promise of the justification of all the people groups assured to Abraham (Gen 12) will be completed by the gospel of Jesus being spread by his disciples. As the nations receive the blessing of the Lord there will be global praise for the Savior. The clear and prophetic reference to Christ throughout the OT is fulfilled in the modern and future church.
Jesus is the topic and the foretold Savior which is mentioned throughout the OT. The Bible is not 66 unconnected tales, or even two divided times of worship of God. The Scriptures are one connected story which tells of the grace and mercy of our Father being foretold and fulfilled in Jesus. Christ was not the second choice but was predicted throughout the OT. Duane Garrett said, “The psalm anticipates Christ’s outcry from the cross, the mockery He received, His pain and thirst, the piercing of His hands and feet, and the casting of lots for His clothes. But it also looks forward to His victory and the coming of people from all nations to submit to Him.”[1] The victory over death was longed for in the OT and expected here in this psalm. The afflicted throughout the nations will seek the truth and be satisfied in Christ.
As the lost pant for justice and cry for mercy it is the modern church which must deliver them the satisfaction found only in the saving blood of Christ. The nations will be reached, but only when the Bride of Christ decides they will labor among every people group for the glory of God. Take your church into the nations to allow them to worship our Father.
[1] Duane A. Garrett, “The Poetic and Wisdom Books,” in Holman Concise Bible Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 222.