The Ends of the Earth

People from all nations and generations will proclaim God’s righteousness and Christ’s finished work.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” . . . All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. . . . Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it. Psalm 22:1, 27, 30–31

During a vicious attack from his foes, David cries, “I am less than a man, a nothing, a worm in the dirt. They mock me. They spit at me. They shake their heads and sneer. They circle me like ravenous beasts. They pierce my hands, my feet. I can see my bones. My tormentors roar like bulls and dogs and wild oxen. I am poured out, empty, broken. My heart melts inside me. My strength is gone, my tongue sticks to my mouth. I lie in the dust of death” (adapted from Psalm 22:6–18).

No recorded incident in David’s life matches the intensity and agony of these words. His lament exceeds his own suffering and foreshadows Christ’s suffering. David's agony anticipates the immeasurable agony Jesus will endure on the cross when He pays the price for the salvation of the nations. Psalm 22 is a prophecy in the form of a cry.

As the psalm continues, David descends into suffering but rises in worship. He begins in despair but ends in confidence with the final words, “he has done it,” a foreshadowing of Christ’s triumphant cry on the cross—“It is finished.” In the latter half of the psalm, David has turned his gaze from himself to the nations, and his tone changes from lament to praise. He refocuses his attention in the midst of his circumstance and sees something bigger than himself: God’s mission for the nations and the coming generations.

We learn two important truths about God’s missional heart.

1. The nations will turn to the Lord. “All the ends of the earth shall turn to the Lord.” Christ’s death on the cross was not just for one nation but for people of all nations, and it will finally result in the redemption of a multitude.

2. Future generations will hear and respond. “Posterity shall serve him.” The mission does not end—it carries on. It is global and generational, as one generation disciples the next. It is our responsibility to disciple others in response to God’s missional call.

Reflection

Psalm 22 begins in anguish but ends in victory, shifting from despair to praise. Even in suffering, God is working out His purposes. How can you turn your moments of pain into opportunities for worship and witness?

Application

Identify one person in your workplace, school, or neighborhood from a different cultural or ethnic background. Take time to learn about their story, listen to their perspective, and find a way to share the love of Christ with them this week.

Pray

Jesus, you were forsaken so that we might be redeemed. Your agony fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 22, securing salvation for the nations. Through your finished work on the cross, salvation has come to the ends of the earth. Let the nations remember and turn to you.

Open the hearts of those who have never heard your name, and let the gospel reach every tribe, tongue, and people. May every family, every generation, and every nation bow in worship before your throne.

Raise up laborers for the harvest who will declare that redemption is accomplished and the debt is paid. Send us wherever you will, that our lives may be spent for your glory. May our lives reflect Christ’s victory, and may the nations rejoice in your salvation.