Daily Devotional By Desiringgod Ministry – John Piper Ministry 12 OCTOBER 2024 | Topic: Every Tribe Will Sing

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Every Tribe Will Sing

The Psalm That Keeps Me in Missions

Article by

Dieudonné Tamfu

Professor, Bethlehem College and Seminary

What might inspire a family to move across the world for the sake of the gospel? I live with my wife and two children in Cameroon, where we planted a church and established an extension site for Bethlehem College and Seminary. Before leaving the Western world, we consistently returned to Psalm 22:27–28 as the primary motivation for our relocation:

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.

We moved to a challenging place because we believe in the God who owns all the kingdoms of the earth, and who has promised that all the families of the nations will worship before him.

Missionaries, church planters, and all who labor among the nations for the sake of the gospel can find great hope in Psalm 22. You might wonder, How can a psalm of lament be a source of hope? We often remember this psalm on Good Friday, the darkest day in history, but this is not just a Good Friday psalm. The concluding verses of Psalm 22 take us beyond the horrors of Calvary to a glorious hope for world missions, especially in our darker seasons: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.”

The Dark Valley

The first part of Psalm 22 captures David’s confusion. By all appearances, God has forsaken him even though he has prayed tirelessly. Despite his circumstances, however, he confesses what is always true of God: “You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3). He also confesses that Israel’s history is a history of God’s faithfulness (Psalm 22:4–5). So even though he feels confused about why God would forsake him, he says, “You are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts” (Psalm 22:9). Trusting his God, David cries for rescue.

“The hardest heart of the highest earthly king is in the hand of the Most High.”

Then David ushers us deeper into his pain. He is surrounded by deadly enemies who gloat over him. They pierce his hands and feet, and God seems to aggravate his woes: “You lay me in the dust of death” (Psalm 22:15). God appears to have joined the camp of his enemies. But even when he feels God’s hand against him, David cries, “Deliver my soul from the sword. . . . Save me from the mouth of the lion” (Psalm 22:20–21).

Jesus took this psalm on his lips in the deepest darkness. Dying under God’s wrath, Jesus cried to God with David’s words. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” His voice echoed the sound of silence. Did God hear David? Did he hear Jesus, the true Song of Israel?

Remember and Return

Just as God raised David from the “dust of death” (Psalm 22:15), God raised Jesus our Savior from the tomb. And just as David was raised so that he could tell of God’s name to his brothers, Jesus was raised to do the same (Hebrews 2:10–12).

Even as God saved David for Israel’s sake, his purposes extended beyond their borders. David says, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and return to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you” (Psalm 22:27). What will they remember, and to what or whom will they return? The context of the psalm shows that they will remember that God delivered his servant to his enemies to die an innocent death, that God raised him to lead the congregation of his people in worship, and that the dominion belongs to God alone. They will remember and return to the God who alone is King.

Here we find power for missions. Because kingship belongs to God and he rules over the nations, all the families of the earth will come to him. The tribes among whom you minister the gospel will remember and return. God will draw people to himself for worship. No war, political leader, constitutional amendments, electoral outcome, or regime change can redirect his eternal purpose of reconciling the world to himself. Because he commands the fate of nations, no cultural shift can derail his mission to unite all people in the adoration of his glory.

David groans in the first part of Psalm 22 and glories in the second. The structure of the psalm teaches us that grief, no matter how deep, is temporal; it will give way to glory. After darkness comes light; after pain comes praise. This was true for David and for the new David, Jesus — and it will be true for his body, the church.

Perhaps you are serving on the mission field, and your family is in a season of trial. Do not think that this darkness means God’s words will fail. Do not lose heart. God’s mission cannot fail. Kingship belongs to him. In your darkest days, let the nations see your resurrection hope.

Light for Your Labors

Psalm 22 has significantly shaped my missionary work. Not only did God use the psalm to move our family to the field, but he now uses it to keep us here. In the pains of ministry, God has reminded me repeatedly through Psalm 22 that our darkest moments in ministry are not the end of the story. Just as the sufferings described in the first part of the psalm give way to praise and the promise of global worship, our trials in the mission field can lead to the fulfillment of God’s promise that all nations will worship him.

Swallowed by darkness, the Light of salvation burst forth to bring the nations back to God.

The anguish of the Messiah was for the adoration of the nations.
The death of the Messiah was for the dance of the nations.
The pain of the Messiah was for the praise of the nations.
The ruin of the Messiah was for the rejoicing of the nations.
The suffering of the Messiah was for the salvation of the nations.
The woe of the Messiah was for the worship of the nations.

Because of the darkness of the Messiah’s death, God will establish his reign over all nations, who will all come to him for worship and rejoicing. May we long with Charles Wesley,

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace.

And may we pray with Wesley and the saints of old,

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of thy name.

Missions Under God’s Kingship

We pray, we long, we suffer, we endure, we labor, we cast off discouragement, we lay aside sin — we work tirelessly and abundantly because we know that our God rules over the nations. He will see to it that our labor is not in vain. He will cause the nations that oppose and hate him to remember and return.

We labor because we know our God holds the hearts of kings in his hands and directs them like streams of water. The hardest heart of the highest earthly king is in the hand of the Most High, and he directs that heart to do whatever he wants whenever he wants. If God did not rule over the kingdom of men, I would not have hope for life and ministry. But because he does, we can labor in the hope of certain success.

One day, “all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.” For King Jesus “rules over the nations.”

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