Psalms 22:27–31

Psalms 22:27 — "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh"

The Hebrew verb yizkĕrû ("shall remember") carries enormous covenantal weight in the Old Testament. To "remember" in the biblical idiom is not mere mental recall but active re-orientation — a turning of the whole person back to the source of life. The universalism here is staggering against its ancient Near Eastern backdrop: not just Israel, not just those in proximity to Jerusalem, but kol-afsei-ʾaretz — "all the ends of the earth" — are drawn into the orbit of Yahweh's sovereignty. The phrase "shall turn" (yāšûbû) echoes the vocabulary of prophetic repentance (teshuvah), suggesting that the mission which began in Israel's particularity reaches toward total catholicity. What has caused this turning? The Psalm's preceding verses (vv. 22–26) announce that the psalmist, delivered from mortal anguish, will praise God "in the great congregation" — the proclamation of salvation is the instrument of universal conversion. In Christological reading, the crucified and risen Christ proclaims his deliverance, and from that proclamation the Church goes out to the nations.

Psalms 22:28 — "For the kingdom is Yahweh's"

This verse is the theological hinge of the entire movement. The word kî ("for") grounds the universal turning of v. 27 in an ontological reality: not merely that Yahweh will become king, but that the kingdom belongs to him already and essentially. The Hebrew malkût here is both reign (dynamic, active rule) and realm (the domain of subjects). The nations do not grant Yahweh sovereignty — they recognize what is already true. This is crucial for Catholic ecclesiology: the Church does not establish Christ's Kingdom by her missionary activity but witnesses to a Kingdom already inaugurated. The declaration governs all peoples (mōšēl bagôyîm — "he rules over the nations"), removing any parochial limitation.

Psalms 22:29 — "All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship"

The phrase "shall eat and worship" (ʾākelû wayyishtaḥăwû) recalls the sacred meal — a eucharistic typology that the Fathers found irresistible. In ancient Israel, eating before God was a covenantal act (Exodus 24:11). The "rich ones" (dišnê-ʾaretz, literally "the fat ones of the earth," those who feast abundantly) are called to bow in worship — their prosperity is relativized and re-directed toward adoration. Some ancient manuscripts and patristic readings extend this to include "all who go down to the dust," meaning even the dead are encompassed in this hope, anticipating resurrection. The pairing of eating and worship points proleptically to the Eucharist, where all are fed and all bow before the Lord of all nations.

Psalms 22:30 — "Posterity shall serve him"

The universalism of space (v. 27, all the ends of the earth) is now matched by a universalism of time: zeraʿ ("seed/posterity") — the generations yet unborn — will be counted among his servants. This is not merely optimism about religious continuity; it is covenant language reaching back to the promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:18) that through his seed all nations would be blessed. Every subsequent generation inherits not merely a tradition but a living covenant relationship. The Church understands the transmission of faith across generations — what the Catechism calls Tradition — as the fulfillment of precisely this dynamic.

Psalms 22:31 — "They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born"

The Psalm closes on the note of proclamation (yěsappěrû tzidqātô). The word tzidqāh — "righteousness" — is a rich Hebrew concept encompassing right relationship, fidelity, saving action, and moral order. What future generations will declare is not merely Yahweh's moral demands but his saving deeds. The phrase "a people that shall be born" (ʿam yullad) is striking: those not yet conceived are already the intended recipients of the Gospel. This echoes the missionary imperative: the proclamation that began at the cross and the empty tomb is never finished. There is always a "people yet to be born" who await the word.

Typological and Spiritual Senses

The Christological reading of these verses is among the most ancient in the Church. Justin Martyr (First Apology, 38) and Tertullian both read the entire Psalm as directly prophetic of Christ's Passion and its aftermath. The movement from abandonment (v. 1, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?") to universal reign in vv. 27–31 maps precisely onto the Paschal Mystery: death swallowed up in victory, and from the wounded side of Christ the Church emerges to carry his name to all nations. The "eating" of v. 29 the Fathers consistently associated with the Eucharistic table, where the nations are gathered and fed.

Catholic tradition uniquely illuminates this passage at several interlocking levels.

The Missionary Nature of the Church (Ad Gentes): Vatican II's Ad Gentes (§2) teaches that the Church is "missionary by her very nature," rooted in the Trinitarian plan of salvation. Psalm 22:27–31 provides the Old Testament foundation for this teaching: universal mission is not a later Gentile add-on but belongs to Yahweh's original purpose. The "ends of the earth" that shall turn to the Lord anticipate the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) and Pentecost (Acts 2).

The Kingdom Already and Not Yet: The Catechism (§2816–2817) describes the Kingdom of God as both present and eschatological. Verse 28 — "the kingdom is Yahweh's" — encapsulates this tension: the reign is real now, to be acknowledged universally at the end. St. Augustine (City of God, XVII.17) read this Psalm as describing the two cities converging at last upon the one King.

Eucharistic Typology: St. Thomas Aquinas (Commentum in Psalmos) and St. John Chrysostom both noted that "eating and worshiping" in v. 29 prefigures the Eucharist, where every nation, language, and generation is gathered around the one table of Christ. The Catechism (§1382–1383) echoes this when it describes the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Church's universal mission.

The Communion of Saints Across Time: Verse 30's reference to posterity and v. 31's "people yet to be born" are illuminated by the Church's teaching on the communio sanctorum — the communion that binds all the baptized across time (CCC §948). The proclamation of righteousness is not merely historical but participatory: each generation both receives and transmits the living faith.

For contemporary Catholics, these verses are a direct rebuke to spiritual parochialism and a summons to missionary consciousness. It is easy to treat faith as a private inheritance — something handed down within a family or ethnic community — but Psalm 22:27–31 insists that the logic of the Gospel is inherently outward and forward-moving. "A people yet to be born" will one day hear the proclamation of righteousness: who will carry it to them?

Practically, this passage speaks to three callings. First, evangelization: every Catholic participates in the mission to "all the ends of the earth" — through family catechesis, parish life, witness in the workplace. Second, Eucharistic worship: coming to Mass is not merely personal piety but an enactment of the eschatological banquet where all nations eat and bow before the Lord (v. 29) — a reality that should expand how we experience Sunday liturgy. Third, hope in suffering: Psalm 22 begins in desolation and ends in universal triumph — a trajectory that gives meaning to every dark passage in the believer's life. No suffering is the last word; the Psalm says the kingdom belongs to Yahweh.