In what ways does Psalm 50:5 connect with New Testament teachings on covenant? Verse Under Consideration “Gather to Me My saints, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” (Psalm 50:5) Four Key Words That Bridge the Testaments • Gather • Saints • Covenant • Sacrifice Each of those words is picked up and expanded in the New Testament, showing a seamless movement from promise to fulfillment. The Covenant Fulfilled in Christ’s Sacrifice • Psalm 50:5 pictures God’s people bound to Him by “sacrifice.” The New Testament identifies the once-for-all sacrifice that truly seals the covenant: the death of Jesus. – Luke 22:20: “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” – Hebrews 9:12: “He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.” – Hebrews 10:10: “We have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” • What Psalm 50 prefigures in shadow, the Gospels and Epistles announce in substance: covenant relationship anchored in a perfect, substitutionary offering. The Gathered People of God in the New Testament • “Gather to Me” finds its echo in the church’s very existence: – Hebrews 12:22-24 describes believers as already “come to Mount Zion…to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.” – Ephesians 1:10 speaks of God’s plan “to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ.” – Mark 13:27 looks ahead: “He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds.” • The Psalm anticipates both present spiritual assembly and future physical ingathering around the Risen Lord. Saints: Old Term, New Identity • Those invited in Psalm 50:5 are called “saints” (holy ones). The New Testament keeps the same title for all believers: – 1 Corinthians 1:2: believers are “sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints.” – Ephesians 2:19: we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.” • Holiness is not earned but granted through the covenant sacrifice of Christ, fulfilling the Psalm’s designation. One Continuous Story • Jeremiah 31:31 promised a “new covenant.” Psalm 50 shows God already speaking of covenant secured by sacrifice; Jeremiah promises its fuller, internal realization; the New Testament records its completion in Christ. • 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 repeats God’s promise to “receive you” and “be your Father,” linking directly back to the gathered-to-God theme of Psalm 50. Living the Reality of the Covenant • Confidence—God has already gathered you to Himself through Christ’s blood. • Holiness—saints live set-apart lives (Romans 12:1). • Community—believers assemble as one people, reflecting the heavenly gathering seen in Hebrews 12. • Mission—because the New Covenant is for “all nations” (Matthew 28:19), we invite others into the gathered company of God’s saints. Psalm 50:5 foreshadows the New Covenant themes that the New Testament openly proclaims: a people called saints, gathered to God, bound to Him forever through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. |
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