How does Psalm 85:2 connect with New Testament teachings on forgiveness? Psalm 85:2 – God’s Historic Act of Pardon “You forgave the iniquity of Your people; You covered all their sin. Selah.” (Psalm 85:2) Key Terms that Bridge Testaments • Forgave – a completed, decisive removal of guilt • Covered – the Old-Covenant picture of atonement, literally “put out of sight,” pointing to a greater covering yet to come Foreshadowing the Cross • Israel’s Day of Atonement sacrifices annually “covered” sin with shed blood (Leviticus 16). • Psalm 85:2 celebrates one of those national moments when God applied that covering. • The New Testament reveals that those rituals were “a shadow of the good things to come” (Hebrews 10:1) fulfilled in Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice. New Testament Echoes of Psalm 85:2 • Full Forgiveness Secured – Ephesians 1:7: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses…” – Colossians 2:13-14: God “forgave us all our trespasses… nailing it to the cross.” • Covering Expanded to Cleansing – 1 John 1:9: He “forgive[s] us our sins and… cleanse[s] us from all unrighteousness.” – Hebrews 9:12: Christ entered “once for all… securing eternal redemption.” • Sin No Longer Remembered – Hebrews 10:17: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” – 2 Corinthians 5:19: God is “not counting men’s trespasses against them.” • Psalm Language Quoted by Paul – Romans 4:7-8 cites Psalm 32’s twin verbs—“forgiven… covered”—to prove that righteousness comes by faith, not works, anticipating the same grace Psalm 85:2 celebrates. From Covering to Cleansing: The Progression 1. Old Covenant: Blood of animals covers sin temporarily (Hebrews 10:4). 2. Cross: Christ’s blood removes sin permanently (John 1:29; Hebrews 10:10). 3. Believer’s Experience: Ongoing fellowship as we confess and receive that same forgiveness (1 John 1:7-9). Living in the Reality of Psalm 85:2 Today • Rest in the finished work—your iniquity is not merely hidden but erased. • Celebrate the continuity of God’s heart: the grace glimpsed in Psalm 85 finds its fullest expression in Christ. • Extend the same forgiveness to others (Ephesians 4:32), mirroring the God who both forgave and covered you. |
    |