Psalm 65:3

Psalm 65:3

You forgave our transgressions

This is a verse that we might expect to find in the New Testament, written by the Apostle Paul perhaps? It is certainly the stuff of many, many testimonies that I have read and heard over the years, when people from all walks of life talk about the moment when they became overwhelmed by their sins and they turned to Christ to save them. In fact, we have all had such moments, when we recognise our failure and our helpless state as dirty, broken individuals who are cut off from the mercy of the God who is holy and just. This is the heart of the Gospel that we preach, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

However, it comes as a surprise to find such a statement in the middle of the Psalms! “When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.”  There are many who say that they don’t like the God of the Old Testament, He is harsh and angry and destructive. Is that so? This verse suggests otherwise; that God never changes and that His mercy, grace and love were as real in the time of David as they are now. I believe that the word “forgave” here literally means, “made atonement for”. In other words, long before Jesus Christ appeared God was willing to accept the sacrifices that He had appointed and through them, He forgave His peoples’ sins.  Nothing has changed, except that one sacrifice has been made, by God Himself, and that sacrifice covers all sins forever. Hallelujah!

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