The Meaning of Psalms 50:5 Explained

Psalms 50:5

KJV: Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

YLT: Gather ye to Me My saints, Making covenant with Me over a sacrifice.

Darby: Gather unto me my godly ones, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice!

ASV: Gather my saints together unto me, Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Gather  my saints  together unto me; those that have made  a covenant  with me by sacrifice. 

What does Psalms 50:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 50:1-15 - Sacrifices Which God Desires
This is one of the most majestic compositions of this book. For literary power it cannot be excelled. The psalmist hears God calling the whole world from east to west. His presence is compared to the dawn and to a tropical storm. When He is seated on His throne, the heavens and the earth bear witness while He judges His people. Then up the crowded aisles His saints advance and stand before Him.
There is no need to enlarge upon the spiritual insight of the psalmist, who realizes that God cannot be enriched by anything that we can bring; but insists on the sacrifice of thanksgiving, vows of consecration, and the loud call for help in the day of trouble. These are characteristic of those whose God is the Lord, and of the people whom He has taken for His own inheritance. Let us specially ponder these three conditions of the happy life, Psalms 50:14-15. What comfort is contained in the blessed promise of Psalms 50:15! It is so absolute in its certainty and assurance. God has here bound Himself to deliver the soul that calls on Him in its trouble and give it reason to glorify Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 50

1  The majesty of God in the church
5  His order to gather his saints
7  The pleasure of God is not in ceremonies
14  but in sincerity of obedience

What do the individual words in Psalms 50:5 mean?

Gather together to Me My saints Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice
אִסְפוּ־ לִ֥י חֲסִידָ֑י כֹּרְתֵ֖י בְרִיתִ֣י עֲלֵי־ זָֽבַח

אִסְפוּ־  Gather  together 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
לִ֥י  to  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
חֲסִידָ֑י  My  saints 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: חָסִיד  
Sense: faithful, kind, godly, holy one, saint, pious.
כֹּרְתֵ֖י  Those  who  have  made 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
בְרִיתִ֣י  a  covenant  with  Me 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בְּרִית  
Sense: covenant, alliance, pledge.
זָֽבַח  sacrifice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זֶבַח  
Sense: sacrifice.