Ps. 50.5 (gather my people to me)

“Gather my devotees / to me – those / about to make a covenant / with me / by sacrifice.” This verse is, in its own way, a (if not the) central verse of the psalm. What we come to see here is crucial to grasp: the tremendous theophany of God, his ‘stepping forth’, his ‘speaking’, his summoning—all of this overpowering display of his person, has been aimed at not ‘revealing himself’ but to enter into covenant with Israel. All of this is therefore to direct our attention—and, more importantly, our awe and wonder—at the covenant itself and the fact that this utterly astonishing God has come (has ‘stepped forth’) to “meet his people” and bring them into covenant with himself.  The psalmist is obviously almost at a loss of words at describing the magnitude of the event. Indeed, one could almost say that creation itself did not garnish for itself such an amazing ‘stepping forth’ of God. If so, such an observation would call for us to realize that, just as the whole ‘world’ (and, indeed all of heaven and earth) has been summoned to this rite, so too is it seen to be but a secondary moment within God’s action for covenant. Meaning—that God’s entrance into covenant with his people is of a greater import than creation itself. Indeed, as Genesis does make clear, creation itself is made for the purpose of covenant. There is something along these lines that is important to note about these verses—the covenant is going to be made not individually, but corporately. God’s stepping forth and his ‘summoning’ is all in service of this ‘gathering’ of his ‘devotees’. Here I think we need to point out a thematic link with the opening. The psalm opened, and has emphasized twice, that God ‘summons’ the world and ‘heaven and earth’. The entirely of creation has been ‘gathered’ together in order to witness this great ‘gathering’ of God’s people. As we indicated above, it may be that what we see in this is that God’s covenant with Israel is truly of creation-wide importance. A further observation and question is to whom is God speaking? Is this a direction to the heavens and earth to gather his people or is he speaking directly to them, asking they now gather in his presence? Could it be to his heavenly hosts? I don’t know that there is a way to resolve this, nor do I think it is particularly important. What is key to note in this vein, however, is that Israel in being ‘gathered’ is being ‘brought to attention’ and placed within the presence of God. The fact that they are the last party to arrive (to be gathered/summoned) adds to an effect we have been tracing: the sense that they are going to be the object of scrutiny, that the focus is now shifting, entirely, to them. This dramatic sense of ‘gathering’ and the turning of the gaze to Israel is enforced in the following line: “those about to make covenant with me by sacrifice”. There is clearly the sense here of a build-up, of a liturgical enactment that actually performs reality (i.e., a sacrament). In other words, the ‘gathering’ is here in anticipation of the rite that will actually seal the covenant between God and Israel. Lastly, what will become a central concern is the fact of all covenants: the sacrifice. It only needs to be pointed out here but the fact that God specifically alludes to the sacrifice keys the congregants into the fact that his later discourse will center on precisely that action.