“Gather not my soul with sinners.” 
              — Psalms 26:9

Fear made David pray thus, for something whispered, “Perhaps, after
all, thou mayst be gathered with the wicked.” That fear, although
marred by unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising
from the recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire,
“What if at the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left
out of the catalogue of the saved?” He recollects his present
unfruitfulness-so little grace, so little love, so little holiness, and
looking forward to the future, he considers his weakness and the many
temptations which beset him, and he fears that he may fall, and become
a prey to the enemy. A sense of sin and present evil, and his
prevailing corruptions, compel him to pray, in fear and trembling,
“Gather not my soul with sinners.” Reader, if you have prayed this
prayer, and if your character be rightly described in the Psalm from
which it is taken, you need not be afraid that you shall be gathered
with sinners. Have you the two virtues which David had-the outward
walking in integrity, and the inward trusting in the Lord? Are you
resting upon Christ’s sacrifice, and can you compass the altar of God
with humble hope? If so, rest assured, with the wicked you never shall
be gathered, for that calamity is impossible. The gathering at the
judgment is like to like. “Gather ye together first the tares, and bind
them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” If,
then, thou art like God’s people, thou shalt be with God’s people. You
cannot be gathered with the wicked, for you are too dearly bought.
Redeemed by the blood of Christ, you are his for ever, and where he is,
there must his people be. You are loved too much to be cast away with
reprobates. Shall one dear to Christ perish? Impossible! Hell cannot
hold thee! Heaven claims thee! Trust in thy Surety and fear not!

On this day...

• 1 Samuel 5 - 2023
• 1 Samuel 4 - 2023
• Our open heart - 2011
• Perseverance of the saints - 2011
• Christ cures them that are dead - 2011
• Deal with sin as sin - 2011
• Neglect of the Bible - 2011
• Grace must find expression in life - 2011
• Invaluable Blood of Jesus - 2011
• Sin breaks the rules - 2011