“Gather not my soul with sinners.” — Psalm 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!

To make sure you never miss an episode, please subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.

Producer: Todd Adkins
Voice Artist: Ian Cullen