Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

September 21– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“Do not gather my soul with sinners.”

—Psalm 26:9

Fear made David pray like this. Something whispered within him, “Perhaps, after all, you may be gathered with the wicked.” That fear, although marred by unbelief, springs mainly from holy anxiety, arising from the recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will inquire, “What if in the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left out of the catalog of the saved?” He considers his present unfruitfulness– so little grace, so little love, so little holiness. And, as he looks forward to the future, he considers his weakness and the many temptations which set him back, and he fears that he may fall and become a prey to the enemy. A sense of sin and present evil compels him to pray in fear and trembling, “Don’t gather my soul with sinners.”

Dear reader, if you have prayed this prayer, and if your character is described as it is in this Psalm, you need not be afraid that you will be gathered with sinners. Do you have 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 approach the altar of God with humble hope? If so, rest assured that you will never be gathered with the wicked, for that calamity is impossible.

Notice what the Scripture says about the judgment: “Gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” If you are like God’s people, then you will 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 forever; and where he is, there must his people be. You are loved too much to be cast away with reprobates. Will anyone who is dear to Christ die? Impossible! Hell cannot hold you! Heaven claims you! Trust the security of Christ, and fear not! [M&E]