An Encouraging Message to Believers from the Pen of Charles H. Spurgeon
"Gather not my soul with sinners." - Psalm 26:9
all, thou mayst be gathered with the wicked." That fear, although marred
Fear made David pray thus, for something whispered, "Perhaps, after
recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, "What if at
by unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the
the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left out of the
little grace, so little love, so little holiness, and looking forward to
catalogue of the saved?" He recollects his present unfruitfulness--so
the future, he considers his weakness and the many temptations which beset
to pray, in fear and trembling, "Gather not my soul with sinners." Reader,
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
afraid that you shall be gathered with sinners. Have you the two virtues
if you have prayed this prayer, and if your character be rightly described
in the Psalm from which it is taken [the 26th Psalm], you need not be
the altar of God with humble hope? If so, rest assured, with the wicked
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
you never shall be gathered, for that calamity is impossible. The
people. You cannot be gathered with the wicked, for you are too dearly
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
- from Spurgeon's daily devotional book entitled,
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!
— If ye were not strangers here, the dogs of the world would not bark at you. You may see all windings and turnings that are in your way to heaven out of God's Word; for He will not lead you to the kingdom at the nearest, but you must go through "honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, and yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor. vi. 8, 10). The world is one of the enemies that we have to fight with, but a vanquished and overcome enemy, and like a beaten and forlorn soldier; for our #Jesus hath taken the armour from it. Let me then speak to you in His words: "Be of good courage," saith the Captain of our salvation, "for I have overcome the world." — You shall neither be free of the scourge of the tongue, nor of disgraces (even if it were buffetings and spittings upon the face, as was our Saviour's case), if you follow Jesus Christ. I beseech you in the bowels of our Lord Jesus, keep a good conscience, as I trust you do. You live not upon men's opinion; gold may be gold, and have the king's stamp upon it, when it is trampled upon by men. Happy are you, if, when the world trampleth upon you in your credit and good name, yet you are the Lord's gold, stamped with the King of heaven's image, and sealed by the Spirit unto the day of your redemption. Pray for the spirit of love; for "love beareth all things; it believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things" (1 Cor. xiii. 7). -Samuel Rutherford
His Love; His Gift; His Son - Charles Spurgeon Devotional: Faith's Checkbook John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life....
...there is the simple requirement of believing, which graciously points to a way of salvation suitable for guilty men. This is backed by a wide description -- "whosoever believeth in him." Many have found room in "whosoever" who would have felt themselves shut out by a narrower word. Then comes the great promise, that believers in Jesus shall not perish but have everlasting life. This is cheering to every man who feels that he is ready to perish and that he cannot save himself. We believe in the Lord Jesus, and we have eternal life.
Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is for me to have no trouble; never to be fretted or vexed or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace as in a deep sea of calmness when all around is trouble. It is the fruit of the Lord Jesus Christ’s redemptive work on Calvary’s cross, manifested in those of His own who are definitely subject to the Holy Spirit.
The Lord reigns! Let the nations tremble!' (Psalm 99:1)
The times look awfully dark indeed; and as the clouds grow thicker—the stupidity of the nation seems proportionally to increase. If the Lord had not a remnant here, I would have very formidable apprehensions.—But He loves His children; some are sighing and mourning before Him, and I am sure He hears their sighs, and sees their tears. I trust there is mercy in store for us at the bottom; but I expect a shaking time before things get into a right channel—before we are humbled, and are taught to give Him the glory....The state of the nation, the state of the churches—both are deplorable! Those who should be praying—are disputing and fighting among themselves! Alas! how many professors are more concerned for the mistakes of government—than for their own sins!—
"It is a miserable thing to be a backslider. Of all unhappy things that can befall a man, I suppose it is the worst. A stranded ship, a brokenwinged eagle, a garden overrun with weeds, a harp without strings, a church in ruins, all these are sad sights, but a backslider is a sadder sight still. A wounded conscience - a mind sick of itself - a memory full of self-reproach - a heart pierced through with the Lord's arrows - a spirit broken with a load of inward accusation - all this is a taste of hell. It is a hell on earth. Truly that saying of the wise man is solemn and weighty, "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways" (Prov. 14:14)."
I know there are people who hear me preach regularly, who will never consider changing their way of living. They will go “underground” before they will do that! Our situation is not an isolated case. There are millions of men and women with an understanding of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, who are still not willing to receive and commit themselves to Him whom the very angels and stars and rivers receive. They hesitate and they delay because they know God is asking the abdication of their own selfish little kingdom and interests. This is the tragedy of mankind, my brethren! We have rejected Him from our lives, because we must have our own way. But until Jesus Christ is sincerely received, there can be no knowledge of salvation nor any understanding of the things of God. The little, selfish, sinful man rejects the Son of God. While he is still enumerating the things he deserves, the Son of God stands outside.
My brethren, I repeat: this is the great tragedy of mankind! - A.W. Tozer
