"Do Not Gather My Soul Together with Sinners"

King David makes an unusual request of God in Psalm 26:9 when he says, "Do not gather my soul together with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men." This is not an oft-repeated desire, although he uses similar words in Psalm 28:3, where he asks of God, "Do not take me away with the wicked and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts." What is the main point in his petition?

It would seem that David did not want to get swept away with the ideas and schemes of evil men or even be numbered among them. First of all, what does he mean by evil men? They are sinners by means of the fact that they devote themselves to sin. All men sin, but sinners generally are those who enjoy persisting in sin. More specific is the word bloodthirsty. One might recall the thugs described in Proverbs 1:11-19 who are thieves and killers who lie in wait to shed innocent blood, who steal precious possessions, whose feet veritably run to do mischief.

David continues his description in Psalm 26:10 by saying that in their hands is a sinister scheme, and their right hand is full of bribes, implying that they pervert justice as well. In Psalm 28, David writes that these workers of iniquity who are two-faced to the point of even deceiving a neighbor should receive according to their deeds. They should be paid back what they deserve (Ps. 28:4). Such men do not respect or fear God as their Creator or the marvelous works He has accomplished (v. 5).

David does not want to be united, classified, or in any way associated with such men. And no one can blame him. Are these the kind of individuals that anyone trying to please God wants to be lumped together with? Surely not. In fact, the writer of the first psalm has specifically distanced himself from the unrighteous:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful (1:1).

Now God has not appointed us to live entirely separate from the world. We are constantly living amidst and coming into contact with some who fits David's description. There is no way to avoid that kind of causal contact. For all we know, the president of the PTA could be unscripturally divorced and remarried, and since they just moved from another town, we might not know that. The air conditioning repairman might be selling illegal drugs on the side. The mild-mannered bookkeeper down the hall may get drunk every night and occasionally beat his wife and children. The owner of the 7-11 may be an atheist. We don't know the background of everyone we meet, but we don't want to be involved in anything evil they do.

However, another idea presents itself when viewing these two passages in psalms (and no claim is being made that David intended this interpretation). Wouldn't it be awful to be united to these types of individuals for eternity? Although David may not intend to convey this idea, John certainly does. Consider these:

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Rev. 21:8).

And anyone who was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15).

Just consider being gathered together with all the murderers: Herod, who killed the children in an effort to kill Jesus, Queen Jezebel, who arranged the death of the innocent Naboth, those associated with Planned Parenthood, who kill those most innocent of all, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, not to mention suicide bombers, mass killers, or even lone gunmen such as Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, Sirhan Sirhan, et al. Is that a comforting feeling?

How about hanging out with the sexually immoral forever, such as the women who sell their bodies for money\&md; and the men who pay them, or those who traffic in pornography? How about all the idolaters in the Old Testament\&md; those who worshipped Baal and all of the other idols of the land, which involved both sexual immorality and offering human sacrifices? How about those who have cheated and bribed others?

Many in today's society do not take either God or hell seriously. Both are realities. God is eternal. He has shown His love in sending Jesus to pay the price for sins, which constitutes grace that we did not deserve, nor could we ever pay it back. On the Day of Judgment, God will show His justice. For those who loved Him and served Him, He will give the reward of eternal life. For those who spurned His love and goodness for the corrupt things of this world, He will give them what they asked for\&md; a place to dwell where His presence cannot be found. No reversal of fortune will take place.

Instead the majority of people will be gathered together with the ungodly, the murderer, the rapist, the slave trader, the kidnapper, the selfish, the plotter of evil things, and the liar. Will there be conversations? If so, no one will be able to rely on a single thing he is told. As an extra added bonus, all of those present get to fellowship Satan, the author of all mankind's miseries. Between howls of pain, one might be able to hear his laughter and mockery of all those who were foolish enough to believe him. The righteous will be spared.