Gather My saints together unto Me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. Psalm 50:5
As a little boy, I used to help with the milking. We had six cows that had to be milked every morning and evening. These were gentle cows that were easy to milk, and they usually stood still while I was so engaged. But there was one cow that I quickly learned to be very careful of. She had a bad habit of waiting until the pail was almost full, then she would lift her big dirty foot and try to put it into the pail. The first time it happened, she succeeded and I cried. The second time, I was ready for her. As soon as her foot started to raise, I swung away from her side with the milk pail between my knees. It had seemed such a waste to have that cow give a pailful of beautiful, rich milk and then to have her destroy it with her dirty hoof. That cow reminds me of some of those who preach the Gospel as clearly as ever we hear it in our meetings, but then urge their converts to attend the churches that they came from.
The psalmist Asaph records this great invitation from God that we see in our text today. He does not urge people to gather where they wanted to or worship as they like. No, the invitation is ‘together unto Me’. This tells us plainly that it is to Himself, not to a building or an organization. It also tells us that it is together, not off by ourselves or with a little group of our own choosing. How very grieved must the God of Heaven be as He sees so many of His people gathered, not unto Him, but unto some other name or some other place, or to some other person.
What is the qualification of those who gather unto Him? The covenant that is made possible by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. We who are saved are His saints. And He bids us to come. We who have come to trust in the finished work of the Saviour on the cross have the greatest privilege on earth, of gathering unto Him.
Many Catholics make a point of travelling to Rome to see the pope. But he is just a man and he’ll die soon. Mohammedans are required by their religion to trek from Mecca to Medina once in their lifetime. But it’s just a journey that takes them nowhere but to a dead prophet’s grave. In contrast, gathering unto our Lord is to One in whose presence we will be forever.
How sweet to anticipate the glorious gathering of all the redeemed in Glory! How precious to enjoy the gathering of the Lord’s saints while still here in our earthly sphere. -Jim MacIntosh