“And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all Your heart; And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make You his people.”
(1 Samuel 12:20-22)
Samuel’s instruction to the people of Israel in this passage in 1 Samuel 12 is clear: “though You have done all this wickedness, do not turn aside from following the Lord.” And the same message echoes for God’s people today in that once we acknowledge our sin, the only right path is to immediately turn from that sin and continue following Him.
The Father delights in those who fear Him and keep His commandments. He blesses the man who adorns himself with grace. The heart marked by humility and sincerity is precious in His sight.
Indeed, an upright heart is the dwelling place of Christ by faith.[1] God takes up His lodging with the contrite and humble spirit (Isaiah 57:15) such that the renewed heart becomes a place of divine presence and rule. This makes the state of the heart central to all true obedience.
Moreover, where the heart is upright, God bears with many remaining failings. Asa’s heart was described as perfect even though shortcomings remained (1 Kings 15). This biblical example shows the distinction between reigning corruption and sincere uprightness. The whole heart turned toward God is precious to Him even while sanctification is ongoing.
We do well to remember there is a two-fold danger with sin: consequences of the sin itself, and the temptation to turn aside from God altogether. But when we turn away from God, the vacuum left in our heart begins to fill itself with lesser, selfish desires — inferior pleasures that cannot satisfy or deliver what our heart truly needs. They cannot rescue us from guilt, they cannot cleanse us from sin, they cannot restore us to God.
Our great need, therefore, is for a heart that remains upright before God, serving Him with sincerity. We must therefore ask for grace to keep our whole heart fixed upon the Lord, and for humility that rests in His covenant faithfulness rather than in that of our own.
Contemplations:
- Do Not Let My Heart Wander into Sin. Keep me from treating inferior pleasures and profits as though they could satisfy, benefit, or deliver me. When my heart begins to turn aside, help me immediately see the emptiness of what competes with You, and bring me back before I become attached to lesser treasures.
- Search the Fountain, Not Only the Stream. I know that evil begins within. Search the thoughts, imaginations, desires, and motives of my heart, for out of it my conduct flows. Cleanse what men cannot see, so that obedience begins within and displays itself outwardly.
- Make My Heart a Place Fit for Your Rule. You delight in the contrite, humble, and upright heart. Let Christ dwell there by faith and command the rest of my life from within. I want the inward man brought under Your rule. Let the heart become the place from which my words, actions, judgments, and affections are ordered.
- Hold Me Steady When I Have Failed. Samuel told Israel not to turn aside even after great wickedness. Help me do the same. Let my confession lead to renewed following, not despair or abandonment. Because You do not forsake Your people for Your great name’s sake, make me cling more firmly to You after every fall.
Prayer (Supplication):
Faithful Lord, keep my heart from turning aside from You.
I know how easily I am drawn toward vain things that promise much and deliver nothing. Keep me from placing my confidence in pleasure, profit, approval, or any created good that cannot save or satisfy.
Do not let me be content with outward appearances while thoughts, desires, and motives remain corrupted, but make my heart upright before You.
Give me a heart that fears You, keeps Your commandments, and serves You with sincerity. Let Christ dwell within by faith and rule my life from the center outward.
When I do fail, do not let me run farther away. Bring me to confession and renewed obedience. Keep me from despair that turns one sin into many more. Let Your covenant faithfulness make me return quickly and serve You again with the whole heart.
Grant me humility, meekness, sincerity, and contrition.
And when competing loves rise within me, expose them before they take root. Make me see clearly that they cannot profit, cannot deliver, and cannot compare with belonging to You.
Hold me near, keep me upright, and make my whole heart steadfast in following You.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
Hab. 2:18; Isa. 44:9; Deut. 7:7; Psalm 94:14
[1] Thomas Manton, A Fourth Volume Containing One Hundred and Fifty Sermons on Several Texts of Scripture in Two Parts, (London: J. D. and are to be sold by Jonathon Robinson .., 1693), 1060-1061.
