Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me. – 1 Samuel 28:15
A more awful speech is scarcely to be found in the Bible: a more dreadful state a soul cannot be in on this side of hell: to have powerful enemies in battle array; to have the guilt of abominable sins staring us in the face; and to be sensible that the Lord is departed from us, how horrid the thought! Here see the awful effects of trifling with God and disobeying his commands!
We read that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul: that God gave him another heart; that he was turned into another man; and that he prophesied. 1 Sam. 10:6. And yet, such was his dreadful conduct as to bring upon himself sore distress. How does he act under it? Does he humble himself as heretofore before the Lord? No: but adds this evil to all his abominations; he seeks to the witch of Endor, and desires her to raise up Samuel to him: the form of Samuel appears, and tells him of his sudden destruction by the Philistines.
Learn hence, that as the Lord's mercies are sure, so also are his judgments: though he may delay for a season, yet a day of vengeance will surely overtake every impenitent, sin-hardened soul: though it was not long before, that Saul disobeyed the Lord's command in not totally destroying his enemies, the Amalekites; yet the Lord had neither forgotten it nor forgiven him.
See how a sin-hardened soul acts; not like David, who goes to the Lord with an humble heart, a broken spirit, and a sorrowful cry, "O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." Psalm 25:11. But, like Saul, who applied to one possessed with the devil for relief.
We do not hear one word from Saul of the cause of his distress, SIN: his eyes were so blinded by it that he saw not the evil of it: his heart was so hardened by its deceitfulness that he felt no sorrow in his soul on account of it; for the Lord was departed from him. O that we may dread and deprecate the Lord's departing from us. But let not any sin-distressed, broken-hearted sinner write bitter things against himself in view of this: for, if sin cause, s sorrow of heart and mourning of soul, and excites a cry, God, be merciful to me –save, Lord, I perish:" the Lord is not departed from that soul: it is not hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. O love the Lord: praise him for his grace, which keeps you; and that his promises still invite and encourage you: "for if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," and "his blood cleanseth from all sin." I John 2:1, and 1:7.