thoughts and ruminations while in exile (1 Pet. 2:11)

Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life (Prov. 4:23).

It seems to me, given the overall context of this verse, that it speaks to our need to resolve to walk before the Lord with integrity. We must be attentive to the words of Scripture (v. 20); we must inwardly digest Scripture, make it our aim to meditate on Scripture, and ask the God of all grace to impress these truths upon our hearts.

If we are to "keep [our] heart with all vigilance" then we need the Word of God to expose what is in our hearts, so that we can repent of it (Ps. 139:23-24; cf. Heb. 4:12). We need to be reminded daily that we need the grace of God to remove those elements in our lives that are displeasing to him. One way we can see the grace of God at work in our lives is in the area of our speech. Surely if the Lord changes us, it will be evident in our speech (Prov. 4:24). Thus, the writer admonishes us, "Put away from you crooked speech,and put devious talk far from you." If we love the Lord, then we will love what he loves. And the Lord loves honesty and truth (Ex. 20:16). Thus, this is how we will live and speak to our neighbors. May God give us the grace to walk before him with integrity, and may we resolve to pursue him with fervency and zeal.

Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet;
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil (Prov. 4:25-27).