Provérbios 4

Provérbios 4:23

Pink has an entire chapter entitled Heart Work (click for entire chapter), writing that keeping of the heart with all diligence… is the great task which God has assigned unto each of His children. But oh, how sadly is the heart neglected! Of all their concerns and possessions, the least diligence is used by the vast majority of professing Christians in the keeping of their hearts. As long as they safeguard their other interests—their reputations, their bodies, their positions in the world—the heart may be left to take its own course. As the heart in our physical body is the center and fountain of life, because from it blood circulates into every part, conveying with it either health or disease, so it is with us spiritually. If our heart be the residence of impiety, pride, avarice, malice, impure lusts, then the whole current of our lives will largely be tainted with these vices. If they are admitted there and prevail for a season, then our character and conduct will be proportionately affected. Therefore the citadel of the heart needs above all things to be well guarded, that it may not be seized by those numerous and watchful assailants which are ever attacking it. This spring needs to be well protected that its waters be not poisoned. The man is what his heart is. If this be dead to God, then nothing in him is alive. If this be right with God, all will be right. As the mainspring of a watch sets all its wheels and parts in motion, so as a man "thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Pr 23:7). If the heart be right, the actions will be. As a man’s heart is, such is his state now and will be hereafter: if it be regenerated and sanctified there will be a life of faith and holiness in this world, and everlasting life will be enjoyed in the world to come. Therefore, "Rather look to the cleansing of thine heart, than to the cleansing of thy well; rather look to the feeding of thine heart, than to the feeding of thy flock; rather look to the defending of thine heart, than to the defending of thine house; rather look to the keeping of thine heart, than to the keeping of thy money" (Peter Moffat, 1570). "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for Out of it are the issues of life" (Pr 4:23). The "heart" is here put for our whole inner being, the "hidden man of the heart" (1Pe 3:4). It is that which controls and gives character to all that we do. To "keep"—garrison or guard—the heart or soul is the great work which God has assigned us: the enablement is His, but the duty is ours. We are to keep the imagination from vanity, the understanding from error, the will from perverseness, the conscience clear of guilt, the affections from being inordinate and set on evil objects, the mind from being employed on worthless or vile subjects; the whole from being possessed by Satan. This is the work to which God has called us. Rightly did the Puritan John Flavel say, "The keeping and right managing of the heart in every condition is the great business of a Christian’s life." Now to "keep" the heart right implies that it has been set right. Thus it was at regeneration, when it was given a new spiritual bent. True conversion is the heart turning from Satan’s control to God’s, from sin to holiness, from the world to Christ. To keep the heart right signifies the constant care and diligence of the renewed to preserve his soul in that holy frame to which grace has reduced it and daily strives to hold it. "Hereupon do all events depend: the heart being kept, the whole course of our life here will be according to the mind of God, and the end of it will be the enjoyment of Him hereafter. This being neglected, life will be lost, both here as unto obedience, and hereafter as to glory" (John Owen in Causes of Apostasy). Here is Pink's summary of what it means to keep the heart. The reader is advised to read the extended discussion that goes with each point by clicking here. 1. To "keep" the heart means striving to shut out from it all that is opposed to God… 2. To "keep" the heart means striving to bring it into conformity with the Word… 3. To "keep" the heart means to preserve it tender unto sin… 4. To "keep" the heart means to look diligently after its cleansing. ILLUSTRATION OF WATCHMAN - The Night Watchman - Kara Dedert - The Cathedral of Lausanne sits like an ancient guard on a hillside in Switzerland. Below, homes cluster tightly together down to the shores of Lake Geneva. For centuries the cathedral bells have rung, keeping time for the people below. On a crisp October night in 1405, the bells rang with urgency. A fire had started and was quickly spreading from one wooden home to the next. The bells stirred everyone to action, and a night watchman was placed on lookout in the bell tower to watch for new fires. More than six hundred years have passed since that devastating night, yet not a night has passed without a watchman standing guard. As the bell signals the passing hour, he cups his hands and calls down the hillside: “This is the watchman! The bell has rung!”— letting the townspeople know that all was well. Their security and safety rested on his vigilance. While our hearts are not made of wooden walls or thatched roofs, the desires of our hearts are quick to catch fire and need a close watch. The heart drives our actions, words, and life trajectory: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23+). This watchfulness is born from humility, realizing that our hearts are new in Christ, but are still quick to accommodate sin and needing to be exercised in obedience to and dependence on God. “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh” (Rom. 13:14+). The Puritan pastor John Flavel counseled: “The keeping and right managing of the heart in every condition is the great business of a Christian’s life.” At first glance, this seems to appeal to our modern appetite for self-analysis, but this “keeping of the heart” is very different. It’s a looking within to see what needs to be cut off, forsaken, and repented of so that we can be renewed in Christ and exercised in faithful living. Watchfulness is done in faith and vulnerability, inviting the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and help us see. It’s recognizing that the sarcastic remark might be rooted in bitterness, the halfhearted worship rooted in love for the idols of our hearts, the fear rooted in a lack of trust in God’s character, and the tense relationship rooted in a failure to love. It’s an honest look at pride that shows up in our lives as selfishness, ingratitude, or self-absorption. Recognition comes as the Word shines on our hearts and as the Spirit renews our minds, prompting repentance and obedience. It is a discipline born not out of hatred for self but out of love in response to God’s love for us and out of belief in what He says about our hearts: we’re new in Christ, yet sin still clings to us. Our hearts need watchfulness and His preservation. The watchman likely had many things to distract him: nesting pigeons, the sunset, people bustling about in the city below, sleepiness. We also have many things that demand our attention, but in all the busyness, keeping the heart is vital as we look to Jesus in repentance, faith, and joy. SELF-WATCH! by F B Meyer "Keep thy heart above all that thou guardest: For out of it are the issues of life."--Pr. 4:23 SAID PETER to our Lord, "Spare Thyself this death of which Thou speakest--this bitter suffering and anguish shall never be Thine!" These words are continually spoken still, and many are the voices that bid us spare ourselves--the voices of our friends who love us; the voices of prudence and worldly wisdom; the voices of our own wayward hearts. Do not spare your judgment of yourself. Never permit yourself to do things which you would be the first to condemn in others. Never suppose that there are reasons for you to do a wrong, which, under no circumstances would you tolerate in your neighbour. Do not spare yourself in confessing your sins and mistakes. Confession is one of the tests of nobility. Not a few are willing to confess to God, who never attempt to confess to men. It is a serious question whether that sorrow for sin is genuine and deep enough which does not lead the offender to ask his fellow-man for pardon, even as he asks his God. Nothing could be clearer than Christ's words, that whenever we remember that our brother has aught against us, we are to leave our gift at the altar, and go first to seek reconciliation with him, before we offer our sacrifice to God. The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the grey morning, when the watch-fire is burning low. It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by dally inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin. You cannot really help people without expending yourself. The only work that tells must cost you something. Gold, silver, and precious stones can never be built into the new Jerusalem unless you are willing to part with them from the stores of your own life. PRAYER - Most loving Father, may love fill and rule my heart. For then there will spring up and be cherished between Thee and me a likeness of character, and union of will, so that I may choose and refuse what Thou dost. AMEN. (F. B. Meyer. Our Daily Walk) F B