Provérbios 4
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Provérbios 4
Wiersbe - “The Bible warns us to avoid a double heart (Psalm 12:2), a hard heart (Proverbs 28:14), a proud heart (Proverbs 21:4), an unbelieving heart (Hebrews 3:12), a cold heart (Matthew 24:12), and an unclean heart (Psalm 51:10)....“If we pollute that wellspring, the infection will spread; before long, hidden appetites will become open sins and public shame.” NET Note on springs - The word תּוֹצְאוֹת (tots’ot, from יָצָא, yatsa’) means “outgoings; extremities; sources.” It is used here for starting points, like a fountainhead, and so the translation “sources” works well. As Satan keeps special watch here, so must we keep special watch as well. -- Charles Bridges Bridges - The rules laid out in verses 23–27 constitute an invaluable safeguard for our Christian lives. Since we are attacked at every point, every possible place where sin may gain a foothold has to be guarded against—the heart, the mouth, the eyes, the feet. First the heart, man’s citadel, the center of his dearest treasure. It is frightening to think about its many assailants. Let it be guarded carefully. Never let the guard sleep at his post (Deuteronomy 4:9). The heart must be known, so that it may be kept safe. Nothing is more difficult, but nothing is more necessary. If we do not know our hearts, it will be as if we knew nothing at all. Whatever else we know, to neglect this knowledge is to be a prize fool. If we do not know our weak points, Satan is well aware of them, “the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:2). Then, when I know my heart and feel that it is in the middle of so many dangers, the question arises, can I guard my own heart? Certainly not. This is God’s work, though it is carried out through the agency of man. He works through our efforts. He implants an active principle and sustains the ceaseless exercise. When this is done in his strength and guidance, all the means of our preservation are greatly increased. Watch and pray. Nurture a humble spirit and a dependent spirit. Live in the atmosphere of the Word of God. Resist the evil world, even in its most plausible forms. This will be a conflict until the end of our lives. “The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God, and after conversion to keep it with him” (Flavel). “What is there,” asks Mede, “that will not entice and allure so fickle a thing as the heart from God?” Above all else, exhorts the wise man, guard your heart. As Satan keeps special watch here, so must we keep special watch as well. If the citadel is taken, the whole town must surrender. If the heart is captured, the whole man—affections, desires, motives, pursuits—will be handed over. The heart is the vital part of the body. If the heart is wounded, that means instant death. Spiritually as well as naturally, the heart … is the wellspring of life. It is the great vital spring of the soul, the fountain of actions, the center and the seat of both sin and holiness (Matthew 12:34–35). The natural heart is a fountain of poison (Matthew 15:19); but the purified heart is a well of living water (John 4:14). As the spring is, so will be the streams. As the heart is, so will be the mouth, the eyes, and the feet. Therefore, above all else, guard your heart. Guard the spring so that the waters are not polluted. If the heart is not guarded, everything else is of no avail. - Charles Bridges Matthew
Provérbios 4:23
Wiersbe observes that "Diligent hands are directed by a diligent heart, and this means the discipline of the inner person. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life” (Pr 4:23, NKJV). When we cultivate the inner person through prayer (Ed: cp Mt 26:41), meditation on the Word (Ed: Ps 1:1, 2, 3 -notes; Josh 1:8-note; see Biblical Meditation), and submission to the Lord (Ed: Jn 14:21), then we can experience the joys of a disciplined and diligent life. “The fruit of the Spirit is… self-control” (Gal 5:22, 23-notes). (Wiersbe, W. W. Be Skillful. An Old Testament Study. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books) If we would "keep" our hearts "with all diligence", we wouldn't be careless, for example, about what gets into our hearts through the "eye-gate". We'd "censor" our own television viewing out of a greater concern to "watch" our own heart. And we'd even be willing to get rid of our television if it's affecting us negatively. We would rid our homes of any visual images or literature that incline us toward sexual immorality or sin of any kind. We'd not only guard what might come in; but also what might come out. We would keep our own attitudes in check, so that the words that come out of our mouths aren't reflective of evil in our heart. We'll be like David, when he prayed (Psalm 141:3). John Angell James (1853) in his chapter entitled "The Means of Christian Progress" wrote that… Great attention to self-cultivation, spiritually considered, is a means of growth. By this I mean what is expressed in one or two passages of Scripture; such, for instance, as the exhortation, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Pr. 4:23. It is the heart, the great vital spring of the soul—the fountain of actions—the center of principle—the seat of motives; the heart, where are the thoughts and feelings out of which conduct comes. It is this that must be the first, chief, constant object of solicitude to the Christian. It is this which God sees—and as God sees it, and because God principally looks at it—that must be ever uppermost in our concern. To keep the heart must mean exerting ourselves with great earnestness, in dependence upon Divine grace, to preserve it in a good state; laboring to preserve its vitality, vigor, and purity. We must often ask the question, "In what state is my heart? Are my thoughts and affections in a good spiritual condition?" The heart is, in another view of it, the citadel of the soul—if this be neglected, the enemy at the gates will soon be in and take possession. Set a watch, therefore, upon the heart. Let the sentinel be never off duty, nor sleeping at his post. Keep out evil thoughts, and unholy affections, and vile imaginations. Without great vigilance they will elude observation. As soon as an enemy of this kind is detected, he must be seized and made captive, until every thought is brought into subjection to Christ. As the state of the heart is, so is the man in reality, and before God. Discipline the heart then. (John Angell James. Christian Progress) Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote that… The heart really does control everything; and the ‘heart’ here (Pr 4:23) means the centre of the personality, not merely the seat of the emotions. Put that right and everything else will be right. Our Lord stated the matter negatively when He said that it is not that which goes into a man which pollutes the man but rather that which comes out of him. It is ‘out of the heart that come evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders’, and all such things (Mark 7:20, 21, 22, 23). In other words, in the last analysis it is not the temptations that meet us on the streets that determine our conduct; it is the heart of the man who faces them. Two men may face the same conditions; one falls, the other stands. The difference is not in the temptation but in the heart of the man. ‘Out of the heart …’! So we must pay attention to the heart. (Lloyd-Jones, D. M. The Unsearchable Riches of Christ -- studies in Ephesians, chapter 3. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House) The new birth creates a new appetite and requires a new diet. O child of God, guard well your eyes From anything that stains the heart; Forsake those things that soil the mind-- Your Father wants you set apart. --Fasick FOR FROM IT FLOW THE SPRINGS OF LIFE Mt 12:35, 15:18,19 What you do with your heart determines what you do with your life --Warren Wiersbe For - Here the conjunction introduces the explanation or reason for the importance of guarding our hearts. From it - From our heart (mind, will, emotion), our "master control". Solomon's point is that what occupies our minds and determines what and how we think, will work its way out in how we behave and what we say and do (see the schematic above notes). What is in the heart eventually comes out in the life. Solomon has a similar thought in Ecclesiastes 10… A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left. (Eccl 10:1) Jesus emphasized the importance of diligently guarding the heart for it is intimately related to our behavior (in thought, word, deed - good or bad) declaring that… You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. (Mt 12:34, 35) The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45) (Amplified) A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say. (Luke 6:45) (NLT) A good man produces good things from the good stored up in his heart, and a bad man produce evil things from his own stores of evil. For a man's words will always express what has been treasured in his heart. (Luke 6:45) (Phillips) Comment: In short a guarded heart should result in guarded lips. If you effectively protect your car from theft, your home from burglary, your property from damage, your financial interests from failure, and your body from personal illness and injury, and even our borders from terrorist attacks - and yet fail in protecting your heart, this one failure will effect every other area of your life. The thought is that a person’s life is somehow determined by or affected by the thoughts stored in one's heart. In other words, “Everything we do comes out of our heart.” The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery writes that… water is a precious resource in the Middle East, and much of what is available comes from natural springs or fountains. Springs in the Bible have associations similar to those of rivers and water, but a spring is even more evocative, being upsurging, “living” water that becomes synonymous with the sustaining and refreshment of life. As a perpetual and continuous flow of water, a spring embodies a principle of natural provision that is abundant and irrepressible. Springs in the Bible are almost uniformly positive in association, and the number of references is approximately fifty (since wells are frequently located at the sites of springs, some English translations have fewer references to spring in deference to well). In many of the passages (cp Dt 8:7, Josh 15:19, Jdg 1:15, Ps 104:10, Ps 107:35, Is 35:7, 41:18, 49:10 Re 7:17)… God is clearly the One who has power to produce and dry up springs of water. The imagery of springs of water is integral to Holy Land geography and climate. Because external moisture supplies are precarious, underground sources of water are especially valued. Springs (08444) (towtsa'ah, totsa'ah, tosaa, tosaah or tosa'ot from the root verb yasa = to cause to go out, bring out, lead out) means a border, extremity or end point. The Semantic Domains says that it means a… starting point, source, wellspring, i.e., the source of an event or activity from the figurative extension of the beginning limit of a space. Gesenius writes that this word describes… the place from which (any person or thing) goes forth, hence a gate, Ezek 48:30; a fountain, Pr 4:23, "the fountain of life", of happiness. Life is the ability to exercise all one's vital power to the fullest. Death is the opposite. The Hebrews viewed man holistically, i.e., body, mind, and spirit were a unified whole. Life was associated with health, prosperity, vitality, etc., while death was the very opposite. This verse relates to something D L Moody once said… If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself. UBS Handbook on Proverbs says that… flow the springs usually refers to the extremity or border of a geographical territory, but in association with life it seems to have the sense of a source or place of origin. The thought is that a person’s life is somehow determined by the thoughts stored in the heart or mind: “Everything you do comes out of your heart.” CEV says “Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.” TEV translates this verse into very direct language and may serve as a model for translation (Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.). (Reyburn, W. D., & Fry, E. M. A handbook on Proverbs. The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series )
Provérbios 4:23
Wiersbe comments on springs of life noting that… If we pollute that wellspring, the infection will spread; before long, hidden appetites will become open sins and public shame. The Bible warns us to avoid a double heart (Ps 12:2), a hard heart (Pr 28:14), a proud heart (Pr 21:4), an unbelieving heart (Heb 3:12-note), a cold heart (Mt 24:12), and an unclean heart (Ps 51:10). “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Ps 139:23, 24)… Wise people are careful about what they read, what they hear and see, and what they talk about in daily conversation. They’re diligent to keep trash out of their minds and hearts, because “garbage in” ultimately means “garbage out” (Pr 4:23). For this reason, they carefully control the radio and television and they are selective in their reading… God’s truth should also control the neck, because a man might be tempted to turn his head and look at a beautiful woman for the purpose of lusting (Mt. 5:27, 28, 29, 30-note). He may not be able to avoid seeing the woman the first time, but it’s looking the second time that gets him into trouble. (Wiersbe, W. W. Be Skillful. An Old Testament Study. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books) The Pulpit Commentary explains that… The fact here stated is that the moral conduct of life, its actions and proceedings, are determined by the condition of the heart. If the heart is pure, the life will be pure; if the heart is corrupt, the life will be corrupt. The heart is here compared with a fountain. The same idea which is affixed to it in its physical sense is also assigned to it in its ethical or moral sense. Physically, it is the central organ of the body; morally, it is the seat of the affections and the centre of the moral consciousness. From this moral centre flow forth “the issues of life;” i.e. the currents of the moral life take their rise in and flow forth from it, just as from the heart, physically considered, the blood is propelled and flows forth into the arterial system, by which it is conveyed to the remotest extremities of the body. And as the bodily health depends on the healthy action of the heart, so the moral health depends on and is influenced by the state in which this spring of all action is preserved. Issues;from yâtsār, “to go forth,” are the place from which anything goes forth, and hence a fountain… With this passage compare our Lord’s teaching (Mt 15:19; Mark 7:21, 22, 23; Luke 6:43, 44, 45). (The Pulpit Commentary: Proverbs. H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed) Garrett writes that the heart… is “the wellspring of life” in that the capacity to live with joy and vigor ultimately comes from within and not from circumstances. The corrupt heart draws one down to the grave, but Wisdom protects the heart from that corruption. This verse, perhaps in conjunction with Ezekiel’s vision of the River of Life (Ezek 47:1-12), apparently was the source of Jesus’ perplexing citation in John 7:38. (Garrett, D. A. Vol. 14: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers) Adam