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NASB | Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. |
Subject: What does watch over your heart mean? |
Bible Note: The New Living Translation puts it this way: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do”. Many other Translations use the term “Guard your heart”. It might conjure a picture of something precious that we cannot well afford to lose, some sort of crown jewels, maybe, that must be guarded at all cost, “with all diligence”. Otherwise, it paints a picture of the heart as some sort of precious, fragile vessel or container that must be handled carefully. Some things must be put into it; the word of God, for example. “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart” (Proverbs 4:21). The singer of Psalm 40 is wise then, for he says, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Psalm 40:8 ). He says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart” Psalm 119:11. The law of his God is in his heart (Psalm 37:31). Christ wants to be in it. It is God’s will that Paul prays for; “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17). Some things must be kept out of it. "Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them" (Proverbs 22:5). It is pictured as some sort of vehicle, that we must steer as it goes along. “Be wise, and guide thine heart in the way” (Proverbs 23:19). Even if it is a pushcart, and we walk behind it, we must not trust it to set the path. “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26). Keep your heart. Be careful with it. Keep it full, of the word of God. Keep it clean. Keep it on the right path. Keep it, like the Savior is in it. Keep it with diligent care. Watch it. Guard it. Protect it. Because “out of it are the issues of life”. “It is the wellspring of life”. “That’s where life starts”. “It affects everything you do” (NLT). Seems that everything you think, say, or do, depends on it. If so, then we may need to watch it, and to understand it better. |