The Duty of believers to keep their Heart

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Charles Bridges in His commentary  on Proverbs tells us this  in Prov.4:23;

This keeping of the word will be life to those that find it. Vigorous and healthy will be the soul, that feeds upon this heavenly manna. We shall not then bear our religion as our cross, as a cumbrous appendage. We shall not drag on in Christian duties as our chain. Godliness will be to us an element of joy. The functions will be free and lively. The spirit will feel a vital glow. The mind will be enriched with Divine wisdom. The heart will be established with gospel grace.

23. Keep thy heart with all diligence (above all keeping, Marg.); for out of it are the issues of life.

24. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. 26. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established, (all thy ways shall be ordered aright, Marg.) 27. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. Invaluable are these rules as our safeguard.

 

 

Assaulted as we are at every point, every inlet of sin must be strongly guarded—the heart— the mouth—the eye—the feet

First—the heart—the citadel of man—the seat of his dearest treasure. It is fearful to think of its many watchful and subtle assailants. Let it be closely garrisoned. Let the sentinel be never sleeping on his post. "Take heed to thy way, and keep thy soul diligently." Can then I keep my own heart? Certainly not. But, though it be God's work, it is man's agency. Our efforts are his instrumentality. He implants an active principle, and sustains the unceasing exercise.

 

The first act of conscious faith will be to "commit the keeping of the heart to our faithful Creator."

Then in his strength and guidance diligently improve all the means of preservation.

Watch unto prayer.

cherish a humble dependent spirit.

Live in the atmosphere of the word of God.

Resist the admittance of an evil world, even in its most plausible forms.6 Here lies the conflict to the end. 'The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God, and after conversion to keep it with him.' 'What is there'—asks Mede—'that will not entice and allure so fickle a thing as the heart from God?'

8 Above all  If the heart be seized, the whole man—the affections, desires, motives, pursuits—all will be yielded up.

The heart is the vital part of the body; a wound here is instant death. Thus—spiritually as well as naturally—out of the heart are the issues of life. It is the great vital spring of the soul— the fountain of actions—the centre and the seat of principle, both of sin and of holiness.

The natural heart is a fountain of poison. The purified heart is "a well of living water."12 As is the fountain, so must be the streams. As is the heart, so must be the mouth—the eyes—the feet. Therefore above all keeping—keep thine heart. Guard the fountain—as they keep the precious wells of the east—lest the waters be poisoned. Not less necessary is it to keep the outlets of sin! What a world of evil does the heart pour out from the froward mouth!3 Commit therefore both heart and mouth to Divine discipline. Then let prayer and faith be the practical principles of Christian watchfulness. Not only shun— but put away—yea—far from thee—the perverse lips. Their evil—be it remembered—extends beyond ourselves; so that even; should the peace-speaking blood speak peace to ourselves, still will remain the painful sense of injury to our fellow-creatures—perhaps without remedy. Next to the heart and mouth—keep thine eyes—"the light of the body"—the directive faculty of the soul, yet too often a most dangerous inlet to sin.6 Therefore like Job—"make a covenant with them." Place them under heavenly restraint.8 Let them look right on —straight before us. Had Eve done so, she would have looked on the command of her God, not on the forbidden tree. Had Lot's wife looked straight before, instead of "behind her," she would, like her husband, have been a monument of mercy. Achan was ruined by neglecting this rule of wisdom.11 David's example may warn the holiest men in the world to have a watchful jealousy. In asking the way to Zion, be sure that your "faces are thitherward." Take the racer's motto, "This one thing I do"—Eye the mark, and press onward to it.14 Lastly, keep your feet. Oh! has not experience, no less than Scripture, shewn your need of a circumspect walk? Snares are laid out for every path—yea for every step in your path; for your meat, your drink, your calling—perhaps more than all—for the service of God. What deep pondering should there be in a path so beset with danger! Every step should be carefully weighed. Joseph pondered, and thereby established his way. Peter, neglecting to ponder, was fearfully sifted. David also, looking at the trial of the path, instead of pondering its direction, brought shame upon himself; like the trouble, which Christian made for himself in the smooth exchange of Bye-path meadow for the rough and strait road. Here then is the voice of wisdom. Beware of mistaking presumption for faith—temptations for Providential appointments. Never forsake a plain for a doubtful command. Estimate every step by its conformity to the known will of God. Dare not to advance one step without God. In his path you may fearlessly "tread upon the lion and adder." But who shall venture into a path of his own choosing without a wound? See that "your feet are straight" like those of the Cherubim.2 "The pleasures of sin" lie on the right hand and on the left. The eyes therefore, looking right on, escape the sight. The pondering foot is established in steady perseverance; and by marking small deviations, and never turning out of the straight path to avoid a cross—is removed from evil. May we all have grace and wisdom to ponder these sound practi