Reference: Heart
Easton
According to the Bible, the heart is the centre not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. "Heart" and "soul" are often used interchangeably (De 6:5; 26:16; comp. Mt 22:37; Mr 12:30,33), but this is not generally the case.
The heart is the "home of the personal life," and hence a man is designated, according to his heart, wise (1Ki 3:12, etc.), pure (Ps 24:4; Mt 5:8, etc.), upright and righteous (Ge 20:5-6; Ps 11:2; 78:72), pious and good (Lu 8:15), etc. In these and such passages the word "soul" could not be substituted for "heart."
The heart is also the seat of the conscience (Ro 2:15). It is naturally wicked (Ge 8:21), and hence it contaminates the whole life and character (Mt 12:34; 15:18; comp. Ec 8:11; Ps 73:7). Hence the heart must be changed, regenerated (Eze 36:26; 11:19; Ps 51:10-14), before a man can willingly obey God.
The process of salvation begins in the heart by the believing reception of the testimony of God, while the rejection of that testimony hardens the heart (Ps 95:8; Pr 28:14; 2Ch 36:13). "Hardness of heart evidences itself by light views of sin; partial acknowledgment and confession of it; pride and conceit; ingratitude; unconcern about the word and ordinances of God; inattention to divine providences; stifling convictions of conscience; shunning reproof; presumption, and general ignorance of divine things."
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When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, "I will never again curse the land because of human beings even though human inclinations remain evil from youth nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I've done.
Didn't he say to me, "She's my sister'? And she also said, "He's my brother.' I did this with pure intentions and clean hands." Then God replied to him in the dream, "I know that you did this with pure intentions, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore, I didn't allow you to touch her.
You are to love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
"The LORD your God is commanding you this very day to observe these statutes and judgments. Be careful to obey them with all your heart and soul.
"Because you asked for this, and you didn't ask for a long life for yourself, and you didn't ask for the lives of your enemies, but instead you've asked for discernment so you can understand how to govern, look how I'm going to do precisely what you asked. I'm giving you a wise and discerning mind, so that there will have been no one like you before you and no one will arise after you like you.
Look, the wicked have bent their bow and placed their arrow on the string, to shoot from the darkness at the upright in heart.
The one who has innocent hands and a pure heart; the person who does not delight in what is false and does not swear an oath deceitfully.
God, create a pure heart in me, and renew a right attitude within me. Do not cast me from your presence; do not take your Holy Spirit from me. read more. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and let a willing attitude control me. Then I will teach transgressors about your ways, and sinners will turn to you. Deliver me from the guilt of shedding blood, God, God of my salvation. Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness.
Their eyes bulge from obesity and the imaginations of their mind cross the border into sin.
David shepherded them with a devoted heart, and led them with skillful hands. A Psalm of Asaph
do not be stubborn like your ancestors were at Meribah, as on that day at Massah, in the wilderness,
Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into disaster.
Whenever a sentence for a crime is not carried out swiftly, the human mind becomes determined to commit evil.
then I'll give them a united heart, placing a new spirit within them. I'll remove their stubborn heart and give them a heart that's sensitive to me.
"""I'm going to give you a new heart, and I'm going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I'll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and replace it with one that's sensitive to me.
"How blessed are those who are pure in heart, because it is they who will see God!
You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart.
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean.
Jesus told him, ""You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."
But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance."
They show that what the Law requires is written in their hearts, a fact to which their own consciences testify, and their thoughts will either accuse or excuse them
Fausets
Often including the intellect as well as the affections and will; as conversely the "mind" often includes the feeling and will as well as the intellect. Ro 1:21, "their foolish heart was darkened." Eph 1:18, "the eyes of your understanding (the Vaticanus manuscript; but the Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus manuscripts 'heart') being enlightened." Thus, the Scripture implies that the heart and the head act and react on one another; and in men's unbelief it is the will that perverts the intellectual perceptions. Joh 7:17, "if any man be willing to (Greek) do, he shall know." "Willingness to obey" is the key to spiritual knowledge. See Jer 17:9; Ho 7:11, "Ephraim is like a silly dove without heart," i.e. "moral understanding".
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"The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable who can know it?
"Ephraim is also like a silly dove, lacking sense: They call out to Egypt, and turn toward Assyria.
If anyone wants to do his will, he'll know whether this teaching is from God or whether I'm speaking on my own.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Instead, their thoughts turned to worthless things, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Then, with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you will know the confidence that is produced by God having called you, the rich glory that is his inheritance among the saints,
Hastings
1. Instances are not wanting in the OT of the employment of this word in a physiological sense, though they are not numerous. Jacob, for example, seems to have suffered in his old age from weakness of the heart; a sudden failure of its action occurred on receipt of the unexpected but joyful news of Joseph's great prosperity (Ge 45:26). A similar failure proved fatal in the case of Eli, also in extreme old age (1Sa 4:13-18; cf. the case of the exhausted king, 1Sa 28:20). The effect of the rending of the pericardium is referred to by Hosea as well known (1Sa 13:8); and although the proverb 'a sound (Revised Version margin 'tranquil') heart is the life of the flesh' (Pr 14:30) is primarily intended as a psychological truth, the simile is evidently borrowed from a universally recognized physiological fact (cf. Pr 4:23). The aphorism attributed to 'the Preacher' (Ec 10:2) may be interpreted in the same way; the 'right hand' is the symbol of strength and firmness, and the left of weakness and indecision (cf. Ec 2:14). Nor does it appear that OT writers were ignorant of the vital functions which the heart is called on to discharge. This will be seen by their habit of using the word metaphorically as almost a synonym for the entire life (cf. Ps 22:26; 69:32; Isa 1:5, where 'head' and 'heart' cover man's whole being).
2. The preponderating use of the word is, however, psychological; and it is in this way made to cover a large variety of thought. Thus it is employed to denote the centre of man's personal activities, the source whence the principles of his action derive their origin (see Ge 6:5; 8:21, where men's evil deeds are attributed to corruption of the heart). We are, therefore, able to understand the significance of the Psalmist's penitential prayer, 'Create in me a clean heart' (Ps 51:10), and the meaning of the prophet's declaration, 'a new heart also will I give you' (Eze 36:26; cf. Eze 11:19). The heart, moreover, was considered to be the seat of the emotions and passions (De 19:6; 1Ki 8:38; Isa 30:29; cf. Ps 104:15, where the heart is said to be moved to gladness by the use of wine). It was a characteristic, too, of Hebraistic thought which made this organ the seat of the various activities of the intellect, such as understanding (34/10/type/isv'>Job 34:10,34; 1Ki 4:29), purpose or determination (Ex 14:5; 1Sa 7:3; 1Ki 8:48; Isa 10:7), consciousness (Pr 14:10, where, if English Version be an accurate tr of the original text, the heart is said to be conscious both of sorrow and of joy; cf. 1Sa 2:1), imagination (cf. Lu 1:51; Ge 8:21), memory (Ps 31:12; 1Sa 21:12; cf. Lu 2:19,51; 1:66). The monitions of the conscience are said to proceed from the heart (Job 27:6), and the counterpart of the NT expression 'branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron' (1Ti 4:2 RV) is found in the OT words 'I will harden his heart' (Ex 4:21; cf. De 2:30; Jos 11:20 etc.). Closely connected with the idea of conscience is that of moral character, and so we find 'a new heart' as the great desideratum of a people needing restoration to full and intimate relationship with God (Eze 18:31; cf. De 9:5; 1Ki 11:4). It is, therefore, in those movements which characterize repentance, placed in antithesis to outward manifestations of sorrow for sin, 'Rend your heart and not your garments' (Joe 2:13).
3. Moving along in the direction thus outlined, and not forgetting the influence of the Apocryphal writings on later thought (cf. e.g. Wis 8:19; Wis 17:11, Sir 42:18 etc.), we shall be enabled to grasp the religious ideas enshrined in the teaching of the NT. In the recorded utterances of Jesus, so profoundly influenced by the ancient writings of the Jewish Church, the heart occupies a very central place. The beatific vision is reserved for those whose hearts are 'pure' (Mt 5:8; cf. 2Ti 2:22; 1Pe 1:22 Revised Version margin). The heart is compared to the soil on which seed is sown; it containsmoral potentialities which spring into objective existence in the outward life of the receiver (Lu 8:15; cf., however, Mr 4:15-20, where no mention is made of this organ; see also Mt 13:18, in which the heart is referred to, as in Isa 6:10, as the seat of the spiritual understanding). Hidden within the remote recesses of the heart are those principles and thoughts which will inevitably spring into active life, revealing its purity or its native corruption (Lu 6:45; cf. Mt 12:34 f., Mt 15:18 f.). It is thus that men's characters reveal themselves in naked reality (1Pe 3:4). It is the infallible index of human character, but can be read only by Him who 'searcheth the hearts' (Ro 8:27; cf. 1Sa 16:7; Pr 21:2; Lu 16:15). Human judgment can proceed only according to the unerring evidence tendered by this resultant of inner forces, for 'by their fruits ye shall know them' (Mt 7:20). The more strictly Jewish of the NT writers show the influence of OT thought in their teaching. Where we should employ the word 'conscience' St. John uses 'heart,' whose judgments in the moral sphere are final (1Jo 3:20 f.). Nor is St. Paul free from the influence of this nomenclature. He seems, in fact, to regard conscience as a function of the heart rather than as an independent moral and spiritual organ (Ro 2:15, where both words occur; cf. the quotation Heb 10:16). In spite of the fact that the last-named Apostle frequently employs the terms 'mind,' 'understanding,' 'reason,' 'thinkings,' etc., to express the elements of intellectual activity in man, we find him constantly reverting to the heart as discharging functions closely allied to these (cf. 'the eyes of your heart,' Eph 1:18; see also 2Co 4:6). With St. Paul, too, the heart is the seat of the determination or will (cf. 1Co 7:37, where 'steadfast in heart' is equivalent to will-power). In all these and similar cases, however, it will be noticed that it is man's moral nature that he has in view; and the moral and spiritual life, having its roots struck deep in his being, is appropriately conceived of as springing ultimately from the most essentially vital organ of his personal life.
J. R. Willis.
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The LORD saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people's thoughts becoming only evil on a continuous basis.
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, "I will never again curse the land because of human beings even though human inclinations remain evil from youth nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I've done.
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, "I will never again curse the land because of human beings even though human inclinations remain evil from youth nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I've done.
where they informed their father, "Joseph is still alive! As a matter of fact, he's ruling the entire land of Egypt." But Jacob didn't believe them, because he had become cynical.
Then the LORD told Moses, "When you set out to return to Egypt, keep in mind all the wonders that I've put in your power, so that you may do them before Pharaoh. But I'll harden his heart so that he won't let the people go.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials changed toward the people, and they said, "What have we done in releasing Israel from serving us?"
But King Sihon of Heshbon did not allow us to pass through, because the LORD your God had hardened his spirit and made him arrogant, in order to deliver him into your control today.
On the contrary, it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you to confirm what the LORD promised by an oath to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Since hile the distance may be great, the angry avenger may overtake the killer he is pursuing and kill him, in which case there will be no justice in his death, because he did not hate his friend previously.
because the LORD had hardened their hearts so they would fight Israel in war, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be completely wiped out, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Then Hannah prayed: "My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is increased by the LORD. I will open my mouth to speak against my enemies, because I rejoice in your deliverance.
When he arrived, Eli was sitting there on a seat beside the road, watching because his heart trembled for the Ark of God. The man went into the town to give the report, and the whole town cried out. Eli heard the sound of the cry and asked, "What is the meaning of this commotion?" Then the man quickly came and told Eli. read more. Now Eli was 98 years old, and his vision had failed. The man told Eli, "I've just come from the battle line, and I escaped from the battle today." He asked, "What happened, my son?" The messenger answered, "Israel fled from the Philistines and the people suffered a great defeat as well. Moreover, your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead, and the Ark of God was captured." When he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backwards by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, since he was old and heavy. Eli had judged Israel for 40 years.
Saul waited seven days for the appointment set by Samuel. When Samuel did not arrive at Gilgal, as the people began to scatter from Saul,
The LORD told Samuel, "Don't look at his appearance or his height, for I've rejected him. Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart."
Saul immediately fell down full-length on the ground. He was terrified because of Samuel's words, and he had no strength because he had not eaten food all day and all night.
I'll retain my righteousness and not compromise it; my conscience won't rebuke me at any time.
"Therefore you men of understanding, listen to me! Far be it for God to practice wickedness, or the Almighty to do what is wrong,
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise him, "May you live forever!"
Like a dead man, I am forgotten in their thoughts like broken pottery.
God, create a pure heart in me, and renew a right attitude within me.
The afflicted will watch and rejoice. May you who seek God take courage.
like wine that makes the heart of people happy, oil that makes the face glow, and food that sustains people.
Above everything else guard your heart, because from it flow the springs of life.
The heart knows its own bitterness an outsider cannot share in its joy.
A tranquil mind brings life to one's body, but jealousy causes one's bones to rot.
Every man's lifestyle is proper in his own view, but the LORD weighs the heart.
The wise use their eyes, but the fool walks in darkness. I also perceived that the same outcome affects them all.
A wise man's heart tends toward his right, but a fool's heart tends toward his left.
"Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? Your whole head is sick, and your whole heart is faint.
Dull the mind of this people, deafen their ears, and blind their eyes. By doing so, they won't see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed."
But this is not what he intends, and this is not what he thinks in his mind; but it is in his mind to destroy, and to cut down many nations.
You will have songs as on nights when people celebrate a holy festival, and gladness of heart, as when they set out with flutes to go to the LORD's mountain, to the Rock of Israel.
then I'll give them a united heart, placing a new spirit within them. I'll remove their stubborn heart and give them a heart that's sensitive to me.
Stop your transgressing the deeds by which you've rebelled and then make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, you house of Israel?
"""I'm going to give you a new heart, and I'm going to give you a new spirit within all of your deepest parts. I'll remove that rock-hard heart of yours and replace it with one that's sensitive to me.
Tear your hearts, not your garments; and turn back to the LORD your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to become angry, overflowing in gracious love, and grieves about this evil.
"How blessed are those who are pure in heart, because it is they who will see God!
You children of serpents! How can you say anything good when you are evil? The mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart.
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean.
Some people are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. When they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others are like the seeds sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, at once they joyfully accept it, read more. but since they don't have any roots, they last for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall away. Still others are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the people who hear the word, but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can't produce a crop. Others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown."
He displayed his mighty power with his arm. He scattered people who were proud in mind and heart.
Everyone who heard about it kept thinking what had happened and asked, "What will this child become?" because it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him.
However, Mary continued to treasure all these things in her heart and to ponder them.
Then he went back with them, returning to Nazareth and remaining in submission to them. His mother continued to treasure all these things in her heart.
A good person produces good from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil person produces evil from an evil treasure, because the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart."
But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance."
So he told them, "You try to justify yourselves in front of people, but God knows your hearts, because what is highly valued by people is detestable to God.
They show that what the Law requires is written in their hearts, a fact to which their own consciences testify, and their thoughts will either accuse or excuse them
and the one who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to God's will.
However, if a man stands firm in his resolve, feels no necessity, and has made up his mind to keep her a virgin, he will be acting appropriately.
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus the Messiah.
Then, with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you will know the confidence that is produced by God having called you, the rich glory that is his inheritance among the saints,
and the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences have been burned by a hot iron.
Flee from youthful passions. Instead, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace together with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart.
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts and will write them on their minds,
Instead, it should be the inner disposition of the heart, consisting in the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which God values greatly.
If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Morish
The heart is often referred to in scripture as the seat of the affections and of the passions, also of wisdom and understanding
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The LORD saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people's thoughts becoming only evil on a continuous basis.
When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, he told himself, "I will never again curse the land because of human beings even though human inclinations remain evil from youth nor will I destroy every living being ever again, as I've done.
because it's from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder,
But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance."
If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The goal of this instruction is love that flows from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith.
Watsons
HEART. The Hebrews regarded the heart as the source of wit, understanding, love, courage, grief, and pleasure. Hence are derived many modes of expression. "An honest and good heart," Lu 8:15, is a heart studious of holiness, being prepared by the Spirit of God to receive the word with due affections, dispositions, and resolutions. We read of a broken heart, a clean heart, an evil heart, a liberal heart. To "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers," Mal 4:6, signifies to cause them to be perfectly reconciled, and that they should be of the same mind. To want heart, sometimes denotes to want understanding and prudence: "Ephraim is like a silly dove, without heart," Ho 7:11. "O fools, and slow of heart," Lu 24:25; that is, ignorant, and without understanding. "This people's heart is waxed gross, lest they should understand with their heart," Mt 13:15; their heart is become incapable of understanding spiritual things; they resist the light, and are proof against all impressions of truth. "The prophets prophesy out of their own heart," Eze 13:2; that is, according to their own imagination, without any warrant from God.
The heart is said to be dilated by joy, contracted by sadness, broken by sorrow, to grow fat, and be hardened by prosperity. The heart melts under discouragement, forsakes one under terror, is desolate in affliction, and fluctuating in doubt. To speak to any one's heart is to comfort him, to say pleasing and affecting things to him. The heart expresses also the middle part of any thing: "Tyre is in the heart of the seas," Eze 27:4; in the midst of the seas. "We will not fear though the mountains be carried into the heart (middle) of the sea," Ps 46:2.
The heart of man is naturally depraved and inclined to evil, Jer 17:9. A divine power is requisite for its renovation, Joh 3:1-11. When thus renewed, the effects will be seen in the temper, conversation, and conduct at large. Hardness of heart is that state in which a sinner is inclined to, and actually goes on in, rebellion against God.
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Therefore we will not be frightened when the earth roars, when the mountains shake in the depths of the seas,
"The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable who can know it?
"Son of Man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who even now are prophesying, and tell those prophets that keep on prophesying according to what they wish would happen, "Listen to what the LORD says.'"
You've set your national boundary in international waters. Your builders made you downright beautiful!"'"
"Ephraim is also like a silly dove, lacking sense: They call out to Egypt, and turn toward Assyria.
and he will turn the hearts of fathers to children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I'll come, strike the land, and utterly destroy it."
for this people's heart has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that they might not see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'
But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance."
Then Jesus told them, "O, how foolish you are! How slow you are to believe everything the prophets said!
Now there was a man from the Pharisees, a leader of the Jews, whose name was Nicodemus. He came to Jesus at night and told him, "Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, because no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him." read more. Jesus replied to him, "Truly, I tell you emphatically, unless a person is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus asked him, "How can a person be born when he is old? He can't go back into his mother's womb a second time and be born, can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, I tell you emphatically, unless a person is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don't be astonished that I told you, "All of you must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wants to. You hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. That's the way it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus asked him, "How can that be?" Jesus answered him, "You're the teacher of Israel, and you can't understand this? Truly, I tell you emphatically, we know what we're talking about, and we testify about what we've seen. Yet you people do not accept our testimony.