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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And the LORD smelled a savour of rest, and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his childhood; neither will I again smite any more every living thing as I have done.
Did he not say unto me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother; in the simplicity of my heart and cleanness of my hands I have done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yes, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me; therefore I did not allow thee to touch her.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.
Today the LORD thy God has commanded thee to comply with these statutes and rights; take care, therefore, to keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thy soul.
behold, I have done according to thy words: behold, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
For, behold, the wicked bend their bow; they make ready their arrow upon the string that they may secretly shoot at the upright in heart.
He that has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not taken my name in vain, nor sworn deceitfully.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. read more. Restore unto me the joy of thy saving health, and thy spirit of liberty shall uphold me. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
Their eyes stand out with fatness; they easily obtain the desires of their heart.
So he fed them out of the integrity of his heart and guided them by the intelligence of his hands.
harden not your heart, as in the provocation and as in the day of trials in the wilderness
Blessed is the man that fears God always, but he that hardens his heart shall fall into evil.
Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and will give them a heart of flesh:
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind.
and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy thought and with all thy strength: this is the principal commandment.
and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the soul and with all the strength and to love his neighbour as himself is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.
But that on the good ground are those who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, accusing and also excusing their reasonings one with another)
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 deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who shall know it?
Ephraim also was like a deceived dove, without understanding; they shall call to Egypt, they shall go to Assyria.
If anyone desires to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God or whether I speak of myself.
because having known God, they did not glorify him as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
illuminating the eyes of your understanding, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in 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/j2000'>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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And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the LORD smelled a savour of rest, and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his childhood; neither will I again smite any more every living thing as I have done.
And the LORD smelled a savour of rest, and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his childhood; neither will I again smite any more every living thing as I have done.
and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is lord over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he did not believe them.
And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand; but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
And it was told the king of Egypt how the people fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his slaves was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
But Sihon, king of Heshbon, would not let us pass by him, for the LORD thy God had hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate that he might deliver him into thy hand as until this day.
Not for thy righteousness or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou enter in to inherit their land; but for the wickedness of these Gentiles, the LORD thy God drives them out from before thee and that he may confirm the word which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
lest the avenger of the blood pursue the manslayer, while his heart is hot and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him, whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly and that they might have no mercy, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the LORD, my horn is exalted in the LORD; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I have rejoiced in thy saving health.
And when he came, behold Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and gave the news, all the city cried out. And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What is the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily and told Eli. read more. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes had become dim so that he could not see. And the man said unto Eli, I come from the battle; I fled today out of the army. And he said unto him, What has happened, my son? And the messenger answered and said, Israel fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God was taken. And it came to pass when he made mention of the ark of God, Eli fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died; for he was an old man and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were deserting from him.
And the LORD replied unto Samuel, Do not look on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him, for it is not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.
Then Saul, as great as he was, fell suddenly to the earth and was sore afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day nor all that night.
I hold fast to my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.
Therefore, hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied: those that seek him shall praise the LORD; your heart shall live for ever.
I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I have become like a lost vessel.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
The humble shall see this and be glad; seek God and thy heart shall live.
and wine that makes glad the heart of man, making his face to shine with oil and bread which sustains man's heart.
Above all else, guard thy heart; for out of it flows the issues of life.
The heart knows the bitterness of his soul, and a stranger shall not intermeddle with his joy.
A sound heart is life to the flesh, but envy is rottenness of the bones.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD weighs the hearts.
The wise man has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness: And I myself also understood that one event happens to the one and to the other.
A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart at his left.
Why should I chastise you any more? Ye will revolt more and more; every head is sick, and every heart faint.
Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and blind their eyes that they not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their heart, nor convert and there be healing for him.
Howbeit he shall not think like this; not even in his heart shall he imagine this way of doing things, but his thought shall be to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
Ye shall have a song, as in the night in which the Passover is kept and gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute to come into the mountain of the LORD to the mighty One of Israel.
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and will give them a heart of flesh:
Cast away from you all your iniquities by which ye have rebelled, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in mercy, and he does repent of chastisement.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man.
And these are those by the way side, in whom the word is sown, but when they have heard, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. And likewise these are those who are sown on stony ground, who when they have heard the word immediately receive it with gladness read more. but have no root in themselves and are temporal; afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are those who are sown among thorns, such as hear the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And these are those who are sown in good ground, such as hear the word and receive it and bring forth fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
And all those that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, Who shall this child be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them, but his mother kept all these things in her heart.
The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil, for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
But that on the good ground are those who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
And he said unto them, Ye are they who justify themselves before men, but God knows your hearts, for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, accusing and also excusing their reasonings one with another)
But he that searches the hearts knows what is the desire of the Spirit, that according to the will of God, he makes entreaty for the saints.
Nevertheless, he that stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has liberty regarding his own, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his daughter, does well.
For the God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to bring forth the light of the knowledge of the clarity of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
illuminating the eyes of your understanding, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints
that in hypocrisy shall speak lies; having their conscience seared as with a hot iron;
Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
This is the testament that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will give my laws in their hearts, and in their souls will I write them;
but let the interior adorning of the heart be without corruption, and of an agreeable spirit and peaceful, which is precious in the sight of God.
And if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
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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And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the LORD smelled a savour of rest, and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his childhood; neither will I again smite any more every living thing as I have done.
For from within, out of the heart of men, come forth the evil thoughts, the adulteries, the fornications, the murders,
But that on the good ground are those who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned:
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 fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea,
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who shall know it?
Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel that prophesy and say unto those that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the LORD:
In the heart of the seas are thy border; thy builders have completed thy beauty.
Ephraim also was like a deceived dove, without understanding; they shall call to Egypt, they shall go to Assyria.
and he shall convert the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with destruction.
for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted, and I should heal them.
But that on the good ground are those who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken;
There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a prince of the Jews; the same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that thou doest unless God is with him. read more. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a person be born again from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Unless a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again from above. The wind blows where it desires, and thou hearest the sound of it, but canst not tell from where it comes or where it goes; so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can this be done? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a teacher of Israel and knowest not this? Verily, verily, I say unto thee that we speak what we know and testify that which we have seen, and ye do not receive our witness.