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 sweet savour and said in his heart, "I will henceforth no more curse the earth for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil even from the very youth of him. Moreover I will not destroy from henceforth all that liveth as I have done.
Said not he unto me, that she was his sister? Yea, and said not she herself that he was her brother? With a pure heart and innocent hands have I done this!" And God said unto him in a dream, "I know it well that thou didst it in the pureness of thy heart: And therefore I kept thee that thou shouldest not sin against me, neither suffered I thee to come nigh her.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might.
This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these ordinances and laws. Keep them, therefore, and do them with all thine heart and all thy soul.
see, I have done according to thy petition. And behold, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
For lo, the ungodly bend their bow, and make ready their arrows within the quiver, that they may privily shoot at them which are true of heart.
Even he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart, and that hath not lift up his mind unto vanity, nor sworn to deceive his neighbour.
Make 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. O give me the comfort of thy help again, and establish me with thy free spirit. Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked, that sinners may be converted unto thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my health; that my tongue may praise thy righteousness.
Their eyes swell with fatness, and they do even what they lust.
So he fed them with a faithful and true heart, and ruled them with all the diligence of his power.
Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness,
Well is him that standeth always in awe; as for him that hardeneth his heart, he shall fall into mischief.
Because now that evil works are not hastily punished, the heart of man giveth himself over unto wickedness.
And I will give you one heart, and will plant a new spirit within your bowels. That stony heart will I take out of your body, and give you a fleshly heart:
And I will give you a new heart, and will put a new spirit in you. And will take away that stony heart out of your flesh, and give you a fleshly heart.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
O generation of vipers, how can ye say well, when ye yourselves are evil? For of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man.
Jesus said unto him, "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, 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 mind, and with all thy strength.' This is the first commandment.
And to love him with all the heart, and with all the mind, and with all the soul, and with all the strength. And to love a man's neighbor as himself, is a greater thing than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
That in the good ground, are they which with a good and pure heart, hear the word, and keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
which show the deed of the law written in their hearts: While their conscience beareth witness unto them, and also their thoughts, accusing one another, or excusing,
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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Among all things living, man hath the most deceitful and unsearchable heart. Who shall then know it?
Ephraim is like a dove, that is beguiled, and hath no heart. Now call they upon the Egyptians, now go they to the Assyrians:
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God: or whether I speak of myself.
inasmuch as when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful: but waxed full of vanities in their imaginations. And their foolish hearts were blinded.
and lighten the eyes of your minds, that ye might know what thing that hope is, whereunto he hath called you, and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is upon 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/mstc'>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 when the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was increased upon the earth, and that all the imagination and thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour and said in his heart, "I will henceforth no more curse the earth for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil even from the very youth of him. Moreover I will not destroy from henceforth all that liveth as I have done.
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour and said in his heart, "I will henceforth no more curse the earth for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil even from the very youth of him. Moreover I will not destroy from henceforth all that liveth as I have done.
"Joseph is yet alive and is governor over all the land of Egypt." And Jacob's heart wavered, for he believed them not.
And the LORD said unto Moses, "When thou art come into Egypt again, see that thou do all the wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in thy hand: but I will harden his heart, so that he shall not let the people go.
And when it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled, then Pharaoh's heart and all his servants turned unto the people and said, "Why have we this done, that we have let Israel go out of our service?"
But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, would not let us pass by him; for the LORD thy God had hardened his spirit and made his heart tough because he would deliver him into thy hands as it is come to pass this day.
It is not for thy righteousness' sake and right heart that thou goest to possess their land: But partly for the wickedness of these nations, the LORD thy God doth cast them out before thee, and partly to perform that which the LORD thy God sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Lest the executer of blood follow after the slayer while his heart is hot and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him, and yet there is no cause worthy of death in him, inasmuch as he hated not his neighbour in time past.
for it came of the LORD to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle: even to destroy them utterly, that they should have no mercy, but to bring them to naught. As the LORD commanded Moses.
And Hannah prayed and said, "Mine heart rejoiceth in the LORD. Mine horn is high in the LORD and my mouth is wide open over mine enemies, for I rejoice in thy salvation.
And when the man came in, Eli sat upon a stool by the wayside looking: for his heart feared for the ark of God. And the man came in and told it in the city. And all the city cried. When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he asked what the noise of that rumour meant. And the man hasted and came in and told Eli. read more. Eli was four score and eighteen years old, and his sight failed him that he could not see. And the man said unto Eli, "I am he that came out of the array and fled out of the host this day." And he said, "How is it fortuned, my son?" And the messenger answered and said, "Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there is a great slaughter chanced among the people, and thy two sons Hophni and Phinehas are dead, and thereto the ark of God is taken." And when he made mention of the ark of God, Eli fell from off his stool backward toward the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was old and unwieldy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
And he tarried seven days, as Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people scattered from him.
But the LORD said unto Samuel, "Look not on his fashion nor on the height of his stature, for I have refused him. Because it is not as man seeth. For man looketh on the outward appearance: but the LORD beholdeth the heart."
Then Saul fell straightway flat on the earth as long as he was, and was sore a dread of the words of Samuel. And thereto there was no strength in him: for he had not eaten all the day and the night before.
My righteous dealing will I keep fast, and not forsake it; for my conscience reproveth me not in all my conversation.
"Therefore hearken unto me, ye that have understanding. Far be it from God, that he should meddle with wickedness: and far be it from the Almighty, that he should meddle with unrighteous dealing:
For else the men of understanding and wisdom, that have heard me, might say: 'What canst thou speak?'
The poor shall eat, and be satisfied: they that seek after the LORD shall praise him. Your heart shall live for ever.
I am clean forgotten, as a dead man, out of mind; I am become like a broken vessel.
Make in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
O consider this and be glad, ye that be in adversity: seek after God and your soul shall live.
Thou bringest food out of the earth: wine to make glad the heart of man, oil to make him a cheerful countenance and bread to strengthen man's heart.
Keep thine heart with all diligence, for thereupon hangeth life.
The heart of him that hath understanding will neither despair for any sorrow; nor be too presumptuous for any sudden joy.
A merry heart is the life of the body; but rancor consumeth away the bones.
Every man thinketh his own way to be right; but the LORD judgeth the hearts.
For a wise man beareth his eyes about in his head, but the fool goeth in the darkness. I perceived also that they both had one end.
A wise man's heart is upon the righthand, but a fool's heart is upon the left.
Wherefore should ye be plagued any more? For ye are ever falling away. The whole head is sick, and the heart is very heavy.
Harden the heart of this people, stop their ears, and shut their eyes, that they see not with their eyes, hear not with their ears, and understand not with their heart, and convert and be healed."
Howbeit, his meaning is not so, neither thinketh his heart of this fashion. But he imagineth only, how he may overthrow and destroy much people,
But ye shall sing, as the use is in the night of the holy solemnity. Ye shall rejoice from your heart, as they that come with the pipe, when they go up to the mount of the LORD, unto the rock of Israel.
And I will give you one heart, and will plant a new spirit within your bowels. That stony heart will I take out of your body, and give you a fleshly heart:
Cast away from you all your ungodliness that ye have done: make you new hearts and a new spirit. Wherefore will ye die, O ye house of Israel?
And I will give you a new heart, and will put a new spirit in you. And will take away that stony heart out of your flesh, and give you a fleshly heart.
And tear your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God. For he is full of mercy and compassion, long ere he be angry, and great in mercy and repentance when he is at the point to punish.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
O generation of vipers, how can ye say well, when ye yourselves are evil? For of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man.
And they that are by the wayside, where the word is sown, are they to whom as soon as they have heard it, cometh immediately Satan and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And likewise, they that are sown on the stony ground: which when they have heard the word, at once they receive it with gladness; read more. yet have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: and anon, as soon as any trouble and persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they fall. And these are they that are sown among the thorns; which are such as hear the word of God, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things enter in, and choke the word, and it is made unfruitful. And those that were sown in good ground, are they that hear the word and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirty fold some sixty fold, some a hundred fold."
He showeth strength with his arm, he scattereth them that are proud in the imagination of their hearts.
and all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner child shall this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.
But Mary kept all those sayings, and pondered them in her heart.
And he went with them, and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil. For of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaketh.
That in the good ground, are they which with a good and pure heart, hear the word, and keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
and he said unto them, "Ye are they, which justify yourselves before men: but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed among men is abominable in the sight of God.
which show the deed of the law written in their hearts: While their conscience beareth witness unto them, and also their thoughts, accusing one another, or excusing,
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the meaning of the spirit: for he maketh intercession for the saints according to the pleasure of God.
Nevertheless, he that purposeth surely in his heart, having none need: but hath power over his own will: and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doth well.
For it is God that commanded the light to shine out of darkness, which hath shined in our hearts, for to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
and lighten the eyes of your minds, that ye might know what thing that hope is, whereunto he hath called you, and what the riches of his glorious inheritance is upon the saints,
and devilish doctrine of them which speak false through hypocrisy, and have their consciences marked with a hot iron,
Lusts of youth avoid, and follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with them that call on the Lord with pure heart.
"This is the testament that I will make unto them after those days saith the Lord. And I will put my laws in their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,
but let the hid man of the heart be uncorrupt, with a meek and a quiet spirit, which spirit is, before God, a thing much set by.
But if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth 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 when the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was increased upon the earth, and that all the imagination and thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour and said in his heart, "I will henceforth no more curse the earth for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil even from the very youth of him. Moreover I will not destroy from henceforth all that liveth as I have done.
For from within even out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts: adultery, fornication, murder,
That in the good ground, are they which with a good and pure heart, hear the word, and keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
For if thou shalt knowledge with thy mouth that Jesus is the Lord, and shalt believe with thine heart that God raised him up from death, thou shalt be safe.
For the end of the commandment is love that cometh 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 will we not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea;
Among all things living, man hath the most deceitful and unsearchable heart. Who shall then know it?
"Thou son of man, speak prophecy against those prophets that preach in Israel: and say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, 'Hear ye the word of the LORD.
Thy borders are in the midst of the sea, and thy builders have made thee marvelous goodly.
Ephraim is like a dove, that is beguiled, and hath no heart. Now call they upon the Egyptians, now go they to the Assyrians:
He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, that I come not and smite the earth with cursing."
For this people's hearts are waxed gross. And their ears were dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their hearts, and should turn, that I might heal them.
That in the good ground, are they which with a good and pure heart, hear the word, and keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
And 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 ruler among the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher which art come from God. For no man could do such miracles as thou doest, except God were with him." read more. Jesus answered, and said unto him, "Verily, verily I say unto thee: except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said unto him, "How can a man be born, when he is old? Can he enter into his mother's womb and be born again?" Jesus answered, "Verily, verily I say unto thee: Except that a man be 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 to thee, ye must be born anew. The wind bloweth where he listeth, and thou hearest his sound: but canst not tell whence he cometh and whither he goeth. So is every man that is born of the spirit." And Nicodemus answered and said unto him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said unto him, "Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily I say unto thee, we speak that we know, and testify that we have seen: And ye receive not our witness.