Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Proverbs 4:23
(Excerpt taken from Matthew Henry's Commentary)
We must keep a watchful eye and a strict hand upon all the motions of our inward man,
A great duty required by the laws of wisdom, and in order to our getting and preserving wisdom: Keep thy heart with all diligence. God, who gave us these souls, gave us a strict charge with them: Man, woman, keep thy heart; take heed to thy spirit, De 4:9.
We must maintain a holy jealousy of ourselves, and set a strict guard, accordingly, upon all the avenues of the soul; keep our hearts from doing hurt and getting hurt, from being defiled by sin and disturbed by trouble; keep them as our jewel, as our vineyard; keep a conscience void of offense; keep out bad thoughts; keep up good thoughts; keep the affections upon right objects and in due bounds.
Keep them with all keepings (so the word is); there are many ways of keeping things--by care, by strength, by calling in help, and we must use them all in keeping our hearts; and all little enough, so deceitful are they,
-The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer 17:9.
Or above all keepings; we must keep our hearts with more care and diligence than we keep any thing else.
We must keep our eyes
-I made a covenant with my eyes,
how then should I look lustfully at a young woman? (Job 31:1),
keep our tongues
-Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking lies.(Ps 34:13),
keep our feet
- Guard your steps when you go to God’s house; (Ec 5:a),
but, above all, keep our hearts.
A good reason given for this care, because out of it are the issues of life.
Out of a heart well kept will flow living issues, good products, to the glory of God and the edification of others. Or, in general, all the actions of the life flow from the heart, and therefore keeping that is making the tree good and healing the springs. Our lives will be regular or irregular, comfortable or uncomfortable, according as our hearts are kept or neglected.
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