Keep Your Heart
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Fallen men
FCF
FCF
Christians are not impervious to compromise.
I’m sure we could identify many factors that contribute to one’s vulnerability to compromise, but all of it will be connected in one way or another to the condition of our hearts. Mere behavior, even if it conforms to how godliness is described in the Bible, is not the essential issue. The chief concern is our hearts. We should note briefly here that reference to the heart in our text is to the seat of personhood. The mind, the will, the emotions are in view here. To be concerned for our hearts is to be concerned about the most consequential part of us.
all of this to say that
Main Idea
Main Idea
The condition of our hearts characterize the conduct of our lives
In other words, what makes the difference between noble behavior and God-honoring behavior is not the act itself, but the condition of the heart from which the behavior flows.
The author of our text today, Solomon, most likely wrote this at the midpoint of his life. It is thought that he wrote Song of Solomon during the early adult years of his life, Proverbs at midlife and Ecclesiastes near the end. I mention this because if that timeline is accurate, that means he wrote our text during a time in his life that is described like this in
4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
The text goes on to say that the Lord was angry with Solomon because he had turned away from God, specifically citing his marriages to foreign women who brought idol worship into Israel.
In God’s providence and grace, we have the treasure of the book of Proverbs, but for Solomon the chief concern was the same as it is for you and I today. Our hearts.
Now, our posture to the truth of God’s Word is key to the condition of our hearts and the conduct of our lives. The reception of the truth into our hearts, nourishes it and flows out of it to our behavior. This is the substance of Solomon’s urgency in verses 20 & 21. Be attentive to my words, incline your ear to my words, don’t let them escape from your sight, keep them within your sight.
I have observed two exhortations in light of this claim: the condition of our hearts characterize the conduct of our lives.
Take the truth to heart: Guard against impurity
Obey the truth from the heart: Establish godly patterns
Take the truth to heart: Guard against impurity (20-23)
Take the truth to heart: Guard against impurity (20-23)
Solomon addresses these words to his son. This is the third appeal of this kind in this chapter:
1 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction,
and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
10 Hear, my son, and accept my words,
that the years of your life may be many.
20 My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
The relationship between Solomon and his father, King David was one of deep affection. Like many father-son relationships, there was complication connected to it. Solomon was the second son born to David and Bathsheba. Their first son died as a reult of the judgement on David’s adultery. Solomon was a symbol of God’s forgiveness and the restoration of David’s household.
David had children born from several women. His oldest surviving son at the time, Adonijah, was born to David from Haggith. Adonijah tried to seize the throne. David acted decisively and had Solomon anointed as his successor. By this time, David was at the end of his life. We have some of his last words in an intimate exchange between him and Solomon.
1 When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn,
And now we come to our text in verse 20, and we see the phrase my son. Solomon is a father now. We are not told if he is addressing someone specifically. We might suppose that he is addressing his son Rehoboam who would succeed him as king. If you know anything about Rehoboam’s reign, you know it did not go well. Perhaps Solomon could see the rebellion in his son. Perhaps he knew that his son’s heart was far from God.
Oh, I know that this is not the primary concern of this text, but can I make a plea to all parents, and really to all of us because we as members of this church have a responsibility to the children of this church to petition and plead the throne of grace for the hearts of our children? Yes, we want our children to be healthy. We want them to do well in school. We want them to get good jobs, be able to take care of themselves, but pray for their hearts. Pray their hearts would submit to the Lord, love the Lord, desire the Lord.
But back to the text, consider the message Solomon is sending his son:
Hear wisdom’s call (20)
Hear wisdom’s call (20)
20 My son, be attentive to my words;
There’s a difference between hearing and listening. I hear lots of things. My dear wife. She can be talking to me, and I be looking right at her and appear to be engaged in the conversation, but because I have many things going on in the background of my mind, and am easily distracted by almost anything, I do not always take in what she says.
Pay attention to what the Word of God says. Many of us here today have been around the church for a while. Maybe not this local church, but you’re familiar with the local church. You read your Bibles, you have heard many sermons. Maybe you have considered our sermon text more than once. We can hear the word but not listen to it. No pay attention to it.
This is intensified by the word incline. Now the counsel goes from being attentive to leaning over and listening carefully. Why do we listen like that? Because we are convinced that what is being said is important and we must understand it.
There is a known point of tension in the Barnes house when it comes to watching something on TV. If we’re watching a movie, some of us approach movie watching with a commitment to hear what the characters are saying. The are others in the Barnes house that consider themselves to be commentators on what we are watching. The only issue with that of course is that the commentary will often prevent hearing the movie.
You and I live in a noisy culture. We have the Word of God, but there are many voices calling for our attention. We must do what is necessary to pay attention, lean over and take in the truth. The culture can be a distraction, but our sin certainly is. Our sin is the voice that seeks to drown out the voice of God’s wisdom. The call to be attentive and incline our ears to the Word of God is one to guard against sin and against the lies of the world.
So, we are to hear wisdom’s call and we need to
Heed wisdom’s call (21)
Heed wisdom’s call (21)
Verse 20 is a positive exhortation: be attentive, incline your ear. Verse 21 begins with a negative: Let them not escape from your sight. Referring to his words of wisdom.
I have nothing new to share this morning to explain how we can heed wisdom’s call. The most practical way to obey this command is to read and meditate upon the Word of God. Approach the Bible the way Psalm 1 describes:
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
And when we get to the end of verse 21, the condition of our hearts is named. What does it mean to be attentive to the Word of God and incline our ears to it and not let it escape from our sight? Keep them within your heart.
It seems to me this passage is in the background of what Jesus said about the heart in the gospels. Consider what Jesus said in
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
A bit of context here. Earlier in the chapter, the Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus and asked:
2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”
Jesus responded to them, but then he called the people to Himself and said this:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
The disciples respond with a certain nervousness asking Jesus if He knew that His words offended the Pharisees. But Jesus then responds to the disciples in verses 17-20.
The point here is that we can give attention to these superficial matters (washing hands, going through the motions) but not address address anything of significance. What’s important is what is in the heart. The condition of the heart. You see, what comes out of the heart reveals the condition of the person. If your heart is not right with God, what will come out of you will reflect that.
But Jesus says this as well in Luke’s gospel:
45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
The condition of the heart is the true condition of the person. So Solomon urges his son to keep his words within his heart because he knows that unless his son does what he exhorts him to do in verses 24-27 (concerning his speech and where he goes) from a heart that treasures the wisdom of God, he will be far from the Lord.
Take the truth to heart. We do this by hearing wisdom’s call, heeding wisdom’s call
Honor wisdom’s call (22)
Honor wisdom’s call (22)
Solomon states his justification for the exhortations he has issued so far in verse 22. Do this because:
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
The contrast to this statement is in
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
The way of wisdom is the way of life, and we come to possess wisdom by seeking God. A relationship with God that is directed by the truth of His word. A relationship with God that is informed by the preaching of God’s Word. A relationship with God that is sharpened by the fellowship of like-minded believers in the context of the local church. This is where we find life.
And notice the end of verse 22. The words of Solomon to his son are also healing to all their flesh. This is the effect of the wisdom of God. It restores life. It heals.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.
The promises do not necessarily stop the cause of the affliction, but grants those who take them to heart a perseverance. Life to keep focused on the Lord. To delight in Him. To find their satisfaction in Him.
And to finish describing what taking the truth to heart includes, it is also
Humble yourself to wisdom’s call (23)
Humble yourself to wisdom’s call (23)
John Flavel, in his work, Keeping the Heart said this:
The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God.
Here Solomon brings it down to the bottom line of taking the truth to heart. Keeping or guarding our hearts with all vigilance. This is not casual work. What does the work of guarding our hearts look like? There are internal threats to the heart like pride, anger, jealousy and bitterness. There are external threats to the heart like loss, abuse, injustice, temptation. We keep our hearts by caring for them. We care for them by feeding them the truth, by limiting access to them from the world, by fellowshipping with others who are engaged in the work of heart-keeping.
But, you may have noticed that a great deal of emphasis has been put on the responsibility to be aware, protect, take certain action in order to have the results Solomon’s counsel points us to. What prevents us from concluding that the call to keep our hearts is up to us?
Notice in verse 23, Solomon provides the reason for his command to keep the heart: for from it flow the springs of life. We already noted the words of Jesus from Luke 6 where He said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Our hearts are the source of our true selves. Solomon’s imagery here is helpful. Our hearts are wellsprings. They are, in other words, the cisterns from which the our eyes, our mouths all outward forms of expression flow. Solomon is not providing counsel for how to guard a well that is poisoned. It does not make sense to guard a spring that is already corrupted.
Don’t loose sight of the gospel here. We’re familiar with Ezekiel’s prophecy:
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Christ does not help us or even enable us to guard our old hearts of stone. He doesn’t assist us in guarding that which is still ruled by sin. Christ gives His people new hearts. As this New Covenant promise makes clear, Christ removes our hearts of stone and gives us hearts of flesh. Church, you have been given a new heart by the grace of God, and now the exhortation has today is to guard it.
It makes sense that the people of God are commanded to guard their hearts. If you have been coming to our Sunday evening services, you may recall that we have been going through a series on the fruit of the Spirit (tonight we will consider the fruit of patience). We know, despite the reception of new hearts in Christ, we continue to contend with our flesh. We struggle to manifest love, joy, peace and patience. There is effort needed. in fact, what Gal. 5 makes clear to those who have the Spirit is that our flesh continues to wage war against the Spirit of God. The right response to this is to keep our hearts. Back to Flavel who said this about heart-keeping:
…the duty is ours, though the power is of God; what power we have depends upon the exciting and assisting strength of Christ. Grace within us is beholden to grace without us. Without me (Jesus said) you can do nothing. So much for the matter of the duty.
We guard our transformed hearts with full vigor, waging war against all that is opposed to the work of grace in our lives. We guard our hearts by filling them with Christ, who is the wisdom of God. We work out our own salvation with fear and trembling because it is God who works in us to will and to do with His good pleasure.
Do you have a new heart? Apart from the intervention of God’s grace, we desire to protect that which is killing us. Hearts of stone desire death. Unchanged hearts desire that which is opposed to God. Come and rest your weary souls at the foot of Christ’s cross. He offers you life.
The condition of our hearts characterizes the conduct of our lives. In light of this we need to:
Take the truth to heart: guard against impurity
Obey the truth from the heart: establish godly patterns. (24-27)
Obey the truth from the heart: establish godly patterns. (24-27)
Solomon’s counsel moves from focusing on guarding the heart to giving attention to behavior. It’s not that heart-keeping and our behavior have nothing to do with each other. Quite the contrary. Guarding the heart isn’t merely an internal spiritual discipline; it’s the prerequisite for controlling what flows outward through speech, sight and conduct. As Flavel said, the hand and the tongue always begin where the heart ends.
So, these verses the practical outworking of a guarded heart.
Solomon addresses our speech, our eyes and our conduct. Hear what Solomon says about people who do not give attention to these areas of their lives:
12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with crooked speech,
13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
points with his finger,
a worthless person, a wicked man.
Speech (24)
Speech (24)
What we say, how we say it matters. Crooked speech is speech that distorts the truth. It deforms the truth. Devious talk diverges from the truth. It swerves from what is right and true.
Perhaps you think you have the speech thing well in hand. Especially considering what Solomon says here. You’re not in the habit of lying. You strive to be truthful in your speech. But guarding our speech goes beyond this. We establish certain habits of speech. What we talk about, how we talk about it.
Are you cynical? That will show up in your speech. Perhaps you are dissatisfied with many things. Maybe you offer fashionable grumbles to compensate for this. Are you in the habit of using your speech to get what you want from people… manipulation. This all can become the habits of our speech. As one commentator put it these speech practices can harden into well established habits of thought.
We are aware of the consequences of hasty, thoughtless speech. We would do well to pray the prayer in Psalm 19.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
This is our standard. Speech that is acceptable, pleasing to God.
Eyes (25)
Eyes (25)
Solomon’s exhortation is to not give divided attention to the right path. This brought to mind what Joshua was told by the angel of the Lord as he prepared to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land:
7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
If your heart has been changed by the Lord, you are able to see the right path. Earlier in this chapter, Solomon talks about the right path:
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of the evil.
15 Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.
16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
Solomon issues this urgent plea. Do not enter the path of the wicked… avoid it. The contrast is the path of the righteous which is like the light of dawn. God has brought his people out of darkness and into His marvelous light. We can advance on the path of righteousness. Walking this path is often accompanied by struggle, but those struggle are meant to point us back to the fact that we are always dependent on the Lord for guidance. Not looking to the right or the left. We see and are able to walk on the right path, but we also see the pother paths. It is tempting to take the other paths.
4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
Gazing upon the beauty of the Lord is what satisfies the soul. Gazing to the right or to the left appeals to the flesh. Do what you have to do to guard your eyes. Internet blockers, not going to the beach, not watching certain movies, certain shows. And it’s not just a warning about sexual temptation. News, podcasts, youtube videos… all of what we gaze upon will have an impact on our hearts.
Feet (26-27)
Feet (26-27)
The word ponder in verse 26 can also be translated watch. This is probably best in light of the command to look in the previous verse. Watch the path of you feet is Solomon’s call to his son to not only see the path, but be sure to actually walk on the path. We are to take care that every step conforms with the way of righteousness. Now, walking the right path is not always a pleasant experience.
Let’s not get lost in the imagery here. Consider patience again. To walk the right path is to exercise patience. But exercising patience is hard. But showing patience is not just restraining ourselves from loosing our temper and making hasty decisions. Walk the path of God-honoring patience is to submit our desires and ambition and timetables to the Lord. He gave us new hearts and we are to keep them… guard them.
The exhortation to not swerve to the right or the left in verse 27 assumes that Solomon’s son is walking on the straight path. You may be walking on the right path, but don’t become casual about your walking. The temptations to go off are on our right and our left. Pride on one side and negligence on the other. Greed and slothfulness.
Praise God is we are walking on the right path, but one Pastor said this: Everyone of us is always five minutes away from total disaster.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Which brings us back to the sobering truth that none of us are impervious to compromise. Compromise occurs in the heart and makes it way to our conduct. We do not want to experience total disaster. We don’t want to fall even if our failure won’t be a topic of discussion on many podcasts and Youtube channels. We must know that these kinds of failures begin in the heart. We need new hearts, and only God provides them through Jesus Christ and His redemptive work. If you are a child of God, you are called to give yourself wholly to the work of heart-keeping. There is nothing more consequential to living faithfully to God than the condition of your heart. What we do matters. No question. But our hearts are the reservoirs from which all of what we do comes. Seek the Lord as you keep your heart.
