Thomas Watson in his article entitled "The Spiritual Watch" breaks Proverbs 4:23 down like this:- "Keep" means to arm or to fence off something from danger of something else. It can also mean to take care of a piece of precious metal so that it is not lost. With that in mind keep your heart locked up safely so that it is ready for God when He calls for it.
- "Your Heart" is that portion of who you are that includes your soul, mind, conscience, will, and affections. It is that part of you that is the deposit or charge that God entrusts every man with.
- "With all diligence" means that a Christian is to set a continual guard around this heart that he has been entrusted with. "A Christian's heart must ever be in his eye" says Watson.
- "For out of it are the issues of life" gives the reason why a man is to keep his heart with all diligence. Out of a man's heart flows streams of damnation or salvation. Those are sobering words for anyone who calls himself a Christian.
This idea of guarding one's heart with all diligence in the world that we currently live in brings out so many different applications that it is almost impossible to get the all down at any one moment in time. However, here are a few different applications that readily come to mind.
- The world's attacks on the Christian's heart are constant and relentless. The world knows full well that if they can control a person's heart, that person will say and do anything that is asked of them almost without thinking. If one is convinced that the TV that they have is not what they deserve, they will go out and buy a new one with the promise that they will be more fulfilled. If one is convinced that his marriage is not what it could be if he were to marry someone else, then he is seconds away from finding a new wife either through mental adultery or physical adultery. Once the world has broken through the gateway of the mind and convinced the affections, the acting out is only seconds away. Guarding the heart is infinitely more important that any other action aside from worshiping the One True God.
- The sinful stain that is still left on one's heart from original sin acts like a sledgehammer the moment he ceases to keep watch. In some ways, this is more dangerous than all the powers of the world combined together. The heart is one's own worst enemy in that it knows best when it can attack with a certain amount of certainty that success will happen. The traitor knows how best to bring down the kingdom and when to bring it down. And that is exactly what the human heart is to the Christian...a traitor.
"When any danger is near, the serpent keeps his head safe, and to preserve his head he will expose his whole body to injury. In the same way, a Christian should especially keep his heart safe; he should jeopardize his skin to keep his heart from receiving one single wound"
- Thomas Watson
"Guard Your Heart With All Diligence, For From It Flows The Springs Of Life."
