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is translated “heart” fifteen times in the
KJV
. Each time, it connotes the “inner man”: “For
as he thinketh in his heart [
], so is he” (Prov. 23:7).
6
can be used of the man himself or his personality: “Then Abraham fell upon his
face and laughed, and said in his heart, …” (Gen. 17:17); “… my heart had great
experience …” (Eccl. 1:16).
6
is also used of God in this sense: “And I will give you
pastors according to mine heart” (Jer. 3:15).
The seat of desire, inclination, or will can be indicated by “heart”: “Pharaoh’s heart is
hardened …” (Exod. 7:14); “… whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it …”
(Exod. 35:5; cf. vv. 21, 29); “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart …”
(Ps. 86:12).
6
is also used of God in this sense: “… and I will plant them in this land
assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul” (Jer. 32:41). Two people are
said to be in agreement when their “hearts” are right with each other: “Is thine heart right,
as my heart is with thy heart?” (2 Kings 10:15). In 2 Chron. 24:4, “… Joash was minded
to repair the house of the Lord” (Heb. “had in his heart”).
The “heart” is regarded as the seat of emotions: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thine heart, …” (Deut. 6:5); “… and when he [Aaron] seeth thee, he will be
glad in his heart” (Exod. 4:14; cf. 1 Sam. 2:1). So there are “merry” hearts (Judg. 16:25),
“fearful” hearts (Isa. 35:4), and hearts that “trembled” (1 Sam. 4:13).
The “heart” could be regarded as the seat of knowledge and wisdom and as a
synonym of “mind.” This meaning often occurs when “heart” appears with the verb “to
know”: “Thus you are to know in your heart …” (Deut. 8:5,
NASB
); and “Yet the Lord
hath not given you a heart to perceive [know] …” (Deut. 29:4,
KJV
;
RSV
, “mind”).
Solomon prayed, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people,
that I may discern between good and bad …” (1 Kings 3:9; cf. 4:29). Memory is the
activity of the “heart,” as in Job 22:22: “… lay up his [God’s] words in thine heart.”
The “heart” may be the seat of conscience and moral character. How does one
respond to the revelation of God and of the world around him? Job answers: “… my heart
shall not reproach me as long as I live” (27:6). On the contrary, “David’s heart smote him
…” (2 Sam. 24:10). The “heart” is the fountain of man’s deeds: “… in the integrity of my
heart and innocency of my hands I have done this” (Gen. 20:5; cf. v. 6). David walked
“in uprightness of heart” (1 Kings 3:6) and Hezekiah “with a perfect heart” (Isa. 38:3)
before God. Only the man with “clean hands, and a pure heart” (Ps. 24:4) can stand in
God’s presence.
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may refer to the seat of rebellion and pride. God said: “… for the imagination of
man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21). Tyre is like all men: “Because thine heart
is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God” (Ezek. 28:2). They all become like Judah,
whose “sin … is graven upon the table of their heart” (Jer. 17:1).
God controls the “heart.” Because of his natural “heart,” man’s only hope is in the
promise of God: “A new heart also will I give you, … and I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). So the sinner
prays: “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps. 51:10); and “… unite my heart [give me
an undivided heart] to fear thy name” (Ps. 86:11). Also, as David says, “I know also, my
God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness” (1 Chron. 29:17). Hence
God’s people seek His approval: “… try my reins and my heart” (Ps. 26:2).