Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
1 Sam. 16:7
Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.
Prov. 4:23
To guard and garrison the heart is the grand work God has appointed us: the enablement is His, but the duty is ours.
Unless the tree grows inwardly it would not grow in any other direction, for its outward growth is but the development and manifestation of its vital or seminal principle. The inward growth of a tree consists of an increase of its sap, a resisting of that which would injure, and the toughening of its tissues.
The sap is the vital juice of all plants and its free circulation the determiner of its health and growth. The analogy of this in the Christian is the grace of God communicated to his soul, and his spiritual progress is fundamentally determined by his receiving fresh supplies of grace. At regeneration God does not impart to us a supply of grace sufficient for the remainder of our lives: instead, He has made Christ to be the grand Fountain of all grace, and we are required to continue betaking ourselves to Him for fresh supplies. The Lord Jesus has issued a free invitation: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37), which must not be restricted to our first approach. As long as the Christian remains on earth he is as needy as when he drew his first spiritual breath, and his need is supplied in no other way than by his coming to Christ daily for fresh supplies of His grace. Christ is “full of grace,” and that fulness is available for His people to draw from (Heb. 4:16). “He giveth more grace . . . unto the humble” (James 4:6), that is, to those who “thirst,” who are conscious of their need and who present themselves as empty vessels to be replenished.
But there is another principle which operates and regulates our obtaining further supplies of grace: “For unto every one that hath shall be given and he shall have abundance” (Matthew 25:29; cf. Luke 8:18). The context shows that the one who “hath” is he who has traded with what had been bestowed upon him: in other words, the way to obtain more grace is to make a right and good use of what we already have. Why should Christ give more if we have not improved what He previously communicated? Faith becomes stronger by exercising it. And how does the Christian make a good use of grace? By heeding that all-important injunction, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). This is the great task which God has assigned to each of His children. The “heart” signifies the whole inner man—the “hidden man of the heart” (1 Peter 3:4). It is that which controls and gives character to all that we become and do. The man is what his heart is, for “as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). To guard and garrison the heart is the grand work God has appointed us: the enablement is His, but the duty is ours.
Negatively, the keeping of the heart with all diligence signifies, excluding from it all that is opposed to God. It means keeping the imagination free from vanity, the understanding from error, the will from perverseness, the conscience clear from all guilt, the affections from being inordinate and set on evil objects, the inner man from being dominated by sin and Satan. In a word it means, to mortify the “flesh” within us, with all its affections and lusts; to resist evil imaginations, nipping them in the bud; to strive against the swellings of pride, the workings of unbelief; to swim against the tide of the world; to reject the solicitations of the Devil. This is to be our constant concern and ceaseless endeavor. It means to keep the conscience tender to sin in its first approach. It means looking diligently after its cleansing when it has been defiled. For all of this much prayer is required, earnest seeking of God’s assistance, His supernatural aid; and if it be sought trustfully it will not be sought in vain, for it is the grace of God which teaches us to deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts” (Titus 2:11, 12).
Positively, the keeping of our hearts with all diligence signifies, the cultivation of our spiritual graces—called “the fruit of the spirit” (Gal. 5:22, 23). For the health, vigor, exercise and manifestation of those graces we are accountable. They are like so many tender plants which will not thrive unless they are given much attention. They are like so many tendrils on a vine which must be lifted from trailing on the ground, pruned and sprayed, if they are to be fruitful. They are like so many saplings in the nursery which need rich soil, regular watering, the warmth of the sun, if they are to thrive. Go carefully over the ninefold list given in Galatians 5:22, 23 and then honestly ask the question, What sincere effort am I really making to cultivate, to foster, to develop those graces? Compare too the sevenfold list of 2 Peter 1:5-7 and put to yourself a similar inquiry. When your graces are lively and flourishing and Christ draws near, you will be able to say “my Beloved is gone down into his garden to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens and to gather lilies” (Song of Sol. 6:2). God esteems nothing so highly as holy faith, unfeigned love, and filial fear (cf. 1 Peter 3:4; 1 Tim. 1:5).
“Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). Is that sufficiently realized by us? If it is, then we are making it our chief concern to keep our hearts with all diligence. “My son, give me thine heart” (Prov. 23:26): until that be done, God will accept nothing from you. The prayers and praises of our lips, the offerings and labors of our hands, yea, a correct outward walk, are things of no value in His sight unless the heart beats true to Him. Nor will He accept a divided heart. And if I have really given Him my heart, then it is to be kept for Him, it must be devoted to Him, it must be suited to Him. Ah, my reader, there is much head religion, much hand religion—busily engaged in what is termed “Christian service, and much feet religion—rushing around from one meeting, “Bible Conference,” “Communion” to another, but where are those who make conscience of keeping their hearts! The heart of the empty professor is like the vineyard of “the man void of [spiritual] understanding,” namely, “all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof” (Prov. 24:30, 31).
A very few words must suffice upon the third aspect of inward growth. In the case of a tree this consists in the toughening of its tissues or strengthening of its fibers—apparent from the harder wood obtained from an older one than from a sapling. The spiritual counterpart of that is found in the Christian attaining more firmness and fixedness of character, so that he is no longer swayed by the opinions of others. He becomes more stable, so that he is less emotional; and more rational, acting not from sudden impulse but from settled principle. He becomes wiser in spiritual things because his mind is increasingly engaged with the Word of God and his eternal concerns, and therefore more serious and sober in his demeanor. He becomes confirmed in doctrine and therefore more discerning and discriminating in whom he hears and what he reads. Nothing can move him from allegiance to Christ, and having bought the Truth he refuses to sell it (Prov. 23:23).
A.W. Pink. Spiritual Growth.
