Guard Your Heart – The Seventh Commandment

Guard Your Heart

The seventh commandment

Exodus 20.14; Deuteronomy 5.18

“And you shall not commit adultery.”

Proverbs 4.23

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

Maintain vigilance over your heart.

The heart is that facet of the soul which houses the affections. Along with the mind and the conscience, it comprises the spiritual aspect of a human being, that inner, immaterial essence which is the driving force in all we do. These three parts of the soul are not strictly separable; Scripture often speaks of them as being of the same essence and sharing the same functions. Still, we must recognize these three different centers and the functions they perform within us if we would take control of growing in the Lord and walking in His Spirit. The affections are central, as Solomon reminds us. Our feelings, hopes, desires, longings, aspirations, fears, and so forth typically play a commanding role in the decisions we make and the actions we take. For the heart to function properly it must be rightly informed – this is the role of the mind – and it must be curtailed by the conscience – the values and priorities center of the soul. The mind is made fit by reading, study, and meditation in God’s truth; the conscience becomes strong by resolute practice, in the power of God’s Spirit, at submitting to God’s Law. When our minds are properly informed and our consciences are right with God and man, our hearts will function as they should. Otherwise, watch out.

Are your spiritual disciplines sufficient at this stage to ensure that your heart will function as it should?

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“In the Gates” is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.