The Heart:  Solutions of  - Part 2

Are there examples of Zeal in the Word of God that might instruct us in our zealousness?

2 Chronicles 17:12-16
12  And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store.
13  And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem.
14  And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand.
15  And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand.
16  And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour.

Notice the commentary for, "who willingly offered himself unto the Lord."

who willingly offered himself unto the Lord--to fight the Lord's battles, and without any stipend, as some think; or, as Kimchi, he offered gold and silver to the treasures of the house of the Lord. ~John Gill

Amasiah, that he willingly offered himself unto the Lord --- not only to the king, to serve him in this post, but to the Lord, to glorify him in it. He was the most eminent among them for religion, he accepted the place, not for the honour, or power, or profit of it, but for conscience' sake towards God, that he might serve his country. ~Matthew Henry

See my sermon on Fervency,  Diligence,  Zeal, and Preference:  Click here.

Is our heart to seek out God?
2 Chronicles 19:1-3
1  And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
2  And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.
3  Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.

Now the commentary for verse 3 and "has prepared thine heart to seek God":

and hast prepared thine heart to seek God -- through the grace of God his heart was disposed to serve and worship the Lord, and to seek his honour and glory. ~Barnes Notes

A firstfruit is marching from glory to glory and each glory is a glory to God.

2 Chronicles 30:15-20  --another example of seeking the Lord--
15  Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD.
16  And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites.
17  For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD.
18  For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one
19  That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
20  And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

Notice the commentary on verse 19:

This intercession of Hezekiah's is worthy of remark, not only because it expresses the conviction that upright seeking of the Lord, which proceeds from the heart, is to be more highly estimated than strict observance of the letter of the law, but also because Hezekiah presumes that those who had come out of Ephraim, etc., to the passover had fixed their heart to seek Jahve, the God of their fathers, but had not been in a position to comply with the precept of the law, i.e., to purify themselves up to the day appointed for the passover. ~Keil & Delitzsch

Ezra 7:10  For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Who is actually doing this "preparation of heart"?
Psalm 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

Are we to rejoice--be joyful--- from the heart before God?
1 Samuel 2:1  And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

Again, where is the joyfulness coming from in your heart?
Psalm 4:4-8
4  Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
5  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.
6  There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
7  Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 97:9-12
9  For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.
10  Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11  Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
12  Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Notice the commentary for verse 11:

And gladness for the upright in heart - The word gladness here - joy, or rejoicing - is parallel to the word light. Joy or gladness is sown for the righteous; that is, arrangements are made for producing joy, as preparations are made by sowing seed for a harvest. The world is full of arrangements for conferring happiness on the righteous. ~Barnes Notes

Isaiah 65:14a  Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart.

Zechariah 10:6-7
6  And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
7  And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.

Are we to make our hearts perfect with the Lord?
1 Kings 8:61  Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

Note:  Again, God is doing this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 101:1-3
1  A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.
2  I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3  I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

What does it mean in verse 2 that one will walk with a perfect heart?  Notice the commentary...

In a perfect way - In accordance with the perfect rules of right. I will make these my guide. I will “aim” to be perfect; I will have before me a perfect standard. ~Barnes Notes

Notice also in verse three about not putting wicked things before your eyes. I would think this especially important in the last days.

Are we to be "upright" in heart?

Psalm 97:10--we read this verse in regarding to joyfulness above--
10  Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
11  Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

What is "uprightness" in the heart?  Notice the commentary...

and gladness for the upright in heart --such as have new hearts and right spirits formed in them, and are Israelites indeed, that have the truth of grace and the root of the matter in them. ~Barnes Notes

"Uprightness" means:  Adhering strictly to moral principles; righteous.  Therefore, one who is immersed in the word of God is upright or has uprightness put into his or her heart.  Notice how all these matters---solutions---of the heart are tied directly to our being immersed in the Word of God and having God intervene directly into the matters of the heart.  Clearly the former must be there to experience the latter fully.

Psalm 125:1-5  --whole of the Psalm---
1  They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
2  As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.
3  For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.
4  Do good, O LORD, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.
5  As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

Are we to have a clean heart?
Psalm 51:9-10
9  Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

How does one get a clean heart?  Notice the commentary...

Create in me a clean heart, O God, --Which was now defiled with sin, and of which being convinced, he was led more and more to see the impurity of his heart and nature, from which all his evil actions flowed; and being sensible that he could not make his heart clean himself, and that this was the work of God, and a work which required creating power, he entreats it of him: for as the first work of conversion is no other than a creation, or a production of something new, which was not before; so the restoring of a backslider, as it goes by the same name, it requires the same power; and as the implantation of grace at first, and particularly of faith, is a work of almighty power; so the same power must be put forth to bring it into exercise, after falls into sin; that it may afresh deal with the heart purifying blood of Christ, which only can make it clean, and is what is here meant. ~John Gill

Psalm 73:1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.

Is our heart to be pure?
Psalm 24:3-4
3  Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

What does it mean "pure heart"?  Notice the commentary...

Not merely the one whose external conduct is upright, but whose heart is pure. The great principle is here stated which enters always into true religion, that it does not consist in outward conformity to law, or to the mere performance of rites and ceremonies, or to external morality, but that it controls the heart, and produces purity of motive and of thought. ~Barnes Notes

Proverbs 22:11  He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

Matthew 5:8  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

The commentary is the same in the New Testament.  Notice:

Blessed are the pure in heart - That is, whose minds, motives, and principles are pure; who seek not only to have the external actions correct, but who desire to be holy in heart, and who are so. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. ~Barnes Notes

1 Timothy 1:5  Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

2 Timothy 2:22  Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Are we to have a heart that is honest or sincere?
Luke 8:15 --breaking into the last part of the parable of the sower--
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Acts 2:46  And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

Notice this from the commentary about "singleness of heart."

Singleness of heart - This means with a sincere and pure heart. They were satisfied and thankful. They were not perplexed or anxious; nor were they solicitous for the luxurious living, or aspiring after the vain objects of the people of the world. Compare Roman 12:8; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Colossians 3:22; Ephesians 6:5. ~Barnes Notes

Let us look at those four verses:

Romans 12:8  Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

2 Corinthians 1:12  For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

Colossians 3:22  Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

Ephesians 6:5  Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;

Now turn to Hebrews 10 and verse 22

Hebrews 10:22  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

RECAP of Part 2
Be Zealous
Seek out God
Prepare your heart to seek God
Be joyful
Make your heart perfect with the Lord
Be upright in heart
Have a clean heart
Have a pure heart
Have an honest and sincere heart