Soul... Heart

Inspired by our discussion of Psalm 119:9-16 ("Beth", especially verses 10 and 11) during Bible study Thursday night, I did a word-study of the word "Heart". (If you're not familiar with this method of searching the scriptures, I recommend it as a great way to get a grasp on Biblical terms and context, and as an aid in meditating on God's Word properly.)

Using the Holman Bible Dictionary, Strong's Concordance (Copyright 1990 by Thomas Nelson Publishers), and God's Word (including the Holman CSB and the Hebrew-Greek NASB Key Word study Bible by AMG Publishers), here's what I've found so far (and I've really only brushed the surface on this one!):
- according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, in general terms the word "heart" is used to describe "the center of the physical, mental, and spiritual life of humans", and is connected with functions of the mind (Proverbs 23:7 , 1 Samuel 9:20, and Isaiah 46;8) and acts of the will (2 Cor. 9:7, Acts 5:4, and Romans 6:17), as well as human wishes and desires (Romans 1:24). Also, the Bible Dictionary states that in the Old Testament especially the word "heart" was used to speak of the conscience, since the Hebrew language had no word for conscience.

- the Hebrew words translated "heart" appear over 650 times in the Old Testament; of those instances Strong's # 3820 and 3824 occur most often by far (approximately 300 times each), followed by #5315 (approximately 10 times) and a few others, mostly derivations of # 3824 (numbers 382o through 3825).

- Strong's number 3824 (Hebrew "lebab") is itself from 3823 (Hebrew "labab") which means to be enclosed or to transport. Strong's says 3824 ("lebab") means literally "the heart (as the most interior organ); used also like 3820:-- +bethink themselves, breast, comfortably, courage, ... midst, mind, ... understanding".

- the word translated "heart" in Psalm 119 is almost always 3820 (Hebrew "leb"), which according to Strong's is "also used (figurative) very widely for the feelings, the will, and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything:--- + care for, comfortably, consent, ... courag[-eous], friend[-ly], ([broken-]), ...". There is only one other instance of the word translated "heart" in Psalm 119, in Psalm 119:7, and it uses the Hebrew word "lebab" (Strong's number 3824).

- the Greek words translated "heart" in the New Testament appear over 75 times total, most of which are Strong's Greek / New Testament number 2588 (Greek "kardia", meaning "the heart, i.e. (figurative) the thoughts or feelings (mind); also (by analogy) the midlle:--- (+broken-) heart (-ed)". The remaining instances are Strong's number 4641 (Greek "sklerokardia", hardness of heart) in Mark 10:5 and 16:14, and Strong's number 5590 (Greek "psuche", or the part of the "soul" held in common with others creatures in God's creation) which appears in Ephesians 6:6.

The "heart" is often used to indicate man's desire for evil, or even to point to his own sin-nature (usually associated with God's judgment upon it), as in Jeremiah 17:9-10 and in Matthew 15:17-20. Thus man's natural, sinful heart indicates the depths of his true depravity, and God is just in condemning and punishing him for it (so much for "there is good in every man", and for that matter, for the merit of following the worldly advice to "follow your heart"!).

One thing I did not find in either the Old or New Testaments was God or His servants ever commanding or asking anyone to "invite God" (or Jesus, God-made-flesh) "into their heart". This usage seems to be based upon several verses in the New Testament, including 2 Cor. 1:22, Ephesians 3:17, and Romans 5:5, which speak of God giving us the down-payment of the Spirit in our hearts (as adopted children of God), expressing the desire that the Messiah may "dwell in your hearts through faith", and of God pouring out His love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. However, the Reformist in me is obliged to point out that all of these instances are verses to true Christians (that is, those who have already been seized by God, by His grace, through faith in Christ Jesus), and so the idea of God dwelling in the "hearts" (center of being) of His children is consistent with His action in making each chosen heart His dwelling-place (or giving His children a new heart, as in Ezekiel 11:17-20), not in waiting to be invited in.
Thus it makes sense (and carries extra significance) that David would count on God to "enlarge [his] heart" in Psalm 119:32 (NASB) and ask God to "incline [his] heart to Thy testimonies..." in Psalm 119:36 (NASB), to name just a very small portion of such requests within the Psalms and the Old Testament.

I am once more struck with awe at God's grace in giving us His Word (and even more, His Word made flesh) and with horror at our neglect of it, as we allow our ears to be numbed and our minds made complacent by the constant noise of the world, including their trumpet-call to leave behind the meaningfulness of words as being no more than semantics. May we never stop seeking after God with our whole heart, and this includes hungering after His Word with a zeal that does not allow words as "common" as "heart" to become "commonplace" to us when contained and used within His living and active Word.