My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.
God as Father tenderly asks each person as His son and child to give Him the heart — the whole inner life of affections, mind and deepest love — and to direct life by watching His ways with a submissive, teachable and obedient spirit rather than following one's own judgment. He asks for it because it already belongs to Him by creation and redemption, having been bought with His own life and blood at infinite price, so returning it is only a small return. Giving the heart means a willing, deliberate and undivided surrender of the whole self to God, turning in repentance, confessing waywardness and trusting Jesus as personal Saviour instead of waiting for feeling or clinging to self-will and one's own way. When it is given He accepts it, washes away its stains through Christ's blood, gives a new heart with power to serve gladly, and pardons, guides in righteousness and satisfies its longings with true happiness. That surrender is lived out by devoting time, talents, property, influence and strength wholly to Him and His kingdom first, in faith that works through love and obedience, a call pressed especially upon youth and children to choose eternal life now rather than temporary pleasure.
Speaker and Request
The verse is God's own personal appeal as Father to each individual as His son and child, tenderly calling every wanderer and sinner to come to Jesus as they are. He waits with pitying tenderness to hear confession of waywardness and to accept penitence, watching for gratitude as a mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. His heart yearns earnestly and tenderly over His children in all their trials and temptations, pitying those who fear Him as a father pities his children, and never forgetting one soul that trusts in Him. The call is directed with special compassion to the youth, expressing His pitying desire for them to turn to Him, confess, and receive His love, since they cannot be truly happy without that love. Surrender to Jesus in answer to this invitation brings grateful trust in the living Redeemer and strengthens purpose and character, while the repentant person who asks for a changed heart receives renewal and restoration to a pure, holy life. That restoration is made possible by Christ's work to remove sin and rescue the sinner from it, so that, dead to sin, the person may live in righteousness.
The heart He asks for means the whole inner life — affections, intelligence, mind, and deepest love and devotion. Giving it means turning to Him in repentance and surrendering mind and heart, and children are called to give Him their deepest affections and seek Him for strength through prayer so their lives may be right and pleasing in His sight. It is where spiritual change begins because the issues of life flow from it, and when the Holy Spirit is received He becomes a wellspring of life within, enabling the heart to respond to God's call. He is ready to pardon sin and guide the one who takes hold of Him and holds fast to Him in virtue and righteousness.
He asks for the heart on the ground that it already belongs to Him by creation and redemption, because He gave His life for it, shed His own blood for it, and paid an infinite price for it. He has bought the whole love and devotion, with affections, intelligence, and every power, so all powers belong to Him. Giving them back to Him is therefore only a small gift and small return. Opening the heart to the divine Spirit leads to valuing the human soul and responding to God's touch. The same claim rested on Daniel by creation and redemption, calling him to surrender to Christ and serve Him by using talents for His glory and becoming a channel of His love and grace to others.
Letting the eyes observe His ways means directing the whole life by attention to His ways, with nothing withheld when the heart is consecrated as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Giving Him the heart means having a submissive, teachable, loving, and obedient spirit that accepts His counsel instead of following one's own ideas, wisdom, judgment, and way. Prayer is excellent when it rises from such a heart in every part of life and service to Him. Such consecration brings a sense of responsibility and a desire to keep His way and do what is just and right. Those who refuse to yield their hearts and insist on their own judgment are left to proceed without heavenly wisdom and face the sure consequences of their choice.
Wholehearted Willing Surrender
Giving the heart is a willing, deliberate surrender of the whole self and the whole heart to God for undivided service, choosing to serve Christ rather than follow opposing leadings. He does not compel this change of allegiance and does not accept reluctant service, for wholehearted service is loyalty that lets Him use the surrendered person as He sees fit. Such giving is not to be treated as a sacrifice, since the person and all he has already belong to God. This surrender is possible because Christ has given Himself to redeem people, and He gives a new heart with power to serve Him gladly, so that when self is surrendered true love for others springs from transformed character and service becomes happy, useful, and successful. Wholehearted consecration means giving Jesus the whole heart and following Him humbly as He has made provision for His followers.
The surrender is turning to God in repentance, confessing waywardness, asking forgiveness and a changed heart, and trusting Jesus as personal Saviour. It is coming to Him as one is, with penitence and humility, unreservedly and continually, asking pardon and believing He pardons, so that He receives, cleanses from sin through His blood, washes away stains, and prepares for glory. This is the gift He prizes most, and a heart thus made gentle and filled with His peace produces sincere wishes, kind words and deeds, and worthy offerings, enabling reform in God's strength rather than one's own. It is a required response of accepting the salvation He purchased, not waiting for feeling to come first nor for a special experience of anguish. God is ready to pardon sin and guide in virtue and righteousness, and His help is available when the person takes hold of it and acknowledges and holds fast to Him, for Christ is willing and able to forgive and save everyone who comes to Him and believes in Him.
Giving the heart means yielding to Christ to mold and shape the character rather than remaining ruled by selfishness and stubborn self-will. It means yielding to His guidance rather than remaining ruled by worldly amusements, reliance on one's own wisdom, and insistence on doing things one's own way. What is wanted is willing submission with a loving, obedient, and teachable spirit.
Those who refuse to yield the heart and insist on their own judgment are left to proceed without heavenly wisdom. They are allowed to follow their own judgment in every part of service, and the sure consequences of that choice follow.
God's Transforming Response
When the heart is given, it is accepted and cleansed from pride and sin, its stains washed away through Christ's blood, and a new heart is given with power to serve gladly. Outward display gives no true influence, for the gift most prized is the heart itself, offered in penitence and humility so that sin can be cleansed. The one who comes as he is, and the child who turns unreservedly, asks forgiveness and serves continually, is received, cleansed through Jesus' blood, prepared for glory, and enabled to reform in God's strength rather than his own. A heart thus made gentle and filled with Christ's peace brings forth sincere wishes, kind words and deeds, and worthy offerings. The new heart reveals God's wisdom rather than the world's.
The repentant sinner who asks for a changed heart receives renewal and restoration to a pure, holy life, made possible because Christ's work removes sin and rescues the sinner from it. The answer is a new heart, so that, dead to sin, the person may live in righteousness.
When the heart is consecrated to God as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, light and love enter it and it becomes a storehouse of knowledge. The heart is where spiritual change begins because the issues of life flow from it, and when the Holy Spirit is received He becomes a wellspring of life within, enabling the heart to respond to the call. Giving the heart means opening it to the divine Spirit, which leads to valuing the human soul and appreciating its worth. The new heart reveals God's wisdom rather than the world's, and nothing is withheld when the heart is thus consecrated. Such surrender brings a sense of responsibility and a desire to keep His way and to do what is just and right.
In return, sin is pardoned and the person is guided in virtue and righteousness, led in safe paths when His direction is accepted. Help is available when it is taken hold of, acknowledged and held fast. The entrusted heart is kept pure and its longings are satisfied with true happiness, without which there is no true happiness. The call expresses pitying desire for the youth and every wanderer to turn, confess waywardness and receive love, waiting with tender pity for confession and penitence and watching for grateful return as a mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. It reveals a Father whose heart yearns earnestly and tenderly over His children in all their trials and temptations, pitying those who fear Him as a father pities his children, and never forgetting one soul that trusts in Him.
Following Jesus, loving Him, and studying and beholding Him change people into His image, purifying, refining, sanctifying, and making the heart holy.
Life of Obedient Service
To give the heart is to give time and talents, energy and capabilities, property, influence, money, and all that one has and is, offering the firstfruits of life — love, faith, and strength — in the first and best hours and energies. It is living wholly for God rather than for self by seeking His kingdom and righteousness first, with faith that works through love and purifies the soul. For Andrew this meant deciding to serve God, to stand under Christ's banner, and to use entrusted influence and money to advance God's cause and glorify His name, a choice bearing on eternal life.
Mind, soul, and strength already belong to God whether they are consciously given or not, so wholehearted surrender is loyalty that devotes zeal, capabilities, and energy to His glory. Giving the heart includes using one's talents fully in keeping with the light received, under the care of the One who paid an infinite price for that service. For Daniel the call rested on God's claim by creation and redemption, meaning surrender to Christ and serving Him by using talents for His glory and becoming a channel of His love and grace to others.
This devotion is faith working through love and purifying the soul, expressed in love and obedience rather than continuing in sin. Giving the heart means surrendering self to be used as He sees fit in undivided service, which is the sign of loyalty. When self is surrendered to Christ, true love for others springs from transformed character, and service becomes happy, useful, and successful. The consecrated heart brings a sense of responsibility and a desire to keep His way and do what is just and right.
Prayer is excellent when it rises from a submissive, teachable, loving, and obedient heart that accepts His counsel instead of following one's own ideas. Outward display does not give true influence. When the heart is given, it is cleansed from pride and reveals God's wisdom rather than the world's.
Refusing God what He asks in heart and service is unthankful and disobedient, rooted in unbelief and stinginess. Responding with grateful trust in the living Redeemer strengthens purpose and character. Seeking God's kingdom and righteousness first with the whole heart leads to greater Christian nobility and generosity.
Call to Youth and Children
Jesus tenderly calls every wanderer to give Him the heart, and the call comes with special urgency to the youth. He waits with pitying tenderness to hear the confession of the wayward and to accept their penitence, watching for gratitude in return as a mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. His heart as Father yearns earnestly and tenderly over His children in all their trials and temptations, pitying those who fear Him as a father pities his children, and He never forgets one soul that trusts in Him. Without His love the young cannot be truly happy, for the call is to turn from waywardness, confess, and receive that love.
The young are on trial in the world, developing characters fit to live with angels. God gives life, makes the heart beat, and strengthens every faculty, and when the heart is entrusted to Him He keeps it pure and satisfies its longings with true happiness. Pure enjoyment therefore does not debase His gifts, while pleasures that draw affection away from Him harm both the body and the relationship with God.
Children are called to give God their deepest affections and to give the heart to the Lord by turning to Jesus unreservedly. This means coming to Jesus, asking Him to pardon sins and believing that He does so, seeking Him for strength through prayer so life may be right and pleasing in His sight, serving Him continually, and obeying parents. The sincere child who does so is accepted and cleansed from sin through Jesus' blood, enabling reform in God's strength rather than his own. Giving the heart to Christ in childhood and youth leads to walking in the light, loving Jesus, seeking to please Him, accepting reproof without impatience, and showing kindness, patience, and willingness to help at home as faithful disciples.
Parents may provide every privilege and instruction to help their children walk in the light, yet children can refuse and choose an evil course. Parents should therefore lead their children while very young to give their hearts to God, telling them they desire their conversion and baptism and working toward that end.
The call concerns personal choice for eternal life, addressed by name. For Andrew it means deciding to serve God, standing under Christ's banner, and using entrusted influence and money to advance God's cause and glorify His name. For Daniel it rests on God's claim by creation and redemption and means surrendering to Christ and serving Him, expressing the given heart in using talents for His glory and becoming a channel of His love and grace to others. For Stephen it means trusting God, choosing righteousness, and seeking lasting heavenly honor and life with pure, holy joys in heaven instead of postponing commitment for temporary worldly pleasures, letting Christ cleanse him from sin and prepare him for heaven.
Wholehearted surrender is a call to serve the Master and work in His vineyard while awaiting Christ's coming. It is wholehearted consecration in giving Jesus the whole heart and following Him humbly as He has made provision for His followers.
God as Father tenderly asks each person as His son and child to give Him the heart — the whole inner life of affections, mind and deepest love — and to direct life by watching His ways with a submissive, teachable and obedient spirit rather than following one's own judgment. He asks for it because it already belongs to Him by creation and redemption, having been bought with His own life and blood at infinite price, so returning it is only a small return. Giving the heart means a willing, deliberate and undivided surrender of the whole self to God, turning in repentance, confessing waywardness and trusting Jesus as personal Saviour instead of waiting for feeling or clinging to self-will and one's own way. When it is given He accepts it, washes away its stains through Christ's blood, gives a new heart with power to serve gladly, and pardons, guides in righteousness and satisfies its longings with true happiness. That surrender is lived out by devoting time, talents, property, influence and strength wholly to Him and His kingdom first, in faith that works through love and obedience, a call pressed especially upon youth and children to choose eternal life now rather than temporary pleasure.
Speaker and Request
The verse is God's own personal appeal as Father to each individual as His son and child, tenderly calling every wanderer and sinner to come to Jesus as they are. He waits with pitying tenderness to hear confession of waywardness and to accept penitence, watching for gratitude as a mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. His heart yearns earnestly and tenderly over His children in all their trials and temptations, pitying those who fear Him as a father pities his children, and never forgetting one soul that trusts in Him. The call is directed with special compassion to the youth, expressing His pitying desire for them to turn to Him, confess, and receive His love, since they cannot be truly happy without that love. Surrender to Jesus in answer to this invitation brings grateful trust in the living Redeemer and strengthens purpose and character, while the repentant person who asks for a changed heart receives renewal and restoration to a pure, holy life. That restoration is made possible by Christ's work to remove sin and rescue the sinner from it, so that, dead to sin, the person may live in righteousness.
The heart He asks for means the whole inner life — affections, intelligence, mind, and deepest love and devotion. Giving it means turning to Him in repentance and surrendering mind and heart, and children are called to give Him their deepest affections and seek Him for strength through prayer so their lives may be right and pleasing in His sight. It is where spiritual change begins because the issues of life flow from it, and when the Holy Spirit is received He becomes a wellspring of life within, enabling the heart to respond to God's call. He is ready to pardon sin and guide the one who takes hold of Him and holds fast to Him in virtue and righteousness.
He asks for the heart on the ground that it already belongs to Him by creation and redemption, because He gave His life for it, shed His own blood for it, and paid an infinite price for it. He has bought the whole love and devotion, with affections, intelligence, and every power, so all powers belong to Him. Giving them back to Him is therefore only a small gift and small return. Opening the heart to the divine Spirit leads to valuing the human soul and responding to God's touch. The same claim rested on Daniel by creation and redemption, calling him to surrender to Christ and serve Him by using talents for His glory and becoming a channel of His love and grace to others.
Letting the eyes observe His ways means directing the whole life by attention to His ways, with nothing withheld when the heart is consecrated as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. Giving Him the heart means having a submissive, teachable, loving, and obedient spirit that accepts His counsel instead of following one's own ideas, wisdom, judgment, and way. Prayer is excellent when it rises from such a heart in every part of life and service to Him. Such consecration brings a sense of responsibility and a desire to keep His way and do what is just and right. Those who refuse to yield their hearts and insist on their own judgment are left to proceed without heavenly wisdom and face the sure consequences of their choice.
Wholehearted Willing Surrender
Giving the heart is a willing, deliberate surrender of the whole self and the whole heart to God for undivided service, choosing to serve Christ rather than follow opposing leadings. He does not compel this change of allegiance and does not accept reluctant service, for wholehearted service is loyalty that lets Him use the surrendered person as He sees fit. Such giving is not to be treated as a sacrifice, since the person and all he has already belong to God. This surrender is possible because Christ has given Himself to redeem people, and He gives a new heart with power to serve Him gladly, so that when self is surrendered true love for others springs from transformed character and service becomes happy, useful, and successful. Wholehearted consecration means giving Jesus the whole heart and following Him humbly as He has made provision for His followers.
The surrender is turning to God in repentance, confessing waywardness, asking forgiveness and a changed heart, and trusting Jesus as personal Saviour. It is coming to Him as one is, with penitence and humility, unreservedly and continually, asking pardon and believing He pardons, so that He receives, cleanses from sin through His blood, washes away stains, and prepares for glory. This is the gift He prizes most, and a heart thus made gentle and filled with His peace produces sincere wishes, kind words and deeds, and worthy offerings, enabling reform in God's strength rather than one's own. It is a required response of accepting the salvation He purchased, not waiting for feeling to come first nor for a special experience of anguish. God is ready to pardon sin and guide in virtue and righteousness, and His help is available when the person takes hold of it and acknowledges and holds fast to Him, for Christ is willing and able to forgive and save everyone who comes to Him and believes in Him.
Giving the heart means yielding to Christ to mold and shape the character rather than remaining ruled by selfishness and stubborn self-will. It means yielding to His guidance rather than remaining ruled by worldly amusements, reliance on one's own wisdom, and insistence on doing things one's own way. What is wanted is willing submission with a loving, obedient, and teachable spirit.
Those who refuse to yield the heart and insist on their own judgment are left to proceed without heavenly wisdom. They are allowed to follow their own judgment in every part of service, and the sure consequences of that choice follow.
God's Transforming Response
When the heart is given, it is accepted and cleansed from pride and sin, its stains washed away through Christ's blood, and a new heart is given with power to serve gladly. Outward display gives no true influence, for the gift most prized is the heart itself, offered in penitence and humility so that sin can be cleansed. The one who comes as he is, and the child who turns unreservedly, asks forgiveness and serves continually, is received, cleansed through Jesus' blood, prepared for glory, and enabled to reform in God's strength rather than his own. A heart thus made gentle and filled with Christ's peace brings forth sincere wishes, kind words and deeds, and worthy offerings. The new heart reveals God's wisdom rather than the world's.
The repentant sinner who asks for a changed heart receives renewal and restoration to a pure, holy life, made possible because Christ's work removes sin and rescues the sinner from it. The answer is a new heart, so that, dead to sin, the person may live in righteousness.
When the heart is consecrated to God as a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, light and love enter it and it becomes a storehouse of knowledge. The heart is where spiritual change begins because the issues of life flow from it, and when the Holy Spirit is received He becomes a wellspring of life within, enabling the heart to respond to the call. Giving the heart means opening it to the divine Spirit, which leads to valuing the human soul and appreciating its worth. The new heart reveals God's wisdom rather than the world's, and nothing is withheld when the heart is thus consecrated. Such surrender brings a sense of responsibility and a desire to keep His way and to do what is just and right.
In return, sin is pardoned and the person is guided in virtue and righteousness, led in safe paths when His direction is accepted. Help is available when it is taken hold of, acknowledged and held fast. The entrusted heart is kept pure and its longings are satisfied with true happiness, without which there is no true happiness. The call expresses pitying desire for the youth and every wanderer to turn, confess waywardness and receive love, waiting with tender pity for confession and penitence and watching for grateful return as a mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. It reveals a Father whose heart yearns earnestly and tenderly over His children in all their trials and temptations, pitying those who fear Him as a father pities his children, and never forgetting one soul that trusts in Him.
Following Jesus, loving Him, and studying and beholding Him change people into His image, purifying, refining, sanctifying, and making the heart holy.
Life of Obedient Service
To give the heart is to give time and talents, energy and capabilities, property, influence, money, and all that one has and is, offering the firstfruits of life — love, faith, and strength — in the first and best hours and energies. It is living wholly for God rather than for self by seeking His kingdom and righteousness first, with faith that works through love and purifies the soul. For Andrew this meant deciding to serve God, to stand under Christ's banner, and to use entrusted influence and money to advance God's cause and glorify His name, a choice bearing on eternal life.
Mind, soul, and strength already belong to God whether they are consciously given or not, so wholehearted surrender is loyalty that devotes zeal, capabilities, and energy to His glory. Giving the heart includes using one's talents fully in keeping with the light received, under the care of the One who paid an infinite price for that service. For Daniel the call rested on God's claim by creation and redemption, meaning surrender to Christ and serving Him by using talents for His glory and becoming a channel of His love and grace to others.
This devotion is faith working through love and purifying the soul, expressed in love and obedience rather than continuing in sin. Giving the heart means surrendering self to be used as He sees fit in undivided service, which is the sign of loyalty. When self is surrendered to Christ, true love for others springs from transformed character, and service becomes happy, useful, and successful. The consecrated heart brings a sense of responsibility and a desire to keep His way and do what is just and right.
Prayer is excellent when it rises from a submissive, teachable, loving, and obedient heart that accepts His counsel instead of following one's own ideas. Outward display does not give true influence. When the heart is given, it is cleansed from pride and reveals God's wisdom rather than the world's.
Refusing God what He asks in heart and service is unthankful and disobedient, rooted in unbelief and stinginess. Responding with grateful trust in the living Redeemer strengthens purpose and character. Seeking God's kingdom and righteousness first with the whole heart leads to greater Christian nobility and generosity.
Call to Youth and Children
Jesus tenderly calls every wanderer to give Him the heart, and the call comes with special urgency to the youth. He waits with pitying tenderness to hear the confession of the wayward and to accept their penitence, watching for gratitude in return as a mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved child. His heart as Father yearns earnestly and tenderly over His children in all their trials and temptations, pitying those who fear Him as a father pities his children, and He never forgets one soul that trusts in Him. Without His love the young cannot be truly happy, for the call is to turn from waywardness, confess, and receive that love.
The young are on trial in the world, developing characters fit to live with angels. God gives life, makes the heart beat, and strengthens every faculty, and when the heart is entrusted to Him He keeps it pure and satisfies its longings with true happiness. Pure enjoyment therefore does not debase His gifts, while pleasures that draw affection away from Him harm both the body and the relationship with God.
Children are called to give God their deepest affections and to give the heart to the Lord by turning to Jesus unreservedly. This means coming to Jesus, asking Him to pardon sins and believing that He does so, seeking Him for strength through prayer so life may be right and pleasing in His sight, serving Him continually, and obeying parents. The sincere child who does so is accepted and cleansed from sin through Jesus' blood, enabling reform in God's strength rather than his own. Giving the heart to Christ in childhood and youth leads to walking in the light, loving Jesus, seeking to please Him, accepting reproof without impatience, and showing kindness, patience, and willingness to help at home as faithful disciples.
Parents may provide every privilege and instruction to help their children walk in the light, yet children can refuse and choose an evil course. Parents should therefore lead their children while very young to give their hearts to God, telling them they desire their conversion and baptism and working toward that end.
The call concerns personal choice for eternal life, addressed by name. For Andrew it means deciding to serve God, standing under Christ's banner, and using entrusted influence and money to advance God's cause and glorify His name. For Daniel it rests on God's claim by creation and redemption and means surrendering to Christ and serving Him, expressing the given heart in using talents for His glory and becoming a channel of His love and grace to others. For Stephen it means trusting God, choosing righteousness, and seeking lasting heavenly honor and life with pure, holy joys in heaven instead of postponing commitment for temporary worldly pleasures, letting Christ cleanse him from sin and prepare him for heaven.
Wholehearted surrender is a call to serve the Master and work in His vineyard while awaiting Christ's coming. It is wholehearted consecration in giving Jesus the whole heart and following Him humbly as He has made provision for His followers.