5 The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. 6  Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find? 7 The righteous who walks in his integrity - blessed are his children after him! 8 A king who sits on the throne of judgement winnows all evil with his eyes. 9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”? Proverbs 20:5-9 English Standard Version

When we consider how intricate and interrelated our body is, it's no wonder it takes the most skilful of surgeons to perform even some basic operations, let alone delicate heart surgery! And what's true physically of the human heart is just as true spiritually. As vs 5 says, it takes someone with great understanding to bring what's below the surface of a human heart into the light. These purposes (or intentions) could be plans of deception - but may also be plans for trying to cope with things they are struggling with. With regard to the latter, a wise counsellor will help them to pinpoint the root cause of their problem and the remedy. This is where the Bible's teaching is of such help. A New Testament verse says: “The word of God is living and effective; and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

What does verse 6 tell us about the human heart?

It can deceive itself! Did this not happen to the apostle Peter who said to Jesus: “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you!” And yet he, as well as the other disciples, did just that. Our hearts may not be as faithful as we think they are. Listen to how God put this through the prophet Jeremiah. He says: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:9-10

So to understand our hearts we need to start by realizing what sin has done to them. They are deceitful and desperately ill. Our heart is the well from which all our wrong words and actions flow. There are even dark places in them which we may not be fully aware of. People sometimes do things they never thought they would ever have done. What should we do then with hearts such as these? Could vs 9 be a starting point?

We must realize that sin is like a disease which no home remedy can cure! We can't make ourselves pure in God's sight by adopting some moral or religious steps. That would be like someone who has medication that may extend life a little, but doesn't heal their heart from it's terminal condition. So the starting point is to recognize our desperate condition. Could vs 8 be applied in a way that points to the cure we need?

He speaks there of a powerful King who gazes upon the land and removes all evildoers from it. Jeremiah told us that God also 'searches the heart, and tests the mind.' But this is the same God who through the prophet Ezekiel gave a promise of being able to give people “singleness of heart and to put a new spirit within them; and to take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so that they obey His decrees and regulations and are truly His people, and He their God.” (Ezekiel 11:19-20) God is able to do a spiritual heart-transplant! That's what happens when a man or woman, even in childhood, cries out to Jesus Christ and believes on Him as saviour and Lord.

I think vs 8 also fits in with this matter of the heart. When a man or woman realize that it's only God who can make the heart pure, they seek His righteousness. They take His word to their heart and apply it in their lives. Integrity replaces deceit and the result is that their children are brought up in an environment of wisdom, understanding, and good example. As an old hymns puts it: “Oh, happy home, where Thou art loved the dearest; Thou loving Friend and Saviour of our race.”