Pase (all without exception) phulake (noun: as an action = guarding, watch; a person who stayed on watch at a guard post like our modern sentinel, cp "guard" in Acts 12.10) terei (tereo = speaks of guarding something in one’s possession, watching as one would something precious, continually observing attentively. The present imperative is a command calling for us to make this our habitual practice cp "guarding" in Acts 12:6) sen (possessive adjective = your) kardian (see word study on kardia = heart, see also discussion of heart on this page) gar (for) ek (out of, from) touton (this) exodoi (see word study on exodos--a departure, here in plural = outgoings) zoes (see word study on zoe -- absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical).

My translation of the Septuagint

With all guarding continually keep watching your heart for out of this [is the] departure (exodus) of supernatural life.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. (NLT)

Guard your heart above anything else you have, because it determines the kind of life you will live.

The Pulpit Commentary says that one interpretation of this verse is that

above all things that have to be guarded, keep or guard thy heart.

As Wiersbe wisely observes...

The heart is the “master-control” of the life; a wrong heart always produces a wrong life. To allow sin into the heart is to pollute the entire life...“The unexamined life is not worth living,” said Socrates. The Lord is pondering (examining) our lives (Pr 5:21, 15:3, Je 17:10, 2Chr 16:9), and we must examine them too (cp 2Co 13:5). Live in God’s Word and He will protect your path, direct your path, and perfect your path, for the glory of Jesus Christ. (Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)

D Paul Montague has an interesting paraphrase of Pr 4:23...

Be careful how you think, because your thinking results in actions that have either a positive or negative affect upon your territory (sphere of influence).

WATCH OVER YOUR HEART (Mt 26:41 1Pe 1:13, 5:8, 9, 10, Pr 22:5; 23:19; 28:26; Dt 4:9; Ps 139:23,24; Jer 17:9; Mt 15:18,19 Mk 14:38; He 12:15)

In the Pentateuch we see a similar charge...

Only give heed (Niphal [passive] imperative - a command) to yourself and keep your soul diligently (exceedingly, very greatly), lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. (Dt 4:9)

Solomon is giving us one of the most important practical duties of the Christian life. All other duties pale in comparison to guarding our hearts, for our heart affects everything we are, everything we say and everything we do.

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery writes that...

In essence a guard symbolizes protection and watchfulness. His entire occupation requires him to encompass and shield his charge from harm or to restrain prisoners from escape...

In Proverbs we read variously about how understanding will guard the wise person (Pr 2:11) and about the need to guard understanding ( Pr 4:13; cf. 7:2), one’s heart (Pr 4:23), lips (Pr 13:3), mouth (Pr 21:23) and soul (Pr 22:5). Equally metaphoric is the picture of how “righteousness guards the man of integrity” (Pr 13:6 NIV).

John Angell James has a nice devotional summary of Proverbs 4:23...

Guard your heart!"

Above all else, guard your heart; for out of it are the issues of life." Proverbs 4:23

The heart is...

the great vital spring of the soul,
the fountain of actions,
the center of principle,
the seat of motives

The heart is the center of the thoughts and feelings—out of which conduct comes.

The heart must be the first, chief, constant object of solicitude to the Christian. It is this which God sees, and because God principally looks at it, the heart must be ever uppermost in our concern.

To keep the heart must mean exerting ourselves with great earnestness, in dependence upon Divine grace, to preserve it in a good state; laboring to preserve its vitality, vigor, and purity.

The heart is the citadel of the soul. If this is neglected, the enemy at the gates will soon be in and take possession. Set a watch, therefore, upon the heart. Let the sentinel be never off duty, nor sleeping at his post.

Keep out evil thoughts, and unholy affections, and vile imaginations. Without great vigilance they will elude observation. As soon as an enemy of this kind is detected, he must be seized and made captive, until every thought is brought into subjection to Christ.

As the state of the heart is, so is the man in reality—and before God. Guard your heart! (From Jewels from James)

Can I ask you a candid question? Is the seductive, deceptive lure of some sin such as anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, sexual immorality, etc, knocking at the door of your heart, dear saint? Are you getting ready to be captured by your own iniquities, bound by the cords of your own sin (Pr 5:22)? If so, than prayerfully, meditatively, take just a few moments (3' 43") and...

LISTEN TO
"GUARD YOUR HEART"

Click here to listen to Steve Green's soul piercing rendition of Guard Your Heart. Dear brother (or sister), if you are "toying" (an oxymoron for this is not "child's play"!) with and making provision for an "affair" (A euphemism which is far too kind! Cp Ro 13:14-note, Gal 5:16-note; Gal 5:17-note), then take just a few moments and please listen carefully to the words of Steve's song and as you listen ponder the consequences in David's life - notice especially the last 2 verses in the following passages! (David's sin with Bathsheba and some of the consequences = 2Sa 11:1,2, 3, 4, 5, 12:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 13:1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 22, 28, 29, 30, 31). As Steve Green rightly and passionately sings

"As a payment for pleasure it is a high price to pay"!

Remember that when sin comes in at the door of a person’s life, it eventually moves to the inner chambers and takes over.

If King David could speak to us today (and of course he is in one sense for the word is living and active, Heb 4:12-note, 1Pe 1:23-note), I have no doubt he would say that he would gladly forgo that 15-30 minutes of pleasure he had with Bathsheba on that fateful night, if the terrible consequences of his sin could be erased. O, dear beloved brother (or sister!) in Christ, if you are being tempted in this area, as you read this note, know that I have prayed for you that the Spirit would quicken your heart, renew your mind and empower your will to turn around and away from the potential devastation you are about to enter into to because of the deceitfulness (Heb 3:13-note) of this pleasurable (Heb 11:25-note) but tragic sin of  porneia. Guard your heart --- for your God, for your wife and children, for your reputation, for the Lord's reputation, and remember that one day we will all stand before the Lord of Glory and give account for the deeds in the body (for believers at 2Cor 5:10 or unbelievers at Rev 20:11, 12, 13, 14, 15-see notes). See a related topic - Covenant: As It Relates to Marriage

Watch (command, not a suggestion) (05341) (natsar) means to guard, keep, observe, hide. Scripture uses natsar to describe men guarding truths about God. For example...

Psalm 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Psalm 119:2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, Who seek Him with all their heart.

Psalm 119:22 Take away reproach and contempt from me, For I observe Thy testimonies.

Psalm 119:33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of Thy statutes, And I shall observe it to the end.

Psalm 119:34 Give me understanding, that I may observe Thy law, And keep it with all my heart.

Psalm 119:100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Thy precepts.

Psalm 119:129 Thy testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul observes them.

Proverbs 3:1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments;

Men will only guard what is valuable. There are not many guards posted at the local city dump, but there are armed guards and security measures at the bank or the expensive jewelry store, because of the great value in these places. This basic human principle says something about God’s view of the heart. He knows that the heart is of great value to Him and to the one who possesses it. And thus the command to watch our heart as one would the wealthiest bank in the world. The integrity and vitality of our spiritual lives depend on it!

Are you guarding your heart 24/7?
Or do you just guard your heart on Sunday mornings?

In short, the Hebrew word natsar is a command calling for continual watching and can even refer to a watchman on security duty. Note also that watching includes two things, one, that you keep noxious pollutants from coming in, and secondly, that you keep anything good from being stolen. Both are relevant when it comes to guarding one's heart.

William Cowper gives us an example of how something good is stolen from our heart...

We may mark it by experience, that the Word is first stolen either out of the mind (heart) of man, and the remembrance of it is away; or at least out of the affection of man; so that the reverence of it is gone, before a man can be drawn to the committing of a sin. So long as Eve kept by faith the Word of the Lord, she resisted Satan; but from the time she doubted of that, which God made most certain by His Word, at once she was snared.

UBS Handbook on Proverbs says that...

In some languages this is expressed as “Watch your mind,” “Keep a hand on your head,” or “Take care of your thoughts.”

NJB translates “More than all else, keep watch over your heart,” and NJPSV (New Jewish Publication Society Version) has “More than all that you guard, guard your mind.” We may also say, for example, “The most important thing you can do is be careful what you think” or “The most important … is to think good thoughts.” (Reyburn, W. D., & Fry, E. M. A handbook on Proverbs. The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series or Logos)

Toy writes that...

The Hebrew in first line reads: more than all guarding ( = “with more vigilant guarding than in any other case”) watch thou over thy heart, = “watch thy heart (or, thyself) more than anything else”; the same general sense is given by the rendering: above all that thou guardest, etc. (De., RV. marg.), but this signification (“the thing guarded”) the word has not elsewhere in OT.

A better sense is given by the Greek reading: with all watching guard etc., that is, in every way, with all possible vigilance and diligence (so AV., RV.).(Toy, C. H. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the book of Proverbs. 1899)

Watch over (05341) (Qal Imperative = Command) means to watch, preserve, guard from dangers; guard with fidelity; keep secret and close, blockade. This verb is related to a word which describes a prison guard keeping watch over a prisoner in a cell (posting a guard, a guard-house, a guard post). As noted, in Hebrew (and in Greek) this injunction is in the form of a command. If God commands it, then we can carry it out (in His power, Zech 4:6, Gal 5:16-note, Eph 5:18-note) and therefore we have no excuse to not comply! What is your excuse? Solomon sadly failed to carry out the very command the Spirit of God inspired him to pen! (see the following section). Watching over our heart is not an addendum or elective for those who are called to be holy as He is holy (1Pe 1:15, 16- notes)! It speaks of the exercise of serious, vigilant, careful diligence in "keeping an eye on" and protecting the heart.

Our heart is in the center of our inner man (phrase found in NASB in Ro 7:22, 2Co 4:16, Eph 3:16), so how can we possibly watch over something we cannot envision? What comes into the inner man? Input especially from the eyes but also from the ears. It follows that we watch over our heart by watching over these strategic entry points, in the following practical ways...

PURPOSE IN YOUR HEART TO LOVE GOD AS A CHILD DOES THEIR FATHER

AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' (Mark 12:30)

Comment:  We’re to love God with all our heart (Dt 6:5) and receive His Word into our hearts (Pr 7:1, 2, 3). God wants us to do His will from our hearts (Ep 6:6). If our heart is wrong toward God, our entire life will be wrong, no matter how successful we may appear to others. (Wiersbe, W. W. Be responsible).

Hate evil, you who love the LORD (cp Mk 12:30, 31, 1Jn 4:19, Jn 14:15), Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. (Ps 97:10 - Spurgeon's Note)

FILL YOU HEART WITH THE WORD OF TRUTH

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you (in your heart, Ps 119:9, 11), with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (see note Colossians 3:16)

Comment: As we fill our hearts with God’s Holy Word, and yield to His Holy Spirit, our lives will be like a refreshing fountain to ourselves and those we encounter.

MEDITATE IN YOUR HEART ON THE WORD OF GOD:

From Thy precepts I get understanding. Therefore (Why? because we've immersed ourselves in the Word of Truth and Life) I hate every false way. (Ps 119:104-Spurgeon's note, cp Ps 1:1, 2, 3 -notes)

Therefore I esteem right all Thy precepts concerning everything (Question: Do you really hold God's precepts in high esteem? How much time have you spent in His highly esteemed words this morning before you went to work? this past week?), I hate every false way. (Ps 119:128-Spurgeon's Note)

GUARD YOUR HEART IN AN ATTITUDE OF WATCHFUL PRAYER:

Keep watching (present imperative- literally keep staying awake, alert, on the lookout for potential danger or hazards in the highway of holiness) and praying (present imperative -command to do this continually), that you may not enter into temptation (eg, the temptation to allow moral pollutants into your heart, that would pollute the "head waters" of our heart); the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Mt 26:41)

John Piper writes...

I have often said that one of the reasons we feel so weak in our prayer lives is that we have tried to make a domestic intercom out of a wartime walkie talkie. Prayer is not designed as an intercom between us and God to serve the domestic comforts of the saints. It's designed as a walkie talkie for spiritual battlefields. It's the link between active soldiers and their command headquarters, with its unlimited fire-power and air cover and strategic wisdom. (From his sermon on Col 4:2-6 Walk in Wisdom Toward Those Outside)

What should we pray?

Mt 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation (into a test that which would become a temptation to sin or into a situation in which we would be tempted to commit sin, realizing that God Himself never tempts us to sin, Jas 1:13), but deliver us from evil (or "the Evil One", implying the snares of Satan).

Ps 141:4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who do iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies. (See Spurgeon's note)

2Th 3:5 And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

Ps 119:37 Turn away (In the Septuagint, the Greek verb apostrepho means to cause to change from incorrect to correct behavior) my eyes from looking at vanity (Hebrew = shav = futility, worthlessness = that which has no result or use and thus is worthless. Sometimes shav describes an idol, with emphasis on that which is worthless. Shav is translated in Greek [Septuagint] by the word mataiotes = state of being without use or value and thus that which manifests emptiness, futility, purposelessness, transitoriness), and revive me in Thy ways.

Spurgeon Comments:

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. He had prayed about his heart, and one would have thought that the eyes would so surely have been influenced by the heart that there was no need to make them the objects of a special petition; but our author is resolved to make assurance doubly sure. If the eyes do not see, perhaps the heart may not desire: at any rate, one door of temptation is closed when we do not even look at the painted bauble. Sin first entered man's mind by the eye, and it is still a favourite gate for the incoming of Satan's allurements: hence the need of a double watch upon that portal. The prayer is not so much that the eyes may be shut as "turned away"; for we need to have them open, but directed to right objects. Perhaps we are now gazing upon folly, we need to have our eyes turned away; and if we are beholding heavenly things we shall be wise to beg that our eyes may be kept away from vanity. Why should we look on vanity? -- it melts away as a vapour. Why not look upon things eternal? Sin is vanity, unjust gain is vanity, self conceit is vanity, and, indeed, all that is not of God comes under the same head. From all this we must turn away. It is a proof of the sense of weakness felt by the Psalmist and of his entire dependence upon God that he even asks to have his eyes turned for him; he meant not to make himself passive, but he intended to set forth his own utter helplessness apart from the grace of God. For fear he should forget himself and gaze with a lingering longing upon forbidden objects, he entreats the Lord speedily to make him turn away his eyes, hurrying him off from so dangerous a parley with iniquity. If we are kept from looking on vanity we shall be preserved from loving iniquity.

Whatever is of vanity, make me to pass without seeing it. The sentiment is strikingly like that in our Lord's prayer: "Lead us not into temptation." Having prayed for what he wanted to see, the Psalmist here prays for the hiding of what he would not see.

And quicken thou me in thy way. Give me so much life that dead vanity may have no power over me. Enable me to travel so swiftly in the road to heaven that I may not stop long enough within sight of vanity to be fascinated thereby. The prayer indicates our greatest need, -- more life in our obedience. It shows the preserving power of increased life to keep us from the evils which are around us, and it, also, tells us where that increased life must come from, namely, from the Lord alone. Vitality is the cure of vanity. When the heart is full of grace the eyes will be cleansed from impurity. On the other hand, if we would be full of life as to the things of God we must keep ourselves apart from sin and folly, or the eyes will soon captivate the mind, and, like Samson, who could slay his thousands, we may ourselves be overcome through the lusts which enter by the eye.

William Cowper on Psalm 119:37:

By the eyes oftentimes, as by windows, death enters into the heart; therefore to keep the heart in a good estate three things are requisite, First, careful study of the senses, specially of the eyes; for it is a righteous working of the Lord...that he who negligently uses the external eye of his body, should punished with blindness in the internal eye of his mind. And for this cause Nazianzen, deploring the calamities of his soul, wished that a door might set before his eyes and ears, to close them when they opened to anything that is not good...The second thing is, a subduing of the body by discipline (cp Titus 2:11, 12, 13-note). And the third is, continuance in prayer (Col 4:2-note, 1Th 5:17-note, Eph 6:18-note, Ro 12:12b-note).

Wolfgang Musculus (1563)

Notice that he does not say, I will turn away mine eyes; but, "Turn away mine eyes." This shows that it is not possible for us sufficiently to keep our by our own caution and diligence; but there must be divine keeping. For, first, where soever in this world you turn yourself, provocations to [commit sin] are met with. Secondly, with the unwary, and with far different persons, the eyes, the servants of a corrupt heart, wander after the things which are the vanities. Thirdly, before you are aware, the evil contracted through eyes creeps in to the inmost recesses of the heart, and [sows] the seeds or perdition (cp Mt 5:29, 30-note). This the Psalmist himself had experienced, not without greatest trouble both of heart and condition.

Albert Barnes makes a great (and pragmatic) point that...

An ugly object loses much of its deformity when we look often upon it. Sin follows this general law, and is to be avoided altogether, even in its contemplation, if we would be safe. A man should be thankful in this world that he has eyelids; and as he can close his eyes, so he should often do it.

Thomas Manton

Turn away, then quicken (revive). The first request is for the removing the impediments of obedience, the other for the addition of new degrees of grace. These two are fitly joined, for they have a natural influence upon one another. Unless we turn away our eyes from vanity, we shall soon contract deadness of heart. Nothing causes it so much as an inordinate liberty in carnal vanities. When our affections are alive to other things, they are dead to God. Therefore the less we let loose our heart to [focus on] these things, the more lively [revived] and cheerful are we in the work of obedience. On the other side, the more the rigour of grace is renewed, and the habits of it quickened into actual exercise, the more is sin mortified and subdued. Sin dieth, and our senses are restored to their proper use. 

Joseph Caryl

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. That sin may be avoided we must avoid whatsoever leads to or occasions it. As this caused Job (Job 31:1) to covenant strongly with his eyes, so it caused David (Ed: The author of Ps 119 may be David but we cannot be dogmatic) to pray earnestly about his eyes. "Turn away mine eyes (or as the Hebrew may be rendered, make them to pass), from beholding vanity."

The eye is apt to make a stand, or fix itself, when we come in view of an ensnaring object; therefore it is our duty to hasten it away, or to pray that God would make it pass off from it... He that fears burning must take heed of playing with fire: he that fears drowning must keep out of deep waters. He that fears the plague must not go into an infected house. Would they avoid sin who present themselves to the opportunities of it? (Of course not!)

John Morison

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. It is a most dangerous experiment for a child of God to place himself (or herself) within the sphere of seductive temptations. Every feeling of duty, every recollection of his own weakness, every remembrance of the failure of others, should induce him to hasten to the greatest possible distance from the scene of unnecessary conflict and danger.

William Kay

Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. From gazing at the delusive mirages which tempt the pilgrim to leave the safe highway.

Charles Bridges

Is it asked -- "What will most effectually turn my eyes from vanity?" Not the seclusion of contemplative retirement -- not the relinquishment of our lawful connection with the world ["in the world, but no of the world"!] -- but the transcendent beauty of Jesus unveiled to our eyes, and fixing our hearts (cp Heb 12:2, Ro 13:14 - put on Jesus).

William Seeker (1660)

Turn away mine eyes, etc. The fort royal of your souls is in danger of a surprise while the outworks of your senses are unguarded. Your eyes, which may be floodgates to pour out tears, should not be casements to let in lusts. A careless eye is an index to a graceless heart. Remember, the whole world died by a wound in the eye. The eyes of a Christian should be like sunflowers, which are opened to no blaze but that of the sun (Son).

Matthew Henry

For restraining grace that he might be prevented and kept back from that which would hinder him in the way of his duty: "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity." For constraining grace, that he might not only be kept from everything that would obstruct his progress heavenward, but that he might have that grace which was necessary to forward him in that progress: "Quicken (revive) thou me in thy way."

CHOOSE THE FEAR OF THE LORD:

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate. (Pr 8:13, contrast Pr 1:29, 30, 31, 32, 33)

MAKE A DECISION OF YOUR WILL ABOUT WHAT YOU WATCH:

You need to make a conscious decision of what you are going to allow into your life.  David gave us a practical example when he declared:

I will set no worthless (belial [01100] = good for nothing, also used as another name for Satan! cp use of the Hebrew transliteration by Paul in 2Co 6:15) thing before (Hebrew means directly in front of) my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away. It shall not fasten (dabaq [01692] = stick like glue, used in Ge 2:24 for man cleaving to his wife) its grip on me. (Ps 101:3)

Comment: What are those worthless things? Some are obvious such as R-rated movies, pornography, sensual novels, etc. But what about PG-13 rated movies? You be the judge but are the images and thoughts that are allowed entry into your heart edifying to you as a believer and God glorifying? What about most sitcoms on television today? It's almost impossible to find one that is not filled with sexual innuendo, curse words, off color jokes, etc. What do these things do to the heart? Will the "springs" be clean and unpolluted after exposure to such fare?

George Hakewill comments in regard to the phrase it shall not fasten its grip on me...

A bird may light upon a man's house; but he may choose whether she shall nestle or breed there, or not: and the devil or his instruments (the fallen world system) may represent a wicked object to a man's sight; but he may choose whether he will entertain or embrace it or not. For a man to set wicked things before his eyes is nothing else but to sin of set purpose, to set himself to sin, or to sell himself to sin, as Ahab did, 1 Kings 21:1-29.

Albert Barnes warns us...

A wicked plan or purpose is thus represented as having a tendency to fasten itself on a man, or to "stick to him" -- as pitch, or wax, or a burr does.

Here are C H Spurgeon's comments on Ps 101:3:

I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I will neither delight in it, aim at it or endure it. If I have wickedness brought before me by others I will turn away from it (Pr 8:13, Ro 12:9), I will not gaze upon it with pleasure. The psalmist is very sweeping in his resolve, he declines the least, the most reputable, the most customary form of evil -- no wicked thing; not only shall it not dwell in his heart, but not even before his eyes, for what fascinates the eye is very apt to gain admission into the heart, even as Eve's apple first pleased her sight and then prevailed over her mind and hand.

I hate the work of them that turn aside. He was warmly against it; he did not view it with indifference, but with utter scorn and abhorrence. Hatred of sin is a good sentinel for the door of virtue. There are persons in courts who walk in a very crooked way, leaving the high road of integrity; and these, by short cuts, and twists, and turns, are often supposed to accomplish work for their masters which simple honest hearts are not competent to undertake; but David would not employ such, he would pay no secret service money, he loathed the practices of men who deviate from righteousness. He was of the same mind as the dying statesman who said, "Corruption wins not more than honesty." It is greatly to be deplored that in after years he did not keep himself clear in this matter in every case, though, in the main he did; but what would he have been if he had not commenced with this resolve, but had followed the usual crooked Policy of Oriental princes? How much do we all need divine keeping! We are no more perfect than David, nay, we fall far short of him in many things; and, like him, we shall find need to write a psalm of penitence very soon after our psalm of good resolution.

It shall not cleave to me. I will disown their ways, I will not imitate their policy: like dirt it may fall upon me, but I will wash it off, and never rest till I am rid of it. Sin, like pitch, is very apt to stick. In the course of our family history crooked things will turn up, for we are all imperfect, and some of those around us are far from being what they should be; it must, therefore, be one great object of our care to disentangle ourselves, to keep clear of transgression, and of all that comes of it: this cannot be done unless the Lord both comes to us, and abides with us evermore.

MAKE NO PROVISION TO COMMIT SIN

But (for contrast see Ro 13:13-note) put on (aorist imperative = command to do this now!) the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision (present imperative = a command which is coupled with a negative particle giving the sense of "stop making provision" implying they were already doing so) for the flesh (the fallen flesh) in regard to its lusts (strong desires in this case for evil ends). (see note Ro 13:14)

Comment: The order is critical. Jesus first. Say "Yes" to Jesus (and the Spirit of Christ) before you say "No" to the flesh! Then you will be motivated and empowered to carry out the command to make no provision (see same order and principle in Gal 5:16-note). Don't turn it around and say "I'll make no provision and that way I will clothe myself with Christ and be like Christ." You have just fallen into the trap of the flesh (fallen, sinful, evil flesh, not flesh and blood), which rises up when placed under "laws" or "restraints". Spend time at the foot of the Master, listening to His voice (Lk 10:39, 40, 41), speaking with Him, asking the Father to strengthen you with His Spirit in your inner man (Eph 3:16-note), etc - Then you will be forearmed and ready to carry out the task of not making provision for the strong desires to gratify self that emanate from your fallen flesh. Remember - Jesus first! Then you are clothed and armed for the battle that each new day brings! How is your quiet time lately beloved? I'm not trying to motivate you from a sense of legalism but from an heart attitude of love for your best Friend and Counselor. Spend a few moments with Him each day before you head off to the office, to the school, to the taking the kids to school, etc. Then you are much more likely to go through the day as  more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus our Lord.

TAKE "ANTI-GOD" THOUGHTS CAPTIVE USING DIVINELY POWERFUL WEAPONS

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking captive (present tense = continually, making this one's practice) every (Gk word means all without exception) thought to the obedience of Christ (See notes 2Cor 10:3-5)

Comment: We live in a fallen world and face 3 mortal enemies, the world, the devil and the flesh, and all three are sources of anti-God thoughts. Applying the truth of this passage, Paul is saying it is possible for believers to take captive these anti-God thoughts that come to corrupt and defile our heart. The better we know God's Word of Truth, the easier it is for us to recognize the lies, deception and "half-truths" with which we are assaulted on a daily basis. For example the writer of Hebrews says that...

solid food (cp 1Ti 4:6, Titus 1:9-note, 1Pe 2:2-note, Job 23:12-note, Je 15:16, Mt 4:4) is for the mature, who because of practice (speaks of that which is a habit) have their senses trained to discern good and evil. (Heb 5:14 - see note)

Oswald Chambers writes that taking thoughts captive ...

means the harnessing of impulse. We have the power in our hearts to fix the form of our choice either for good or for bad. (Chambers, O. Biblical Psychology. London: Simpkin Marshall)

A W Tozer wrote that...

What we think about when we are free to think about what we will—that is what we are or will soon become....

Anyone who wishes to check on his true spiritual condition may do so by noting what his voluntary thoughts have been over the last hours or days. What has he thought about when free to think of what he pleased? Toward what has his inner heart turned when it was free to turn where it would? When the bird of thought was let go did it fly out like the raven to settle upon floating carcasses or did it like the dove circle and return again to the ark of God? Such a test is easy to run, and if we are honest with ourselves we can discover not only what we are but what we are going to become. We'll soon be the sum of our voluntary thoughts....

The best way to control our thoughts is to offer the mind to God in complete surrender. The Holy Spirit will accept it and take control of it immediately. Then it will be relatively easy to think on spiritual things, especially if we train our thought by long periods of daily prayer. Long practice in the art of mental prayer (that is, talking to God inwardly as we work or travel) will help to form the habit of holy thought. (Born After Midnight)

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As the needle of the compass has an affinity for the north magnetic pole, so the heart can keep true to its secret love though separated from it by miles and years. What that loved object is may be discovered by observing which direction our thoughts turn when they are released from the hard restraints of work or study. Of what do we think when we are free to think of what we will? What object gives us inward pleasure as we brood over it? Over what do we muse in our free moments? To what does our imagination return again and again?

When we have answered these questions honestly we will know what kind of persons we are; and when we have discovered what kind of persons we are we may deduce the kind of fruit we will bear. (The Root of the Righteous)

C H SPURGEON ADDS "THE PEACE OF GOD...SHALL GUARD YOUR HEART"

Spurgeon  used this text in Philippians 4 to explain how one could fulfill the exhortation in Proverbs 4:23. (See full sermon How to Keep the Heart).

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7-note)

Spurgeon comments on keeping our heart: Now, then, brother and sister, it is of the first importance that you keep your heart aright. You cannot keep your heart right but by one way. That one way is by getting, maintaining, and enjoying peace of God to your own conscience. I beseech you then, you that are professors of religion, do not let this night pass over your heads till you have a confident assurance that you are now the possessor of the peace of God. For let me tell you, if you go out to the world next Monday morning without first having peace with God in your own conscience, you will not be able to keep your heart during the week. If this night, ere you rest, you could say that with God as well as all the world you are at peace, you may go out tomorrow, and whatever your business, I am not afraid for you. You are more than a match for all the temptations to false doctrine, to false living, or to false speech that may meet you. For he that has peace with God is armed cap–a–pie; he is covered from head to foot in a panoply. The arrow may fly against it, but it cannot pierce it, for peace with God is a mail so strong that the broad sword of Satan itself may be broken in twain ere it can pierce the flesh. Oh! take care that you are at peace with God; for if you are not, you ride forth to tomorrow’s fight unarmed, naked; and God help the man that is unarmed when he has to fight with hell and earth. (See full sermon How to Keep the Heart).