Emotions and Feelings

Truth in the Inward Parts

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part
thou shalt make me to know wisdom.—Psalm 51:6

Carl Hagensick

Oriental culture, more than the Western world, assigns different emotions to many of the body’s inmost parts. It is not just the heart; the kidneys, the liver, the bowels, the bones, the marrow, and even the caul above the liver are frequently used metaphorically. Although many of these metaphors are closely related, there are fine lines of distinction between them.

The Heart and the Reins

“Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart” (Psalm 26:2). The word “reins,” while not in general use today, is related to the word “renal,” and denotes the kidneys. In some translations of the Bible into Eastern languages, the phrase “thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart” is rendered “thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy kidneys.” The word translated “kidneys” is frequently used in connection with the sacrifices.

Yet Psalm 26:2 strongly implies that the heart and reins are to be distinguished. Henry Ainsworth, the sixteenth century leader of the Puritan separatist movement, says “the heart may signify the cogitations and the reins the affections.” However, it appears the distinction may be just the reverse.

For instance, Psalm 16:7 reads: “I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.” The Hebrew word for kidneys is used 31 times in the Bible, the heart appears some 593 times in the Old Testament, and, with its Greek equivalent, 160 times in the New Testament. The Greek word kardia (English: cardiac) is derived from the word kar (English: core) meaning the center of everything. Thayer defines it as “the center of all physical and spiritual life.”

While closely related figuratively to the kidneys, the emphasis appears to be stressing the central core feelings that motivate a person. Thus the heart is used metaphorically in the book of Psalms as the center of affection. Some examples:

“Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still” (Psalm 4:4).

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him” (Psalm 28:7).

“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18).

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).

While the heart has evoked much consideration, one can summarize by saying that it represents the paramount source of both our inspiration and motivation. It indicates both good and bad emotions.

The Liver

The liver is also connected metaphorically with emotion. It appears most frequently in connection with the sacrifices of the Tabernacle. However, it and the related concept of gall do appear in other contexts, including hard and bitter experiences. Here is one example: “Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city” (Lamentations 2:11).

Similarly the apostle Peter speaks of Simon’s “gall of bitterness” (Acts 8:23). Job says, “His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground" (Job 16:13).

While these instances of “gall” refer to the bitter fluid called bile produced by the gall bladder, in most other instances the word apparently refers to either the fruitage of a plant, perhaps the hemlock, or the venom of a snake, particularly the asp.

Loins and Bowels

The words loins and bowels, which appear collectively over a hundred times in the King James Bible, are related, though their meaning seems indistinct. “Loins” is from three different Hebrew words and one Greek word; “bowels” is most often from one word in each Testament.

While all the words refer to slightly different parts of the body—hips, thighs, testicles, etc. —they commonly convey two different thoughts to the Eastern mind. Though usually referring to the productive organs and genitive powers, they also convey the thought of the seat of pain (probably in reference to the testicles).

Many texts illustrate this concept of reproduction:

“And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” (Genesis 15:4).

“And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life; how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him” (2 Samuel 16:11).

“All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six” (Genesis 46:26).

“Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name” (1 Kings 8:19).

Figuratively this concept of reproduction is picked up in the New Testament:

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” (Colossians 3:12; see also Philippians 2:1).

“But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (1 John 3:17).

These characteristics of mercy, kindness, and all the graces of the spirit are to spring forth from the Christian as children come from the bowels or loins in a physical sense.

There is another thought connected with the loins, found in the expression “girding up the loins.” Here the idea is not connected with the reproductive faculties, but the external tightening of a girdle in preparation for hard labor.

”Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me” (Job 38:3) find their spiritual counterpart in the New Testament: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14). Also, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).

A Christian is to be as diligent in the difficult tasks that lay before him as a worker is by girding up his literal loins. This “girding” is in the mind, and uses the girdle of truth, as one prepares to apply Scriptural truths in daily life.

Bones and Marrow

The bones form the skeletal frame for the entire body. Job writes, “Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews” (Job 10:11). John Gill, in a comment on this verse, writes: “The bones are the strength and stability of the human body; the sinews or nerves bind and hold the several parts of it together, and are of great use for its strength and motion: the bones, some of them are as pillars to support it, as those of the legs and thighs; and others are of use to act for it, offensively and defensively, as those of the hands and arms; and others are a cover and fence of the inward parts, as the ribs.”

From this standpoint the bones are a good representation of doctrines, the skeletal framework of the new creature. Solomon speaks of the growth of bones: “As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). Here the “works of God” are set in direct apposition to the “bones”; it is through doctrines that a Christian perceives the “works of God.”

The growth of bones in the natural body forms an illustration of how the understanding of doctrines evolves. There are two types of cells in the human body that are involved in the growth of bones: osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoblasts continually attack the bone structure, blowing small holes in the bones. These osteoblasts are immediately followed by osteoclasts, which fill up the holes and slightly enlarge or stretch them. It is a similar process with our understanding of the doctrines of God’s word. We meet challenges to our beliefs with continual study, providing us with deeper understanding of the “works of God.”

The word “bones” is only found four times in the New Testament, and usually refers to literal bones, There is one exception: “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones” (Ephesians 5:30). This unusual wording is apparently an allusion to the formation of the first woman, of whom Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:23). Thus, as Jesus is called the “second Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45-47), it may be inferred that the church, his bride, is the “second Eve.”

The marrow is a viscous fluid permeating the bones. The red marrow produces blood. Thus, as “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11), so the marrow is essential to the maintenance of life. The bones form the channel for the life-producing marrow to pass through, and provide protection for it.

The apostle wrote that “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). There is a contrast between joints (bone structure) and marrow with thoughts and intents (motivational applications of the heart). The advice of the wise man should be well heeded: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones” (Proverbs 3:7,8).

The Wave Offering

In Leviticus chapters 8 and 9, certain parts of the ram of consecration, along with three bread products, were to be waved before the Lord until removed by Moses for consumption on the altar of burnt sacrifice. These muscle parts included the rump and the right shoulder, the fat on the inwards and on the rump, the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys. The waving of these inward parts demonstrated the fullness of the consecration of the sacrificing priests.

Fat, because it burns quickly, is a standard representation of zeal or whole-heartedness. The kidneys are figurative of the cognitive powers. The kidneys eliminate waste products while recirculating what is good. This is similar to the role of the conscience. The two muscular elements indicate strength. This leaves the caul above the liver which is not the liver. It is the tissue that surrounds and protects the liver, the omentum, a membrane that envelops the vital liver. The caul of the heart is the pericardium that surrounds that organ (Hosea 13:8). Thus these elements picture:

Collectively these illustrate the primary law of the Bible and the basis for a true consecration to God: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart [caul], and with all thy soul [fat], and with all thy mind [kidneys], and with all thy strength [shoulder and rump]: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30).

Our Golden Text

“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6). From our study of the various inner organs used metaphorically, we can see a profound meaning to this text. Not only should we desire truth that is not superficial, but that which reaches far deeper than a mere intellectual comprehension of truth, to those verities which affect the emotions and feelings so well represented by the inner organs of the body.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).