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anticipate and prevent thy own heart

English translation: [See below.]

08:03 May 4, 2021
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Religion / Christian meditation
English term or phrase: anticipate and prevent thy own heart
Now, following the arousal of your memory, judgment, and affections, apply your meditations to yourself to arouse your soul to duty and comfort and to restrain your soul from sin.56 As William Fenner (1600–1640) wrote, “Dive into thy own soul; ***anticipate and prevent thy own heart***. Haunt thy heart with promises, threatenings, mercies, judgments, and commandments. Let meditation trace [out] thy heart.”
Ana Juliá
Spain
Local time: 20:24
Selected answer:[See below.]
Explanation:
=
Keep your inherent human sinfulness in check by constantly monitoring your inclination to sin. Habitually doing this will enable you to make a conscious decision to avoid sin when the opportunity arises.

*******

While admittedly wordy, repetitive, and inelegant, the two sentences above would appear to briefly expound the full meaning of the posted phrase.

I see "anticipate" and "prevent" as referring to two distinct concepts (the former referring to a kind of "ambient awareness" constantly maintained by the devout Christian, and the latter referring to their conscious decision to refrain from sinful conduct, and to do God's will).
Selected response from:

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 14:24
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +1[See below.]
Robert Forstag
3 +1explanation below
AllegroTrans
4 -1anticipate and prevent are synonyms
philgoddard
Summary of reference entries provided
Helena Chavarria

  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
explanation below


Explanation:
conrol your own emotions by anticipating them in advance so that you prevent yourself from doing anything other than God's will

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:24
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Helena Chavarria: Restrain your soul from sin https://books.google.es/books?id=ADUSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT14&lpg=PT...
13 mins
  -> thanks
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, it's quite clearly about self-control and restraint
1 hr
  -> Thanks!!!
disagree  philgoddard: No, it doesn't mean control.
1 hr
  -> it clearly means self-control
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
anticipate and prevent are synonyms


Explanation:
prevent
4archaic
a: to be in readiness for (something, such as an occasion)
b: to meet or satisfy in advance
c: to act ahead of
d: to go or arrive before
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prevent

This shows how the meaning has changed:

I thought of Steve Finan, the decimate complainer in the Stroppy Editor post, this morning as the choir sang William Byrd's "Prevent us, O Lord" at the offertory: "Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor. …"

I wondered if Mr. Finan would carry on about the way people misuse prevent to mean "impede" rather than "precede." After all, the etymology is quite clear. The English word comes from the Latin praevenire, literally "to come before," "to anticipate." We know that Augustine, Aquinas, the Council of Trent, and the thirty-Nine Articles all support the concept of prevenient grace, which comes before the free determination of the will.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/mcintyre/bal-...



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2021-05-04 11:31:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I used to be in a church choir, and we would sing "prevent us O lord in all our doings". I wondered why we were asking him to stop us from doing anything, until it was explained that "prevent" meant "go before".

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  AllegroTrans: I respectfully disagree - the passage suggests to me that you first anticipate (by meditation & discernment & what is your specific sinfulness) then work to prevent (sin) and you cannot prevent sthg unless you have firstly anticipated that you wish to do
11 hrs
  -> It doesn't say anything about sin! I don't know where you get that from. The object of the sentence is "heart", not "sin". .
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
[See below.]


Explanation:
=
Keep your inherent human sinfulness in check by constantly monitoring your inclination to sin. Habitually doing this will enable you to make a conscious decision to avoid sin when the opportunity arises.

*******

While admittedly wordy, repetitive, and inelegant, the two sentences above would appear to briefly expound the full meaning of the posted phrase.

I see "anticipate" and "prevent" as referring to two distinct concepts (the former referring to a kind of "ambient awareness" constantly maintained by the devout Christian, and the latter referring to their conscious decision to refrain from sinful conduct, and to do God's will).

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 14:24
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 56
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  AllegroTrans
3 hrs
  -> Thank you, AT.
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Reference comments


1 hr peer agreement (net): +2
Reference

Reference information:
My old Oxford Dictionary gives 'forestall' as a definition of 'anticipate', which I think could work here.

1. to prevent the normal trading in by buying or diverting goods or by persuading persons to raise prices
forestalling the wheat harvest and selling it at three times its cost
— G. B. Shaw
2. archaic : INTERCEPT
3. obsolete : OBSTRUCT, BESET
4. to exclude, hinder, or prevent by prior occupation or measures
Negotiations failed to forestall the conflict.
5. to get ahead of : ANTICIPATE
detailed explanations intended to forestall questions

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forestall

'forestall and prevent your heart from sinning'

Helena Chavarria
Spain
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, I think "intercept" is even better here as you're trying to prevent in advance=anticipate. "forestall" is also good//Thanks yes. 1st jab done, 2nd on 15th. Looking forward to restrictions easing. And you?
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Yvonne. I hope you're well.//We're fine, thanks. Just the usual ups and downs of everyday life.
agree  AllegroTrans: OK, but you can only "forestall" once you have firstly "anticipated"; cart before horse
12 hrs
  -> I suggested the word as I thought it could be useful for one of the terms. I think the phrase means realise in advance what could happen, then stop yourself from doing it. In other words: realise the sin in advance, then stop yourself from committing it
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