He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.
Parallel Translations
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He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.
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He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
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He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not taken My name in vain, and hath not sworn deceitfully.
Cross-references (27)
Passages linked to Psalms 24:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
- Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
- James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- Job 17:9 Yet the righteous will hold to his way. He who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.
- Psalms 73:1 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
- 2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Psalms 26:6 I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, Yahweh,
- Isaiah 33:15-16 He who walks righteously and speaks blamelessly, he who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from looking at evil— he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure.
- 1 Timothy 2:8 I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting.
- Psalms 143:8 Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.
- Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
- Psalms 15:4 in whose eyes a vile man is despised, but who honors those who fear Yahweh; he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn’t change;
- Psalms 18:20 Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me.
- Isaiah 1:15-16 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.
- Revelation 21:1-4 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
- Revelation 22:14-15 Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
- Revelation 21:27 There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
- Psalms 25:1 To you, Yahweh, I lift up my soul.
- Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure. I am clean and without sin?”
- Jeremiah 4:14 Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long will your evil thoughts lodge within you?
- Jeremiah 7:9-10 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered,’ that you may do all these abominations?
- Ezekiel 18:6 and has not eaten on the mountains, hasn’t lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hasn’t defiled his neighbor’s wife, hasn’t come near a woman in her impurity,
- Malachi 3:5 I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies.
- Deuteronomy 4:19 and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
- Job 9:30 If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,
- Zechariah 5:3-4 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side; and everyone who swears falsely shall be cut off according to it on the other side. I will cause it to go out,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it will remain in the middle of his house, and will destroy it with its timber and its stones.”
- Acts 14:15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 4. He who is clean of hands, and pure…
4. He who is clean of hands, and pure of heart. Under the purity of the hands and of the heart, and the reverence of God’s name, he comprehends all religion, and denotes a well ordered life. True purity, no doubt, has its seat in the heart, but it manifests its fruits in the works of the hands. The Psalmist, therefore, very properly joins to a pure heart the purity of the whole life; for that man acts a ridiculous part who boasts of having a sound heart, if he does not show by his fruits that the root is good. On the other hand, it will not suffice to frame the hands, feet, and eyes, according to the rule of righteousness, unless purity of heart precede outward continence. If any man should think it absurd that the first place is given to the hands, we answer without hesitation, that effects are often named before their causes, not that they precede them in order, but because it is sometimes advantageous to begin with things which are best known. David, then, would have the Jews to bring into the presence of God pure hands, and these along with an unfeigned heart. To lift up, or to take his soul, I have no doubt is here put for to swear. It is, therefore, here required of the servants of God, that when they swear, they do it with reverence and in good conscience, “Par ainsi il est yci requis des serviteurs de Dieu, que quand ils jurent, ce soit avec reverence et en bonne conscience.” — Fr.
The textual reading is נפשו, naphshiv, his soul; the marginal reading is נפשו, naphshi, my soul. But the textual reading, from its clearness and simplicity, is, without doubt, the correct one. “The points,” says Hammond, “direct to render נפשת my soul, and so the interlinear reads anilmain roeare, my soul or life, as if it were making God the speaker of this verse, and then it is God’s life or soul. But the text writing וnot י, and the context agreeing with it, the punctuation must, in reason, give place; and, accordingly, all the ancient interpreters appear to have read it נפשו, his soul, meaning by that his own soul, or the soul of the swearer.”
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a…
Psa 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Ver. 4. He that hath clean hands] The clean in hands, that is, of innocent and unblamable conversation; debet esse purus corde, ore, opere, saith Kimchi; he must not touch that unclean thing, 2Co 6:17. Non magna munera, sed immunis manus mensque sincera Deo placent. Men must lift up pure hands in prayer, 1Ti 2:8, or else their incense will stink of the hand that offereth it, Isa 1:13. Immunis aram si tetigit manus (Horat.). Those that draw near to God must not only have their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, but their bodies also washed with pure water, Heb 10:22.
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And a pure heart] Which, while Pilate wanted, it nothing profited him to wash his hands in the presence of the people. Heaven is a holy place; and they that would go thither must cleanse themselves from "all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God," 2Co 7:1. The serpent could screw himself into Paradise; but no unclean creature ever came into God’s kingdom. The citizens of heaven must here affect purity of heart, aim at it, and in some measure attain to it too; the old frame of impure motions being dissolved, &c.
Who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity] i.e. Ad idols vel opes, saith one, that is, to idols or riches, Jer 22:27, but hath lifted it up in the ways of the Lord, as Jehoshaphat did, 2Ch 17:6, and David, Psa 25:1, not heeding or hankering after the world’s delights or the devil’s delusions. Some write the word Shau, signifying vanity, with a little Vau, ad indicandum quod minima vanitas est vitanda, &c., to show that he who would dwell in God’s holy mountain must carefully avoid the least vanity, that is, keeping God’s commandment as the apple of his eye, that will bear no jests, Pro 7:2. Some, for his soul, read my soul; he hath not taken in vain my soul, that is, saith R. Obadiah, That soul inspired by God (which I also have received), he taketh not in vain, he misemployeth not to iniquity, but consecrateth to the service of God, whose image and superscription it beareth.
Nor hath sworn deceitfully] Or inured his tongue to any other kind of the language of hell, rotten communication, to the dishonouring of God, or deceiving of others. Perjury is here instanced for the rest, as one of the most heinous. But Geraldus reckoneth up four and twenty different sins of the tongue; all which every inhabitant of the new Jerusalem is careful to avoid, as the devil’s drevil, no way becoming his pure lip.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Whose actions and conversations are holy and unblamable. It…
Whose actions and conversations are holy and unblamable. It is here very observable, that the character of a right and acceptable worshipper of God is not taken from his nation and relation to Abraham, nor from all those costly and laborious rites and ceremonies of the law, in which the generality of the Israelites pleased themselves, but in moral and spiritual duties, which most of them grossly neglected.
A pure heart; purged from hypocrisy and inward filthiness, and careful to approve itself to God as well as to men, ordering a man’s very thoughts and affections according to God’s word. This is fitly added, because a man may keep his hands clean in good measure upon mere worldly motives, or with an evil design, or without any respect to God.
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Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity; either,
1. Who doth not worship idols, which are oft called vanities in Scripture. Or,
2. Who doth not swear vainly or falsely, the phrase here being much the same with that in the third commandment, of taking God’s name in vain. But that seems to be a quite differing phrase, and the name of God there mentioned determines the sense of that general phrase to oaths, which without that addition, or something equivalent, is never to my knowledge used in Scripture in that sense. Nor do all those learned men who so expound this place give one instance of that signification of this phrase. And for their other argument for that sense, that this clause is conjoined with the next by the conjunction vau, and therefore is to be explained by it, it seems to have no weight, because thesameconjunctionjoinsthetwofirstcharacterstogether, and yet it is confessedthat cleanhands and a pureheart are two distinct and very differingthings. Orrather,
3. Who doth not immoderately value and affect, or ardently desire, (as this very phrase of lifting up the soul doth oft signify, as Deu 24:15; Psa 25:1; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Eze 24:25; Hos 4:8) the vain things of this present life and world, such as honours, riches, pleasures, and the like, which are oft called vain things or vanities in Scripture, as Psa 4:2; 119:37; Ecc 1:2; 12:8. And this is very fitly mentioned as a character of a truly goodman, because hereby he is distinguished from all ungodly men whatsoever, whose inseparable property this is, both in the Old and New Testament, noted to be, to love vanity, and to set their hearts chiefly upon the good things of this life, such as corn and wine, Psa 4:2,6,7; and to have their portion in this life, Psa 17:14; and to mind earthly things, Phi 3:19; and to be friends of the world, Jam 4:4; and to love the world, and the things of the world, 1Jo 2:15. Whereas good men are every where described to be such as make God their portion, Psa 16:5; and prize and desire his favour and service infinitely more than all the enjoyments of this life, yea, even than life itself, Job 23:12; Psa 4:6,7; 63:3; 119:72; and such as are weaned from earthly things, Psa 131:1,2; and have their affections set on things above, not on things of the earth, Col 3:2; and lay not uptheir treasure in earth, but in heaven, Mat 6:19,20; all which is directly opposite to this lifting up the soul to vanity. Deceitfully, Heb. unto or with deceit, i.e. falsely, or with a purpose of deceiving or injuring others thereby. Under this negative the contrary affirmative is included, that he is one who, when he is called to swear, doth swear in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, Jer 4:2.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart,....…
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart,.... Though "clean hands" are mentioned first, as being more obvious to view, and better known, and more subject to the cognizance and observation of others; yet a "pure heart" is first in being and in order; from whence cleanness of hands, when right and truth springs: no man has a pure heart naturally and of himself: the heart is desperately wicked; the imagination of the thoughts of it is evil continually; the mind and conscience are defiled with sin; nor can any man make his heart clean, or say he is pure from sin; but it is God that creates a clean heart, and renews a right spirit within men, and purifies the heart by faith, which is led to the blood of sprinkling, which purges the conscience, and cleanseth it from all sin; and from this purity of heart flows purity of life and conversation, signified by "clean hands"; the hand being the instrument of action, holy actions, or good works, performed from a principle of grace, are meant; the phrase is expressive of a holy, harmless, and innocent conversation, washing the hands being used to denote innocence, Mat 27:24; not a conversation entirely free from sin, nor by which a man is justified before God; for though he wash his hands ever so clean, they will not be pure in his sight, and will need washing in the blood of the Lamb; but it denotes a conversation upright in general, and declares a man righteous in the sight of men, and distinguishes him from one of a dissolute life, whose hands are full of blood, and defiled with sin;
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity; or "set his heart upon" (g), and desired vain things, as the phrase is sometimes used, Deu 24:15; that is, the vain things of this world; as the riches, honours, pleasures, and profits of it; or has not served other gods, the idols of the Gentiles, which are lying vanities, but has lifted up his soul to God, and served him only: or "who hath not received his soul in vain" (h); from the hands of God, but loves him with all his soul, believes with the heart in Christ for righteousness, being sanctified by the Spirit of God; and so the desire of his soul is to his name, and the remembrance of him. The "Keri", or marginal reading, according to the points, is, "who hath not lifted up my soul to vanity" (i); that is, has not taken the name of God in vain, or swore falsely by his name; his soul being put for his name or himself; and by which he is said sometimes to swear, Jer 51:14; and this sense the Jewish interpreters (k) generally give into. The Targum seems to take in both the writing of the text and the marginal reading, as it often does, and renders the words, "who hath not sworn in vain, to the condemnation of his soul"; though sometimes to his own disadvantage, yet not to the hurt of others; see Psa 15:4; it follows,
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nor sworn deceitfully; by bearing false witness against any man; or by cheating him out of his substance through a false oath.
(g) "non inhiat, aut intentus est", Vatablus, Amama; so Gejerus, Michaelis. (h) So Pagninus. (i) "Animam meam", Montanus, Vatablus, Hillerus. (k) Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, & Ben Melech in loc.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain He - Whose actions and conversation are holy and…
He - Whose actions and conversation are holy and unblameable. Pure heart - Careful to approve itself to God, as well as to men; ordering a man's very thoughts and affections according to God's word. Vanity - Who doth not value or desire the vain things of this life, such as honours, riches, pleasures; but makes God his portion.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. He that hath clean hands] He whose…
Verse 4. He that hath clean hands] He whose conscience is irreproachable; whose heart is without deceit and uninfluenced by unholy passions.
Who hath not lifted up his soul] Who has no idolatrous inclination; whose faith is pure, and who conscientiously fulfils his promises and engagements.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 24:4. He that hath clean hands — Whose…
Psa 24:4. He that hath clean hands — Whose actions and conversation are holy and unblameable. It is here very observable that the character of a right and acceptable worshipper of God is not taken from his nation and relation to Abraham; nor from any or all of those costly and laborious rites and ceremonies of the law in which the generality of the Israelites placed their confidence, but from moral and spiritual duties, which most of them grossly neglected. And a pure heart — Purged from hypocrisy, and corrupt desires and designs, and careful to approve itself to God, as well as men, ordering a man’s very thoughts, intentions, and affections, according to God’s word. This is fitly added, because a man may keep his hands clean, in a good measure, from mere worldly motives, and without any respect to God, and even with an evil design. Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity — Who doth not worship idols, often called vanities in Scripture, and who doth not value or desire the vain things of this life, such as honour, riches, pleasures; but who makes God his portion. And this, also, is very fitly mentioned as essential to the character of a truly good man, because, hereby he is distinguished from all carnal and ungodly men whatsoever, whose inseparable property it is, according to both the Old and New Testament, to love vanity, and to set their hearts chiefly upon the things of this world. Whereas good men are everywhere described to be such as seek their happiness in God, and prize and desire his favour and service infinitely more than all the enjoyments or this life; yea, even than life itself. Nor sworn deceitfully — Hebrew, למרמה, lemirmah, unto, or with deceit, that is, falsely, or with a purpose of deceiving others thereby. Under this negative the contrary affirmative is included, namely, that he is one who, when he is called to swear, doth swear in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness, Jer 4:2.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain He that hath clean hands - In the parallel…
He that hath clean hands - In the parallel passage in Psa 15:2, the answer to the question is, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness.” The sentiment is substantially the same there as in the passage before us. The meaning is, that he who would be recognized as a friend and worshipper of Yahweh must be an upright man; a person not living in the practice of iniquity, but striving always to do that which is right. The “hands” are the instruments by which we accomplish anything; and hence, to have clean hands is equivalent to being upright. See Job 17:9; Isa 1:15; Isa 59:3; Act 2:23; Psa 26:10. The margin here, as the Hebrew, is “the clean of hands.”
And a pure heart - Not merely the one whose external conduct is upright, but whose heart is pure. The great principle is here stated which enters always into true religion, that it does not consist in outward conformity to law, or to the mere performance of rites and ceremonies, or to external morality, but that it controls the heart, and produces purity of motive and of thought.
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Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity - Unto that which is “vain,” or which is “false.” This expression might refer to one who had not devoted himself to the worship of an idol - regarded as vain, or as nothing 1Co 8:6; Isa 41:24; Psa 115:4-8; or to one who had not embraced that which is false and vain in opinion; or to one who had not sworn falsely, or taken the name of God in vain, Exo 20:7. The probable meaning is, that he has not set his heart on vain things, or that which is false. He has sought after substantial truth, alike in the object of worship, in that which he professes to believe, and in the statements and promises which he makes to others. He aims to secure that which is true and real. He is in no sense “carried away” with that which is unreal and false.
Nor sworn deceitfully - This is one form of that which had been just specified - his love of truth. The idea here is, that he has not affirmed under the solemnities of an oath, that which was false; and that he has not, under similar solemnities, promised what he has not performed. He is a sincere man; a man seeking after the true and the real, and not running after shadows and falsehood; a man true to God and to his fellow-creatures; a man whose statements are in accordance with facts, and whose promises may be always relied on. In the parallel passage, in Psa 15:2, the statement is, “he that speaketh the truth in his heart.” See the notes at that passage.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain lifted up his soul--is to set the affections (Psa…
lifted up his soul--is to set the affections (Psa 25:1) on an object; here,
vanity--or, any false thing, of which swearing falsely, or to falsehood, is a specification.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Clean hands—An emblem of innocence from overt sin,…
4. Clean hands—An emblem of innocence from overt sin, as a pure heart, in the next sentence, is of purity of thought, purpose, and intention.
See Job_17:9; Mat_27:24; 1Ti_2:8.
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Lifted up his soul unto vanity—Offered prayer and sacrifice to idols.
Sworn deceitfully—As in Psa_15:4, where see note. But the text has a broader sense here. The Hebrews were commanded to swear only by “the God of truth,” (Isa_65:16; Deu_6:13;) which implied that they served him, and that their ultimate hope was in him. Hence, to swear by the true God while they served idols, or lived in violation of Jehovah’s laws, was the essence of false swearing. Jer_5:1-2; Jer_7:9; Jer_12:16. “Swearing deceitfully,” is parallel to “lifting up the soul unto vanity,” in previous hemistich.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. He that hath clean hands, and a pure…
4. He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart] He who is innocent of violence and wrong-doing (Psa_18:20; Psa_18:24); nay, innocent even in thought and purpose as well as in deed. Cp. Psa_73:1; Mat_5:8.
Who hath not lift up his soul unto vanity] i.e. who is true and faithful to Jehovah. ‘To lift up the soul’ means to direct the mind towards (Psa_25:1), to set the heart upon (Deu_24:15), to desire (Hos_4:8). ‘Vanity’ denotes what is transitory (Job_15:31), false and unreal (Psa_12:2), or sinful (Isa_5:18), and may even designate false gods (Psa_31:6). It includes all that is unlike or opposed to the nature of God. The traditional reading (Qrç) however is, my soul (so too Cod. Alex. of the LXX.). This reading must be rendered, Who hath not taken me in vain. God speaks; and the words are an echo of Exo_20:7, with my soul (= my being) substituted for my name. But this explanation is forced, and cannot be defended even by Amo_6:8, and Jer_51:14, where God is said to swear ‘by His soul’ = by Himself.
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nor sworn deceitfully] R.V., and hath not sworn deceitfully. The paraphrase of P.B.V., ‘nor sworn to deceive his neighbour,’ which follows the LXX and Vulg., gives the sense rightly. He has been true to his neighbour, as well as to God. Cp. Psa_15:4.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) His soul.—The Hebrew margin is “my soul,” a…
(4) His soul.—The Hebrew margin is “my soul,” a reading confirmed by the Alexandrian Codex of the LXX. The Rabbis defend it by saying soul here = name (comp. Amo_6:8; Jer_51:14), and to lift up to vanity = to take in vain.
Vanity.—Evidently, from the parallelism, in the sense of falsehood, as in Job_31:5.
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Deceitfully.—Literally, to fraud, from a root meaning to trip up. The LXX. and Vulg. add (from Psalms 15) “to his neighbour.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain He that hath clean hands. He whose hands are…
He that hath clean hands. He whose hands are free from acts of sin, (comp. Psa_15:2-5) and not only so, but he who hath also a pure heart, since the heart is the source of all evil, (Mat_15:19, Mat_15:20) and wrongful words and wicked acts are the necessary results of the heart being impure. "God"s demands upon his people," as Hengstenberg observes, "go beyond the domain of action. Those only see him those only are fit to ascend into his hill who have a pure heart." Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity; i.e. who has not lusted after vain and worthless things, whose desires are subdued, brought into captivity to the Law of God, and kept under strict control. This is really implied in purity of heart. Nor sworn deceitfully. False swearing is the worst or, at any rate, one of the worst sins of the tongue. The psalmist means to say that a man is not fit to draw near to God unless he is righteous in act, in thought, and in word.
A high standard of practical morality.
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"Clean hands, and a pure heart." It would be impossible to condense into so few words a more beautiful and comprehensive description of true holiness. The gospel reveals motives and offers grace beyond not only the experience, but the conception, of Old Testament saints. But it cannot set a higher standard of practical morality than this: blameless conduct, and right motives; clean hands, and a pure heart. To come up perfectly to this mark would be to resemble him who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners," and who could safely challenge his bitterest enemies, "Which of you convicteth me of sin?". (Joh_8:46)
I "CLEAN HANDS" is a phrase containing a fulness of varied meaning.
1. The hand is in Scripture the symbol of work; (Psa_95:5 Psa_111:7 Ecc_9:10) the gospel version of which is Col_3:23. "Clean hands" in this sense are hands whose work is faithful and thorough. Among the evil omens of our time is a decay of honest pride in good work a tendency to substitute cheap show for solid value. Every stroke of unfaithful work is a nail in the coffin of national honour and prosperity. Here religion steps in to our rescue. The Bible puts great honour on work. Every Christian should look on his daily work as a ministry to man for God"s sake. If he would have "clean bands," he must engage in no business which cannot be so regarded.
2. The hand is the symbol of earning and paying, getting and giving. (Pro_10:4) "Clean hands "are hands never defiled by unjust gain, never disgraced by withholding what is due. (see Isa_33:15)
3. The hand is the symbol of mutual faith and honour. To "lift up the hand" is to pledge one"s truth. (Gen_14:22 Deu_33:4) "Clean hands" therefore mean unblemished honour, inviolable faithfulness. (Psa_15:4)
4. The hand is the symbol of power and of conduct. Hence the prophet"s indignant denunciation, (Isa_1:15) and St. Paul"s injunction. (1Ti_2:8)
5. Clean hands are hands not only kept clean, but washed. The purest hands have on them stains that nothing but the blood of Christ can cleanse. And this can cleanse even the foulest. Our greatest poet has pointed out the anguish of a guilt-burdened conscience"What I will these hands ne"er be clean?... All the perfumes of Arabia win not sweeten this little hand.
But "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.
II "A PURE HEART." Inward holiness: right motives, feelings, aims. The hands without the heart may pass muster in human eyes. Worldly morality concerns itself rather with conduct than motives. (1Sa_16:7) But the grave characteristic of Bible morality is that everywhere the worth of actions is made wholly to depend on their motives. The unaccomplished purpose, if sincere, is accepted. (1Ki_8:18) The holiest service, with impure motive, is hateful to God. (Pro_21:27) Thus that modern philosophy, which seeks to derive conscience from the experience of the usefulness to society of certain actions, utterly breaks down. The judgments of enlightened conscience, and all just praise or blame, take account, not of outward actions as such, or their consequences, but of motives. St. James puts these together, (Jam_4:8) He that would keep "clean hands" must put up David"s prayer. (Psa_51:10, Psa_51:11)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 4. He that hath clean hands. Outward, practical…
Ver. 4. He that hath clean hands. Outward, practical holiness is a very precious mark of grace. To wash in water with Pilate is nothing, but to wash in innocency is all important. It is to be feared that many professors have perverted the doctrine of justification by faith in such a way as to treat good works with contempt; if so, they will receive everlasting contempt at the last great day. It is vain to prate of inward experience unless the daily life is free from impurity, dishonesty, violence, and oppression. Those who draw near to God must have
clean hands. What monarch would have servants with filthy hands to wait at his table? They who were ceremonially unclean could not enter into the Lord's house which was made with hands, much less shall the morally defiled be allowed to enjoy spiritual fellowship with a holy God. If our hands are now unclean, let us wash them in Jesu's precious blood, and so let us pray unto God, lifting up pure hands. But "clean hands" would not suffice, unless they were connected with
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a pure heart. True religion is heart work. We may wash the outside of the cup and the platter as long as we please; but if the inward parts be filthy, we are filthy altogether in the sight of God, for our hearts are more truly ourselves than our hands are. We may lose our hands and yet live, but we could not lose our heart and still live; the very life of our being lies in the inner nature, and hence the imperative need of purity within. There must be a work of grace in the core of the heart as well as in the palm of the hand, or our religion is a delusion. May God grant that our inward powers may be cleansed by the sanctifying Spirit, so that we may love holiness and abhor all sin. The pure in heart shall see God, all others are but blind bats; stone blindness in the eyes arises from stone in the heart. Dirt in the heart throws dust in the eyes.
The soul must be delivered from delighting in the grovelling toys of earth; the man who is born for heaven
hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity. All men have their joys, by which their souls are lifted up; the worldling lifts up his soul in carnal delights, which are mere empty vanities; but the saint loves more substantial things; like Jehoshaphat, he is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He who is content with the husks will be reckoned with the swine. If we suck our consolation from the breasts of the world, we prove ourselves to be its home born children. Does the world satisfy thee? Then thou hast thy reward and thy portion in this life; make much of it, for thou shalt know no other joy.
Nor sworn deceitfully. The saints are men of honour still. The Christian man's word is his only oath; but that is as good as twenty oaths of other men. False speaking will shut any man out of heaven, for a liar shall not enter into God's house, whatever may be his professions or doings. God will have nothing to do with liars, except to cast them into the lake of fire. Every liar is a child of the devil, and will be sent home to his father. A false declaration, a fraudulent statement, a cooked account, a slander, a lieall these may suit the assembly of the ungodly, but are detested among true saints: how could they have fellowship with the God of truth, if they did not hate every false way?
Ver. 4. He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart. Shall I tell you, then, who is a moral man in the sight of God? It is he that bows to the divine law as the supreme rule of right; he that is influenced by a governing regard to God in all his actions; he that obeys other commands spontaneously, because he has obeyed the first and great command, "Give me thy heart." His conduct is not conformed to custom or expediency, but to one consistent, immutable standard of duty. Take this man into a court of justice, and call on him to testify, and he will not bear false witness. Give him the charge of untold treasures, he will not steal. Trust him with the dearest interests of yourself or family, you are safe, because he has a living principle of truth and integrity in his bosom. He is as worthy of confidence in the dark as at noonday; for he is a moral man, not because reputation or interest demands it, not because the eye of public observation is fixed upon him, but because the love and fear of God have predominant ascendency in his heart. Ebenezer Porter, D.D., 1834.
Ver. 4. Conditions that suit none but Christ. (Bellarmine.) He that hath clean hands; "the clean of hands", Margin: those hands from which went forth virtue and healing; hands ever lifted up in prayer to God, or in blessing to man; hands stretched forth on the cross for the cleansing of the whole world. Isaac Williams, in loc.
Ver. 4. Who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, is read by Arius Montanus, "He that hath not received his soul in vain." Oh! how many receive their souls in vain, making no more use of them than the swine, of whom the philosopher observes, cujus anima pro sale, their souls are only for salt to keep their bodies from stinking. Who would not grieve to think that so choice a piece should be employed about so vain a use! George Swinnock.
Ver. 4. Nor sworn deceitfully; or inured his tongue to any other kind of language of hell's rotten communication, to the dishonouring of God, or deceiving of others. Perjury is here instanced for the rest, as one of the most heinous. But Peraldus reckoneth up twenty-four several sins of the tongue, all which every burgess of the New Jerusalem is careful to avoid, as the devil's drivel, no way becoming his pure lip. John Trapp.
Ver. 4. Now we come to the four conditions requisite to render such an ascent possible. 1. Abstinence from evil doing: He that hath clean hands. 2. Abstinence from evil thought: and a pure heart. 3. Who does that duty which he is sent into the world to do: That hath not lifted up his mind unto vanity; or, as it is in the Vulgate, Who hath no received his soul in vain. And, 4. Remembers the vows by which he is bound to God: nor sworn to deceive. And in the fullest sense, there was but One in whom all these things were fulfilled; so that in reply to the question, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?" He might well answer, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." Joh 3:13. "Therefore it is well written, "says St. Bernard, "that such an High Priest became us, because he knows the difficulty of that ascent to the celestial mountain, he knows the weakness of us that have to ascend." Lorinus and Bernard, quoted by J. M. Neale.
Ver. 4. Heaven is not won with good words and a fair profession. The doing Christian is the man that shall stand, when the empty boaster of his faith shall fall. The great talkers of religion are often the least doers. His religion is in vain whose profession brings not letters testimonial from a holy life. William Gurnall.
Ver. 4. (first clause). Connection between outward morality and inward purity.
Ver. 4. (second clause). Men judged by their delights.
Ver. 4. "Clean hands."
1. How to get them clean.
2. How to keep them clean.
3. How to defile them
4. How to get them clean again.
Ver. 4-5. Character manifested and favour received.
Psalms 24:5*
Ver. 4-5. Character manifested and favour received.
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:4 Those with pure hands have not shed blood…
24:4 Those with pure hands have not shed blood or injured relationships between people (see 9:12; 15:2-5). • Those with pure hearts commit themselves fully to the Lord, as evidenced in strength of character, transparency, and selflessness (51:10; 73:1; see Matt 5:8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.