Psalms 24:4 - Exposition

He that hath clean hands. He whose hands are free from acts of sin (comp. Psalms 15:2-5 ), and not only so, but he who hath also a pure heart, since the heart is the source of all evil ( Matthew 15:19 , Matthew 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.