Some examples of this are given later in the verse: don’t worship idols or swear deceitfully. “Hands” is a figure of speech representing the entirety of a persons actions. God’s people are not limited to one race, but may come from all nations, tribes, and languages of mankind-if they are clean and pure.įirst, they must be clean outwardly. It is not because of his race but because of his character. Notice that the one who is standing on God’s holy hill is not doing so because he is Jewish he is there because of his purity and holiness. This is important for the nation of Israel to be singing. Then the psalmist answers his own question: only the one with clean hands and a pure heart can ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place. The first time he focuses on the physical distance by using the term ‘hill,’ and the second time he focuses on the moral distance by using the phrase ‘holy place.’ Both the hill and the holy place are out of reach for mankind. The psalmist illustrates this by repeating the question. He is unreachable by the grasp of man due to a vast separation, both physically and morally.

The opening question of this passage asks a pertinent question for every seeker of truth: how can I get to God? The assumption (which is accurate) is that God is reigning in heavenly glory. But it has also been sung by millions of Israelites thanks to its origin in Psalm 24.

That prayer has been sung by millions of Christians over the last few decades. Chris Tomlin is one of the great song writers of our time, and perhaps that’s because he finds so many of his lyrics in the Psalms! One of his classic praise songs is called “Give us Clean Hands.” It’s chorus repeats the following lines:

Clean hands pure hearts