A high standard of practical morality.
"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?" (John 8:46).
I. "CLEAN HANDS" is a phrase containing a fulness of varied meaning.
1. The hand is in Scripture the symbol of work (Psalms 95:5; Psalms 111:7; Ecclesiastes 9:10); the gospel version of which is Colossians 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. (Proverbs 10:4.) "Clean hands "are hands never defiled by unjust gain, never disgraced by withholding what is due (see Isaiah 33:15).
3. The hand is the symbol of mutual faith and honour. To "lift up the hand" is to pledge one's truth (Genesis 14:22; Deuteronomy 33:1-29:40). "Clean hands" therefore mean unblemished honour, inviolable faithfulness (Psalms 15:4).
4. The hand is the symbol of power and of conduct. Hence the prophet's indignant denunciation (Isaiah 1:15), and St. Paul's injunction (1 Timothy 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 (1 Samuel 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 (1 Kings 8:18). The holiest service, with impure motive, is hateful to God (Proverbs 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 (James 4:8), He that would keep "clean hands" must put up David's prayer (Psalms 51:10, Psalms 51:11).