The Scripture
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:3-4, KJV)
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10, KJV)
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." (Psalm 15:1-2, KJV)
The Heart of It
Psalm 24 poses one of the great questions of Scripture. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? It is the question of every worshipper who senses the weight of God's holiness and their own smallness before it. And the answer David gives is searching: clean hands and a pure heart, a soul not lifted up to vanity, a mouth that has not sworn deceitfully. The requirement reaches past outward conduct to the inward person. Clean hands speak of what we do; a pure heart speaks of who we are. God asks for both.
But here is where the gospel meets the psalm. If we read Psalm 24 alone, the requirement might crush us, for who among us has hands entirely clean and a heart entirely pure? So the song wisely closes with Psalm 51, the prayer David prayed after his own grievous fall. He did not say, "I will scrub my own heart clean." He said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." The word create is the word used of God making the world from nothing. David knew that the purity God requires, God must Himself supply.
So the two psalms fit together like a lock and its key. Psalm 24 shows us the standard of the holy hill; Psalm 51 shows us how a fallen soul may yet ascend it, by asking the Creator to make within us the very cleanness He requires. Psalm 15 sounds the same note, asking who shall abide in God's tabernacle and answering with a portrait of plain integrity, one who walks uprightly, works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.
The New Testament carries the theme forward without softening it. The Lord Jesus promised, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8), tying the vision of God directly to the cleanness of the inner life. And James issues the same summons the psalms do: "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded" (James 4:8). The far green bank of the new life is not a place to stand in our own strength. It is a place to keep asking God for the clean heart He alone can create, and then, so cleansed, to ascend the hill with confidence.
More Witnesses: Latter-day Scripture
The Book of Mormon presses the same searching question upon the conscience. Alma asks his people whether they could look up to God at the last day with a pure heart and clean hands, whether they could stand before Him having kept themselves unspotted (Alma 5:19). It is the very question of Psalm 24, put to the heart of every hearer and demanding an honest answer.
The Doctrine and Covenants adds the promise that follows a pure heart. It counsels the disciple to let virtue garnish his thoughts unceasingly, and gives the beautiful assurance that then his confidence will wax strong in the presence of God (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45). This is simply the confidence of the one who may ascend the holy hill, the boldness of clean hands and a pure heart standing unashamed before the Father. From the psalms to the Sermon on the Mount to these witnesses, the message is the same: God looks upon the heart, and calls it to be clean.
How the Song Carries It
"Clean Hands, a Holy Heart" pictures the newly washed soul stepping onto solid ground. The first verse sets the scene, the water has done its work and the past has lost its hold, and now you stand upon the far green bank with clean hands and a heart of gold. The next line names the change directly, you are not who you were, so lift your eyes and take your place, and the refrain turns Psalm 24 into a call to ascend the hill, washed and standing true, set apart for the work the Lord has prepared.
The later verse gives the ongoing discipline, keep the vessel spotless, and prays Psalm 51 word for word, create in me a clean heart, Lord. The closing lines bring the soul to rest before the Father, prepared and standing steady, no longer bowed by shame, cleansed and called by a new name. The song moves the way the life of holiness moves, from being washed, to standing, to ascending, to being named anew.
The Lyrics
The water did its work in you,
the past has lost its hold.
Now stand upon the far green bank,
clean hands and heart of gold.
You are not who you were, now,
lift your eyes and take your place.
Clean hands, a holy heart,
washed and standing true.
Full of faith and ready,
the Lord has work for you.
Ascend the hill before you,
you have been set apart:
clean hands, a holy heart,
a new and holy start.
So keep the vessel spotless,
the One who cleansed will keep.
Create in me a clean heart, Lord,
a spirit sure and deep.
Prepared and standing steady,
no longer bowed by shame.
Clean before the Father,
and called by a new name.
A Blessing
May the God who washed you keep you clean, and may He create in you the pure heart that no effort of your own could ever make. May you ascend the hill of the Lord with clean hands and steady feet, no longer bowed by shame, set apart and full of faith for the work He has prepared. May your confidence wax strong in His presence as you answer to your new name. Go in peace.
Scripture References
- Matthew 5:8
- James 4:8
- Psalm 24:3-4
- Psalm 51:10
- Psalm 15:1-2
- Alma 5:19 (Book of Mormon)
- Doctrine and Covenants 121:45