THE VIRTUE OF CLEAN HANDS THERE was a doctrine much enjoyed by our fathers which they called "The perseverance of the saints." It rested upon the belief that one who had entered upon the Christian life and had been born of God would be faithful to the end. This was encouraged by the confidence of the apostle that He who has begun a good work in the hearts of men will carry it to perfection, and by the assurance of our Lord that He would abide with his friends, and by his prayer that they might be kept from the evil of the world and brought where they should behold his glory. The doctrine might have been entitled, therefore, the continuance of grace, or, again, the constancy of love. The truth which is expressed is full of comfort for times of discouragement, and of inspiration in all the difficulty of the Christian way. Certainly every man ought so to live that the doctrine shall be a part of his daily thought. We come upon this teaching in the ancient Scriptures. We find Job confessing his faith in this wise: "The righteous, also, shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger." In this he was asserting his own rectitude, while he complained of his accusers and made his appeal to God. In the midst of his passionate sentences he declared the constancy of the good man. In spite of all that he saw in himself, and after his sad experience, he cherished this assurance; and passing beyond himself he gave the statement the general form in which we have it. There is nothing strange in it, as we read it; although there may come to mind many instances in which the righteous has not held on his way. But why should he not keep to his fidelity, free from the vicissitudes of life as the planet is beyond the clouds which the wind drives beneath it? Rectitude is from above, and should last. It is commended by conscience, and should be retained. It holds the eternal sanction, and should engage the entire life. The word "hands" is a large one. It is used for the man, oftentimes; as when we speak of the "hands" on a ship or in the factory. It is the symbol of a varied helpfulness, as in the phrase which has become familiar, "Lend a hand." It is the outside of conduct, whose purposes and motives are in the heart. It is with the hand that we touch the world, and do our work for it. The heart is disclosed by the hand. We make ourselves known to ourselves by what we do, and we are judged among our neighbors rather by our conduct than by our words. There is precedent for this, as when Christ taught that to say "Lord," and "Lord,” would not be a title for acceptance, but to have done the will of his Father who is in heaven. Hence there is a constant call for clean hands which do no unworthy thing, but are set in useful deeds. It is by no means meant that clean hands are enough. They have their value as the sign of a clean heart, where the thoughts and intentions are right. Together with our Lord's teaching of the worth of good conduct, his highest Beatitude is given to the pure in heart, "They shall see God." Clean hands are not empty hands. They are not satisfied in keeping from the wrong, but only in doing that which is right. They are more than innocent, for they are virtuous. It is little that they do not harm the world, for they are made to help it. An empty hand is a selfish hand, and this is the expression of a selfish soul. The purity of a man is more than the purity of a child, because it is invested in manly deeds. The ideal of a good man is not a statue of Italian marble, spotless and white. It is rather a sailor with the lines of his vocation crossing his hands, or the farmer who bears upon his palms the marks of his high calling. Cleanness is purity and virtue. |