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"The innocent of hand, and the pure in heart" [Psalm 24:4]. Who then shall ascend there, and abide there, but the guiltless in deed, and pure in thought? "Who has not received his soul in vain." Who has not reckoned his soul among things that pass away, but feeling it to be immortal, has longed for an eternity steadfast and unchangeable. "And has not sworn in deceit to his neighbour." And therefore without deceit, as things eternal are simple and undeceiving, has so behaved himself to his neighbour.

It is appropriate, he is saying, for him who desires to ascend that mountain both to purify his soul of idle thoughts and to keep his hands away from such pursuits. He put “hands” in place of pursuits, and by “heart” he implied desires: with the latter we form our intentions, and by the former we put them into action.

Let no one speak deceitfully to his neighbor. The mouth of the malevolent is a deep pit. The innocent person, while he believes easily, falls readily; but though he falls, he rises; and the shuffler, with all his arts, goes headlong to ruin, from which he can never rise or escape. Therefore let everyone weigh well his words, and let him not say to another what he would not say to himself.

Truly Judas ascended onto the mountain of the Lord, but he did not stand in his holy place. He was not innocent in hands or pure in heart, but a thief who was taking the money.

Truthful swearing is certainly not forbidden in the Old Testament, but since the cause of perjury often arises for human nature from the weakness of the mind, in the New Testament it states that it is more beneficial not to swear oaths at all.… One who is going to do something other than promised swears deceitfully, not believing that it is perjury to wickedly manipulate someone who makes the mistake of trusting him.

"The innocent." And first he shows this in general. Second, in particular: "This is the generation." Concerning the first he does two things. First he proposes the merit. Second, the reward, at "He shall receive." In the merit there is one thing that pertains to innocence of action; hence he says, "The innocent in hands": Job 22: "The innocent shall be saved; and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands": Ps. 25: "I have walked in my innocence." Another pertains to the purity of the heart: and as to this he states that the heart must be kept pure from interior concupiscences: hence he says, "and clean of heart": Mt. 5: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." Likewise from every desire for temporal things: "Who has not taken his soul in vain," that is, who has not poured it out upon vain things, or who does not vainly glory in his virtues, or who does not allow his sensuality to reach the point of consenting to sin. Jerome has "who do not lift up in vain," because from purity of heart some become proud: Ps. 130: "Lord, my heart is not exalted." Likewise it pertains to truthfulness of speech; hence it follows, "nor has he sworn deceitfully to his neighbor": Zech. 8: "Do not love a false oath."