Deuteronomy 9:5

5 Not for thy righteousness, nor for the holiness of thy heart, dost thou go in to inherit their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord will destroy them from before thee, and that he may establish the covenant, which the Lord sware to our fathers, to Abraam, and to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Deuteronomy 9:5 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 9:5

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine
heart
Neither for their external righteousness before men, or their outward conformity to the law, nor for the inward sincerity of their hearts, and their upright intentions in doing good, in which they were defective:

dost thou go to possess their land;
this is repeated, and enlarged on, and explained, that this notion might be entirely removed from them, and not entertained by them; similar to which is that of men, who fancy that their sincere obedience, though imperfect, will be accepted of God instead of a perfect one, on account of which they shall be justified and saved; but by the deeds of the law no flesh living can be justified in the sight of God, nor by any works of righteousness done by the best of men, and in the best manner they are capable of, will any be saved;

but for the wickedness of those nations the Lord thy God doth drive
them out from before thee;
which is repeated, that it might be taken notice of as the true reason of the Lord's dealing with them in such severity; and which because it would be now doing, when the Israelites passed over Jordan, and went in to possess the land, it is expressed in the present tense, "doth drive", the work being not yet finished; sin was the cause of their ejection out of their land, and another thing was the reason of the Israelites possessing it, and not their righteousness next expressed:

and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
it was to fulfil his covenant, and make good his word of promise to their fathers, and not on account of any righteousness of theirs; and the salvation of the Lord's people in a spiritual sense, and their enjoyment of the heavenly Canaan, are owing to the gracious purposes and promises of God, and to his covenant engagements, as well as to the undertakings, obedience, and righteousness of his Son, and not to any righteousness of theirs.

Deuteronomy 9:5 In-Context

3 And thou shalt know to-day, that the Lord thy God he shall go before thy face: he is a consuming fire; he shall destroy them, and he shall turn them back before thee, and shall destroy them quickly, as the Lord said to thee.

4 Speak not in thine heart, when the Lord thy God has destroyed these nations before thy face, saying, For my righteousness the Lord brought me in to inherit this good land.

5 Not for thy righteousness, nor for the holiness of thy heart, dost thou go in to inherit their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord will destroy them from before thee, and that he may establish the covenant, which the Lord sware to our fathers, to Abraam, and to Isaac, and to Jacob.

6 And thou shalt know to-day, that not for thy righteousnesses the Lord thy God gives thee this good land to inherit, for thou art a stiff-necked people.

7 Remember, forget not, how much thou provokedst the Lord thy God in the wilderness: from the day that ye came forth out of Egypt, even till ye came into this place, ye continued to be disobedient toward the Lord.