“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter.” Psalms 118:19-20 NKJV
Reflection: in life, and in worship, which gates do you enter?
Since the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States, air travel has been significantly changed across the world. You can no longer just walk to the airport gates, without first passing through security with a valid ticket and ID. And, to enter through one of the gates in order to get on a plane, your ticket has to match the specific flight number, ensuring that you have the rights to enter that plane. Try to take a shortcut, whether at the security checkpoint or at the gate, most likely airport police will detain you for questioning. Now, if it was an honest mistake, they will probably just talk with you and then let you go. But, if they sense that you were intentionally trying to bypass security or enter the wrong gate, you will probably be arrested and prosecuted.
In life, there are those who try to go through gates that they have no rights to enter. What does that look like, practically speaking? You have probably run into people who say they are something or someone they are not. I once was in an office where I had no choice but to overhear a group of aggressive young men who tried to sell end of life burial insurance to the most vulnerable in society, specifically to veterans in their 80s or older. Now, they might technically have had the right to sell such insurance to these veterans. But they presented themselves as deeply caring for the veterans; using language of empathy. However, after their sales calls, their true colors showed, talking about how they could in a way better trick these elderly to buy their insurance, through clever language. It was all rehearsed, even their empathy was rehearsed. In a way, they were trying to go through a false gate.
We see worship of God, some try to enter through false gates. They sing words of worship, perhaps desire the blessings of God, but their hearts are filled with greed and selfish pride. Jesus spoke very directly about and to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, ““Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.”” Matthew 23:5-7 NIV.
They were fake, appearing to be righteous, but it was only on the outside. A facade, an image. Jesus said to them ““Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:27-28 NIV. We read in Psalm 118 “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter.” Psalms 118:19-20 NKJV. But, since none of us are worthy, none are righteous,
who then can enter the presence of the Lord?
Paul explains “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”Romans 3:22-24 NIV. Keep in mind, “Gentile” is the Greek word ethnos, meaning the multitudes, nations, peoples. Our ability to enter the gates of righteousness, is through faith in Jesus, and His work. It is not by our own, nothing that we deserve. Which is of course why we can and must genuinely give the Lord praise, to glorify Him who deserves it. You might also remember that Jesus said “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” John 10:9 NIV. And this is consistent with what the psalmist wrote, “This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter.” Psalms 118:19-20 NKJV
Notice something very interesting in the beginning of this psalm, where we read “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord now say, “His mercy endures forever.”” Psalms 118:1-4 NKJV. The psalmist is calling on God’s people to first recognize the Lord for He is good, and then to declare that “His mercy endures forever.” And, this is the proper starting point of our worship. To recognize who He is, that we can only enter because of Him. And, this is why the psalmist discovered that the Lord God was on his side “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Psalm 118:5-6 ESV.
Let’s enter the gate of the Lord today, and give Him thanks for He is good; His mercy endures forever!