Psalms 118:19-21 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
These verses are far more than ancient lyrics — they are a spiritual invitation. The psalmist doesn’t just admire the gate — he pleads for it to open. “Open to me the gates of righteousness…” This is the cry of a heart that longs for access to God, not by merit, but by mercy. In Hebrew thought, gates represent transition points — thresholds between the common and the holy, the outside and the inner court, the temporal and the eternal. These are not man-made doors — they are divine entrances into the presence and promises of the LORD.
Verse 20 declares, “This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.” But who can enter? Psalm 24 asks, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” The truth is, none of us are righteous by our own strength. But here lies the mystery revealed in the Gospel: Yeshua (Jesus) is the Gate. He declared in John 10:9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.” He is both the way in and the One waiting on the other side.
Prophetically, this passage also points to the moment Yeshua entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey (Matthew 21), greeted by shouts of “Hosanna!” The gates of the city — and of salvation — were opening, and many missed it. But the righteous, those who discerned the moment, welcomed the King. This moment foreshadowed the greater entry Yeshua would make through the gates of heaven after His resurrection, carrying the victory of the cross and the promise of our access to the Father.
Verse 21 brings the worshiper full circle: “I thank You that You have answered me and have become my salvation.” In Hebrew, “You have become my Yeshua.” The cry at the gate has been heard. The way has been made. And the only fitting response is worship. Not just thanks for what God has done — but for who He has become.
The gate is open. Yeshua didn’t just open it — He is it. Don’t stand outside when the way has been made. Don’t admire the threshold — walk through it. Enter boldly. Enter with thanksgiving. Enter clothed in His righteousness, not your own. The time for hesitation is over. The blood has been shed. The veil has been torn. The call has been made. Step through the Gate of the LORD and declare with all your heart: “You have become my salvation!” Let your praise shake the courts of heaven. The door is open—go in!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When we think of a good citizen, we probably think of a law-abiding, productive contributor to society who takes pride in his country. I’m sure all of us would like to be thought of as good citizens of the countries in which we live. My wife has dual citizenship, she’s both Israeli and American — I guess that means she has to work extra hard at being loyal!
The Apostle Paul’s discourse in 1 Corinthians 10 recalls the great miracles God performed for the children of Israel during the time of the Exodus. Delivered from Egypt and Pharaoh’s slavery, they were dismayed to discover his maniacal rage pursuing them anew, driving them into a deadly corner and imminent destruction. Humanly speaking, their terror and panic was understandable. With their eyes they could only see the wrath of Egypt succeeding at last to utterly destroy them. In that state of mind, how might they have remembered the consecutive miracles God had wrought against Egypt which had brought them to this very place?
Is there something about miracles that makes them forgettable? Or is the problem with us? After journeying for a season the children of Israel were faced with hunger — another test. This time, naturally faced with starvation, they murmured against the Lord, AGAIN! You’d think they might begin to put it together that God truly wanted them to trust Him. Apparently not yet. The dire circumstances attacked their mass cerebral cortex (memory) and once again they went into attack mode, bitterly complaining in unbelief. The Ten Plagues, the pillar of fire, the Red Sea walk, the Egyptian chariot soup, none of these connected to the present hunger pangs. Nature trumped super-nature, and sadly, God Himself.
When I was in school, it seemed they ran a “fire drill” at least once a year. A long, loud, kind of scary bell would sound and we knew it was either a real fire, or, more likely, just another drill. We were formed into lines, ushered down the halls, and out the doors we went. Of course, the point was practice….so we would be prepared for a real fire.
The children of Israel are facing yet another test, this one, even more severe than hunger– dehydration – which, unabated, quickly leads to a miserable death. Yet, now, every day they are also seeing the miracles of God, who is feeding them regularly with manna, and surrounding them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Once again, they fail the test, even in the midst of their daily witness of miracles. So even though the test is more severe, the evidence for trust is that much greater.
There is a long standing tradition of cleaning one’s house in the springtime – hence the term “spring cleaning”. One source for this tradition is certainly the Jewish Passover (Pesach). Each spring as the holiday approaches observant householders in Israel and around the world perform a meticulous cleaning of their homes, especially to be sure there is no leaven in the house before Pesach begins. Leaven, in scripture, is often a metaphor for sin and impurity; and this season of the year is often a time for emphasizing “spiritual housecleaning”.
This season of the Resurrection also occurs during a significant Old Testament feast day, the feast of “Firstfruits” (Hebrew, “bikoreem”). When Yeshua (Jesus) rose from the dead he was the firstfruit of the resurrection. On that day the keys of Hell and Death were obtained by our Lord. The apostle Paul connected the resurrection with the feast of Firstfruits in his letter to the congregation at Corinith. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”