Thursday, December 9, 2010
Isaiah 22:22 The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder; So he shall open, and no one shall shut; And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
O CLAVIS DAVID -- O KEY OF DAVID
Oh, come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home:
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery.
Since David's throne is often the prophetic throne of Christ and David's kingdom is a picture of Christ's, it makes sense that also the keys of the kingdom of heaven, which Christ would not only use but give to His Church, are also here foretold with the symbolic reference to David. Jesus himself quotes this verse almost verbatim in Revelation 3:8 when speaking to the church in Philadelphia. And Jesus fulfills this prophecy numerous times in His ministry, most notably when He forgives the sins of the lame man. But ultimately Jesus fulfilled this prophecy not just in the use of the Keys, but in His own body.
You will notice that both the passage and the prayer do not address Christ as He who merely possess or uses the key, but who Himself in His body is the Key. Thus when He is giving the keys to His church, He is once again and in one more way giving Himself to the Church. Thus we pray that Christ would remind us that He is the key to all things. That He is the center of our worship and life. That it is only when Christ and His cross remains our focus that anything is accomplished in our world for His kingdom. We ask His forgiveness for every time we have become distracted and that He in His mercy would realign us, that we always keep the cross central in our lives and preaching.
Lord Jesus Christ open to us the gates of Your kingdom through the preaching of Your gospel.
