THE GATES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
PSALM 118:19-20
PSALM 118:19-20
“Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: 20- This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.”
Introduction:
Gates are important in the Bible. In Bible lands the gate of the city was an important place where business was transacted, Genesis 23:10, 16, “And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, 16- And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.”
Courts of justice were held there, Deuteronomy 16:18, “Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.”
Public discussion was made there, Proverbs 1:20-21, “Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21- She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,”
I. OPEN THE GATES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
A. The gates of righteousness are strait gates, Matthew 7:14, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
1. Those who enter may lose their life as they know it, Matthew 16:24-25, “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25- For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
2. Many do not want to give up their life of sin, Proverbs 4:26-27, “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. 27- Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”
B. These gates are entered only by qualification, Matthew 5:20, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
1. To enter the Gates of Righteousness one must be obedient to the Gospel of God, 1 Peter 4:17-18, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18- And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
2. You must become a son of God by faith in Jesus Christ, John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13- Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
C. These gates lead to the palace of the great King of kings, Psalm 95:3, “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
1. In the palace of the great King there will be the sound of rejoicing, Psalm 98:6, “With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.”
2. There we will sing praises to the great King, Psalm 47:6-7, “Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. 7- For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.”
D. These gates are the gates to the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:12-13, 21, 25, “And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13- On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 21- And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 25- And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.”
E. Many find the gates of righteousness difficult to enter.
1. The gate to destruction is much broader, Matthew 7:13, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”
2. Many go in at that gate because it seems right, Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
II. THE GATES OF THE GRAVE ARE NEAR
A. Death comes sooner than expected by most of us, Isaiah 38:10, “I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.”
B. Everything passes at death without the Lord, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6- Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”
1. Everything that kept you from Christ is passed, Ecclesiastes 8:10, “And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.”
2. The Lord Jesus holds the keys of death and hell, Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
3. The Gates of Hell are always near to the Unbeliever, Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
CONCLUSION:
The gates of righteousness are always open to those who will trust the Lord Jesus Christ. They are never closed for the mercies of the Lord are great. Jesus invites us to come, John 7:37-38, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”