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THE 24-DAY MIRACLE #5
"LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, O YE GATES"
There's a line from 19th-century Congregational minister
Henry Ward Beecher which goes like this:
"Victories that are cheap are cheap. Those only are worth having
which come as the result of hard fighting."
And there's a song in Handel's Messiah — our featured
chorus for this Friday — which is reminiscent of a hard-fought battle
and a sweet victory. The song is entitled "Lift Up Your Heads, O
Ye Gates," #33 in this incomparable oratorio by George Frederick
Handel. And he takes as his source material the book of Psalms, chapter
24, verses 7-10. Here it is in the King James Version:
"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads,
O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory
shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the
King of glory."
Now friend, right there you might have thought my record
player got stuck, even though we'll play this great song for you on a
crystal-sharp CD in just a moment. But I was simply quoting from King
David the psalmist here, and he repeats the question and answer twice
too. What kind of psalm is this?
If we go back into biblical history and study this period of David's reign,
we discover that Psalm 24 was actually written and composed to be used
as an anthem of military triumph. It's the soundtrack for a parade. One
Bible commentary tells us the following:
"David had captured the Jebusite stronghold
of Zion and now determined to bring the ark from its temporary resting
place in the house of Obed-edom at Kirjath-jearim to the tent that he
had prepared for it in the city of Jerusalem. Accordingly, he arranged
a ceremony for the occasion in which Psalm 24 was sung as part of the
high ritual."
The New International Version text notes for this magnificent
Psalm help us to glimpse a double application here. The returning king
might be David from this military campaign to rescue the ark of God. Or
the king might be the Lord Himself who has successfully brought His people
all the way from Egypt to their permanent home in Jerusalem.
In any event, verses seven to ten constitute a very special kind of "Who
goes there?" The keepers of the gate issue the challenge — a friendly
challenge: "Who is this King of glory?" And then the answer
comes back from the great choir accompanying the army and the returning
King: "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle."
In fact, King David might have arranged, as part of this triumphant ritual,
to have two choirs: one to give the challenge and the other to issue the
antiphonal response.
Let's think for a moment about that first request: "Lift up your
heads, O ye gates. And be lifted up, you everlasting doors." And
perhaps it's simply a grand and glorious way of saying, "Open the
door!" Or, and this is just a thought, maybe this was a royal way
of saying, "Even the gates of the city are joining in! They're lifting
up their heads in worship and thanksgiving. The walls themselves, the
fortresses, the gates, the pillars, right down to the stones in the street
. . . are all rejoicing that the King is home."
And you know, here's even a third application. Did you know that in the
days of the ancient Olympic Games of Greece, when a victorious athlete
would return home to his native land, his home city, the citizens would
do something quite unusual. Back in those days, of course, with barbarians
and warfare all around, city gates were locked up tight. But with the
champ back in town, the celebrating people would go out to the wall and
actually knock a hole in it. That's right. They'd whack a big man-sized
hole in their wall, deliberately, as if to say: "Our hero is home.
He's our defender! We have nothing to fear. Why should we worry about
enemies and their feeble, puny, insignificant attacks? We have our champion
back at last!" And maybe King David's song echoes that as well. "Lift
up your heads, O ye gates. Lift up the doors! Who needs gates and doors
and bolts and double-bolts? The King is coming in! Our Shield and Defender
is home!" That's a beautiful thought, isn't it?
Do you mind if I propose just one more scenario. And the Bible doesn't
explicitly say this — but I would ask you: why not? As Jesus returned
to heaven after His successful mission to Calvary, as He approached the
City of God, His former kingdom home, with those battle scars in His hands
and feet and a very real wound right there in His side, isn't it possible
that angel choirs sang this very song to welcome their King home?
In fact, one of my favorite books about the life of Jesus, The Desire
of Ages, makes that suggestion in the very last chapter. The great war
is over. Jesus has defeated Lucifer. And now, after a military campaign
that had run a long, bloody, bruising, agonizing 33 years, the King is
returning. And there are two uncountable angel choirs with all the parts:
soprano, alto, tenor, bass. Millions of singers in the two groups. And
the first great choir — they're with King Jesus — issues the challenge:
"Lift up the gates!"
And the response comes back: "Who goes there?" Actually: "Who
is this King of glory?" They know the answer, of course; they've
been waiting 33 years to sing this song. But they love to ask anyway.
And the wonderful answer comes: "King Jesus! The Lord strong and
mighty." (He certainly is, isn't He?) "The Lord mighty in battle."
And then, as the writer describes the scene in her imagination, the same
question comes again. "Who IS this King of glory?" Every angel
can hardly stand the tension now, but they love to ask the question again
and again: "Who goes there?" Because it's the most glorious
answer in the universe. "Our Jesus is home at last!" They must
go back and forth with it a hundred times before the greatest military
parade in the history of the universe finally culminates there in the
holy City of God.
Friend, in our last moments here, let me ask you something: Is there a
gate you and I need to swing open today? Have you had some walls here
in 2001 that kept Jesus out? Oh, maybe you let Him partway into your city;
you allowed Him a short visit to touch just parts of your life. But not
everything. Not every part. Not full surrender. Can you hear the vast
angel choir singing to you and to me right now: "Lift up your heads,
O ye gates. Lift up the doors. Sweep away the obstructions. Make way,
right now, Christmas of 2001, for the King to finally and fully reign
in your life"? And the choir doesn't get tired of singing it, but
isn't it time, right now, today, for our answer?
Here's the song all heaven is waiting to sing again.
"Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates" by
London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir (3:05)
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