Open to me the gates of righteousness I will enter into them; Jah will I praise.
After a hard season of discipline, the singer stands at the entrance and calls for the doors to open — not to escape, but to go in and give thanks. Two questions follow. What makes these gates "gates of righteousness"? And who may pass through them?
Who is asking here matters. These are people God brought close to death and then spared.
They had had to face death with the terror of God's wrath in it, as we have seen. Yet He had not given them over to it. The exercise had been profitable for them; the chastening had done its work; and now they would not die, but live. The gates of righteousness could now be opened to them, and they would enter in and give thanks to the LORD.
Why call the doors "gates of righteousness"? One writer ties the name to the character of the age they open into.
The last part of the Psalm (verses 19-29) shows us how the blessing of the thousand-year kingdom is going to be secured. First of all comes the emphasis on righteousness (verses 19-21). In that glad time righteousness is going to reign. So the gate that leads into it has to be a gate of righteousness, and those who enter through it must be righteous.
The next verse calls it the LORD's gate. That settles who sets the conditions — and it brings back an old question.
The gate of righteousness which they have claimed — the way into the LORD's presence — belongs to Himself. He alone can fix the terms of admission, and the demands of His own nature set those terms. True, "the righteous shall enter through it": that, in a way, is easily understood. But it only raises the old question, "How can a man be in the right before God?" And have they — these delivered Israelites — now found the answer?
The answer comes at once. The righteousness that opens the gate is not found in the worshipper at all.
Righteousness with God is indeed the portion of the saved, and only of the saved. It is a gift, not a work carried out by us. In the sense we mean here, it is not even worked out in us. There is certainly a practical righteousness worked out in us. It is always tied to our capacity to enjoy God's presence and our moral fitness for it. But that is still not the "gate" into His presence. Here the righteousness we need is in Another. Christ is Himself the gate.
The gate belongs to God, and so does the welcome at it. So what gives anyone the right to walk in?
These gates are the property of the Lord, and it is He who welcomes the righteous as they enter (v. 20). They have no righteousness of their own that gives them the title to enter. Rather, God has answered them and has become their salvation. Apart from His salvation they would have no title there at all. But His salvation is perfect, and they may well praise Him (v. 21).
Notice how bold this request is. A people once weighed down with guilt now claim the right to walk through those doors.
There is also a clear and strong claim of righteousness as their sure and settled standing (verses 19, 20). They are no longer a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity (Isa. 1:4). They claim the right to enter at the gates of righteousness, as the nation which the LORD has both justified and saved (Isa. 45:25).
Inside the gate, Israel's first act is praise. The psalm then goes deeper, to the One Israel once rejected.
Now the gates of righteousness are open before Israel. The way he turns to this at once, as the result of trial, is beautiful: he will go in and praise the LORD. It is also the gate of the LORD, and the righteous enter into it. Israel will praise there, because the LORD has heard him and become his salvation. But further and deeper truth comes out here. There is no restoration of Israel without Messiah, and Israel now acknowledges the One they once despised. "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."
- Discipline first. The doors open only after the trial has done its work. The people who faced death now live to give thanks.
- Righteousness names the gate. Righteousness will reign inside, so the entrance must be righteous — and so must everyone who walks through it.
- The gate is God's, so the terms are God's. He alone sets the conditions, and His own nature fixes them.
- The needed righteousness is in Another. It is a gift, not something produced by us or even in us — Christ is Himself the gate.
- Inside, the first act is praise. He goes in to thank the LORD. The psalm then moves straight to the rejected stone that became the cornerstone.
This is the gate of Jehovah the righteous shall enter therein.
Just before this, the singer asks for the gates of righteousness to be opened to him. This verse answers him, and everything turns on whose gate it is.
The gate has an owner, and the owner sets the terms.
The gate of righteousness they have claimed — the way into Jehovah's presence — belongs to Himself. He alone can fix the terms of admission, and the demands of His own nature set them. True, "the righteous shall enter through it," and in a way that is easy to grasp. But it only raises the old question: how can a man be right with God? And have they — these delivered Israelites — now found the answer?
You could read the verse as a reward for good people. The very next verse points the other way.
These gates are the property of the Lord, and it is He who welcomes the righteous as they enter (v. 20). It is not that they have any righteousness of their own that gives them title to enter, but rather that God has answered them and has become their salvation. Apart from His salvation they would have no title there at all. But His salvation is perfect, and they may well praise Him (v. 21).
Commentators differ on where the answer lies. One of them looks ahead to the psalm that follows.
But who are the righteous? Psalm 119 answers that question. It shows what will be true of Israel when God writes His law on their hearts (Jer. 31:33).
There are two kinds of righteousness here, and only one of them opens the gate.
Righteousness with God belongs to the saved, and only to the saved. It is a gift, not a work carried out by us, nor even worked out in us. There is, of course, a practical righteousness worked out in us. It is bound up with our capacity to enjoy God's presence and our moral fitness for it. But it is still not the "gate" into His presence. Here the righteousness we need is in Another. Christ is Himself the gate.
So the question "who may enter?" becomes a question about a person.
The gate of the Lord through which the righteous will pass to blessing (v. 20) has its full answer in Christ. He alone is the way into all blessing.
God's own discipline of His people had a part in opening that way.
The enemy would oppose him to bring him into death; the LORD chastened him to save him from death. If the Lord chastens, it is only to remove all that is contrary to Himself in His people. He does it to open a righteous way into His presence, so that they may be there for His praise (vv. 18-21). The devil is behind the outward enemies of God's people. But the Lord is behind the power of the devil, and there is no one behind the Lord.
The end of the psalm looks ahead to a coming age of blessing. The character of that age decides the character of its gate.
The last part of the Psalm (verses 19-29) gives us details of how the millennial blessedness is going to be secured. First it stresses righteousness (verses 19-21). In that glad time righteousness is going to reign. So the gate into it must be a gate of righteousness, and those who enter through it must be righteous.
One writer hears Christ Himself speaking here. The gate opens to Him first.
In this verse Christ's victory, through trust in Jehovah in all circumstances, opens to Him the gates of righteousness (v. 20). This is more deeply true in resurrection, in the heavenly righteousness of the Church. But here the psalm speaks for the Jews who are not given over to death, and so it is Jehovah's gate for the righteous.
- Whose gate — It is the Lord's own gate, so He alone fixes the terms of who comes in.
- Whose righteousness — Not their own. God answered them and became their salvation.
- Which gate — The righteousness we need is in Another. Christ Himself is the gate, and the way into all blessing.
- How opened — God's discipline removes what is against Him in His people, opening a righteous way in.
- Who enters — Christ went through first; in the coming age the righteous follow, and they enter with praise.
I will give thee thanks, for thou hast answered me, and art become my salvation.
Psalm 118 brings a rescued people to a gate, and there they stop to give thanks. Three questions press on this short verse: who is speaking, whether the salvation is only outward rescue, and what gives anyone the right to walk through that gate.
The thanks come after deep trouble, and behind that trouble stood God's own disciplining hand. One writer shows how the discipline reaches its purpose here.
But there is more for them here than outward deliverance. Their sorrow had been more than outward too. It was the sign and result of a spiritual condition that had forced Jehovah into opposition to them. They had had to face death with the terror of God's wrath in it, as we have seen. Yet He had not given them over to it. The exercise had been good for them; the chastening had done its work; and now they would not die, but live. The gates of righteousness could now be opened to them, and they would enter in and give thanks to Jehovah.
One writer reads the thanks as Israel's song once the trial is over. The turn from suffering to praise is immediate.
Now the gates of righteousness are open before Israel. The way he turns to this at once, as the result of trial, is beautiful: he will go in and praise Jehovah. It is also the gate of Jehovah, and the righteous enter into it. Israel will praise there, for Jehovah has heard him and become his salvation.
The gate belongs to the Lord, and only the righteous walk through it. So how does a rescued but guilty people get in? The words of thanks hold the answer.
These gates are the property of the Lord, and it is He who welcomes the righteous as they enter (v. 20). They have no righteousness of their own to give them the right to enter. They enter because God has answered them and has become their salvation. Apart from His salvation they would have no right there at all, but His salvation is perfect, and they may well praise Him (v. 21).
The psalm moves from the gate of righteousness straight to salvation. One writer draws out the difference between righteousness given and righteousness practised.
It is beautiful to see that in the very next sentence they are speaking of "salvation": "I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation." Righteousness with God is indeed the portion of the saved, and only of the saved. It is a gift. It is not a work done by us, nor even (in the sense we are speaking of) worked out in us. There is truly a practical righteousness worked out in us. It is tied to our capacity to enjoy God and our moral fitness for His presence. But it is still not the "gate" into His presence. Here the righteousness we need is in Another. Christ is Himself the gate.
There is one more reason these words carry weight. Jesus sang this psalm Himself.
This Psalm is the last one used from ancient times by the Jews in celebrating the Passover at home. The Psalms sung begin with Psalm 113 and end with this one, the hundred and eighteenth. It is called the "Hallel," the Praise. Our Lord sang this Hallel together with His disciples (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). So this was the last psalm they sang before the Lord went with His disciples to the Mount of Olives, on that memorable night when He was betrayed. And speaking to the chief priests and elders our Lord applied this Psalm to Himself... So there is no question that the Spirit of God speaks of Him in this Psalm.
The same writer names who the gate is, and who else must use it.
It is Christ the Door, through whom Israel must enter, and every other sinner must use Him as the gate, the door of salvation. So we read at once, "I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation."
- Answered. The thanks begin with a prayer heard. Trouble ran its course, God's chastening did its work, and then the gates opened.
- Given. Nobody earns the right to enter. Righteousness with God is a gift to the saved. Practical righteousness is real, but it is not the gate.
- In Another. The righteousness needed is not the worshipper's own. Christ Himself is the gate — Israel enters by Him, and so must every other sinner.
- Sung. The Lord sang this psalm with His disciples on the night He was betrayed, and He applied it to Himself. The Spirit of God speaks of Him here.
- Praise. Salvation ends in worship. Israel enters and gives thanks, because the Lord heard them and became their salvation. Anyone He answers walks the same path.