The Gate Way.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. -Psalm 24:7

Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. -Psalm 118:19-20

Thus saith the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate... -Ezekiel 46:1 and following

What a wonderful picture. Everyone who came to the temple brought offerings, but not everyone entered the temple in the same manner. Most worshippers entered through the north and south gates. But there was a special entrance for the prince, the leader of the people who had access to enter by the east gate. It was an exclusive entrance that would only be opened for the prince, and which would be shut immediately upon his leaving.

The writer of Psalm 118 offers a profound prophetic thought: "Open the gate... The righteous shall enter". Yes, we have access to enter the courts of the Lord through a special entrance. Not because of our own merit, but because we have submitted ourselves to the King of glory, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of all men. Jesus's righteousness has encompassed us, and we can offer ourselves to God wholeheartedly.

Jesus, my self to You I bring,
Abandoned in this offering;
Purge and heal,
As I appeal
For You to become my everything.