Come, O Key of David!
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
O 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.
The ancient name of the Messiah we are looking at this week is "Key of David." This is a fascinating name that first appears in Isaiah 22:22, which says "I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." In the immediate context, this verse is speaking about a person named Eliakim, who was highest official and steward over the household of King Hezekiah of Judah. He had tremendous power in the kingdom, and that power was symbolised by the phrase "Key of David." He had the power to admit people to the King's presence and the power to shut out.
In the book of Revelation, these words are put on the lips of the resurrected and ascended Jesus, when he says: "These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." (Rev 3:7-8) Jesus is portrayed as the great keeper of the house of God, who opens the door into God's Kingdom and sets free the prisoners who are captive in the prison of sin and death.
There are so many powerful applications of this name of Jesus for our spiritual and emotional lives. As you prepare for worship this week, consider the following:
What are some of the ways that humanity is "locked" in darkness and needs Jesus to unlock our imprisonment?
What do you think it means that Jesus both opens the way to life and closes the way to misery, as the hymn says?
Are there things in your life that you need Jesus to "unlock" and bring you into a place of greater liberation?
Isaiah 22:22, 42:6–9
22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 “I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not yield my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you.”