O Clavis David
“O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel, controlling at your will the gate of heaven: Come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead your captive people into freedom.”
I would like to think that I am a normal person and had a normal childhood. I, like you, when I was young, used to have a fascination with keys. I remember the first “keys” my parents gave me. They were those huge multicolored plastic keys on a huge plastic key ring. Do you remember them?
I used to run around the house pretending to lock and unlock the different doors to the bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets. As I got older, I realized that the keys were not real. I wanted real.
So, I began my fascination with real keys. Finding a key on the ground was like finding a hidden treasure. Oh sure, I may never find out what door that key opened but one thing was certain, it did open some door, somewhere, so it had great value.
When I worked at Indiana State Prison, I would turn in a chit each morning and receive my ring of keys. They were mine and mine alone. They opened several areas of the prison that were secure. If I lost those keys – or even put them on a desk for a brief moment rather than keep them on my person – I would be in big trouble because that could threaten the security of the prison.
Keys give status. Keys give security. Keys give safety.
It was Isaiah who prophesied, “I will place the Key of the House of David on His shoulder; when he opens, no one will shut, when he shuts, no one will open.” (Is 22:22) Jesus, the Key of David, also spoke about the importance of keys when He told Peter that He was giving him the keys to the kingdom and whatever Peter declared loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven, whatever he declared bound on earth would be bound in heaven.
As the days of Advent quickly come to a close, call upon the Lord, our God, to come and deliver His people. When He comes, we need to make sure that we let Him in.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for those who are locked in sin, that they may allow the Lord to unlock what binds them and set them free to live in a new life and to love the Lord once again. Reflect upon the verse of this Advent hymn:
O Come, Thou Key of David, come,
and open wide our heav’nly home,
make safe the way that leads on high,
that we no more have cause to sigh.