When the Psalmist said in Psalm 118:19 “Open to me the gates of righteousness…” he was referring to the works of righteousness. In Psalm 87:2, the Bible says, “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.” This means that God loves the works of Zion, that is, the glorious works of righteousness which the Church does by living in His Name. That’s why Paul proudly declares in Ephesians 2:10:
“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [ living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]” (The Amplified Bible)
There are works that God has predestined us to do in Zion; He had planned beforehand that we would be the ones to do these works. God loves these works we do, for the Bible says in Psalm 87:2-3,“The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.”
The dwellings of Jacob are the natural land of the Jews. The Bible shows us how God constantly fought for the children of Israel to possess the land and He will even fight at the battle of Armageddon to ensure that His dwelling place among men in the Millennium at the present day Jerusalem is not desecrated! God still loves the gates of Zion more than all the natural dwellings of Jacob. The works of the Church are more precious to Him than the land where His future throne on earth will be situated.
Why are the works of the Church more precious to God than all the dwellings of Jacob? It is because the Church is His peculiar treasure purchased with the precious blood of His Son Christ Jesus and ordained to display His excellencies (1 Peter 2:9).
Building the Gates of Jerusalem
Reading through the book of Nehemiah, you’ll find the kind of attitude the child of God should have, the kind of things he ought to do and the boldness he should display.
Nehemiah 1:1-4: “The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.”
Nehemiah was among the Jews that were in captivity in Babylon and he was chosen by the king to be his cupbearer at his palace in Shushan. Nehemiah was actually at ease in the palace until the day Hanani and certain other people came from Judah. Nehemiah enquired after the state of Judah and the Holy City Jerusalem, the city of the great King. When he heard their reply that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates burnt with fire, he broke down and wept. He was grieved for the city because it was the city of the Lord.
Nehemiah 2:11-18: “So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and LET US BUILD UP THE WALL OF JERUSALEM, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”
This is the heart of a righteous man. When Nehemiah thought about God’s people, God’s promises, God’s work and all that God had invested in the kingdom and in the people, and when he learnt of the broken wall of Jerusalem and the burnt gates, he broke down and wept. Moreover, he was told that the people were in great affliction and reproach, so Nehemiah mourned and fasted several days and prayed to the God of Heaven.
The temple at Jerusalem was the centre of worship; it was the place where God had put His Name. Solomon had prayed many years prior to this time that if anybody came into that temple to pray, God should hear from Heaven. Solomon also prayed that:
“If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them:” (1 Kings 8:46-50)
Nehemiah knew all this, so when he heard that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and the gates were burned with fire, it touched him and he began to pray about it. He prayed for his people; he prayed for Jerusalem that God would help him get back and re-build Jerusalem. God heard him and granted him favour before the King, and the King gave him leave to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the broken walls and restore the burnt down gates.
Building Up Others in Love
In the natural realm, Jerusalem represents Zion and the gates represent the great power within the kingdom, the glory within the kingdom and the works of the kingdom. The report brought to Nehemiah was that the gates were burnt with fire, this was not a glorious day for Jerusalem and Judah.
Today, the gates and the temple typify the Christian life. How do you feel when you see a Christian whose business is completely broken down and is in great affliction? You ought to have a righteous heart like Nehemiah and let the situation spur you to intercede for that brother or sister. Something I find very moving as a minister is the ignorance of many Christians as to who they are in Christ. They glorify religion but don’t know who they are in Christ, neither do they know of the glorious things that are spoken of them in Zion. As a result, they’re in great affliction and reproach; their walls are broken down and their gates burnt with fire. There’s no glory, neither is there power, in their lives. Things like this should arouse the anointing of the Spirit within you and cause you to intercede for such people. You should pray for them as though they were lost, because they’re lacking in the midst of plenty, dying when there’s abundant life. This is the position a lot of Christians are in today. Their walls are broken down and their gates burnt with fire. So like the Psalmist, we ought to pray, “Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem” (Psalm 51:18).
As we look into the Scriptures, we find a pattern for building the walls of Jerusalem, that is, a pattern for building the lives of God’s people who are not exhibiting the glorious life. The Bible says that the things that were written in the Old Testament were written for our learning; they were written as examples for us. They were written as a pattern for us to follow.
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