O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, You open and no one can close, You close and no one can open.  Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death.

Isaiah 22:22, “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David.  He shall open, and none shall shut, and none shall open.” In the time of the prophet Isaiah, Shebna, the manager of the king’s affairs, commissioned for himself an ornate tomb carved out of the rock.  However, Isaiah says, the Lord will “whirl you around and around and throw you like a ball.” Shebna will eventually die in exile.  Instead, Eliakim, the Lord’s servant will become the king’s steward, deciding who sees the king.

Jesus, King and son of David, will also bear the responsibility of the stewardship of God’s grace.  One’s attitude toward him determines whether a person enters into the presence of the ruler of the universe.  Jesus doesn’t come to lift – up those who are already in lofty and secure positions. He comes, as Zechariah sings in Luke 1:79, “To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

LSB 357 St. 5

O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heav’nly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.  Rejoice!  Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.