Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates

December 27, 2023
Devotional written by: Sally Mitchell

Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates,
Behold the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near;
The Savior of the world is here!
Fling wide the portals of your heart
Make it a temple set apart
From earthly use for heaven’s employ,
Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy.
Redeemer, come! I open wide
My heart to Thee; here Lord abide.
Let me Thy inner presence feel;
Thy grace and love in me reveal.

George Weissel, 1642
Trans. Catherine Winkworth 1855

When I think of Advent hymns, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” immediately comes to mind. As a child, I learned at First United Methodist Church in Warrenton, Georgia, that “Emmanuel” means “God with us,” and in the rise and fall of the unfoldings of my life, I have been sustained by this truth. Yet as the years go by, I am more and more aware that God is not only with us, but also within us, so I am drawn to the above hymn, especially the last stanza, at Advent and throughout the year.

When this hymn was written in 1642 by a Prussian Lutheran pastor, 17th century Europe was mired in the devastation of the Thirty-Years’ War. Based on Psalm 24:7 (“Lift up your heads, O gates . . . that the King of glory may come in!”), it offers hope and comfort in a time much like ours today. Pastor Harry Beverly taught us that “we learn theology from hymns.” This one reminds us that in the midst of pain and suffering, we can lift our heads and hearts to welcome and worship the God that is with us and within us.