Sermon - A Celebration of Unity
Scripture Text - Psalm 133:1-3 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (KJV)
Introduction: Psalms 133 is a celebration of unity. King David knew by experience the bitterness and pain caused by division. After David dreadful sin with Bathsheba, God promised that the sword of war and division would never leave his house. To one degree or another we have all experience the pain of division. In David’s case, his beautiful daughter, Tamar was raped by her half-brother, Ammon; them Tamar’s brother, Absalom killed his half-brother Ammon. This thing divided David’s house forever. After the death of king Saul and his sons, the nation of Israel and Judah were divided in their loyalties. The ten tribes of Israel supported and followed Isbosheth, Saul’s son, while the tribe of Judah supported David. David saw firsthand the danger of division. David reigned in Hebron of Judah seven years and six months. Bible scholars suggests that when David witnessed the nation uniting to made him king over all Israel, he penned this Psalm of a Celebration of Unity.
Others suggests that this Psalm was written after David witness the first coming together after his incarnation as the nation gathered for one of their annual feasts. Each year the men of Israel gathered to celebrate Pentecost, Passover, and the feast of Tabernacles. When David saw the joy and peace on each face, he penned this psalm to capture the moment. Then as the celebration was over and families was about to return home, they sang this psalm of celebration.
Even though we may not be able to pinpoint the occasion, we clearly see the benefits and blessings of unity. Where unity abounds among God’s people you will find God’s goodness, God’s anointing, God’s refreshing, God’s commanded blessing and life evermore! The Psalmist move to show us the benefit of peace and harmony. In the place of unity, God gives abundance of blessings, both for the present, and for the future life which is eternal. "For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life evermore.” Somehow God commands a special blessing and manifest himself abundantly where peace and unity are found. God commanded blessing makes all His creatures useful and appreciated. God’s blessing leads to prosperity, good success, and fruitfulness. To bless means to benefit. Whatever is missing or lacking, God’s blessing brings wholeness. In this Psalm, It’s called real life!
Living in constant turmoil, with troubles, griefs, and pain in a man's life is not real life. The quiet life of those who live in peace, without dissensions respecting religion or in matters connected with the state is a life worth living. This is the life God desire and the kind of life His church can demonstrate to the world.
Joh 8:31-32 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (KJV)
Psalm 133:1-3 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. (KJV)
I have heard many people share with me recently their concern over a lack of unity in our world. Nations are deeply divided over politics, the appropriate response to COVID-19, mask wearing, vaccines, pills, racial and ethnic justice, and many other issues. Not even the church has been a safe haven from the divisiveness. How do we live together in unity that the psalmist celebrates? What does it mean to live in “unity” in the context of today’s realities? We must be suspicious of a non-biblical unity. Historically and in modern times, many people have offered a false unity through coercion. Too many have sought to build a fabricated unity by conquering and subjugating another, by word or by deed. Too often wars of words and ideas leave the earth scorched with division and contempt. How can we move towards the unity God desires? In a few days, we will celebrate Christmas, the highlight of a season of joy and peace. What will it be like for you? Has your circle of family and friends been broken? In spite of our losses, disappointments and heartaches, there is still a reason to celebrate, and it should always be better together. One of my favorite songs of celebration is Joy to the world.
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come, Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing! And heaven, and heaven and nature sing!
Joy to the world! The Savior reigns, Let men their songs employ, While fields and floods, Rocks, hills and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat the sounding joy!
He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove, And glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders of His love!”
Believers who know the true meaning of Christmas, and the power of unity, should display it to the world around us. Anytime brethren (believers) can dwell together in unity, whether in family, in church, or in community, there God command a blessing. In this Psalm, we taught what unity does, what unity looks like and the rewards of unity. First, think about what unity does.
1.What Unity Does -“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
The Psalmist begin by saying “Behold” because the sight of real unity is attractive. It is good and pleasant. The peculiar anointing flows through a unified body. It is really something to behold. It may be a team, a church or a committee, but unity is present great things happen. There are many things that are good for us, but not to others. There are somethings good to us, but not good for us. Blessed unity produces that which is good for all, works for all, mutually edifying for all. In unity, we grow in grace, our prayers are heard, our light can be seen, and our witness is convincing. Then it is pleasant! A pleasantness produced is pleasing to God, pleasing to others and pleasing to ourselves. Yet more than that, our brotherhood is magnified.
Division exploits our differences, while unity magnifies our brotherhood. The psalmist says, When “brethren to dwell together in unity.” He magnifies the family relationship. He understands that we are all in the same boat. Our brotherhood is unique, sacred, and lasting. When people are in the same boat, disunity is a disgrace. We re brethren, born of God, and our God is a God of Peace. Believers are united to Christ, who is our elder brother. We have all been baptized into one body, one Lord, one Faith and one baptism. We are commanded to endeavor to keep our unity in the bond of peace. How sad it is when the church allows politics to divide us or race to divide us. What an embarrassment we become as kingdom witnesses. Unity displays that which is good and pleasant!
2. What Unity Looks Like - 2 “It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion:”
The Psalmist moves to show us what unity looks like. We are given two examples, the high priest’s anointing oil and the dew of Hermon. Both examples are quiet example that changes everything around them. First, consider the sweet and expensive perfume prepared for a special purpose. This special oil was used to set the high priest a part for special service. When Aaron the high priest was anointed, the fragrance changed the atmosphere. It effected the whole house. So Christian unity and love changes the environment. Why? It is a holy thing. It is diffusive thing that scatters and spreads. It is an identifying mark. Unity of the believers is so sacred; it is compared to the holy anointing oil. It spreads its influence, benevolent power and blessing to all in its environment. All are equal, happier, blessed and benefitted by its influences, the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong, the educated and uneducated, all are benefitted. The its is the identifying mark. How sad it was to see Christians losing their identifying mark when as protest turned to riot, and marches turned to mayhem. Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (KJV)
The psalmist says, it’s like the dew of Hermon. The dew settles without fanfare or noise. Sometimes the best rain will wash away productive topsoil or create a flood of destruction, but not so with dew. The dew off Mt. Hermon was responsible for the productivity and fertilization of the mountain’s valley floor. The mountains are beautiful, but the psalmist does not mention their beauty. He lifts up the dew. One scholar who camped on Mt. Hermon said, that even doing the dry season, the dew would wet the floor of his tent as if it had rained all night. The dew speaks of both refreshment and fruitfulness, it speaks of quietness and humility. The idea seems to be a culture of blessing. Where of least of things are not despised, the poorest can find assistance, all gifts are appreciated, the rich are givers, all are equally appreciated as child of the same father and members of the same family.
3. What Rewards Unity bring – “for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”
In the place of unity, the Lord Commands His blessing. Some has defined blessed as happiness, and another, empowered to prosper. Unity is the place where God pours out his blessing and gives real life. If for no other reason, the rewards of unity should cause every believer to make it a priority. A house divided cannot stand. If nothing else convinces us, we who have lived through the pandemic, and seem the fastest vaccine ever created and approved, had witness what can happen when the entire medical world works on one problem. It was only problem because of unity. We also have seen to power of disunity as people refused to wear mask, wash their hands, take the vaccine because of individual choices. I am amazed at how quickly the scientific community recognized we are all in the same boat, while members of the community believe they live unto themselves. Enough said.
The psalmist began with what real unity is, what it does, what it looks like and the reward it brings. What a great blessing to be in a place where real unity, Christian unity and love abounds, for there, in that place God commands His blessing. God gives us the ability to unify, but we must endeavor to keep the unity. After the painful experiences of a divide home, a divided city, and a divided nation, David admonishes to recognize and pursue unity. King David knew that He was God’s choice, had God’s anointing, and God’s vision, yet his reign was limited until the nation was unified. Disunity robbed the nation of Israel of God’s leadership and direction. When the nation unified under David’s leadership, after 7 1/2 years of civil war, David’s hands were free to expel the foreigners who had invaded their sacred territory. Disunity had prevented the nation from fighting the real enemy. When the real enemies were subdued, Israel became one of the great powers of the world under the reign of David and his immediate successor, Solomon.
Jesus knew the power of unity and talked about it most in his farewell address. Joh 17:20-23 “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
May this Christmas be a season that remind us of the important of love and unity. My prayer for you is that you all may experience all that unity is, all that unity does, all that unity looks like and every reward that unity brings. And as your Christmas celebration ends, your family members return home, you will smile with joy and says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”
