Summary: How blessed is a church that has full unity in the Lord. In this psalm UNITY IS THE THEME and two examples are included. It really is a delightful psalm for meditation and I hope you are blessed by the message.

THE SONGS OF ASCENT – PART 17 – PSALM 133 – BRETHREN SHOULD DWELL IN UNITY: GOOD AND PLEASANT IT IS

Psalm 133 A Song of Ascents, of David

{{Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!

Psalm 133:2 It is like the precious oil upon the head coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes.

Psalm 133:3 It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion for there the LORD commanded the blessing — life forever.”}}

PART A. VERSE 1

Along with Psalm 131 this is the shortest of the 15 Songs of Ascent but like all the Psalms there is a lot in all of them when we start to dig.

There really is only one thought here in this psalm and then two similes stemming from that. The main thought will occupy our biggest concentration. The Psalms of Ascent follow on from each other in a loose fashion but this one seems to have no connection with what precedes it except for one thing, and I think that is vitally important for this Psalm regarding its background.

Way back in the wilderness God appointed seven feasts for Israel but there was a special gathering later confirmed to be in Jerusalem the capital. It is described in this passage -

{{Deuteronomy 16:16-17 “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.”}}

Now not every male could possibly go to these three feasts three times a year but representatives from all over Israel did go. They would gather in small groups and as they met up, they joined until you had all these pilgrims travelling together and as they made their way up the slopes and into Jerusalem they would sing these Psalms. To a Hebrew, political and religious sentiments were always combined.

I understand that for a happy throng on the way to the feasts would be breaking out in spontaneous singing, praising the Lord. What a far cry from our nations today where in some places you’d be put in jail for causing offence if you rallied and sang to the Lord, even though the filthy, perverted Mardi Gras can blaspheme in a lot of countries and cause awful offence to Christians but no one listens to Christians.

We all have had the experience where we meet up with people we did not know when on holidays or at an event or on a cruise etc., and you all have a wonderful time. How much better all those meetings are, when we meet believers. Well this pilgrimage to Jerusalem was just like that.

Men shared their praise of Jehovah and sang together in joy. Some of that has come out in the studies we have done in these Psalms of Ascent. Now as the pilgrims are in Jerusalem at the Temple there is time for reflection on the journey, and also what it means to be together united in praise before the House of God that was the feature of the last Psalm.

Now we can see the reason why the Psalmist would have added this Psalm of David in the collection of these Ascent psalms. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” They were travelling in unity. They sang in unity. They praised in unity and they worshipped in unity, now at the Temple. When David wrote the psalm the Temple had not been built of course.

How applicable this Psalm is to the travelling pilgrims but is there any reason behind what caused David to write that statement about unity? Was it an observation or did it apply especially to him? It is said that David wrote the Psalm when his kingdom was established and it appeared to be one nation under God. That is the view of Spurgeon – [[ “This Psalm was composed by David upon the happy occasion of the ending of the civil war between the two houses of Saul and David; in which, having felt the sad effects of discord and division, both the king and people were more sensible of the great blessing of reconciliation and unity.” ]] David extols the benefit and excellence of the unity and brotherly communion of the faithful.

UNITY – FALSE AND TRUE

All that which opposes unity is one of the greatest tragedies of the human race. How many political parties go under a “Unity ticket” but none of them agree with each other? Trade unions with their slogan “All for one” march defiantly in the cause of socialism but they are bitter in trade union meetings – “Together, united, we’ll never be defeated,” is a common slogan for these left wing socialists “All for one and one for all,” is a slogan riddled with rhetoric but as false as a 9 dollar bill. The socialist left loves to sprout unity but it has such hatred manifest in division and disagreements, and that is because it hates God.

Let us go back to Genesis – {{Genesis 3:15 “I will put ENMITY between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel.”}} This prophecy is deep and speaks of the bitter fight between God’s own people, including the Jews, against the hatred and suffering caused by Satan. It also points to the Redeemer who was to come, and in crushing the power of Satan by stomping on his head, was injured in that battle. That was Calvary.

No one can read a newspaper or watch television or listen to the radio news without hearing of wars, conflict, arguments, people being sued, murders, police arrests, corruption, and so many other divisive matters. Satan promotes division. He loves disharmony and hatred between people because he was a murderer from the beginning. We all hate disharmony, at least the true Christian does, and we try to avoid it in our lives.

Unity is a special work of the Holy Spirit for it is part of the new nature in Christ. Unity operates under the umbrella of love, care, goodness, or if you like, by the implementation these verses – {{Galatians 5:22-24 “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.}} Disunity and division belong the flesh with its passions festering in the old nature. All aspects that promote unity are of the Lord but the old nature fights against that.

Augustine who was extreme on the monastic life applied (or should we say “misapplied”) this verse about dwelling in unity, to the Monks. In monasteries there is often deep-seated resentment and private disagreement but it is bottled up inside all the time in pretense, according to testimonies from those who left or “escaped”. It does not seem an example of unity to me at all. Maybe only bottles should apply to be monks! This is what Augustine wrote –

[[ “Moreover, beloved, there are they who are false Monks, and we know men of this kind; but the pious brotherhood is not annulled, because of them who profess to be what they are not. There are false Monks, as there are false men among the Clergy, and among the faithful . . . . . Not one in any manner, for a man in a crowd is one, but though he can be called one along with others, he cannot be Monos, that is, alone, for Monos means “one alone.” They then who thus live together as to make one man, so that they really possess what is written, “one mind and one heart,” many bodies, but not many minds; many bodies, but not many hearts; can rightly be called Monos, that is, one alone. . . . .” ]] It seems to me you leave your individuality at the door outside when you apply to go to a monastery like that. It is not what New Testament unity is all about.

Horne wrote, [[ “Many things are good which are not pleasant, and many are pleasant which are not good. But unity among brethren, whether civil or religious, is productive both of profit and pleasure. Of profit, because therein consist the welfare and security of every society; of pleasure, because mutual love is the source of delight, and the happiness of one becomes, in that case, the happiness of all.” ]]

And how “pleasant” is that word used in regard to unity along with “good” - The word used here means lovely, charming, attractive; that which fills the mind with delight, spoken of one beloved. It is descriptive of the pleasure which we derive from a picture, from a landscape, from sweet sounds and gentle voices, or from love. And for me, beautiful music as in Vivaldi, Bach and Handel.

The following quote is from a late Reformer, Gill, (I would never cite him on Israel as he is Covenant Theology) and he writes in the old English style of waffling sentences, but he does have some decent observations:-

[[ . . . and "to dwell together in unity", even as one man, as if one soul actuated them all. It is not only to dwell and abide in the house of God, where they have all a name and a place, but to associate together there, to go up to the house of God in company, and with delight to join together in acts of religious worship; to serve the Lord with one consent, with one mind and mouth to glorify God, and to be of one accord, having the same love; and to do all kind and good offices one to another in the most hearty and cordial manner; serving each other in love, bearing one another's burdens, sympathising with each other in all circumstances, forgiving each other’s offences committed, praying with one another, and building up each other in their most holy faith, stirring up one another to love and to good works: now this is both "good" and "pleasant".

It is good, as being according to the will of God, the new command of Christ; what evidences the truth of regeneration, and of being the disciples of Christ; what makes the communion of saints comfortable and edifying, and without which a profession of religion is good for nothing: and it is pleasant to God and Christ, to angels and men, to the ministers of the Gospel, and to all about them and in a connection with them; and it is this which makes any particular dispensation in time delightful and agreeable; as the first times of the Gospel, and the latter day glory, the Philadelphian church state, which has its name from brotherly love; yea, it will be the glory and delight of heaven.” ]]

Recently I wrote a series on dealing with problems and divisions in churches and these are on SermonCentral. It is a very real problem because not many churches at all have a New Testament unity, and a lot is hidden away simmering under the surface. You can read some of the examples of that in the Series. The smaller a church is, the more inclined that church is to have better unity among them.

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-series/tensions-and-conflicts-in-churches-sermon-series-from-ron-ferguson-23737?_gl=1*om31o6*_ga*Mzc2NTE3MzM2LjE3MDk3MDk3MTA.*_ga_TRT0ERDR3P*MTcxMDE4ODY3NC4xNS4xLjE3MTAxOTAzNzUuMzIuMC4w

Smaller churches show more care and concern to the people in them because they are more like a closer family. By smaller, I am speaking of under 25 people.

I did touch on the words in the first verse that I have capitalised here - {{Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how GOOD and how PLEASANT it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”}} Pleasant is associated with enjoyable whose root word derives from “joy”. Both good and pleasant is NOT what is in the old human nature. It is part of the new nature a child of God receives at conversion, the gift and fruit of the Holy Spirit – {{Galatians 5:22-25 “but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. IF WE LIVE BY THE SPIRIT, LET US ALSO WALK BY THE SPIRIT.”}}

Often in that list of Holy Spirit fruit the final verse is not emphasised enough. WE MUST LIVE BY THE SPIRIT and that is a whole new but important subject. It would involve such words as control, submission, surrender, sinning, confession and how many more could you add?

Unity is not of the old nature. I have mentioned what the affiliations of men produce – divisions, strife, hatred, ambition, gossiping, viciousness, and so many more. If you want to see more, go to a political Party meeting, a trade union meeting, and possibly a local neighbourhood kids sporting club for a business meeting. Try the floor of Parliament.

Here is a verse fundamental to this subject – {{Ephesians 4:3 “being DILIGENT TO PRESERVE the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”}} If a church has the unity of the Spirit, it is a happy and producing church. It is like a tug of war team all pulling in the same direction and not some helping the opposition who is the devil. There is a term there, “diligent to preserve” meaning it is not automatic like having some helping of glory poured over you. It requires effort, humility, genuine fellowship, prayer, and again, cultivate the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

When all that is done properly, we arrive at the second use of “unity” in Ephesians – {{Ephesians 4:13 “until we all attain to THE UNITY OF THE FAITH, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a MATURE man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”}}

There are only three uses of “unity” in the New Testament in the NASB translation and this is the third – {{Colossians 3:14 “and beyond all these things, PUT ON LOVE which is the perfect bond of unity.”}} To me, Paul is saying that unity is bonded in love and that is a critical factor without which there could be no unity at all.

Don’t ever, in the name of Christ, pretend unity of the brethren when it is not there. Do something about it with the bible opened. It is good and pleasant for believers to dwell in unity. It needs attention, diligence, and maintenance. It must be bonded by love. Overall we must cultivate the fruit of the Spirit. (Fertiliser, pest control and pruning in a spiritual sense.)

PART B. VERSE 2

{{Psalm 133:2 “IT IS LIKE THE PRECIOUS OIL upon the head coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes.”}}

Verses 2 and 3 take up two similes to illustrate the goodness and pleasantness of brethren dwelling together in unity. The first draws on Aaron, and I don’t think the action here is the important thing. I think it is the precious oil. What the oil does is secondary.

The oil was poured on the head and cascaded or dribbled or seeped over the beard and down to his robes. That was his anointing as the high priest of Israel. The preparation is described in Exodus 30:22-25. Aaron’s anointing is here – {{Exodus 30:30 “You shall ANOINT AARON and his sons and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me.”}}

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges delves into the purpose of the holy oil – [[ “The stream of perfumed oil, carefully compounded with aromatic spices, would diffuse its fragrance all around, symbolising the holy influence which should emanate from the chief religious representative of Israel, and from the nation which he represented. The point of the simile then seems to be, that as the sacred oil flowed down over Aaron’s shoulders, so THE HARMONIOUS UNITY of those who dwell in Jerusalem will influence the whole nation for good.” ]]

Israel was founded in a priesthood headed up by the high priest, a godly man flooding out harmony and unity in the nation. It was not always like that for the priesthood became corrupt – read Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Here is another corrupt high priest – {{Matthew 26:3-4 “Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the HIGH PRIEST NAMED CAIAPHAS, and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him,”}} Of course the Jewish nation of the time was fractured, corrupt and disunited.

It is Jesus our Great High Priest who brings unity to His people. He also has been anointed – {{Hebrews 1:9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with THE OIL OF GLADNESS above Your companions,”}}

PART C. VERSE 3

Here is the third verse and the second example for unity. {{Psalm 133:3 “IT IS LIKE THE DEW OF HERMON coming down upon the mountains of Zion for there the LORD commanded the blessing - life forever.”}}

Augustine was one of the first to try to explain – [[ “Let us then seek out some interpretation of Hermon. The word is Hebrew, and we learn its meaning from them who know that language. Hermon is said to mean, a light set on a high place. For from Christ comes the dew. No light is set on a high place, save Christ. How is He set on high? First on the cross, afterwards in heaven. Set on high on the cross when He was humbled; humbled, but His humiliation could not but be high. ]]

Here is a traveller’s description – [[ "What we read in the 133rd Psalm of the dew of Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion," says Van de Velde in his Travels (Bd. i. S. 97), "is now become quite clear to me. Here, as I sat at the foot of Hermon, I understood how the water-drops which rose from its forest-mantled heights, and out of the highest ravines, which are filled the whole year round with snow, after the sun's rays have attenuated them and moistened the atmosphere with them, descend at evening-time as a heavy dew upon the lower mountains which lie round about as its spurs. One ought to have seen Hermon with its white-golden crown glistening aloft in the blue sky, in order to be able rightly to understand the figure. Nowhere in the whole country is so heavy a dew perceptible as in the districts near to Hermon." ]]

The descending dew is like the goodness and pleasantness descending when unity of the brethren is holy and exact. It is a lovely description. Hermon is way to the north of Zion but in Zion the unity there with the pilgrims who have come to Israel for the feasts, is like the descending dew on Hermon.

The Lord commanded blessing in Zion and it is eternal life. The restored Jewish nation at the Second Coming will continue forever, and the Lord who was in Zion to work redemption, has given eternal life to all who believe.

Because unity is a fundamental factor in Christian life and behaviour then you would expect the biblical writers to have focussed on it, and they do. It is a vital aspect in the letters in the New Testament. We have no more time today but check out for yourselves the verses that relate to unity and living together in peace and love.

ronaldf@aapt.net.au