Thoughts on Psalm 133
Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
The setting for this Psalm could be something like 2 Samuel 6, when David brings the ark into Jerusalem. There was such joy in the air that David was compelled to leap and dance before the Lord (2 Sam 6:16). There must have been a sense of unity that had not been experienced for some time! You can imagine other times when a Psalm like this would be on the lips of the people. Perhaps they sang this when there was division between Israel and Judah. They would have such a longing for coming together and being unified around the Lord and his promises (maybe a taste of 2 Chronicles 30 under Hezekiah?). One other time that comes to mind is when the exiles returned from Babylon and celebrated the Passover for the first time in a long time (Ezra 6:13-22). As with any Psalm, they can be read/sung in a host of situations. I wonder if we don’t want to sing it today!
This Psalm obviously expresses a desire and praise for unity with the people of God. And the two descriptions of what that feels like might be rather foreign to us. Verse 2 describes something that really doesn’t sound very enjoyable. Who likes stuff poured on their head that trickles down onto their neck and back??? That gives me the willies. Perhaps we might relate to something like this a little better:
I can remember the hot days of summer in Texas when a hose in the face felt incredible! Verse 3 gives a similar illustration. Hermon is a mountain a little over a hundred miles to the north of Jerusalem that rises to about 9000 feet and is known for its lushness. It would be covered with snow and dew all year round. In the summer months, very little precipitation fell on Jerusalem and you can imagine how wonderful it would feel to have a cool, moist breeze, descending from Hermon, blowing upon you. This is how refreshing, invigorating and restoring it is for the people of God to dwell together in unity.
For the past few days, this Psalm has been in my mind and heart. We have been separated from each other, and we are missing “dwelling together” and the blessings that come from it. Most notably, we are not able to gather in regular worship, and I am sure we are all feeling its absence. As I have considered this absence, some questions have come to mind: Is it possible that we have taken regular worship and gatherings for granted? Is it possible that we are being taught/reminded of how much we need to be together in various gatherings where we hear the Word and experience the fellowship with each other through the Spirit? I wonder if we might even be able to say, “You know, I’d love to have perfect unity with everyone, but I’d just take being together, even if perfect unity doesn’t exist. That would be a hose to my face right now!”
For clarity, the unity that we have is not in some sports team, favorite food, or even in all that we agree. Our unity comes in being found in a Person. We can all declare his grace, his greatness, his beauty, his atonement, and his resurrection. And I have no doubt that we can all declare, with full voice, our great need for him! The Psalm ends with a reminder of the blessing that God has commanded for his people: eternal life. And of course we know that that comes to us in and through the Lord Jesus, to whom we are united. Though we are separated from each other, we are not separated from Christ, and because we are not separated from him, we are not separated from each other in any permanent sense. Since we are united to Christ by the power of the Spirit and faith, we do dwell in unity together, though we are physically separated. May our separation not drive us into despair, but give us a greater longing for each other and for our Savior.
We do not know how long this time of being scattered from each other will last, but my heart is already trying to taste the first Sunday we worship together again. To lift our voices together in song, to confess our faith and sins together, to hear the Word of God proclaimed, to feast at the Lord’s Table — does your heart not long for that right now?
May we not only ache for the day when we return to worship together, but may we also have our minds thrust forward to when these shadows become realities in the New Heavens and the New Earth. It is there that we will sing of how wonderful it is that God’s people dwell in unity. We have not come close to contemplating the size of the hose for that Day!
Consider singing The Church’s One Foundation this evening with your family, or reading through the song together!