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 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!”

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