Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 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! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. (Psalm 133)
“When you’re here, you’re family.” So read the old slogan of Olive Garden. Now, I have not eaten at Olive Garden very often, but I remember doubting this slogan because I never saw anyone in a knockdown, drag out argument while eating their pasta (maybe I just went to the less-exciting franchises). Unfortunately, fighting is often a part of family life, is it not? As much as we want brothers (and sisters) to dwell in unity, sometimes few things seem less united than families. Yet this is not how things have to be, or at least it is not how things will always be in the household of God.
Psalm 132 reminds us that God chose Zion for his dwelling place. Now Psalm 133 shows his people dwelling in unity because of the LORD’s work. As modern-day Christians, because we know that God has gathered us together in Christ, we can dwell in community with hope.
The Blessing of Community
“Dwell in unity” in verse 1 can be translated “dwell together.” In other words, unity and community go hand-in-hand. We all know that, of course. Whenever a group becomes divided bad things follow. But we were made for something other than division: We were made to dwell in God’s presence as his united people, forever. That is part of the longing of this psalm: It gives words to desires that God put within us from the start. The ancient pilgrims would have understood this. They were coming from around Israel with the goal of dwelling together in Jerusalem. Of course, you could not make that journey alone! In the words of Tremper Longman III, “In those times when we experience unity among God’s people, this prayer expresses our happiness. During periods of turmoil in the community, the prayer can be read as a yearning for unity.”1 So there is an implied command here in verse 1: Seek unity and community with each other! Think of our Lord’s words in John 13:34–35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Psalm 133 reminds us that the Word of God is meant to reorient us. This psalm reminds us that unity in community is good, and we ought to desire it more. This is God’s eschatological design, after all. But disunity has been with us since Adam blamed Eve. The reversal of this division is one of the ways this psalm points us to Christ: Our Savior brought people from every tribe, tongue, and nation together. Psalm 133 shows the beauty of Israelites dwelling together in unity. Jesus came and brought Jew and gentile together (Eph 2:11–22). We know that God’s design is good in every way, and unity is what God gives us in Christ.
Dwelling together is not just good, and it is not just a duty for those in Christ. It is also beautiful! Pray for a greater desire for this. This is unity and community in worship. Why? Because this is worth praising God for! Again, it is utterly desirable, good, and beautiful. This is revealed from the beginning of this psalm. Verse 1 begins with the word, “behold.” In other words, look at this because it is worth looking at!
The Source of Community
If unity and community are good, beautiful, and desirable, then where do they come from? Psalm 133 gives us two helpful illustrations. First, we see oil and Aaron. Oil was used to anoint people in the Old Testament; the one being anointed was being set apart to God’s service. Really it represented the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on an individual for the task to which God had ordained them.2
Here it refers to the anointing of the priesthood, represented by the first high priest of Israel, Aaron. Why is the priesthood singled out in Psalm 133? Because it is the ministry of reconciliation and unity.3 Think about it: What was the priesthood doing in Old Testament Israel? They had tasks primarily in the tabernacle/temple, especially being the meditators between the holy God and his sinful people. They offered sacrifices, they prayed, and they gave benedictions (Num 6:24–26). Psalm 133 is reminding us that there is no unity among brothers without reconciliation between God and sinners.
So when a priest is anointed, he is being anointed as a minister of reconciliation. And when Aaron was anointed, essentially the entire ministry of reconciliation was set up and ordained by God. But the imagery goes even beyond this—here is abundant oil, beginning on top of Aaron’s head but falling down on his beard and even on the collar of his robes. This is not a stingy anointing, and it shows us that God provides more than enough in Christ. His grace superabounds (Rom 5:20).
The second illustration of unity and community is dew and Mt. Hermon. Mt. Hermon was a tall mountain (9,000 feet) to the north of Israel. It was lush, green, and dewy, even in the summer. Mt. Zion, on the other hand, seemed like a hill in comparison, and it was hot and dry, especially in the summer.4 So imagine it: dew in the desert. What a refreshing picture that is. It shows that God meets one of our deepest desires/needs. I live in the desert, and Phoenix summers are really something else. When it is hot, sunny, and dry as dust, there is nothing more refreshing than water. And you realize quickly that you would not last long in a place like this without hydration.
What do these two illustrations show us? They are in agreement that the blessings of unity and community come down from God and that they are designed for our reconciliation and refreshment. Jesus prays this in John 17:20–23:
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
God has answered Christ’s prayer. He has given us what we need to dwell united in community. Christ dwells with us, so we dwell with each other. Remember, we are obeying from unity, not to unity. We have been united to and in Christ. The Holy Spirit is at work in us.
The Goal of Community
Zion is the goal of community. Or we could say, dwelling in one place with God and each other is the goal of community. That is where it is all leading. This seems to be a prophecy of the reunification of the tribes. In Ezekiel 37:24–28 we read,
My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.
God partially fulfilled the promise of Psalm 133 and Ezekiel 37 by bringing the exiles back to the land. But ultimately this complete fulfillment was waiting for Christ, and especially his Second Coming. This is something that will be seen perfectly in the new creation, and it is breaking into this present age in the church.
It is one thing to not disturb community, but what are you doing to promote it? Christ has come near to you; how are you seeking to come near to other believers? Might I suggest that much of the community we find in the church is the result of two things: speaking and hospitality. Speak the truth in love to each other so that the church may build itself up in love (Eph 4:15–16) through the ministry of the Word that proclaims Christ’s gospel to you (Eph 4:8–14). And seek to show hospitality to each other even as Christ has shown it to you (Rom 12:13; 1 Pet 4:9). These things will go a long way toward living with each other in community based on the unity we have in Jesus Christ.
But where is it all leading? As I said, it is leading to Zion. Or we could say, based on verse 3, it is leading to “life forevermore.” What is life? It is dwelling in the presence of God in his favor. That is what we have in Christ. If you read Israel’s history recorded in the Old Testament you will see that they were rarely united. But we have something better—Christ! He is the answer to these promises. Look to Christ for this. Live out of his work accomplished for you, given to you, held out to you. Seek the visible expressions of the unity and community that are yours in him.
Conclusion
Because God has gathered us together in Christ, we can dwell in community with hope. God has made the way for us in Christ. He has given us the Spirit as we walk the path. That is why the Psalms of Ascents can be songs of hope: We pilgrims are upheld by our Savior, and we are on our way to him, where we will dwell with him and each other, perfectly united in community for all time.
Notes
- Tremper Longman III, Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary (IVP Academic, 2014), 452.
- Longman, Psalms, 439.
- Willem A. VanGemeren, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 5: Psalms, Revised Edition, eds. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Zondervan, 2008), 936.
- VanGemeren, Expositor’s, 937; Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary (IVP Academic, reprinted 2008), 453.
©Chris Smith. All Rights Reserved.
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Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith is originally from Bellevue, Nebraska. A graduate of Westminster Seminary California (M.Div 2019; MA (Historical Theology) 2020). He is associate pastor of Phoenix URC in the United Reformed Churches of North America. He is currently pursuing a ThM in systematic theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.
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