[0:00] Let us now turn to the Old Testament, to the Book of Psalms, on Psalm 133. Book of Psalms, Psalm 133.
[0:15] The title, A Song of Degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
[0:26] 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 Jew of Hermon, and as the Jew that descended upon the mountains of Zion.
[0:45] For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore. This is a psalm that speaks about brothers dwelling in unity.
[1:08] And that in itself is thought-provoking. If I may take the liberty of relating an anecdote at this point, when as a family we were occupants of a man's, more often than not we concluded our Sunday evening fellowship at communion times, both in our time and sky and in Lewis, by singing the words of this psalm.
[1:43] And if you ask me the reason, the only answer I can give is that in these times of fellowship, everyone seemed to be of one mind.
[1:58] And so the words of the psalm appropriate to the situation. As I look back on these times that are now in the past, they evoke many nostalgic memories of ministerial brethren who were our guests at communion weekends and who are no longer present in this life.
[2:28] And it not only brings back memories of ministerial brethren, but also many others who joined with us for fellowship in both the months that we occupied.
[2:44] For me, these were foretastes of heaven itself. The other thing I would say by way of introduction to the psalm is this.
[2:57] As I said, it speaks of unity. I tend to think of unity for some reason as being feminine.
[3:08] It may say more about me than anything else. I'm not sure. But in my own mind, I think of unity as being feminine.
[3:19] She is a precious child, a well-loved child, but a child who is rather fragile. Lots of people, I also like to think, have a great deal of time for unity.
[3:37] Even though there are times when she can be very demanding and trying so that your patience and more is severely tested.
[3:52] But you know, because unity is so fragile, she is easily broken. finding the remedy or the cure for restoration or healing for a broken unity is frequently beyond the wit of man.
[4:16] So if we love this child unity, let us take great care with her so that we may enjoy the blessings that are associated with unity.
[4:30] And remember, this is not just an Old Testament sentiment. It is also evident in the New Testament. For example, the 17th chapter of John's Gospel sets before us the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[4:48] When he addresses his Father in Heaven, you will remember that one of the things that he prays for is that the Church might be one.
[5:00] That they 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.
[5:15] And to my mind, it is altogether staggering that the example and basis of Christian unity is the relationship that exists between the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ.
[5:31] We could spend eternity trying to understand the breadth and the depth of that relationship. You remember how in the first chapter of his Gospel, John writes on the Word, speaking of Jesus Christ, the Word was with, or perhaps using a preposition which sometimes can mean towards, the Word was towards God, or face to face with God.
[6:00] The communion and fellowship that exists between God the Father and God the Son is the example and basis of the unity and fellowship that ought to exist between brothers and sisters in the Church of Christ in the world.
[6:20] You may also remember how the Apostle Paul addressed the Philippian Church because of dissension that had arisen in that Church.
[6:32] and in that letter he singles out Euodia and Syntyche. I don't know what it was like when that letter was first read in the hearing of the Church at Philippi.
[6:50] Philippi. Philippi. I can only imagine that you would have heard a pin drop when these two women members of the Church at Philippi were singled out and their names read out in that letter.
[7:09] Paul the Apostle beseeching them that they be of the same mind because their attitude and behavior in the Church of Christ was reprehensible and unbecoming to the honor, the glory and the integrity of the name of Jesus Christ.
[7:31] And you remember he wrote I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Well Psalm 132 is a psalm about unity.
[7:49] There's nothing like unity. If in the past we have experienced a sense of disagreement we value unity very highly.
[8:03] This psalm is a song of degrees or a psalm of ascents. The pilgrims sung it on their way to Jerusalem for the great festivals.
[8:17] It's not entirely clear what lay behind the composition of this psalm or when exactly David wrote it. John Calvin thinks he wrote this psalm right after the Lord had given Israel into David's hands and he had finally become king over a unified Israel.
[8:43] And that would make perfect sense and it sounds logical. We don't know. The psalm doesn't tell us exactly when David wrote it but we do know that David knew a lot about disunity.
[9:02] unity. And therefore you can understand how he would highly prize unity. And that's what he does in this psalm. He knew something personally and intensely about the blessing of unity.
[9:19] He also knew that it is precious and he knew that it was a rare commodity. If you think a little bit about David's life when David won that great unlikely victory at least from a human perspective over the uncircumcised champion of gas that victory you remember did not bring David the experience of unity but ought to trial and tribulation on account of the jealousy of King Saul.
[9:52] You remember the women began to sing Saul has slain his thousands but David his ten thousands and of course that immediately triggered a reaction from King Saul that resulted in David having to flee and becoming a fugitive.
[10:11] He saw at first hand how jealousy and envy could pull apart a royal court and eventually a family. David lived in the wilderness seeking refuge from Saul.
[10:26] He saw dissension at first hand during that period in which he dwelt in the wilderness as a fugitive. Then he was involved in what was a long civil war in Israel.
[10:42] The civil war was doubly deadly because it wasn't just a civil war you might say it was a holy war. Each side thought that the other was the usurper of God's war.
[10:59] And so not only was there conflict which divided brothers but there was spiritual conflict in Israel. David knew the horrors of that kind of dissension.
[11:12] When God finally brought Israel together and made him king we're told in the second book of Samuel that he realized that it was the Lord who had done this.
[11:25] No human being could have brought that country together. And so you find recorded David knew that the Lord had established him king over Israel.
[11:38] That he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel. And perhaps it was in that very context that David thought about the blessing of unity when the leaders of the nation were at least for a time of one heart and one mind.
[12:02] He knew so much about dissension. He knew so much then about disunity. He knew so much about the envy and jealousy that rips apart that he could greatly appreciate the blessings of peace and concord.
[12:19] You know no one has overestimated I believe the blessings of peace and concord in all the relations that we have in life.
[12:31] These things are easily taken away and broken. And in this psalm there are three particular sections. David celebrates the blessing of peace and harmony the joy of unity and I'd like to look at these three parts.
[12:49] First part you'll see in verse one where David speaks of two qualities to unity and then in verses two and three he expresses the blessing of unity using two illustrations and in both of these illustrations he explains that unity is initiated by God.
[13:15] it is poured out. It is given and gifted by God. And finally unity is something that is commanded there.
[13:29] Well first unity is good and pleasing. Note how the psalm begins. The very word behold by which the psalmist introduces the psalm is significant.
[13:44] It is a word that is used frequently in the Bible for emphasis. A word that shouts out to us not so much to catch our eye but that our ears might take note of what is recorded and give you attention to it.
[14:04] Some are of the view that he introduces the quality of unity with this word behold because it is such a rare occurrence. That may be so but my own personal preference and understanding of this word is that it is used to draw our attention to the magnetic attractiveness of unity.
[14:30] The absolute desirability of unity. And then he goes on to tell us why it is so to be desired. He attributes two qualities to unity.
[14:44] Behold he says how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. David tells us it's not just pleasant it's not merely pleasing to experience it is actually good.
[15:05] good. You know there are some things that people seek in life that are pleasant but they may not be good.
[15:17] David says unity is not one of them. Unity is both pleasant and good. It has the moral quality of goodness.
[15:28] It is good to experience unity and so he pauses and he announced that it is both good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity.
[15:40] When they are animated with love and pity to one another with a common pious zeal for truth and holiness with all joyful hopes centered on Jesus Christ.
[15:59] Well as I have already stated it is so important for us to remember that this unity can be very easily fractured can be taken apart for example by gossip or slander by backbiting by nosiness and it can be taken apart by many other sins sin in and of itself creates disunity that's what it did the moment it entered into the heart of man it brought about disunity in the first marriage that took place in the world where the husband blames the wife and ultimately is pointing the finger of blame at God that is how sin operates and it's not just those sins that are directly poised to strike at unity but those that cause secondary damage to unity so
[17:05] David pauses here and he says we need to appreciate the goodness and the pleasantness of unity and not take it for granted because it is so easily fractured one good example of this unity is the early church as recorded for us in the book of acts they had experienced Pentecost power they could have prayed Lord do it again but that's not what we find recorded by Luke in the book of acts but this they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching in other words they devoted themselves to following the word of God they're not reminiscing about past experiences as I was at the beginning but they are devoting themselves to the teaching of truth and delighting in it and the temptation for us is to look back we may have seen and experienced much that leads us to focus on the past but unquestionably as blessed as the past may have been the emphasis of the
[18:30] Bible is on the present and the future so it is good unity then it is a blessing poured out by God and the psalmist gives us two illustrations and you see these in verses two and three the first illustration he uses comes from the priesthood and the sacrificial ritual he tells us that it is like the precious ointment on the head that ran down upon the beard even Aaron's beard went down to the skirts or the collar of his robes Aaron you remember was anointed on being consecrated to office and anointing in the Bible denotes God's choice and designation for a specific work and anointing you know was also extended to kings being anointed for example
[19:40] Saul was anointed king member Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel you remember how David was anointed Samuel coming to the home of his father Jesse and asking Jesse are all your sons here and Jesse responding there remains yet the youngest but behold he is keeping the sheep in other words he's not really of any consequence and yet when this young member of the family appeared the command was given to Samuel arise anoint him for this is he and you remember Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers prophets were also anointed
[20:42] Elijah was instructed to anoint Elisha the son of Shapheth of Abel Mechola you shall anoint to be prophet in your place but I digress the anointing as I said denotes God's choice and designation for a specific work and so you have the psalmist portraying for us Aaron the priest being anointed by the isle is poured on the top of his head runs down the side of his head and his cheeks down onto the collar of his robes and right down what does this illustration you may ask have to do with unity what does God's choice have to do with unity well can we not say this that those who are spoken of as dwelling in unity are a people who are set apart by
[21:44] God what is it that makes them members of one family is it not that they have been set apart by the Lord this is not speaking of brothers related by natural family ties but of those who are united to Christ by faith those who are related as a consequence of the work of the Holy Spirit of God it is the Holy Spirit that gives us power to live for God they are a people who have been made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ but we can say more can't we do you remember how the shorter catechism asks the question how does the spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ and you remember the response the spirit applies to us the redemption purchased by
[22:49] Christ by working faith in us and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling who is Christ the very name tells you he is God's anointed one you remember how he himself speaks the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound he is God's anointed one anointed without measure when Aaron was anointed there was a measure used it's a picture of blessing being poured out as the priest has offered the sacrifice and the oil is poured on his head and the room is now filled with fragrant perfume from the precious oil of anointing remember the priest it wasn't a clean job that he had he was involved in dirty and smelly work in the constant slaughter of animals when
[24:04] I was growing up in Stornoway at the top of the street where I spent my boyhood years there was a building known as the slaughter house where the animals were slaughtered and if you met the workers from that building there was a particular aroma that you associated with them especially from their clothing day in day out involved with animal slaughter and that's how it was for the priests under the Old Testament dispensation but oil which anointed the head and flowed down the side and even around his collars touching his garments was filled with a pungent pleasing aroma that countered the other displeasing aromas which could have surrounded him in the context of the sacrificial system and it seems to me that that is symbolic of the aroma of holiness around those who are the recipients of the blessing of unity covers over the ugliness of sin in their nature and then the illustration changes look at verse 3 and the psalmist is taking us into the mountains he's talking about
[25:40] Mount Hermon the tallest mountain in Israel a mountain which was proverbial among the Israelites proverbial for having extraordinarily heavy Jews and you know how the bible uses the illustration of Jew as an example of the promotion of spiritual growth and blessing you remember in the restoration of backslidden Israel who turn again in penitence to the Lord you find the Lord stating I will be like the Jew to Israel God is promising to restore to spiritual fruitfulness the nation that had backslidden the Jew is suggestive of renewed blessing and refreshing and through the prophet a description is given to us of the restoration of beauty to the restored believer's life as a consequence of the dew dropping he shall blossom like the lily he shall take root like the trees of
[26:52] Lebanon and so on sin makes every life ugly and no one but no one can change that but God alone he brings beauty to lives that were once ugly with sin but in this context I am not persuaded that it is the refreshing restorative influence of the Jew that is set before us why do I say that because you note that the Jew also descended on Zion Zion was small in comparison to Mount Hermon it was more like a hill in comparison to a mountain there was no comparison in the physical sense but you notice what the psalmist tells us they both enjoyed the same favor which leads me to conclude that this speaks of the blessing of unity been enjoyed by small and great alike or if you like by the strong and the weak and you notice again it comes from above poured out by
[28:17] God so in these two pictures we see pictures of the blessing of unity the blessing that God pours out how do we know that the spirit who unites together is present is it not when we forget about ourselves and are absorbed solely with the glory of Christ yes but more you may say when we long to be more holy when the effect of the unity of the spirit promotes this longing in your heart and in your soul to be more holy to be more like Christ and it could also be true when you too are promoting unity and peace in the church it is a blessing finally that
[29:24] God commands verse 3 for there the Lord commanded the blessing even life forever more David is here emphasizing that the Lord is the one who has commanded this blessing of unity one of the things that comes across in the section of the letter to the Ephesians that we read is that God does not tell us to create unity he tells us to preserve unity only God can create unity God has given us unity he has given us union and communion with Jesus Christ it's not our job to create that we can't but it is our job to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace he creates the unity he gives the unity and it's our job to ensure that we do not disrupt the unity that we do not take it for granted but that we seek to preserve the unity and
[30:44] David here is emphasizing that it is the Lord who has commanded this blessing life forever more look specifically at what David said for there he says the Lord commanded the blessing where is the there what does the there refer to well I suppose you could argue that it refers to Mount Zion after all the Ark of the Covenant was there the symbol of the Divine Presence but my own personal preference is to go back to the beginning of the psalm where brethren dwell in unity that's the there for there the Lord commanded the blessing where did he command the blessing where brethren dwell together in unity that's where he commands the blessing where there is a lack of unity then there will be a lack of blessing but where there is this unity and where all are of one mind together as the early church shows us and as you find in the book of
[32:12] Acts when they were together and they were of one mind that's when they enjoyed the blessing that comes from above that's where God blesses where men and women are together of one mind you remember in the book of Acts in the very first chapter and after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ they went into the upper room and you remember what is told us about those who went into the upper room these all continued with one accord or with one mind in prayer and supplication they were together they were of one mind as they surrounded the throne of grace with their petitions before the
[33:23] Lord and so you find that it is there that the blessing of unity is particularly commanded where brethren are together in unity that's the blessing that is commanded and where that unity prevails you might say it is a fortest of heaven when that unity prevails when there is this oneness of mind and heart when people are united together with one accord that's a fortest of heaven because you see in heaven there's no dissension in heaven there's no one who's out of step with those who are gathered there there's no one there looking for their own way everyone is in accord with the way of
[34:41] Christ everyone is together in unison in harmony with one another and so where is life forever more enjoyed it is in Christ is it not God so loved the world he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life again this is eternal life that they know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent where is that life made perfect is it not in glory where there is no disunity it's not just where there is no disunity but where there can be no disunity to disrupt the harmony of the saints glorified so that's where the blessing is commanded where people are together one mind and one heart seeking to worship the
[35:48] Lord and to glorify his great name so may we therefore prize unity highly may may we pray for the Lord to prosper unity within all our lives may we hate and deplore strife may we mortify those things in us that promote disunity amongst the brethren because unity is to be preserved it is precious and the Lord it is part of the blessing that the Lord gives to his people in life it is good and pleasing how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity it's a blessing poured out by God and his people it's a blessing that God commands let us pray eternal
[36:51] God thou art the God of unity for there is no disunity amongst the persons of the Godhead there is but glorious harmony between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and thy word teaches us that that harmony and unity is to be found amongst those who are quickened to newness of life and how that life is made perfect when they are brought into thy presence with gladness great and mirth on every side to the palace of the King then that unity is made perfect as they join together in singing the praises of the one who is in the midst of the throne
[37:53] O Lord grant that we may know that precious measure of unity in our individual lives as we traverse the wilderness journey and the glory shall be thine in Jesus name we ask it Amen Amen