[0:00] Let's turn back to the reading we had in the book of Psalms. Just a short time, a short time in Psalm 133. Really this evening doing a verse by verse Bible study.
[0:16] We have a few verses to look at in this psalm. It's a psalm we all know so well, a psalm we have sung, I'm sure most of us, from our youth. It's a psalm which speaks to us again and again, I'm sure, every time we sing it.
[0:30] Let's read it again just together. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It's like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard.
[0:44] Even Aaron's beard went down to the skirts of his garments. As the Jew of Hermon, as the Jew that descended upon the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore.
[1:00] We prayed it. I've tried to pray it almost every week and I'm sure it's been prayed for before I came. But we're all aware of the reality that it's a time of vacancy, especially that unity is threatened.
[1:15] And it's one of the benefits I have of being just a passing preacher of sorts. I don't know the details. I don't hear the gossip, as a way. I don't hear the stories.
[1:26] I just do my job and I get to go home again. So I don't know how united as a congregation perhaps things really are here. But I will say honestly and I will say clearly that I have certainly felt unity in this place week after week.
[1:42] And you go around our churches and you see not the same sense of unity. And as Christians we know ourselves that in ourselves and of ourselves we do have this inbuilt sense, don't we?
[1:53] Where if things aren't quite right in a place, if things aren't quite right in a Christian gathering, if things aren't quite right in a Christian we're talking to, quite often we will sense there's something off, there's something not quite right with that person, with that gathering, with that situation.
[2:13] But all that being said, the reality is that the reality of the need of unity as a congregation is something that we need to be reminded of, not just a vacancy, but again and again and again.
[2:26] But we focus on vacancy because we know ourselves that it's when there is a sense of lack of central leadership of all your elders are doing their best and your elders are working hard and your elders are faithful elders and we see that clearly, we know that they are.
[2:43] But truth is, it's a time of vacancy or times of other change in a congregation, whatever that may be. The devil seeks to find his foothold. And we all know and have heard of accounts and of stories across the denominations, across the years, where the devil has been successful in that mission.
[3:02] What does the devil seek to do at all times? To destroy, to distract, to kill, if possible, the very faith within the Lord's people.
[3:14] With that reality in mind that every time we meet together to worship the Lord, every time we discuss a fellow brother or fellow sister of ours, every time we have a chance perhaps to engage in chat or in conversation, which, if we're being honest, is nothing more than gossip, it's at these times we have to be very aware of what it is we're doing, of what it is we're supposed to be doing, of how as Christians we're supposed to show our unity.
[3:44] So how does God see, or how does Scripture describe unity? Well, we have this evening in this very short psalm, just this small but such beautiful language, such glorious poetry in this small, small psalm, which shows us just a glimpse as to how precious, indeed how important unity is to God.
[4:08] So we apply this just now together as a congregation, of course we do, but the reality is we apply this to your own lives, apply this to my life too. As we deal with brothers and sisters, as we address brothers and sisters, we must remember that God cares deeply, and God instructs us clearly to be united.
[4:31] We'll see later on the reality of how hard it actually can be at times, but we know ourselves, but by nature, to our shame, by nature we find ourselves very often being very much right, and everyone else being very much wrong, regardless of what the truth of the situation may well be.
[4:48] It's our sin nature, we're built to be right, we're built to rebel, and that shows itself again and again. So what about in mind, let's take a wee study at these verses.
[5:00] First of all, verse 1, Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. You'll see the title of this psalm, it goes right back to always psalms, we see a song of degrees.
[5:17] Again, these are, it's a note to us that these were songs, were psalms sung to the people as they together worshipped God. Often these are songs that were sung as they made their way to the temple, they were songs of journey, but also songs of corporate worship.
[5:34] In a sense, all the psalms, of course, were songs of corporate worship, but when we see this notation here, it tells us this is a psalm, a song that the people would sing together, a real sense of togetherness.
[5:46] When they would sing, or indeed as they did it, when they would chant perhaps even this psalm together, in their own way, they would understand that this is a psalm which talks about them as a community. As we, together this evening, read this psalm together, and God willing at the end sing this psalm together, we find ourselves connected and united with our brothers and sisters of Israel, our brothers and sisters of old, who would sing this psalm as they worshipped God in the temple, who would sing this psalm as they travelled together, quite literally together, towards the temple in their journeys.
[6:20] We heard that last time in Psalm 84. We heard all about the journey we would go on. This is a psalm which from the very start has reminded God's people of how good it is to be together.
[6:33] It starts off with that word, behold. We see, so the next psalm, we see all these psalms start off with a sense of exclamation. Behold.
[6:44] Now we perhaps read over that and think, well, it's the opening word to a psalm. It has to open somehow. So behold is just as good as opening as any other opening we could have, perhaps. But no, there's importance in every word of scripture.
[6:56] We know that. Behold. That's a very good translation, but the actual word being used here, it's almost just an exclamation. It's the same sense as we see in Isaiah 55.
[7:09] Ho everyone at first. That first word, it's a word, yes, but it's there just to take in the tone of what's being said. This is a shout.
[7:20] Listen up. Everyone, please listen. Everyone hear. Everyone listen closely. Everyone pay attention. How good, how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
[7:36] Behold. This is essential for us as a church to pay attention to. The topic of unity. At times it can be very uncomfortable, can't it? Perhaps there's some even here, and again, I truly don't know.
[7:51] We must be broad in our application. Perhaps there's some here who are disunited with others here. Perhaps there's some, even small pockets of disunity amongst yourselves as a congregation.
[8:02] And I can say I have certainty because it's a case for every congregation. Not major issues, perhaps. Even small personal issues. The reality is that disunity is part of our lives.
[8:16] It comes and it goes. It's not good. It's not right. But the scripture is realistic. God knows us. He made us. And disunity, and the lack of unity, is part of our Christian experience.
[8:28] Which is why this first verse of this psalm of unity calls us to listen carefully. Listen carefully.
[8:40] How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. The reality is we were made to be united.
[8:52] Much like everything else, sin is destroyed. Sin has also destroyed our natural ability to be united. We were made originally to, of course, serve each other.
[9:04] To love one another well. To uplift one another. To uphold one another. To truly support one another as brothers and sisters, as sons and daughters.
[9:16] That is how we were made. Where sin has corrupted that, we know. But we see that's how we're made because what is the command to the Christian. If when we're saved, we become a new creature.
[9:29] If when we're saved, we become more and more like Christ. If when we're saved, we become, and of course, never reaching that until our new creation, but we become more and more like we were supposed to be before sin entered the world.
[9:44] What are we supposed to be like as Christians? We're supposed to bear one another's burdens, aren't we? Uplift one another. Or uphold one another.
[9:55] We were made for unity. We were made to have that capacity. And we see that, and again, I'm not speaking to anyone individually here, we all think of people to mind just now, of those Christians who are older in the faith, perhaps not older in years, but older in the faith.
[10:14] Those Christians who we think about, who walk so close to the Lord. Perhaps those who have gone before us, who seem to just show and to encapsulate and to love Jesus with everything they were.
[10:30] They were always, they were always so united with our brothers and sisters, weren't they? They always were so ready to give peace and to help peace be achieved.
[10:41] They were so ready to help work through any situations. I think, I won't name, but I think of one older sister in her own congregation in Graver who's long since passed away.
[10:54] I was a young boy, really, when she passed away. Even I remember, even in small fallings out, nothing big, nothing important, she would be the one every time to help smooth things over, to bring things back to Christ.
[11:08] We are made to be united together. We're made to be united. And we aren't acting a way that is united.
[11:19] When we seek to tear one another down and seek to disrupt one another's peace in the Lord, then the Lord does not bless that situation.
[11:31] The Lord does not bless it. We know that ourselves, don't we? We'll cover this, because we'll cover this more, God willing, on Sunday evening as we come to the Lord's Prayer again and we come to the section of forgiving those who sin against us and those who trespass against us, those who rack up debt against us, as Scripture words it.
[11:56] The truth is, as Christians, we should be ready and willing to forgive one another as brothers and sisters. Now that doesn't say that we are united and we just gloss over things, we just pretend things aren't happening.
[12:10] Well, that's not right, that's not biblical. God is a God of justice who cares for justice. There's a place for church discipline and when situations arise where if we are truly wronged by a fellow Christian, even within our own congregation, there is a process for that Scripture gives us and there's no time tonight for that, but there's a process for that.
[12:32] But even in that process, and we'll see this more God willing on Sunday evening, even in that process, there must be forgiveness. We must always strive for unity.
[12:44] We're built to be united. And if we go against that, we will see things go wrong in our own lives and go wrong in our congregational life. We see that even as the final few words of this for brethren to dwell together in unity.
[13:02] To dwell together in unity. It's not just when we feel up to it. It's not just when we whisper it can be bothered dwelling together in unity.
[13:14] We're commanded and instructed and told we should dwell together in unity at all times. The word dwell there is a sense of an ongoing reality.
[13:28] It's not a one time thing. It's an ongoing future repeating reality. That's the grammar of it. Even the tone of it is the same isn't it?
[13:38] The idea here is brothers and sisters who dwell together who all that we do and all that we are we do so as a united people.
[13:51] This is not just the illusion of unity. It's not just sounding good and looking good at times and to be honest that's quite easy to do. It's quite easy to smile and nod along and pretend everything is fine.
[14:07] That's not real. That doesn't last. That doesn't equate real biblical unity. What does it mean for us to be united? It's not united over our traditions of our good at times.
[14:22] Of course they are. It's not to be united to the fact that we all belong to the same denomination. We could have praised to God for that but there's issues there too of course. Many issues.
[14:33] It's not even united over our shared history of this place. Our history together. what unites us together in this gathering this building just now?
[14:45] What unites us with our friends next door our brothers and sisters next door in A worship? What unites us with our brothers and sisters right now in some nation state somewhere in East Central Asia who are meeting in an undisclosed place just now?
[15:04] A different colour skin to us a different language to us a different culture to us. How do we call ourselves united to them? What unites us all equally? We know the answer don't we?
[15:16] We're united in that one spirit that one baptism that one saviour the Lord Jesus Christ when it comes to unity it's to him we look for the answer it's to him as we remind ourselves that that Christian that brother that sister in front of you when you talk to them when you deal with them when you discuss with them when you find yourself struggling to feel that sense of unity with them you remind yourself that they are loved by the same saviour who loves you that he has set his love on them as he set his love on you as we heard previous weeks as he set you and saw you and placed you and knew you and set you aside before time itself he did the same for that Christian that brother that sister that's the basis of our unity all that we do we do it because we have the same elder brother whose blood covers that
[16:23] Christian as much as it covers you and I we're honest and we won't dwell on us because we know ourselves the reality of it the biggest barriers to unity the biggest disruptors of unity are our own arrogance our own idolatry our own worship of self and worship of our own things at times of disunity it's often because we take our eyes off our saviour and take our eyes very very much down very far down to our own issues our own thoughts our own plans now there is time of course and there's not time this evening there's not discussion this evening there is time for very careful disunity there is times when there are brothers and sisters who are going so far off theologically and so far off in our views that unity can't be achieved or can't be maintained but we should always strive for it not in a pandering way not in a fake way but we should always make sure that we bring those brothers and sisters even when they wander away we always bring them to the throne of grace in our own minds we still deal with them in grace and with love and with carefully unity must always be strived after again and again there's caveats to that and extremes to that and we all know that and there's no time for that this evening but in general in the everyday life of the church it's the small things that cause disruption it's the small things that cause disunity it's these small things we must bring to the lord again and again ask forgiveness for ourselves and ask that he would remove these things from us and help us to be united again with our brothers and our sisters samling goes on to give two just beautiful two glorious illustrations of what it is to be united of what it feels like what it looks like first of all we see the illustration of verse two unity is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard even Aaron's beard went down to the skirts of his garment here we see the image of the high priest the high priest is there and he's before about to enter into the holy of holies he's there at this most sacred day for the people and he's before the curtain as he enters into this curtain as he leaves what he is to enter into this truly holy place the high priest his head was anointed anointed with this precious oil this precious ointment which god himself gave the exact ingredients the exact makeup to his people to use that's the image here the image of a high priest he's anointed with this oil and he then enters into the most holy of holies the place where god's presence was with this of all the incense smoke around him he is there in the presence of god on earth that's the weight that's the holiness that's the preciousness that verse 2 is trying to give us trying to make us understand the precious ointment upon the head that ointment as we said was applied to the high priest and that ointment was there as a reminder as an image
[20:08] I'm sure you've covered this before yourselves in times past but that was there as an image as to the presence of god applied to this man as he entered god's presence it was there to cover as aware of a sin this incredibly beautifully smelling ointment which would just be so overwhelming for the high priest himself and for those around him that everyone in this area everyone in the holy place would smell the ointment as a smell drafted out and out it was a sign to them that god's presence was there with them that they were there before god's presence that he was close to his people he was with his people the ointment which is applied in a small fashion to the head we see here the illustration is more than that it's applied to the head but also we see it runs down his beard it's dripping down even down to the skirts of his garments there's discussion here but the overwhelming view really is that it's a sense that it's not just dripping down but his garments are saturated with the oil there's so much of it his garments his robes have absorbed the oil and they can't take any more and the rest is spilling on the floor around about him this is the image of the beauty and the preciousness for us to be united as a congregation we must have unity in where
[21:54] God's people are like the ointment represented God's presence so does unity in a congregation where God's people are not united where God's people do not care for one another where God's people do not love one another there the presence of God is not known God does not in any fullness give his presence to that place he is there of course he is there because his people are there he is here just now because we are here as his people but it's not like the image of verse 2 the image of verse 2 describes God's people when they are serving him well when they are seeking to uphold and uplift and upbuild one another if the ointment is representing God's presence this is a situation where God's presence is so close is so felt is so known to this place the congregation that is like verse 2 is a congregation that is striving after unity where this ointment of
[23:02] God's presence where the aroma of God's presence is so clear to be seen we covered this before months ago last year looking at Christ's prayer that high priestly prayer how are we as Christians known as Christ's what is our one feature how the world can know that we are his what did Jesus tell us it's by our love by our love for one another of course with that our love for him our love for him the world will know that we are Christ's again be mindful we're saying that we all know the reality that we've heard and we've all dealt with conversations where the world and those around will say how can you Christians worship the same God so many churches so many gatherings so many groups so many denominations and there's history to these things there's theology to these things of course there is but when there's division
[24:09] I'm talking locally here not just across denominations that's beyond our help most of the time but when there's divisions amongst Christian friends when there's divisions amongst Christian gatherings when as as the old old elder congregation used to say that there's Christians who are brothers in the church but enemies that they thank when that reality is our situation the world sees that the world doesn't see us as Christians united together as Christ himself told us we won't see us as loving our saviour how can you say you love and follow Jesus if you can't even love and get on with one another we've heard that and we know that and to our shame ourselves we've experienced perhaps even that disunity with brothers and sisters we felt ourselves fall out at times that's not the glorious image of verse 2 verse 2 tells us that as we seek to be united as a people when we seek to dwell together in unity it's like that overflowing aroma of ointment that ointment which tells and which told the people that God's presence was close it was ointment which told the priest and those around him that God's presence was here that ointment which told the people that God was dwelling with them that they were striving after him that they were seeking after him if we aren't seeking to dwell in unity our lives are not like verse 2 we won't give off the aroma of God's presence we won't display that presence to our homes to our villages to this area to this district we see even more very briefly we see even more in verse 3 to be night is to be like the ointment this image of overflowing aroma of ointment which showed
[26:11] God's presence in the holy of holies but then in verse 3 God's presence is also like or the reality of unity is also like the Jew of Hermon as the Jew that descended upon the mountains of Zion for there the Lord commanded the blessing even life forever more to say briefly an obvious point to make but perhaps we overlook the reality of the necessity of Jew to the people of Israel we don't think twice about Jew of course in our climate it's there and it's gone but think of yourself as a farmer and your land is on the side of Hermon or on the side or around the area of the mountains of Zion where most of the land was at this time most of the fertile land what made that land fertile you'd have occasional rain of course you would if you're fortunate enough you'd have rain good rain but the reality is most of the moisture in the ground would come from the simple everyday well everyday these folks but the common occurrence of Jew of course being close to the high mountains there'd be more Jew coming down and down the Jew was essential to growth without the the ongoing presence of this small smattering of moisture every morning the people wouldn't eat the nation would starve simple as that in verse 2 we see the big glorious overflowing presence of God as his people united in verse 3 we see the constant small reality of unity of unity this is not overflowing oil on a high priest in his golden robes no this is the small drops of moisture day after day gone by the end of the morning most folks not seeing it most people not caring not thinking twice about it but essential to the growth the literal growth of food but to us essential to the growth for ourselves as brothers and as sisters the reality is that unity cannot just be based around the big one off events as we were saying at the start the time of vacancy is a big one off event other big changes in the church whatever they might be are big one off events but for unity to be genuine and unity to be effective it must just be there all the time as we're like the Jew of Mount Hermon and Mount Zion every morning just appearing there as part of the daily cycle of life and for us as Christians brothers and sisters as we go about our business as we seek to serve one another and serve the Lord day after day week by week year by year we must find ourselves striving after unity striving after that gentle watering of God's unity like the ointment the Jew also is something that's given to us in a sense we must strive after unity because we can't manufacture ourselves we can manufacture something that looks like unity but it won't work how are we united as we said before we're united by striving after our saviour by seeking to worship him by seeking to be more like him by seeking to grow in our love and our understanding of him and as we do that we'll become more united because God will bless that
[30:02] God will use that because the truth is as we become more and more like our saviour we will care less and less over the distractions and the small silly things which cause such disunity in our lives at times strive after our saviour see each other as brother and sister because the glorious reality is and we see this in the final phrase of the psalm here to the people at this time they would think and for several reasons in our time this evening that God was especially close to this area on Mount Zion for various reasons that God's presence was especially close there unity is a gift from God as we strive after unity the truth is we'll see this we'll see this final word the Lord commanded a blessing even life forevermore where does that final phrase take our minds where does it take our brains as we sing this each time we sing it and God willing we'll sing it in a few moments where do our minds go when we sing these final words life eternal where is life eternal what is life eternal it's glory isn't it glory for those of this time being around
[31:22] Mount Zion and being close to the Holy of Holies was the closest they could get to as it were to heaven to being in God's presence the reality is as we experience and strive after unity as we pray the Lord would help us to be united together as brothers and sisters and as a wider church family we are getting in the smallest of senses a taste of heaven itself because in heaven there is perfect unity in heaven there's no more fallings out over nonsense there's no more falling out over this over that there's no more issues to come up and to disrupt our peace our happiness because in heaven we will find ourselves perfectly united as we seek to worship our saviour day I say day after day we don't have day after day worship our saviour for all time for all eternity we'll have perfect unity no more displeasure no more dispeace and as we seek in our time together in our short few years of life as we seek as brothers and sisters to be more united together in doing so we are getting just the smallest of foretaste of what heaven will be like we will know you are mine by your love that is our goal this evening that's our goal this week that's our goal each day and each week of our lives to look towards our saviour we'd be more united together and in that reality we'd love him more to love him more we love one another more also the lord will bless these few thoughts around his word let's sing this very psalm together psalm 133 behold a good thing it is and how becoming well together such as brethren are in unity to dwell like precious ointment on the head that down the bearded flow even Aaron's beard and to the skirt that off his garments go as Herman's Jew the Jew that duff on Zion hills descend for there the blessing
[33:30] God commands life that shall never let's sing this psalm to God's praise behold how good a thing it is and how becoming well together such as brethren are in unity to dwell like precious ointment on the head that down the bearded flow in Aaron's bearded in Aaron's beard and through the skirts did all this garments go as heaven was true that you had done on Zion's hills descend for there the blessing
[35:09] God commands life that shall never end close of addiction the love of God the Father and the grace of Jesus Christ and the love and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit for us now and forevermore Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen Amen