Well, please turn with me in your vitals to Psalm 133 that was read for us earlier.
!
People would sing the Even-Song service in our chapel every Monday. If you're not familiar
with that service, I certainly wasn't when I arrived. Part of the service is that you
sing a psalm and you chant it so that it's one melody and you sing every verse on the
same melody and one half of the choir would be on one side of the chapel and you'd sing
one verse and then another half of the chapel would sing the other half of the other verse.
And every now and again, I think maybe two or three times in my three years, we stumbled
across Psalm 133. And it would start off really well. Behold how good and sweet a thing it is,
brethren, to dwell together in unity. And it's all very well until Aaron gets a load of oil
spilt in his beard and you just see this really weird glazed look come across everyone's eyes.
Most of the people in the choir weren't believers and so most weeks it would just be quite a
bored look. I'll just sing whatever this text is, but it's sort of normal psalm stuff.
But when we got to this, you'd just see everyone begin to give each other very strange looks.
What on earth is going on? Beards and oil and mountains and nobody had any idea.
It's clearly from verse 1 a psalm about unity between brothers.
Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.
And I promised you I wasn't thinking about the EU in any way when I planned to preach on this.
It just struck me. They'd say, oh, that's a similar link. But that's not what it's about.
So what does this psalm mean beyond the fact that it's good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity?
As always, and it might surprise you to learn, that even in the book of Psalms, it's important to look at the context.
If you look at the top of the psalm, it's part of the psalm in the original.
You've got the inscription, a song of ascents of David.
And if you look around the psalm, you'll see, at least on this page, except for the last one, everyone has at the top a song of ascents.
That's because this is one of 15 songs of ascents.
It's a collection that goes together from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134.
And it's about, surprise to Christ, ascents.
That is, people would have to go on a journey up to Jerusalem for various religious feasts.
They'd have quite a few every year.
And if they could, people would go up to Jerusalem for the celebration.
And these were psalms that David wrote for his people for the ascent, for the journey up to Jerusalem, up Mount Zion.
So, in 120, they meditate on their distress and their trouble.
Psalm 121, I lift my eyes up to the hills.
So, they see the dangerous journey ahead of them.
They see the hills, and they wonder, where is my help going to come from for this journey?
And, of course, the answer comes, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
And the next one is the psalm that we sang earlier.
I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord.
And so, they're off on their journey up the mountains to Zion.
It's arranged.
There are 15, and so there are five sets of three.
So, they all go through one set of three, then the next.
And so, if you can do maths, this one, 133, is the very middle of the final set.
In the final set of three, we have arrived in Jerusalem.
This is where we celebrate the feast.
So, in 131, it's sort of a preparation for worship psalm.
In 132, the celebrations start at the temple.
And in 133, the celebrations continue.
People have come from all corners of the nation.
And they're at the feast, together, singing this psalm.
133.
But, what does it mean?
Well, to understand what it means, there are three things that we need to say.
Three things.
The first thing that we need to see is that unity among brothers makes a difference.
Unity among brothers makes a difference.
It has a real impact.
And let me show you three ways in which it makes a difference.
First of all, it can be seen from the outside.
It's noticeable.
If you look at verse 2, David takes the people back in time about 1,000 years.
So, for us, it's about 3,000 years.
Or 4,000 years for us, rather.
And he takes us to Aaron's ordination service as the high priest.
And he describes the perfumed anointing oil running down his head, on his beard, on the cloak of his garment.
Boys and girls, maybe you can imagine being at this ordination service.
You've gone to this service with your family, brothers and sisters, mommies and laddies.
There's so many people there.
And you can't see anything.
Because it's so busy and people are bustling and everyone's standing up and you can't see a thing.
And so, you cry up to your dad, have they done it yet?
Have they poured the oil on his head?
Because that's how they're going to do it.
That's how they're going to make him a high priest.
And so, daddy picks you up and puts you on his shoulders.
And he asks you, well, what do you see?
Do you see any oil running down his head?
Is this the priest of God yet?
Well, do you see any oil running down his head?
That's how you know.
You can see, this is the anointed one of God because there's oil running down him.
And so, are these the people of God?
Are these his anointed ones?
Well, are they living in unity?
That's the question.
But it's not just that David wants to use this as sort of a,
this is like that, an unilogical comparison.
This is a poem.
And so, there's a reason he's using this image.
What unites them at that feast?
What's the reason they've all come?
It's so that their high priest can offer sacrifices on their behalf.
And beyond that, they are all a kingdom or a nation of priests.
They all together represent God to the other nations.
But they are there united by the one high priest who is there.
They need to know that they have an anointed one who is uniting them.
So, on the one hand, it's a visible comparison.
Unity is like that.
So, he's the priest because he has oil on him.
These people are united, are God's people because they are united.
The second thing we can see, so we've seen from the outside,
but it can be felt from the inside as well.
So, he doesn't just take us on a trip back in time.
He takes us on a trip up north as well in verse 3.
He takes us on a trip to Mount Hermon.
Zion was the main mountain in the south.
Hermon was the big mountain in the north.
It's a very high mountain.
It's got lots of streams on it.
So, the dew on Hermon is really heavy.
Lots of dew.
Really rich, luscious grass.
It's a mountain that's full of freshness and life.
David is trying to give us a sense
of what unity among others feels like from the inside.
It gives you that sense of life forevermore.
And just as with the image of the high priest,
it's not just an easy, logical comparison.
There's a reason he's using the image.
So, because this is the northern mountain,
but they're experiencing the benefits of the northern mountain
in the southern mountain,
they're all sharing in their benefits.
Zion gets the benefit from what Hermon gets.
So, the blessedness of unity among brothers
is experienced as it is shared between brothers.
As everyone benefits together,
enjoying divine blessing together.
The third way it makes a difference
is quite simply at the end of verse 3.
It's where God's blessing is.
So, if you look at that last verse,
where has God's blessing of eternal life been commanded?
It's where brothers dwell together in unity.
And especially at the feast.
That is especially when the brothers have gathered together
to worship God.
It's at the gathering of God's people.
Eternal life is something to be enjoyed together.
If you think eternal life can be enjoyed all on your own,
you're mistaken.
Eternal life is to be enjoyed together with other people.
And all of this is coming down from God.
If you look throughout the psalm,
you see running down, running down, falling.
It's all the same word in the original.
It just means coming down.
And so, the going up to meet with the Lord
is all about the blessing that comes down to them.
So, unity among brothers makes a difference.
Second thing we need to see is that unity among brothers
is a really awkward sermon topic.
When we think about a sermon on unity,
we begin to feel embarrassed.
First of all, it's because we can see it in our history.
We are, you may have noticed,
not in a Roman Catholic church.
We're in a Protestant church.
We are protesting.
We have broken off, sadly.
And there are times when that needs to happen sometimes.
Calvin, in commenting on this psalm,
said that where there is heresy or where there is error,
that we have no choice but to break fellowship.
Because what's happened is actually,
they are broken off from us.
Even though it's the same,
they are still the institution.
They're the ones that have departed from the truth.
And actually, the division was the last thing that the reformers wanted.
They wanted to reform it from the inside.
But once they saw, they have truly departed from the truth.
Sadly, there was no choice.
But there are some divisions as well that are truly unnecessary.
That are truly sinful.
I've seen churches in first hand.
Churches divide over personality,
personal ambition,
and it is hideous.
But we should note that there is a difference between broken fellowship
and different churches.
You can have different churches that still have gospel fellowship.
They might disagree on some issues,
but they are adamant that we are still brothers and sisters in Christ.
And that's an okay thing.
They've come to different conclusions from the Bible.
They're not all right.
Some of them are going to be wrong,
because you can't just decide what truth is.
The Bible tells us what truth is.
But some of them have just interpreted it differently,
and yet we insist that they are still our brothers and sisters.
There is a difference between that and broken fellowship,
where people just cause splits unnecessarily and sinfully.
But division is something that's part of our history,
and we have to face up to that.
It's also a problem not just in our history,
but also in our class.
I've often heard the story of the Welshman dying,
who was stuck on a desert island.
I've heard different versions of the story,
even in different religious contexts.
I've heard it as the New York Jewish man.
But I've heard it as Dye the Welshman,
who was stuck on a desert island,
and he was all on his own.
And after several years,
people finally found him and rescued him.
And when they found him,
they found that he had built three huts on the island.
And they asked him,
what are these three buildings you've made for yourself?
And he walked them through each one,
and he walked by one.
That one over there,
that's the house I live in.
That one over there,
that's the chapel I go to.
That one over there,
that's the chapel I don't go to.
It's a problem in our hearts.
There can be gospel churches
that are full of our brothers and sisters,
to which, if we're honest,
we have a less than charitable attitude.
We are less than loving towards them,
as we should love them.
Thirdly, it's not just a problem
in our history and in our hearts.
It's a problem in our churches.
It's not just division between churches,
but there's division within some churches.
There are churches
where there are members
who have not spoken to each other for 40 years,
even though they've been worshipping
in the same church for 40 years.
And you can see it as an idea.
It's lovely, isn't it?
And I could talk to you about
someone who is
on the other side of the planet,
in some remote tribe,
who speaks a completely different language,
who has never heard of this country,
and yet they believe the gospel.
And you think,
yes, that is my brother and sister in Christ.
That's so exciting
that there is somebody
that different from me
who is my brother and sister in Christ.
But what if I describe someone to you
who maybe they're much richer
or much poorer than you?
Maybe they're more socially awkward than you
or maybe much more outgoing than you?
Maybe, boys and girls,
they get better marks in school than you do
or much worse marks in school?
Maybe somebody who voted differently
from you in the referendum this week?
Or generally votes differently from you?
Someone who struggles with different sins
than you do?
But it's still your brother and sister in Christ.
And what if when I finish that description
you started to realise,
I know this person.
Oh, it's that person.
It's that person in my church.
I don't really like.
It's not always so simple, is it?
When it comes down to living with real people.
But they are your mother and sister in Christ.
So when we read, for example,
Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17,
we can get very embarrassed.
For example,
he prays in John 17, 21,
One,
that all who believe in Jesus might 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.
One commentator on this psalm
writes,
The most spectacularly unanswered prayer
in world history,
they claim,
is Jesus' prayer in John 17, 20-23.
That's this prayer for unity.
Christian kinfolk live in breathtaking disharmony.
This devastates their witness
as it removes the goodness
and the loveliness from them.
It removes their joy
and surrenders their blessing.
The psalm invites us
to consider the loveliness of kinfolk
living as one
and to meditate on the images
for this that it offers,
to see if this inspires us
to live as one.
Calvin's caveats,
which I mentioned earlier
about heresy and error,
show how scandalous
is the psalm's conviction
and how unanswerable
the prayer.
The most spectacularly unanswered prayer
in world history.
So are we a lost cause?
Do we just wait it out
until the new creation
and just try and keep something together
but knowing it will never really be one?
Do we just give an embarrassed shrug
and try and avoid the question?
Is this commentator right?
I don't think so.
The third thing we're going to see
is that unity among brothers
even now
is not wishful thinking.
So we've seen that unity
makes a difference
and that it's a pretty awkward
sermon topic
but even now
unity among brothers
is not wishful thinking.
It is a reality
to be enjoyed.
Let me give you three reasons
for my saying that.
It was real for David.
He wrote this psalm
and he wasn't lying.
And if you know anything
about David's life
you know it was riddled
with disunity
and strife.
Even if you just know
the David and Goliath story
you'll know that
when he arrived
his brothers just made fun of him.
You just want ambition.
All you want to do
is look good.
His family
his brothers
and later on
his own children
it was all a mess.
And his political life
so many people
usually his own sons
trying to take over from him.
His life had disunity
and brokenness
written all over it.
His life didn't look
much better than ours
in fact it looked
much worse.
Yet that's the king
that through the Holy Spirit
wrote this psalm.
Because he recognised
that as he saw
his people
come up
Mount Zion
to Jerusalem
probably people
who had very different opinions
on how he was running
the country
he saw that something
bigger was happening.
He saw that the Lord
was doing something
much bigger
much higher
than what he could see.
He could see
the Lord
gathering his people
for the feast.
He saw true unity
as all these
brothers and sisters
men, women,
boys, girls
coming along together.
And he tasted
that there's
true beauty here.
There is
rich goodness
pleasant sweetness
in this feast.
This was real
for David
and it was real
as well
for Jesus.
David didn't just
write it for people
in his lifetime.
He wrote it
for generations
to come.
The temple
wasn't even finished
in his lifetime.
He was hoping
there would be a temple
for people to come to
and he wanted this
to be for generations
to come
and he wrote it
so that his
greater son,
Jesus,
could sing this
as well.
God the Son
became one
of these brothers.
Jesus became
part of the nation
of priests
and he would go up
to the feasts
with his brothers
and sisters
to sing this
with them
in fellowship.
Have you ever thought
about that,
about how he would
come and he would
sing these psalms
with us?
He is in a sense
our great
worship leader.
And he did so
even as he experienced
great hostility.
he knew that
even when he was
a baby
the king
wanted him dead.
That's quite a lot
to live with.
And yet
with all the opposition
he faced
he came to the feast
and he sang this song.
As David's son
as well
knowing that
he would be
the eternal king
he would establish
this eternal kingdom
he had even more
reason
to rejoice.
In a sense
this is his
eternal song
as he looks on
even today
on his church
gathering for worship
each Lord's day.
And he especially
sees what his people
will be one day.
And he sings
this song
now
he rejoices
at what he sees.
Week by week
he sees people
all over the world
answering the call
to worship
coming to his feast
coming to the Lord's
supper
and feasting together.
And it's why
of course
when Paul
would speak later
in 1 Corinthians 11
about the Lord's
supper
one of the themes
he focuses on
is unity.
What do you need
to sort out
before you come
to the table?
Is there disunity
between you
and another brother?
That's what you
need to sort out.
It's not
have you lived
a perfect life
this week?
It's
is there disharmony?
That's the issue.
Because there's a
key hinge point
in history
that this song
is actually all about.
It's about the day
of Pentecost.
It's the day
when the Spirit
was poured out
the Gospel
was preached
thousands were added
to the Church.
This last day
waiting for his return
began.
That is the day
when Jesus
having ascended
the ultimate
ascent
as high priest
as head
of his church
as head
of the body
he sat down
at God's right hand
and what happened?
He was anointed
with the Spirit
and the Spirit
ran down
from the head
of the church
to the body
of the church.
That's us.
Men,
women,
boys,
girls
from all nations
all
socio-economic
levels
throughout all
of history
received this
blessing
because
Jesus
ascended
and the Spirit
was poured out
on him
and ran down
onto us.
That's what you see
at Pentecost
is the Spirit
running down
from the head
to the body.
That's how Peter
is actually explaining
what's going on
in Acts 2.
This anointing
was the proof
that Jesus
was being
anointed.
That he had
finished his work,
he had conquered.
This is real
for us
in Jesus Christ.
That's the real,
that's the third
thing you see.
It was real
for Jesus
and because of
Jesus
it's real
for us.
But we need
to think about
how that was
possible.
it's because
the most
spectacularly
unanswered
prayer
in world
history
was not
the High
Priestly
Prayer.
It was a
prayer that he
prayed later
in that same
night.
It was the
prayer,
take this cup
away from me.
He prayed
two prayers
that night.
One was,
pour out
the Spirit
on my people
to unite them.
The second
was,
don't pour
out your
wrath on me,
the wrath
that my
people deserve.
But he knew
he couldn't
have one
without the
other.
He knew
that unless
the wrath
came down
on him,
the blessing
would not
come down
on his
people.
He knew
that before
he could
ascend
to heaven
he had
another
ascent
to Jerusalem
and then
up to
Calvary
and then
up on
the cross.
And so
because he
knew that
he prayed
not my
will
but your
will.
God the
Son
suffered the
pouring out
of the
Father's
wrath
to win
the prize
of the
pouring out
of the
Spirit
on him
and everyone
who would
trust
in him.
so he
calls us
week by
week
to enjoy
this,
to gather
for the
feast,
to worship
Lord's
day by
Lord's
day.
And so
here's what
this psalm
means.
Because of
Jesus,
and we're
about to sing
this psalm
at the end
of the
service,
so this
is what
you're
going to
be meaning
when you
sing it.
Because of
Jesus,
unity among
brothers is a
real,
present
blessing
through which
we can
experience,
enjoy,
and display
the knowledge
of Jesus
Christ.
Unity among
brothers is
a real present
blessing through
which we
experience,
enjoy,
and display
the knowledge
of Christ.
So the
person you
feel most
different from
at church,
you are one
with them.
Because Jesus'
prayer has been
answered.
Because the
Spirit has
been poured
out on us.
So I have
brothers and
sisters who
are decades
older and
decades younger,
who have
lighter skin
or darker
skin than
me,
Tory,
Labour,
Lib Dem,
UKIP,
Brexiteers,
Remainers,
Baptists and
Pentecostals,
people who
are richer,
poorer than
me,
because we
all have the
same baptism.
We all
eat bread
and drink
wine.
We are
all the
body.
We all
have the
same High
Priest,
Jesus.
And how
good it
is,
how pleasant
it is,
when brothers
dwell together
in unity.
It is like
the precious
oil on the
head,
running down
on the
beard of
Aaron,
running down
on the
collar of
his robes.
it is
like the
jewel
of
Hermon
which falls
on the
mountains
of
Zion,
for there
the
Lord
has
commanded
the
blessing,
life
forevermore.
So if that's
what it means,
let's think about
the adaptations
I mentioned.
We need to
experience the
knowledge of
Christ in
this unity.
Let's
pursue
love,
love one
another.
that is
Jesus'
great new
commandment.
Do all
that you
can to
ensure that
if fellowship
is broken,
it's only
because the
other has
walked away
from the
Lord.
Do all
you can.
You may
not be able
to restore
each broken
fellowship.
There are
people I
know who are
my brothers
and sisters
in Christ,
who if I
were to
contact them,
I know
they wouldn't
respond.
That's why
it's told
later in
the Bible,
do all
you can
to live
at peace
with others.
So do
all that
you can
to ensure
that if
it's
broken,
it's only
because they
walked away.
So to
experience the
knowledge of
Christ in
this unity,
enjoy Christ
himself in
this unity.
Remember,
each time you
come together,
who it is
who brings
you together.
We don't
come alone,
we don't
come because
we decided
it's a good
idea to
come here.
We come
because Jesus
called us.
And finally,
display Christ
in this unity.
It's our
love for
one another,
that it's
through our
love for
one another,
that the
world will
see that
we belong
to someone
special.
We belong
to Jesus.
It's become
painfully clear,
hasn't it,
this week,
that we
live in a
world,
and especially
a society
here,
that is very
divided.
It probably
didn't become
divided this
week,
it was probably
already pretty
divided,
but this week
we just know
it.
As I mentioned
before,
I'm living in
America,
and see all
kinds of
horrible
divisions over
politics.
Then I came
here and saw
divisions over
different political
questions,
and I go to
France,
and I see
all kinds
of protests,
and people
breaking the
windows even
at the
children's
hospital,
because it
happened to
be on the
streets.
We live
actually in a
very divided
society.
We think the
church is
divided.
Have a look
at the world
and how
divided the
world is.
So what an
amazing opportunity
we have to
show the world
something different.
We have an
opportunity to
show the
world the
glory of
Jesus Christ.
We have an
opportunity to
show that,
yes, this
other person
voted very
differently from
me this week
and disagrees
with me vehemently
on the reasons
for why we
vote one way
or the other,
but he's my
brother in Christ
and I love him,
and that's more
important.
Maybe you're not
a Christian believer
here tonight,
and you realise
that you're seeing
just that.
I hope you are
seeing just that.
I hope you're
seeing just how
good and pleasant
it is for
brothers to live
together in
unity under the
rule of Jesus.
For this is where
God has commanded
the blessing of
eternal life.
And if you want
that blessing,
all you have to
do is turn
around, stop
walking away from
him, which is
what you're doing,
and trust him.
Tell him you want
it.
Tell him you want
him.
And as we do
this, as we
experience and
enjoy and
display the
knowledge of
Christ together
as one, we
can enjoy the
certain hope
that we have
of that day
when we will
be, and we
will fully know
the blessing of
unity and life
forevermore,
and the full
enjoying of God
to all eternity,
we'll know that
that day is
just one day
closer for us
pilgrims on the
Ascent to Zion.
Let's pray
together.