Songs of Summer 9 – Unity

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the LORD commanded the blessing — life forevermore. (Psalm 133)

God created us to live life in connection with Him and with one another — and that unity is both good and pleasant.

Learning to Be United

I have the privilege a couple of days a week to take our three oldest kids to school and pick them up. A couple of Fridays ago I picked up our three-year-old, Evangeline, from preschool, and as we got in the car I asked, "What did you learn today?" She said, "I'm learning the Pledge of Allegiance," and she recited it with all the gusto a three-year-old can muster: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, invisible..."

She loves to say "one nation under God, invisible" — "indivisible" is a hard word for a three-year-old. But that statement got me thinking. To be united is such an important concept nationally. In other ways, it's even more important.

The Songs of Ascent

Psalm 133 carries a heading: "A Song of Ascents of David." Other translations call these the gradual Psalms, the songs of degrees, or the pilgrim songs. There are fifteen of them, from Psalm 120 through Psalm 134, and four of those — including this one — are attributed to King David.

Most commentators believe these were the songs Israel sang every time they made the journey up to Jerusalem. Three times a year, God commanded the nation to appear before Him for a feast. In the spring they went up for Passover, celebrating the first barley harvest. Seven weeks later they returned for Pentecost, the Feast of Firstfruits, celebrating the summer harvest. And in the fall — which is about to be celebrated even now — they went up again for the time of ingathering, Rosh Hashanah, bringing in the fall fruits.

Each time, the people rejoiced before God for the harvest. The Bible describes the joy of harvest as the kind of joy you'd feel getting a big bonus at the end of the year. In Exodus 23, at the very beginning of Israel's history, God said three times a year you are to appear before Me for festival and feasting and rejoicing. So all the people would gather up to Jerusalem, and as they trekked up the mountains of Zion they sang these songs of ascent together, one nation, one people, one body, filled with joy.

Good and Pleasant

I imagine David, whose palace was in Jerusalem, watching the people come over the Mount of Olives opposite his palace, hearing them singing and rejoicing, and saying, "Look at that." So he writes it down: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."

There are many pleasant things in this life. If we wrote them all down, we'd agree on some — a three-day weekend, Thanksgiving dinner. We'd disagree on others. I think a hot air balloon ride would be wonderful; my wife says there's no possible way I'm getting her in that basket three thousand feet up. She says I can take Pastor Mark or Pastor Josh — a nice romantic sunset balloon ride with Pastor Josh.

But not all pleasant things are good, and not all enjoyable things are right. One great preacher said on this text, "All men love pleasant things, and yet it frequently happens that the pleasure is evil and not good. But here the condition is as good as it is pleasant." The inverse is true as well: not all good things are pleasant. Exercise comes to mind — there's not a morning on my way to the gym where I'm thinking, "Yes, this is enjoyable." Fasting is good; it is not enjoyable. But here David beholds Israel gathered to worship and rejoice in God's goodness, and says: this is good and pleasant. It is exactly as it ought to be.

Church Should Be Good and Pleasant

That's our first point: church should be good and pleasant. But it's helpful to define what church is, because this building is not the church. The first use of the word "church" comes in Matthew 16, where Jesus says, "I will build my church." That word is the Greek ekklesia, the gathering, the corporate assembly. As you journey through the whole of Scripture, you see this is a gathering God desires to make from every tribe, nation, and tongue — individuals from different places, classes, and languages, made one. That is a phenomenal thing to consider.

I hope that when you got ready to come today, there was a desire and anticipation in your heart that said, "This is good; it is pleasant." Worshiping God through song and the study of His Word is clearly good and right — but I hope it's also enjoyable. I look forward to this time each week, because gathering this way should be good and it should be pleasant.

Unity Is Not Conformity

This is not a difficult verse to understand. "Brethren" simply means the family — brothers and sisters. And "unity" simply means dwelling together, continuing in this place of togetherness.

But it's important to note that unity does not mean conformity. We see this in our own nation: one nation, yet made of people from all over the world who look different, talk different, like different things, and think differently. There is unity in our diversity, even though, sadly, in 2015 we see much division — political, economic, racial. The church should be the same way: unity is not everyone looking the same, dressing the same, talking the same. I think of those old videos of IBM in their heyday, when everyone wore the same dark blue suit. Sometimes people think being part of the church requires that kind of conformity. It doesn't.

Nor does unity mean total agreement on every point. Within the body of Christ we must agree on the essential doctrines — the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His deity, the virgin birth, the cradle orthodoxy of the church. But on secondary issues there's plenty of difference. Some prefer one worship band over another. Some disagree on the rapture, on eschatology, on young-earth versus old-earth creation. Those differences exist within our own church, and yet we still need to be united as one body. Unity here means a togetherness in community.

The Danger of Disunity

Unfortunately, many churches today are characterized more by disunity and division than by unity. It can happen so easily. There was a church in the New Testament marked by division — the church at Corinth, planted by Paul, who later had to write First and Second Corinthians. We could almost title them First and Second Californians.

In his first letter Paul says, in effect, "It's been reported to me that there's division among you, and because I know the nature of man, I believe it." When you pick through First Corinthians and find the issues, they were issues of personality — "I like Paul better than Apollos, I like Peter better than Paul." Not doctrine, just preference. There was also division over economic class: the upper class would feast on their good food and the lower class would have nothing.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul says the origin of these divisions is your envy and your strife, and it's an indication that you are immature and worldly. Think about that: division in the family of God is a mark of worldliness and immaturity. And we see it all the time — our tendency toward envy and strife, picking things apart, being so easily offended. Someone sat in your seat, took your parking place, took your jelly-filled doughnut, and suddenly there's a serious problem.

That's why in Ephesians 4:3 Paul writes that we must endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We have to work at this unity. It doesn't just happen because we're Christians, because we're still carnal. Disunity is bad and unpleasant, but unity, David says, is good and pleasant.

Like the Precious Oil

David was a king, a soldier, and a warrior, but also a poet and songwriter. So as he beholds this unity, he moves into lyricist mode and describes it with two similes. The first: "It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments."

Frankly, this is one of those poetic lines that fifty people will read fifty different ways. We can't ask David what he meant, and fifty commentaries will give fifty opinions. But to David's original readers, this picture came straight from Exodus. When Israel came out of Egypt, God called them to build a tabernacle, a tent where He would meet with them, served by priests — and the chief among them, the high priest, was Aaron, Moses' brother. God commanded that the tabernacle and the priests be set apart, consecrated, by anointing with a special anointing oil.

We still anoint with oil today, but usually it's a dab on the forehead. This was different. They poured a great deal of oil over the high priest's head, and it ran down his head, his beard, and his priestly garments, drenching him.

Precious, Sanctifying, Fragrant, Abundant

What was so great about this oil? First, it was precious — made exclusively for that task, taking time and effort to create. The community of God's people is precious, and it takes work to make it happen; it doesn't just flow out on its own.

Second, the oil was sanctifying. Pouring it on Aaron dedicated, cleansed, and set him apart. The gathering of God's people has a sanctifying aspect. As Solomon observed in Proverbs 27, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. In Hebrews 10:24 we're told that when we gather we stir one another up to love and good deeds. That sanctifying work is less powerful when you live your life alone, separated from the body.

Third, the oil was fragrant, made of spices and perfumes. When poured out, it pleased Aaron, it pleased God who commanded it, and it pleased those watching. The community of the body of Christ is a sweet aroma to God, to those experiencing it, and even to those outside who don't yet know it. In Genesis 2:18 God said it is not good that man should be alone; His original design was life lived in community. But Genesis 3 tells us sin entered and tore humanity apart. So there's a residual longing in every human heart for that connection — and when we enjoy the community of the body, that fragrance draws people who say, "I want that."

Fourth, the oil was abundant. They didn't smear a little on his forehead; they poured it out until it ran down to the hem of his garments and onto the floor. The fellowship of the body should be abundant and expansive, flowing out to all places — not something we experience only for seventy-five minutes on a Sunday, but throughout our days and weeks. So Christian community should be precious, sanctifying, fragrant, and abundant.

Like the Dew of Hermon

The lyricist then adds a second simile: "It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion." Another image unhelpful to 21st-century Americans, so a little geography helps. In the northernmost point of Israel, where it borders Lebanon and Syria — two nations much in the news, with refugees fleeing in tragic numbers — there stands Mount Hermon. That mountain holds the headwaters of the Jordan River. The snow, dew, and rain on Hermon fill the springs that flow down into the Jordan, which runs south toward the Sea of Galilee. It is the water lifeline of ancient Israel.

So David sees God's people gathering and says this good, pleasant unity is like that dew descending from Hermon down to the mountains of Zion, where Jerusalem stood. What's so significant about that water? First, it's precious — this is a desert land in desperate need of water. Second, it's pure, descending white as snow. Third, it's essential — you must have that lifeline or life is lost. Fourth, it's life-giving and life-sustaining.

No Life in Christ Without Community

That brings us to a bold but, I'm convinced, true statement: there is no life in Christ without the community of the saints. This is why the author of Hebrews says we should not neglect the gathering together of the body, because there's no life apart from that community. It is essential, life-giving, and life-sustaining.

That means you cannot live the Christian life alone. The Christian life is lived in connection with others, and without one another you cannot fulfill the "one anothers" of the Bible. The New Testament is filled with them: love one another, bear with one another, forgive one another, exhort one another, encourage one another, pray for one another. The "one anothers" of the Bible are impossible without others.

The Blessing Commanded

So, "behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." The last two lines say, "For there the LORD commanded the blessing — life forevermore." Notice the definite article: the blessing, and the blessing is life forevermore. Where did God command it? In one sense it points to Zion, for it was there in Jerusalem on Mount Zion that Jesus was crucified, and through Him comes everlasting life.

But that's only part of it. The context of Psalm 133 is the unity of the brothers and sisters gathered to rejoice in God's goodness. There, in that place of togetherness, is a fuller blessing — the abundant life, life forevermore, lived in connection with God and with one another. You'll notice that's our vision here: life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus.

Living It Out

So what's the application? First, we should experience and enjoy life in connection with God — gathering weekend after weekend to worship through song and the study of Scripture, to give to the Lord sacrificially, through baptism and communion, which we'll partake of next Sunday.

Second, we should experience life in connection with one another. Saying hello for forty-two seconds on a Sunday doesn't fulfill that. That's why we meet in small groups, our connect groups, throughout the week. We're calling for new connect group hosts; we have eight groups now and want to add more this fall. A host is simply someone with a heart for people who is willing to open their home, serve their guests, and talk of Jesus. If that stirs your heart, come Wednesday night at seven o'clock here in the sanctuary, and we'll share more about being a connect group host. Coming doesn't commit you — it just lets you find out.

Third, our vision is to live life in connection with the world through Jesus. This is not an exclusive club. We extend that connection to others through outreach and missions — in our community and to the uttermost parts. That's why we pray for people going overseas to teach English and ultimately share the gospel, bringing others into connection with God and one another through Jesus. This very week we're seeing another family go out from our church to serve the Lord in Asia.