Psalm 133
Date: July 2nd 2023
Speaker: Maxwell Maret
Scripture: Psalm 133
Exegetical Outline
Main Idea of Text: David declares that it is good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity.
It is like Oil
It is Special.
Preparation
Use
is for anointing
It is Sacred and Holy.
It has a fragrance and aroma
It is in Abundance
It is like Dew
It brings Life and provision
The blessing of life forevermore is there
Homiletical Outline
Main Idea of Sermon: It is good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity.
The good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil because
We too have been made special
We have been anointed by God
It makes God’s people holy and sacred
It gives God’s people a unique fragrance and aroma
It covers all of God’s people abundantly
The good and pleasant experience of unity is like dew because
It is new life and provision in Christ
When God’s people gather it is where the blessing of eternal life will be
Introduction
Our sermon this evening is going to be in Psalm 133 if you want to go ahead and open up your Bible there. You will notice right away it is quite a short passage. Only three verses, four sentences, 63 words. Yet there is so much for us to learn and understand about it. The shortest portions of scripture can be filled with the weightiest theological truths. Pastors preach on just one verse all the time. The Puritans were famous for it. Thomas Watson wrote an entire book on one verse. It’s an amazing thing. I have preached two sermonettes so far which in both cases, I was given the task of preaching on one verse. Much shorter time, obviously but, my first thought when doing them was, “No shot.” And so, I asked the question, “Are you sure I can't get like one more verse?” … “No.” so I did it. By the time I finished studying the text and preparing my content for those sermonettes, I was left asking a new question? Similar to my previous question but with a twist, “Are you sure I can't have more time?” … “No.” And so today, we will be looking at Psalm 133, a passage with only 3 verses. And, like the sermonettes, I was left needing more time. There is so much for us to learn and understand about Psalm 133 for us as a church. So let's jump in and see what David is telling us in this psalm.
Let’s read Psalm 133
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
2 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!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
There are a few things I learned in preparing for this sermon that I want to bring to your attention that are important for how we read this text. This psalm, along with Psalm 120 all the way to 134, are what are known as a psalm of ascent. These 15 psalms are special psalms that are grouped together as these are the psalms that were sung as the Israelites took one of their many pilgrimages to Jerusalem or Zion in the year. Jerusalem is commonly referred to as Zion or Mount Zion as well, however, Mount Zion is actually more of a large hill. You see the city and temple of Jerusalem sit up on Mount Zion, which is where we see the idea of the ascent. The people are ascending up the Mount of Zion to go to Jerusalem. Now for perspective, Mount Zion is no bigger than the hills of the Ozarks or rolling hills of Texas, as all three are quite close in height. You see, we typically hear Mountain and think of the rocky or smoky mountains, but what they are “ascending” here is more like the rolling hills or the Ozarks. Now mind you that if you have hiked either of those places, It is still quite a journey up.
Now our Psalm here is written by David, and while not all 15 of these psalms are written by David, there is something I believe David wants to teach us in particular through his writing of this psalm.
The Main Idea of our Sermon is this; It is good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity. It is good… and pleasant…. When brothers dwell in unity. Our two main points in this sermon are going to the good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil and the good and pleasant experience of unity is like dew. Since the text is so short, I will read it once more.
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
2 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!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
Once again, the main idea of our sermon is: It is good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity. David, when writing this psalm, gives us the main idea he is going to talk about right at the beginning. You see, interpreting poetry requires some different tools for interpretation than we would typically use for narrative or an epistle. It requires us to think a bit differently about the text. In writing this poem, David has set forth the big idea for us right out of the gate. He wants his audience to understand right away what he is going to tell them.
Let’s start in verse one and walk through each verse closely. 133:1,
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”
The question we really need to ask ourselves is, if David in verse one gives us the main idea, what then do we need to understand about what David is saying here? Everything that follows this verse will serve to help us better understand what he is telling us here in verse one. Now, I would think for many of us, including myself, when reading verse one for the first time, we may immediately think, oh this is going to be about unity, and if you did, you are sort of right. Yes, David is talking about unity, but when reading it more closely, David writes this first sentence in a way that we would better understand a particular thing about unity. It is not particularly that David is making a case for unity, but he is telling us something about the unity that already exists between the brothers dwelling together.
So, what I want to do first is pull our eyes back a bit from just the word and idea of unity and reposition ourselves a bit so we can better understand fully what David is saying about it. Let’s break down the sentence so we can see what David is trying to help his reader understand. He says, Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. Question. Why does David not say Behold, when brothers dwell in unity, it is good and pleasant. Says the same thing, right? Maybe, but after spending more time in the text, I would say no. Let’s not forget that we are reading poetry, and there is something for us as the audience to have in our minds when reading this verse. You see, the thing that comes first is the thing that has the greater emphasis. Our text here states first, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is,” meaning David wants to emphasize the good and pleasant experience of when brothers dwell in unity. David wants his reader to understand and experience what it is that the people of God will encounter when dwelling together in unity. David is telling us that unity is a good and pleasant thing. You see, David states this first because he wants to draw our focus on this aspect of unity. Again, he is not particularly making a case for unity but is describing what is the outworking of brothers that are dwelling in unity. Remember, this is a psalm of ascent. The Israelites are going to Jerusalem for a special occasion, and David is trying to help them think about what they are going to experience when they get there. So what is it about the good and pleasant experience of unity that David is trying to show us in this psalm?
It is like Oil
Our first point is: The good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil. Let’s look at verse 2 now
2 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!
As we look at this 2nd verse, we must have this question in mind. How is the good and pleasant experience of unity like oil? Well for us there are probably many things that come to mind when we think of oil, but David has something particular idea in mind. You see he is developing a picture in their mind based on something they already know and understand about oil. How I want to do this, is to show you first what I believe David is meaning when saying it is like precious oil and then show you how that then applies to us. If you want to flip over to Exodus 30:22-33, we can see what would have come to mind for the Israelites as they are thinking of the precious oil that David is speaking of.
Looking at verses 22-24 in Exodus 30 we can see Oil first has a special preparation and use. It is special because it was prepared in such a specific way. Many of us may know what oil was used for in the Old Testament, which we will discuss in a moment, but it would be worth noting that God takes the time to tell Moses exactly how they are to make the oil. It required a specific preparation which is described here in verse 22 to 24.
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, 24 and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.
God told Moses not only the specific ingredients but also specific measurements. There is nothing random about how God wants them to make the oil. Now as to why these ingredients, I have no idea, but as for the result it creates a fragrance and aroma that would fill the entire tabernacle. You see this oil was made in a special way that would have a unique fragrance and aroma about it that the Israelites would recognize. The fragrance and aroma of this oil would be a smell that would always bring their minds back to this special moment in the Tabernacle. The oil would then be used for anointing and was poured out not just on a person but would be applied to everything in the Tabernacle. Look at verses 26-30 in Exodus 30.
26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.
This oil was everywhere and covered everything leading the smell to permeate through all the air so as to mask all other smells around the people. They would be covered in the sweet perfume that would mask any stench or odor. The oil being placed on these things was done in order to consecrate them. To make them Holy and sacred things before the people and before God. Then Aaron and his sons would be anointed so they too may be set apart like all that was in the tent in order to minister within the tent.
Looking at the last few verses, 31-33, we also see that oil is not to be used carelessly.
31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.’”
This Oil is to be used throughout all the generations and will not be poured onto an ordinary person or a replica mixture be made, otherwise, you will be cut off from God’s people. It has a special preparation and use for the people of God. To be careless or negligent with it was a serious matter that could see someone removed from the rest of the people.
Now we come back to our text in Psalm 133. Having that in mind we can now understand what is going through the people’s minds as David describes this unity being like precious oil. We begin imagining this preciously made oil being poured out onto the top of Aarons' head and all the items that were to be brought into the presence of God. This oil being poured onto Aaron would have a strong and powerful fragrance that even the smelliest person there would be masked by the sweet and fragrant smells of the oil. They would see it start at the top of the head, then run down the beard, then it runs from the beard onto his collar. Now there are two things to see here that I believe are true about the description of oil running on Aaron’s head. The first is the emphasis on the down word direction of the oil. David speaks twice about the downward direction in this verse and once in the next one. I will wait to elaborate on this idea till after looking at the next verse. The second thing though is the image we are seeing here. You see, as he describes the oil running down the face unto the collar of Aarons' robes, I can't help but think that this would require a decent amount of oil. I imagine there being a great abundance of it being poured out that it then reaches down onto his robes. Now we could speculate about the actual amount, but I feel that David is trying to develop a picture through the repetition of the oil running down Aaron’s face and beard onto his robes. There is an abundance of oil that we are to be imaging in this scene.
So now the question is if this is what this meant for the Israelites, what then does it mean for us as the church? How do we understand the good and pleasant experience of unity like it is the oil that David is describing? To summarize what we just talked about, we learned that oil is a special thing that has a special preparation and use. It has a fragrance and aroma about it that permeates into everything. It is for anointing everything that will be in the presence of God, making it holy and sacred.
You see the good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil because we have been made special. We have been prepared from the beginning in a special way. God in Genesis 2 molded us and breathed life into us. We were made in his image and likeness.
Psalm 139:13
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
God has made us and prepared us as a people for himself. We were made to worship him. And now we have been anointed by the Spirit of God. Listen to what is said in Titus 3:4-5
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
The good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil because we have been anointed by God. God poured out his spirit out onto us, having washed us and anointed us. listen to 1 Corinthians 1:21-22,
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Or,
1 John 2:20
20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One,
It was once the priest and the items that were going to be brought into the presence of God that were anointed, but now, us as God’s people, are the anointed ones who are brought into the presence of God. Everything that is anointed is consecrated and made holy. So, church we having then been anointed, are made holy and sacred before God. We then see the good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil because it makes God’s people holy and sacred.
Next, the good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil because it gives God’s people a unique fragrance and aroma. Since we are the ones who have been anointed, we then have a fragrance and aroma that is distinctly unique from everything in creation. It is a fragrance and aroma that smells of life and of the living God. While working on staff at our sending church harvest, I’ll never forget this, we did our staff development which was led by a gentleman named Ronnie Stevens. If you were at our constitution service, he was the older gentleman who gave Sam the pastoral charge. Ronnie had us read a book by Francis Schaeffer called True Spirituality for our staff development. Now I’ll be honest I don’t remember anything about the book but what I do remember about it was in our discussion. Ronnie said something I will never forget that I think will help us as a church understand this idea of the fragrance and aroma of God’s people. He said, and I am paraphrasing by the way, “You can eat something that at one point in your life you disliked but after a time you now enjoy it. You can listen to a song that has no appeal for you at one time but then the next time you hear it you are passionately singing along. What does not change though, is your smell. When something smells terrible, it will always smell terrible and even be nauseating to the senses if bad enough. For something that has a terrible odor will always have a terrible odor. One of the worst-smelling things is something that is dead. No matter what you do, it will always have a stench that cannot be changed unless it is made alive. Church, the living God has poured out his spirit, which has made us alive in him and when gathered together there is a sweet fragrance and aroma of new life that permeates all around us. To the watching world, they can see and smell the goodness of God in us. The good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil because: it has made us special, we have been anointed by God, It makes God’s people holy and sacred, It gives us a unique fragrance and aroma, and It covers all of God’s people in abundance.
It is like Dew
Our second point is the good and pleasant experience of unity is like dew. Let’s look at verse three.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
We see here that David, having first compared the goodness and pleasantness of unity to oil, is now referring to it being like dew. We won’t look at a particular passage as we did in Exodus for dew, but like oil, it has a special significance. You see, I have never been to Israel and would never know this was the case, but thankfully, Sam has. We were talking about this verse in a conversation, and he informed me that there is a dew that falls over Israel regularly. You see while Mount Zion (or Jerusalem) may be no taller than the rolling hills as we talked about earlier and has a much dryer climate. This is not the case for Mount Hermon, which is actually a much much taller mountain. Hermon is just a bit north of Jerusalem, sitting at just above 9000 ft high with snow-capped mountains.
So now, looking back at verse three, David says the dew that comes from Hermon is then falling on the mountains of Zion. Each morning there is a new coat of dew that covers the ground providing water to the people, plants, and vegetation. The dew brings life as it sustains everything it touches each morning. It covers over everything like a blanket on the entire surface of the ground. The good and pleasant experience of unity is like dew because It is the new life and provision we have in Christ.
Throughout the Old Testament, dew is frequently referred to as “the dew of Heaven.” We see in Exodus 16 when God provides manna for the people that it comes in the morning dew. Or,
Isaiah 26:19, “19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.”
Scripture shows us repeatedly that dew brings life and provision to everything it touches. So, what does that tell us about the good and pleasant experience of unity? Well, I think the last sentence in Psalm 133 helps to further understand the point David is saying. He says, “For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” I believe David is telling us something about what dew does but also where it will be. He says, “FOR THERE the LORD has commanded the blessing, Life forevermore.” The words “For There” is a specific place where the people of Israel will find life and provision. They will experience the blessing of life forevermore in that place. That place for them was at Zion, where the people gathered together to worship God at the temple. But what does that mean for us? Where is the place where we will experience this dew, as David is describing? For us, it is the church. For the Church is the gathering place of God’s people who have in themselves the blessing of life forevermore. I said earlier that I would talk about the falling action we see three times here in this psalm. The same word for running down in verse 2 and the word fall here in verse 3, is the same word in Hebrew. Repetition is an important thing to note as it is cluing us into something that is going on. I believe that God’s pouring out of his spirit is the imagery we are to have in mind when thinking about this text. Here in verse three, the dew falling on the mountains of Zion is the spirit of God covering over his people. They experience this new life and provision which sustains them. For us, we have the spirit of God in us, and when we gather, we are then like the dew that falls. Dew doesn’t cover areas in patches but is one blanket of moisture covering the entire surface signifying it is unified. The good and pleasant experience of unity is like dew because when God’s people gather, it is where the blessing of eternal life will be
The early Church’s doctrine of the church was simple; there is ONE holy catholic and apostolic church. We see here that they believed there was to be only one church. The word Catholic means universal meaning that it was all believers across all space and time that are a part of the one church. For them, that meant that there could be no division in the church ever. They could not fathom the idea of there being a church not in unity with the rest of the universal church. Augustine avidly wrote against the Donatist movement, which wanted to separate themselves from the Church. He refused to let the church be divided as God is undivided. The early church understood the importance of the church being unified. God is one, so then we, too, must be one. So, then we as a church must be unified, and if we are, we will experience the good and pleasantness of unity with one another.
You see the oil and dew show us something about the people and the place where God’s people will experience the goodness and pleasantness of dwelling in unity. God, in his grace and kindness has brought individuals, you and I, that were once dead and far from him and are now alive in Christ. God has poured out his spirit unto us making us holy and blameless because of the redemptive work of Jesus. He has then given us the church so that we could dwell in unity together. A place where we could come and worship him together as one and experience the goodness and pleasantness of that unity. The world will see and smell the fragrance and aroma of new life from the way we love one another, how we pray for one another, by how we care for one another. Jesus said they will know you are my disciples by how you love one another. You see we are unified in Christ, and the world will look at us and see Jesus through the unity we have with one another.
For we are made one in Him. So, for the lone Christian who thinks they can live the Christian life apart from the church, I plead with you don’t, because you are robbing yourself of the fullest experience by not being in community with God’s people. I’m not talking about just showing up on Sundays but being a member of a local body. To be a member of a local church is to allow yourself to be loved and cared for by God’s people. Christ is not divided, and neither should we. He has one church, one bride, and the day is coming when He brings home his bride, and all of God’s people will dwell together and experience the goodness and pleasantness of unity at its fullest.
It is good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity. The good and pleasant experience of unity is like oil because it is special, and we have been anointed and been made sacred and holy. We are now masked in a fragrance and aroma that smells of the living God. The good and pleasant experience of unity is like Dew because it tells about the place where we will experience life and provision from the eternal blessing we have in Christ.
Let’s pray