Beauty in Unity - Psalm 133
- Abigail Brock
- Jun 13
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 18
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”
It is not just good, it’s delightful, it’s excellence. It’s a sense of quiet, peaceful joy.
It’s not just for regular friendships. This is for the people of God. It’s a sense of unity. It’s a reflection of our relationship with God. We have peace with God, but not because of the absence of conflict. It’s the exact conflict that destroyed our perfect relationship with God. It was the conflict between enemies. Jesus Christ Himself is our peace, and He made peace by submitting to the Father’s will to be put to death in our place. The Father poured out His righteous wrath on His righteous, unblemished Son who had done no wrong, never gave into temptation and never acted on any selfish impulse. God’s people reflect this unity when we live together, walking out life together practicing making peace by noting our sin, confessing, agreeing that we have sinned, repenting and turning to walk in a different direction than we were in that sinful act, asking for forgiveness and being forgiven. This is how to have relational peace. Both parties need to be walking in this, humbly, which reflects the heart of God, the name and righteous, unified character of God. Our relational peace is a picture of the gospel to the watching world. It is a noticeable difference from the world. It sets believers apart from the world, riddled with conflict. In fact, it fulfills God’s command to walk in love. “In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:10-11
“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.”
This oil was special anointing oil, it was purified and poured to anoint the head of the first priest, Aaron. This was a calling of those set apart to serve God. The priestly services included teaching the people God’s Word, offering sacrifices for atonement, the forgiveness of sins, offerings for fellowship, peace, and thanksgiving. The oil set apart even the priestly garments, consecrated to God as holy. The priests served God in His presence and served God’s people. The oil was a refreshing, exquisite odor that was often poured on the head when people in the Middle East entered a home. It was to refresh the weary traveler, especially a warm sign of hospitality. Jesus noticed when not only His head was anointed in someone’s home, but when the woman in Luke 7:46-48 anointed His feet. Like the pleasing aroma that revived, so does Christian unity revive and bring a lovely atmosphere. This oil was abundant, plenty, more than enough for it to run down the head, beard and robes. God’s blessings are abundant to those who live according to His name, serving Him, surrendered daily and loving Him with their whole heart. We cannot live in this beautiful unity in our own power, but we need the power, presence and anointing of the Jolt Spirit. He gives us the power to live in this unique way.
“It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!”
This dew is abundant. It’s a stark contrast to the arid, dry desert surrounding Mt. Hermon.* It is so rich and abundant as if a fresh, light rain had continually been falling to continually give life and rich, refreshing vibrance to stimulate growth of the vegetation. It’s a place attributed to the transfiguration of Jesus, and a pinnacle point of significance since it marked the limits of the promised land in Deuteronomy 3:8 and Joshua. Its snowcapped peaks were called the breastplate (of righteousness) and provide a rich spring of water on which profuse amounts of dew are present.* David noted how beautiful it is when all of Israel, from the north to the south, is united. What a taste of heaven! Like this dew, God’s favor and Spirit flow abundantly, giving power and strength to the believer to walk with Him in righteousness and in unity with other believers. This is a picture of precious, sweet fellowship. Where the Spirit’s presence is, there is power and life. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). No wonder this was considered the mount of transfiguration! When we truly meet and know and walk with Jesus, we are transformed, forever changed. It shows, and it is especially joyous to walk the Christian life with those who also know and love and walk with Him! We cannot walk this walk without the power of the Spirit. It gives cause to examine oneself – am I walking in the transformed power of the Spirit? Am I loving the brethren? Does my local church body reflect this sacred unity? If not, what can we do? Repentance and prayer is the place to start. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-17, “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.” Or perhaps the love of the church has grown cold, like in the Spirit’s warning to the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2. The antidote is repentance and doing the works we did at first.
“For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.”
This is a command in John 17:20-23. Jesus wanted us to be one, as He and His Father are one. Jesus was so focused on His unity with the Father and fulfilling the Father’s will. He talked about it throughout the book of John and noted in His prayer here that He did his Father’s will, not losing one of His sheep, except Judas in verse 12. Life everlasting IS the blessing, it is the beauty of heaven – of living in God’s holy presence with all the brethren who endured to the end and were saved in Matthew 24:13. Disunity robs us of this blessing, misrepresents God, profanes His name and blasphemes His righteous character. May we live in this righteous reflection of God’s name and character, representing with excellence the glorious salvation and hope that we have to the watching world. This fragrant aroma that sets us apart and shows a winsome example of God’s delightful presence, for it is there we experience fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Can you imagine this taste of heaven on earth in true Christian fellowship, looking forward to the day when we will sing this with David, the children of Israel, and all the believers in God’s presence for eternity?! How delightfully good and pleasant it will be!
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