Psalm 133 is the fourteenth of the fifteen “Ascent Songs” or
“Pilgrim Psalms” and from the title we see that the writer was David. When
David became king he was 30 years old and he inherited a divided nation and
almost a civil war. He first was anointed king of Judah and Benjamin and ruled
in Hebron for seven-and-a-half years. But then the Lord gave him a united
kingdom (2 Sam. 5; 1 Chron. 12:38-40) and he ruled over all twelve tribes from
Jerusalem for the next thirty-three years. He could well have written this
psalm when he began his reign in Jerusalem.
The people of Israel usually journeyed to Jerusalem in
family groups (see Luke 2:41-52) to observe their three special feast days, so
this psalm perfectly suited the situation. It applies to individual believers
and churches today, for we also have our "family quarrels" and need
to learn to walk together in love. Maintaining the spiritual unity of God's
people is the work of every believer, with the help of the Holy Spirit (Eph.
4:1-6). For God’s people to enjoy the
pleasantness of unity we must experience at least three ministries of the
Spirit that are illustrated in this psalm.
In verse 1, David called the people “brethren”. The Jewish people all had a common ancestor in Abraham; they spoke a common
language; they worshiped the same God; they were children of the same covenant;
they shared a common land; and they were governed by the same holy law.
Christians today have experienced being born again by the Holy Spirit (John
3:3-6), worship the same God, declare
the same gospel message, preach from the same Scriptures, and are headed for
the same heavenly city. How sad though, that there is often more division among
us than unity! Yet all of us know that spiritual oneness in Christ (Gal.
3:26-29; Eph. 4:1-6) is both "good and pleasant."
In verse 2, we can also experience the pleasantness of
unity because we are anointed by the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, this
means that we are being filled by the Holy Spirit and under the control of the
Spirit. When the high priest was anointed, the oil ran down his beard to the
front of his body and over his collar. This suggests that the oil
"bathed" the twelve precious stones that he wore on the breastplate
over his heart, and this "bathing" is a picture of spiritual unity.
When God's people walk in the Spirit, they forget about the externals and major
on the eternal things of the Spirit. Externals divide us, gender, wealth,
appearance, ethnic prejudices, social or political standing, while the Spirit
brings us together and we glorify Christ.
In verse 3, we have a beautiful illustration of being
refreshed by the Holy Spirit for our daily task. The Jews were basically an
agricultural people and they depended on the early and latter rains and the dew
to water their crops (Deut. 11:10-17). In Scripture, dew symbolizes the
life-giving Word of God (Deut. 32:2), the blessing of God that brings fruitfulness
(Gen. 27:28, 39; Deut. 33:13, 28), and God's special refreshing on His people
(Hos. 14:5; Zech. 8:12). How often we need the refreshment of the Holy Spirit
that comes silently but bountifully, like the dew upon the grass!
The dew speaks of fruitfulness and the anointing oil speaks of fragrance, for
the unity of God's people is both "good and pleasant."
The word “there” in verse 3 no doubt refers to Jerusalem on
Mt. Zion. “Salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22). It was “there” that Jesus made
the ultimate sacrifice that made it possible for us to have “peace with God”,
and the experience “the blessing and life forevermore”. Both images, the oil
and the dew, remind us that unity is not something that we "work up"
but that God sends down by His Holy Spirit. When we get to the heavenly Zion
(Heb. 12:18-29), there we will enjoy perfect unity. But why not seek to have
that kind of unity today?
God bless!
