Psalm 133: Unity

 

Is there a more used buzzword in our world today than unity? It seems that wherever or whenever there is division and discord there is someone calling for unity, for people to get along, love each other or agree to disagree. But are any of those things unity? Is unity overlooking disagreements? Is it tolerance of differences? Is it figuring out how to live peaceably? Does unity have anything to do with agreement? Psalm 133 tells us what unity does, then we’ll turn to John 17 and allow Jesus to tell us what unity is. 

David begins his fourth and final Song of Ascents with a single word that sets the entire tone, “Behold”. Behold is an exclamation, it calls attention to something important, it means “Look!”, “See!”, “Take notice!” It’s a word that is meant to slow the reader down, to open the ears and clear the mind, what is about to be spoken is of great worth. But “Behold” is not just an announcement of important information, it’s often an announcement of new or unknown information. It’s similar to when Jesus would say, “Truly, truly, I say to you . . .” Nineteen times in the book of John Jesus used that phrase and then revealed something about Himself, something that had not been know, something that had to be heard and believed. David calls for our attention because there is something we need to learn, “how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

This isn’t David’s opinion, it’s not even his experience, its truth breathed by the Holy Spirit. Unity is good and it’s pleasant, with that most of us can agree, but the part we must behold, that we don’t know and must learn is that there is something that happens in unity that can’t, that won’t happen outside of it. 

David wrote, “It (unity) 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!” Unity isn’t just like any oil, it’s like the oil used to anoint the priests. In Leviticus 8:10-13, there was a specific anointing oil that was used only to consecrate all the items in the Tabernacle and the priests, who served in the Tabernacle. That specific oil was used for no one and nothing else. This means that Psalm 133 is showing us that there is an anointing, a priestly anointing, that happens in unity that does not happen outside of it. Aaron and his sons stood as priests between God and Israel. They made the sacrifices for the people to God, and they instructed in and upheld the law of God to the people. God said that the priestly blessing, that they spoke over Israel in Numbers 6, put His name upon the people. In unity, God is made known to men and men are made whole before God. Unity ushers in the anointing that makes way for redemption, restoration, transformation and healing. Maybe the best way I can say this is that there is a holiness in unity that is not found outside of it. 

David didn’t just give one description of unity, he added, “It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!” Mount Hermon is said to be the tallest mountain in Israel, always snow-capped and consistently abounding in dew. This dew provides the headwaters for the Jordan River which is the life-giving artery of Israel. Unity is not only a place of holy anointing, but of consistent provision. This was proven and revealed through the first church in Jerusalem. Acts 2 tells us that group of believers, numbering to several thousand “devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” It says that each day they attended the temple together and in the evening, they broke bread in their homes, again, together. They sold their possession and their belongings and distributed to all, as any had need. Then in Acts 4, possibly months later, as this group of believers continued to grow in number but also continued to grow in unity, it says “those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.” It then describes the results of this active unity, “There was not a needy person among them”. The grace of God had united them as the people of God and in that unity, God had provided for them not only holiness for their spiritual lives, but sustenance for their physical lives. There is a provision in unity that is not found outside of it. 

From the two comparisons, David makes a statement, “For there (in unity) the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” It is in unity that God has commanded eternal life. I think part of our struggle is in how we define eternal, everlasting or life forevermore. For the most part we think of living forever, going to heaven, the life that begins when this life is over, but what if the blessing God has commanded is not the blessing we have expected? What if our definitions are off? In John 17:3 Jesus prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Jesus defined eternal life as knowledge of and relationship with God. Eternal life is not about how long we live or where we live, but finding our lives, our contentment and satisfaction in God Himself. And what David was teaching us is that happens in unity. In unity God is seen, heard and known more clearly. In unity, all our differences come together to give a clearer picture of the One in whose image we have all been made. In unity I see God through you in ways that I cannot see Him in myself. In unity I hear His voice in a greater depth and a clearer tone. In unity I am challenged and stretched while also comforted and cared for. In unity I can’t hide from sin or in shame. In unity I see clearly God’s character and my condition, and in unity I’m empowered and embraced so that my condition can be transformed into God’s character. In unity I don’t just see Jesus, I’m made like Jesus. 

If Psalm 133 is about what happens in unity, if unity is where anointing and provision flow and where the blessing of eternal life is commanded, then the question we must ask is what is unity? In Jesus’ prayer for the apostles and for all who would believe because of the witness of the apostles (that’s us) He prayed, “that they may be one even as we are one”. Unity is displayed in the relationship of the Godhead, of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, the Son only does what He sees the Father doing, the Spirit only says what He hears. There is divine difference and yet there is perfect unity because there is unwavering commitment. Unity is far more about commitment to each other than it is agreement with each other. Jesus endured the cross because He was convinced of the Father’s love and commitment to each other. The Holy Spirit lives in us because He is committed to His purpose to glorify the Son. The Father sent the Son because He was committed to giving Jesus the name that is above every other name. The relationship of the Godhead is the picture of unity: love, humility, confidence and commitment. 

Unity within the Body of Christ is not simply finding people we agree with, it’s committing ourselves to Christ by committing ourselves to each other. We are one body with many members and each member belongs to all the others (Romans 12:5). We are still human, we are being conformed to the image of Jesus, but we are not there yet, we will disagree, we will struggle, we will even offend and be offended, but the anointing we need and long for is found when we endure with each other for the sake of Christ. We are in need of provision and sustenance, but it’s poured out when we don’t just walk with those we agree with but we commit ourselves to walk with those that God has set about us (that’s the real context and language of Amos 3:3). We were created for eternal life, but that is not where each of us go after we die, it is how we are meant to live now and forever more. It is to live with each other in a way that reveals more of who God is to and through each other. Here’s the truth about unity, it can’t happen outside of Christ, but in Christ it must happen. 

Here’s the last piece of this call to unity. In John 17, Jesus continued praying, “that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” Our greatest witness is found in our relationships with each other. If we truly want to win the lost to Christ, we must commit ourselves to the Body of Christ. When we scatter over disagreements, we diminish our witness. When we gather only with those who think like we think we are choosing our comfort over our calling. When we allow disappointment or offense to cause us to leave people or places that God had called or joined us to, we are walking after the flesh not walking in the Spirit. Jesus prayed for us to be united so that the world could be saved, we can’t pray for the world to be saved unless we are willing to live in unity. It’s not just agreement it’s commitment and it’s not just where blessings flow to us, it’s where they flow down from God to the world that God desires to save. The only way to live for the salvation of the world is to live in unity as the church.