Psalm 133

Well, please turn with me in your vitals to Psalm 133 that was read for us earlier.

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People would sing the Even-Song service in our chapel every Monday. If you're not familiar

with that service, I certainly wasn't when I arrived. Part of the service is that you

sing a psalm and you chant it so that it's one melody and you sing every verse on the

same melody and one half of the choir would be on one side of the chapel and you'd sing

one verse and then another half of the chapel would sing the other half of the other verse.

And every now and again, I think maybe two or three times in my three years, we stumbled

across Psalm 133. And it would start off really well. Behold how good and sweet a thing it is,

brethren, to dwell together in unity. And it's all very well until Aaron gets a load of oil

spilt in his beard and you just see this really weird glazed look come across everyone's eyes.

Most of the people in the choir weren't believers and so most weeks it would just be quite a

bored look. I'll just sing whatever this text is, but it's sort of normal psalm stuff.

But when we got to this, you'd just see everyone begin to give each other very strange looks.

What on earth is going on? Beards and oil and mountains and nobody had any idea.

It's clearly from verse 1 a psalm about unity between brothers.

Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.

And I promised you I wasn't thinking about the EU in any way when I planned to preach on this.

It just struck me. They'd say, oh, that's a similar link. But that's not what it's about.

So what does this psalm mean beyond the fact that it's good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity?

As always, and it might surprise you to learn, that even in the book of Psalms, it's important to look at the context.

If you look at the top of the psalm, it's part of the psalm in the original.

You've got the inscription, a song of ascents of David.

And if you look around the psalm, you'll see, at least on this page, except for the last one, everyone has at the top a song of ascents.

That's because this is one of 15 songs of ascents.

It's a collection that goes together from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134.

And it's about, surprise to Christ, ascents.

That is, people would have to go on a journey up to Jerusalem for various religious feasts.

They'd have quite a few every year.

And if they could, people would go up to Jerusalem for the celebration.

And these were psalms that David wrote for his people for the ascent, for the journey up to Jerusalem, up Mount Zion.

So, in 120, they meditate on their distress and their trouble.

Psalm 121, I lift my eyes up to the hills.

So, they see the dangerous journey ahead of them.

They see the hills, and they wonder, where is my help going to come from for this journey?

And, of course, the answer comes, my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

And the next one is the psalm that we sang earlier.

I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord.

And so, they're off on their journey up the mountains to Zion.

It's arranged.

There are 15, and so there are five sets of three.

So, they all go through one set of three, then the next.

And so, if you can do maths, this one, 133, is the very middle of the final set.

In the final set of three, we have arrived in Jerusalem.

This is where we celebrate the feast.

So, in 131, it's sort of a preparation for worship psalm.

In 132, the celebrations start at the temple.

And in 133, the celebrations continue.

People have come from all corners of the nation.

And they're at the feast, together, singing this psalm.

133.

But, what does it mean?

Well, to understand what it means, there are three things that we need to say.

Three things.

The first thing that we need to see is that unity among brothers makes a difference.

Unity among brothers makes a difference.

It has a real impact.

And let me show you three ways in which it makes a difference.

First of all, it can be seen from the outside.

It's noticeable.

If you look at verse 2, David takes the people back in time about 1,000 years.

So, for us, it's about 3,000 years.

Or 4,000 years for us, rather.

And he takes us to Aaron's ordination service as the high priest.

And he describes the perfumed anointing oil running down his head, on his beard, on the cloak of his garment.

Boys and girls, maybe you can imagine being at this ordination service.

You've gone to this service with your family, brothers and sisters, mommies and laddies.

There's so many people there.

And you can't see anything.

Because it's so busy and people are bustling and everyone's standing up and you can't see a thing.

And so, you cry up to your dad, have they done it yet?

Have they poured the oil on his head?

Because that's how they're going to do it.

That's how they're going to make him a high priest.

And so, daddy picks you up and puts you on his shoulders.

And he asks you, well, what do you see?

Do you see any oil running down his head?

Is this the priest of God yet?

Well, do you see any oil running down his head?

That's how you know.

You can see, this is the anointed one of God because there's oil running down him.

And so, are these the people of God?

Are these his anointed ones?

Well, are they living in unity?

That's the question.

But it's not just that David wants to use this as sort of a,

this is like that, an unilogical comparison.

This is a poem.

And so, there's a reason he's using this image.

What unites them at that feast?

What's the reason they've all come?

It's so that their high priest can offer sacrifices on their behalf.

And beyond that, they are all a kingdom or a nation of priests.

They all together represent God to the other nations.

But they are there united by the one high priest who is there.

They need to know that they have an anointed one who is uniting them.

So, on the one hand, it's a visible comparison.

Unity is like that.

So, he's the priest because he has oil on him.

These people are united, are God's people because they are united.

The second thing we can see, so we've seen from the outside,

but it can be felt from the inside as well.

So, he doesn't just take us on a trip back in time.

He takes us on a trip up north as well in verse 3.

He takes us on a trip to Mount Hermon.

Zion was the main mountain in the south.

Hermon was the big mountain in the north.

It's a very high mountain.

It's got lots of streams on it.

So, the dew on Hermon is really heavy.

Lots of dew.

Really rich, luscious grass.

It's a mountain that's full of freshness and life.

David is trying to give us a sense

of what unity among others feels like from the inside.

It gives you that sense of life forevermore.

And just as with the image of the high priest,

it's not just an easy, logical comparison.

There's a reason he's using the image.

So, because this is the northern mountain,

but they're experiencing the benefits of the northern mountain

in the southern mountain,

they're all sharing in their benefits.

Zion gets the benefit from what Hermon gets.

So, the blessedness of unity among brothers

is experienced as it is shared between brothers.

As everyone benefits together,

enjoying divine blessing together.

The third way it makes a difference

is quite simply at the end of verse 3.

It's where God's blessing is.

So, if you look at that last verse,

where has God's blessing of eternal life been commanded?

It's where brothers dwell together in unity.

And especially at the feast.

That is especially when the brothers have gathered together

to worship God.

It's at the gathering of God's people.

Eternal life is something to be enjoyed together.

If you think eternal life can be enjoyed all on your own,

you're mistaken.

Eternal life is to be enjoyed together with other people.

And all of this is coming down from God.

If you look throughout the psalm,

you see running down, running down, falling.

It's all the same word in the original.

It just means coming down.

And so, the going up to meet with the Lord

is all about the blessing that comes down to them.

So, unity among brothers makes a difference.

Second thing we need to see is that unity among brothers

is a really awkward sermon topic.

When we think about a sermon on unity,

we begin to feel embarrassed.

First of all, it's because we can see it in our history.

We are, you may have noticed,

not in a Roman Catholic church.

We're in a Protestant church.

We are protesting.

We have broken off, sadly.

And there are times when that needs to happen sometimes.

Calvin, in commenting on this psalm,

said that where there is heresy or where there is error,

that we have no choice but to break fellowship.

Because what's happened is actually,

they are broken off from us.

Even though it's the same,

they are still the institution.

They're the ones that have departed from the truth.

And actually, the division was the last thing that the reformers wanted.

They wanted to reform it from the inside.

But once they saw, they have truly departed from the truth.

Sadly, there was no choice.

But there are some divisions as well that are truly unnecessary.

That are truly sinful.

I've seen churches in first hand.

Churches divide over personality,

personal ambition,

and it is hideous.

But we should note that there is a difference between broken fellowship

and different churches.

You can have different churches that still have gospel fellowship.

They might disagree on some issues,

but they are adamant that we are still brothers and sisters in Christ.

And that's an okay thing.

They've come to different conclusions from the Bible.

They're not all right.

Some of them are going to be wrong,

because you can't just decide what truth is.

The Bible tells us what truth is.

But some of them have just interpreted it differently,

and yet we insist that they are still our brothers and sisters.

There is a difference between that and broken fellowship,

where people just cause splits unnecessarily and sinfully.

But division is something that's part of our history,

and we have to face up to that.

It's also a problem not just in our history,

but also in our class.

I've often heard the story of the Welshman dying,

who was stuck on a desert island.

I've heard different versions of the story,

even in different religious contexts.

I've heard it as the New York Jewish man.

But I've heard it as Dye the Welshman,

who was stuck on a desert island,

and he was all on his own.

And after several years,

people finally found him and rescued him.

And when they found him,

they found that he had built three huts on the island.

And they asked him,

what are these three buildings you've made for yourself?

And he walked them through each one,

and he walked by one.

That one over there,

that's the house I live in.

That one over there,

that's the chapel I go to.

That one over there,

that's the chapel I don't go to.

It's a problem in our hearts.

There can be gospel churches

that are full of our brothers and sisters,

to which, if we're honest,

we have a less than charitable attitude.

We are less than loving towards them,

as we should love them.

Thirdly, it's not just a problem

in our history and in our hearts.

It's a problem in our churches.

It's not just division between churches,

but there's division within some churches.

There are churches

where there are members

who have not spoken to each other for 40 years,

even though they've been worshipping

in the same church for 40 years.

And you can see it as an idea.

It's lovely, isn't it?

And I could talk to you about

someone who is

on the other side of the planet,

in some remote tribe,

who speaks a completely different language,

who has never heard of this country,

and yet they believe the gospel.

And you think,

yes, that is my brother and sister in Christ.

That's so exciting

that there is somebody

that different from me

who is my brother and sister in Christ.

But what if I describe someone to you

who maybe they're much richer

or much poorer than you?

Maybe they're more socially awkward than you

or maybe much more outgoing than you?

Maybe, boys and girls,

they get better marks in school than you do

or much worse marks in school?

Maybe somebody who voted differently

from you in the referendum this week?

Or generally votes differently from you?

Someone who struggles with different sins

than you do?

But it's still your brother and sister in Christ.

And what if when I finish that description

you started to realise,

I know this person.

Oh, it's that person.

It's that person in my church.

I don't really like.

It's not always so simple, is it?

When it comes down to living with real people.

But they are your mother and sister in Christ.

So when we read, for example,

Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17,

we can get very embarrassed.

For example,

he prays in John 17, 21,

One,

that all who believe in Jesus might be one,

just as you, Father,

are in me and I in you,

that they also may be in us,

so that the world may believe

that you have sent me.

One commentator on this psalm

writes,

The most spectacularly unanswered prayer

in world history,

they claim,

is Jesus' prayer in John 17, 20-23.

That's this prayer for unity.

Christian kinfolk live in breathtaking disharmony.

This devastates their witness

as it removes the goodness

and the loveliness from them.

It removes their joy

and surrenders their blessing.

The psalm invites us

to consider the loveliness of kinfolk

living as one

and to meditate on the images

for this that it offers,

to see if this inspires us

to live as one.

Calvin's caveats,

which I mentioned earlier

about heresy and error,

show how scandalous

is the psalm's conviction

and how unanswerable

the prayer.

The most spectacularly unanswered prayer

in world history.

So are we a lost cause?

Do we just wait it out

until the new creation

and just try and keep something together

but knowing it will never really be one?

Do we just give an embarrassed shrug

and try and avoid the question?

Is this commentator right?

I don't think so.

The third thing we're going to see

is that unity among brothers

even now

is not wishful thinking.

So we've seen that unity

makes a difference

and that it's a pretty awkward

sermon topic

but even now

unity among brothers

is not wishful thinking.

It is a reality

to be enjoyed.

Let me give you three reasons

for my saying that.

It was real for David.

He wrote this psalm

and he wasn't lying.

And if you know anything

about David's life

you know it was riddled

with disunity

and strife.

Even if you just know

the David and Goliath story

you'll know that

when he arrived

his brothers just made fun of him.

You just want ambition.

All you want to do

is look good.

His family

his brothers

and later on

his own children

it was all a mess.

And his political life

so many people

usually his own sons

trying to take over from him.

His life had disunity

and brokenness

written all over it.

His life didn't look

much better than ours

in fact it looked

much worse.

Yet that's the king

that through the Holy Spirit

wrote this psalm.

Because he recognised

that as he saw

his people

come up

Mount Zion

to Jerusalem

probably people

who had very different opinions

on how he was running

the country

he saw that something

bigger was happening.

He saw that the Lord

was doing something

much bigger

much higher

than what he could see.

He could see

the Lord

gathering his people

for the feast.

He saw true unity

as all these

brothers and sisters

men, women,

boys, girls

coming along together.

And he tasted

that there's

true beauty here.

There is

rich goodness

pleasant sweetness

in this feast.

This was real

for David

and it was real

as well

for Jesus.

David didn't just

write it for people

in his lifetime.

He wrote it

for generations

to come.

The temple

wasn't even finished

in his lifetime.

He was hoping

there would be a temple

for people to come to

and he wanted this

to be for generations

to come

and he wrote it

so that his

greater son,

Jesus,

could sing this

as well.

God the Son

became one

of these brothers.

Jesus became

part of the nation

of priests

and he would go up

to the feasts

with his brothers

and sisters

to sing this

with them

in fellowship.

Have you ever thought

about that,

about how he would

come and he would

sing these psalms

with us?

He is in a sense

our great

worship leader.

And he did so

even as he experienced

great hostility.

he knew that

even when he was

a baby

the king

wanted him dead.

That's quite a lot

to live with.

And yet

with all the opposition

he faced

he came to the feast

and he sang this song.

As David's son

as well

knowing that

he would be

the eternal king

he would establish

this eternal kingdom

he had even more

reason

to rejoice.

In a sense

this is his

eternal song

as he looks on

even today

on his church

gathering for worship

each Lord's day.

And he especially

sees what his people

will be one day.

And he sings

this song

now

he rejoices

at what he sees.

Week by week

he sees people

all over the world

answering the call

to worship

coming to his feast

coming to the Lord's

supper

and feasting together.

And it's why

of course

when Paul

would speak later

in 1 Corinthians 11

about the Lord's

supper

one of the themes

he focuses on

is unity.

What do you need

to sort out

before you come

to the table?

Is there disunity

between you

and another brother?

That's what you

need to sort out.

It's not

have you lived

a perfect life

this week?

It's

is there disharmony?

That's the issue.

Because there's a

key hinge point

in history

that this song

is actually all about.

It's about the day

of Pentecost.

It's the day

when the Spirit

was poured out

the Gospel

was preached

thousands were added

to the Church.

This last day

waiting for his return

began.

That is the day

when Jesus

having ascended

the ultimate

ascent

as high priest

as head

of his church

as head

of the body

he sat down

at God's right hand

and what happened?

He was anointed

with the Spirit

and the Spirit

ran down

from the head

of the church

to the body

of the church.

That's us.

Men,

women,

boys,

girls

from all nations

all

socio-economic

levels

throughout all

of history

received this

blessing

because

Jesus

ascended

and the Spirit

was poured out

on him

and ran down

onto us.

That's what you see

at Pentecost

is the Spirit

running down

from the head

to the body.

That's how Peter

is actually explaining

what's going on

in Acts 2.

This anointing

was the proof

that Jesus

was being

anointed.

That he had

finished his work,

he had conquered.

This is real

for us

in Jesus Christ.

That's the real,

that's the third

thing you see.

It was real

for Jesus

and because of

Jesus

it's real

for us.

But we need

to think about

how that was

possible.

it's because

the most

spectacularly

unanswered

prayer

in world

history

was not

the High

Priestly

Prayer.

It was a

prayer that he

prayed later

in that same

night.

It was the

prayer,

take this cup

away from me.

He prayed

two prayers

that night.

One was,

pour out

the Spirit

on my people

to unite them.

The second

was,

don't pour

out your

wrath on me,

the wrath

that my

people deserve.

But he knew

he couldn't

have one

without the

other.

He knew

that unless

the wrath

came down

on him,

the blessing

would not

come down

on his

people.

He knew

that before

he could

ascend

to heaven

he had

another

ascent

to Jerusalem

and then

up to

Calvary

and then

up on

the cross.

And so

because he

knew that

he prayed

not my

will

but your

will.

God the

Son

suffered the

pouring out

of the

Father's

wrath

to win

the prize

of the

pouring out

of the

Spirit

on him

and everyone

who would

trust

in him.

so he

calls us

week by

week

to enjoy

this,

to gather

for the

feast,

to worship

Lord's

day by

Lord's

day.

And so

here's what

this psalm

means.

Because of

Jesus,

and we're

about to sing

this psalm

at the end

of the

service,

so this

is what

you're

going to

be meaning

when you

sing it.

Because of

Jesus,

unity among

brothers is a

real,

present

blessing

through which

we can

experience,

enjoy,

and display

the knowledge

of Jesus

Christ.

Unity among

brothers is

a real present

blessing through

which we

experience,

enjoy,

and display

the knowledge

of Christ.

So the

person you

feel most

different from

at church,

you are one

with them.

Because Jesus'

prayer has been

answered.

Because the

Spirit has

been poured

out on us.

So I have

brothers and

sisters who

are decades

older and

decades younger,

who have

lighter skin

or darker

skin than

me,

Tory,

Labour,

Lib Dem,

UKIP,

Brexiteers,

Remainers,

Baptists and

Pentecostals,

people who

are richer,

poorer than

me,

because we

all have the

same baptism.

We all

eat bread

and drink

wine.

We are

all the

body.

We all

have the

same High

Priest,

Jesus.

And how

good it

is,

how pleasant

it is,

when brothers

dwell together

in unity.

It is like

the precious

oil on the

head,

running down

on the

beard of

Aaron,

running down

on the

collar of

his robes.

it is

like the

jewel

of

Hermon

which falls

on the

mountains

of

Zion,

for there

the

Lord

has

commanded

the

blessing,

life

forevermore.

So if that's

what it means,

let's think about

the adaptations

I mentioned.

We need to

experience the

knowledge of

Christ in

this unity.

Let's

pursue

love,

love one

another.

that is

Jesus'

great new

commandment.

Do all

that you

can to

ensure that

if fellowship

is broken,

it's only

because the

other has

walked away

from the

Lord.

Do all

you can.

You may

not be able

to restore

each broken

fellowship.

There are

people I

know who are

my brothers

and sisters

in Christ,

who if I

were to

contact them,

I know

they wouldn't

respond.

That's why

it's told

later in

the Bible,

do all

you can

to live

at peace

with others.

So do

all that

you can

to ensure

that if

it's

broken,

it's only

because they

walked away.

So to

experience the

knowledge of

Christ in

this unity,

enjoy Christ

himself in

this unity.

Remember,

each time you

come together,

who it is

who brings

you together.

We don't

come alone,

we don't

come because

we decided

it's a good

idea to

come here.

We come

because Jesus

called us.

And finally,

display Christ

in this unity.

It's our

love for

one another,

that it's

through our

love for

one another,

that the

world will

see that

we belong

to someone

special.

We belong

to Jesus.

It's become

painfully clear,

hasn't it,

this week,

that we

live in a

world,

and especially

a society

here,

that is very

divided.

It probably

didn't become

divided this

week,

it was probably

already pretty

divided,

but this week

we just know

it.

As I mentioned

before,

I'm living in

America,

and see all

kinds of

horrible

divisions over

politics.

Then I came

here and saw

divisions over

different political

questions,

and I go to

France,

and I see

all kinds

of protests,

and people

breaking the

windows even

at the

children's

hospital,

because it

happened to

be on the

streets.

We live

actually in a

very divided

society.

We think the

church is

divided.

Have a look

at the world

and how

divided the

world is.

So what an

amazing opportunity

we have to

show the world

something different.

We have an

opportunity to

show the

world the

glory of

Jesus Christ.

We have an

opportunity to

show that,

yes, this

other person

voted very

differently from

me this week

and disagrees

with me vehemently

on the reasons

for why we

vote one way

or the other,

but he's my

brother in Christ

and I love him,

and that's more

important.

Maybe you're not

a Christian believer

here tonight,

and you realise

that you're seeing

just that.

I hope you are

seeing just that.

I hope you're

seeing just how

good and pleasant

it is for

brothers to live

together in

unity under the

rule of Jesus.

For this is where

God has commanded

the blessing of

eternal life.

And if you want

that blessing,

all you have to

do is turn

around, stop

walking away from

him, which is

what you're doing,

and trust him.

Tell him you want

it.

Tell him you want

him.

And as we do

this, as we

experience and

enjoy and

display the

knowledge of

Christ together

as one, we

can enjoy the

certain hope

that we have

of that day

when we will

be, and we

will fully know

the blessing of

unity and life

forevermore,

and the full

enjoying of God

to all eternity,

we'll know that

that day is

just one day

closer for us

pilgrims on the

Ascent to Zion.

Let's pray

together.