Like a number of Psalms, this psalm of David was written as a ‘song of ascents’ for worshippers going up to Jerusalem. We can imagine the scene of excitement and joy as they journey with one purpose, to worship God, singing as they go. This is a great backdrop as we look at this Psalm.
The Psalm has one message summed up in the first verse; “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” So unity is both good in God’s eyes and lovely for us! Picture the pilgrims travelling, they would have been an assortment of people from different regions and backgrounds, united in their love for God. How often have we met another Christian and immediately been drawn to them as we share together? It is the bond of God’s family and it is like no other!
The Psalmist goes on to give 2 similes to help us get the picture; first the precious oil which would have been a lovely way of greeting a guest, refreshing them and masking any smells from the journey in a hot country! And though precious, it is not used sparingly: it runs onto the beard too. Then it is as though the thought develops and he thinks of the consecrating oil for Aaron as priest. So this unity is holy as well as refreshing and precious; the priests were set apart and sanctified for God’s service. Apparently the same Hebrew verb is used 3 times for ‘running down’ - the oil is ‘running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, [running] down to the edge of his robe’; beautiful poetry helping us to get the picture of the lavish anointing.
The second picture is of the dew of Hermon, copious dew that saturated everything, quietly refreshing and bringing life, in contrast to other parts of Israel. Hermon was in the North so its dew would not actually fall on Mount Zion, but in his mind’s eye it is as if this dew extended to the mountains of Zion. So unity among God’s people is not noisy (though it can be!), it quietly gives life and nourishment, like a beautiful watered garden, and that dew seeps out to the dry areas around. As we are united with our brothers and sisters in Christ this will speak more to the world of the power and beauty of God’s love than our words can ever do!
So this Psalm assaults our senses; the picture of the oil and the dew, the beautiful and all-pervading smell and the quiet refreshing that spreads and gives life.
This is how it should be for us as God’s family. The unity of God’s people is something special, it cuts across all our normal social boundaries and draws us together with Christ as the common bond. It is a place where we are safe to be ourselves, where we ‘live together’, sharing our lives, are accountable to each other, see each other as we are with no pretence, accept our differences of opinion, and above all forgive and love each other. Isn’t this just what God has done for us, accepted us as we are, forgiven us for all our failures and loved us enough to die so that we could be his family?!
“For there the Lord bestows [or commands] his blessing, even life for evermore.” This is how it will be in eternity, we might have to work at it for the moment, but this is the key to blessing and God has given us his Spirit to help us!
I love it when God commands a blessing, it is unstoppable!
Father forgive us that we fall so far short of this model you have set for us, we sometimes feel more like an unruly rabble than a beautiful family, and we are sorry. Help us to fix our eyes on Jesus and remember his prayer for us…
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they may be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:20-23
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