Expository - OT
Psalm 120
Psalm 121
Psalm 122
Psalm 123
Psalm 124
Psalm 125
Psalm 126
Psalm 127
Psalm 128
Psalm 129
Psalm 130
Psalm 131
Psalm 132
Psalm 133
Psalm 134
Expository - Songs of Degrees
Psalm 133by Graham Jones - The Church at Gun Hill
Psalm 133
In the previous Psalm, David desired a resting place for the Lord, where He might dwell in the midst of His people. In Psalm 133 that resting place is revealed - not a building made with man's hands. Solomon had come to the realisation of that when he dedicated the temple. "Why," he declared, "not even the heaven of heavens could contain God." Here is the house of God just as we find it also revealed in the New Testament in I Timothy 3 v 15: "..the house of God which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the Truth." Here is God's dwelling place - the church of the living God, the very people of God. This is what is brought out in Psalm 133 when it refers to brethren dwelling together in unity. There is nowhere else on earth where brethren dwell together in unity, apart from the church.Unity in Love
In Ephesians 4 vv 1-6 Paul speaks of that wonderful unity. "There is one Body and one Spirit even as you are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all." Do you not know that you are the temple of God, a temple of the Holy Spirit?Now the love that we have for God is not just some emotional feeling that we have for Him. You can have some emotional feeling for God but never meet together with brothers and sisters in the Lord. Of course, if we do love God it will affect our whole being, but to love God is also to love what God loves. The word of God exhorts us that we should love one another, something which we cannot do of our own ability. The only time that we can love one another is when God has done that work of salvation, when the cross is applied to our life and self is crossed out. Then we are reconciled to God. Then there is no more self to oppose. Then we are one in Christ Jesus.
Why do we love God? Because He first loved us. When we truly love God and He is working in our lives, then we will love one another. The world cannot keep the command to love one another, only those that are redeemed and know the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. How sweet and pleasant to dwell in unity.
Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. That unity is not manufactured by us but comes from hearts filled by the love of God. If we do not love one another then, and I say this on the authority of the Bible, it is because we do not love God. If we love God, then we will love one another. The first epistle of John chapter 4 v 20 makes it quite clear.
Family Unity
Stop pretending! Look at what the possibilities are in Jesus Christ and live the reality, the life that is available for us in Christ Jesus. Now you may wonder what right I have to say these things. You know me. I am not a visiting speaker who can perhaps put on an act. You know what I am like. You know my faults and failings. That is where this Psalm encourages me for it is described as a Psalm of David. Now amongst David and his brethren there was anything but unity. His elder brothers were annoyed when he turned up at the Israelite camp when Goliath was taunting them. His own children fought amongst themselves even to the point of murder. Later, David's own son, Absalom, rebelled against him. There was much strife in his own family and yet he could write about a pleasant and beautiful unity among brethren.David knew that this was not a unity which you could find in the world. It was not a natural unity. This unity is in the Lord. There were brethren that David had in the Lord. Did not Jesus make such a comment when his family, in earthly terms, came to see Him. Jesus said, turning to those who faithfully followed Him, "These are my brethren: those who listen to and do the will of God." That is where there is unity - in the family of God. We are children of the living God, born of His Spirit and filled with His Spirit. We are brethren. We are untied by closer ties than the natural tie. We are one in the Spirit.
Behold how good and pleasant it is. The command to behold is an instruction to us to be aware of it, look for it and value it. In John 17 Jesus prayed for this unity. If Jesus prayed for it, then it is ours. He said, "Now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name those whom Thou hast given me that they may be one as we are." That is the fulness of it. In John 17 Jesus prayed for a perfect unity for every one of His people: "That they all may be one; as Thou Father art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as Thou hast loved me." There is a testimony here in this glorious unity, that the world may know the reality of who Jesus is and who we are. By this shall all men know that we are His disciples, by the love we have one for another.
Unity of the Spirit
Praise God that we have been baptised by One Spirit into the one body of Christ that we might know this glorious unity. The early church experienced this straight away. In the early chapters of Acts, all the believers - not just twelve, or one hundred and twenty, but three thousand were added to the church on the Day of Pentecost and a little later five thousand - all had everything common. They shared everything. Some sold possessions of lands and such like and brought the money to the apostles to distribute amongst needy believers. Ananias and Sapphira tried to deceive the apostles and the Lord by withholding money they had promised as a result of which they died. The threat to this precious unity could not be allowed. Others, however, brought what they had. People did not call things their own; they had all things common.Jesus prayed for this unity. The early church experienced it. Now we, through the word of God are exhorted to keep and maintain that unity. And we can, by faith, as we go on in the Lord. Ephesians 4 v 3 gives us the mind of God to act upon: "Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Then Philippians chapter 2 v 2: "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..." With such a mind in us, there will be the perfect unity that evokes the cry, "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
Jesus prayed for our unity; the early church experienced it; we too may know and maintain that precious unity in the Spirit. We are brethren. We are born of the Spirit into the family of God. We are indwelt by the same Spirit and we are dwelling together in Him. We do not just come together for the occasional meeting. No, brethren dwell together in unity. The word translated by "dwell" means "residing permanently". We reside together. There can be no pretence, no lies or deceit, no outward show. We know each other well, dwelling together as a family, the family of God.
How Good and Pleasant it is!
As we dwell closely together in the Spirit, as we get to know what each one is like, we need to bear in mind that it is by grace that we are the children of God. Of course, we must come to know the self-life crucified, otherwise there will be strife and bitterness. But the Body of Christ makes increase of itself in love. In I Peter 4 v 8 we learn that love covers a multitude of sins. So although we may have many shortcomings, love can cover all that. It should be like that in the church. Other people's shortcomings should not be the opportunity to have a go at them, or to gossip about them. Love should cover it all. God's love to us was so great that not only did he cover our sins, but he dealt with them and put them all away, blotting them out. He paid the price. And the Word of God says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."We could maintain an outward unity, being nice and polite to each other, meeting occasionally, briefly and formally. As soon as the meeting is over then it would be, "Sorry, I can't stop; must dash." What sort of coming together or unity is that? There is no communication or communion because we are locked into a particular form of service and as soon as it is over - home. There is no desire to share in real fellowship with other brothers and sisters. No, this Psalm speaks of dwelling together in unity. If we are in continual and close contact with each other, there may be times when there will be a bit of friction between various personalities, but that is the opportunity for the Lord to bring those things to light and deal with them.
How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
