When Brothers Dwell in Unity

When I worked in a music shop one of my jobs was to make sure all the guitars were in tune.  I did this by tuning each one to a well tuned piano.  However, there’s another way I could have done it and that would have been to tune one guitar to the piano and then to tune each guitar to the guitar I had just tuned.  But the problem would have been the last guitar tuned would be in tune with itself, but not necessary with the first guitar that was tuned!  Unity requires consistency.  If the songs of ascents represent the various aspects of the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem, this one represents the necessary of unity!  The pilgrimages would have been made up of extended families as in Luke’s Gospel where Joseph and Mary take Jesus to Jerusalem for the Passover and are unaware that he’s stayed behind, thinking that he was among their friends and relatives (Luke 2:41-52).  So the stress levels could have been quite high!  But it’s necessary to arrive for worship in the right frame of mind!

The first thing to note is unity is a good thing.  Now we might think that’s obvious, but Cain fell out with Abel over worship (Genesis 4:1-16) and Abraham and Lot separated due to disagreements between their herdsmen (Genesis 13:2-13).  The point is unity doesn’t come naturally and the first verse of the psalm emphasises this.  ‘Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!’  The use of the word: ‘Behold’ emphasises that unity is an unusual thing!

David, the writer, now wants to illustrate the nature of this unity.  In Exodus 29:7 and 30:22-33 we are given an account of the ordination of Aaron as high priest.  Oil was poured on his forehead, but the psalm makes it clear he was drenched in stuff.  In other words the blessings and benefits that unity brings spreads among the Lord’s people as they are not limited.  Our worship is not limited to a Sunday!  The Sunday service is worship, but so is the ‘Church Members Meeting’.  Yet people often treat them as two totally different things in the way they conduct themselves.  I have a feeling church meetings would be very different if we regarded them as worship!  David then gives another example of the way this blessing of unity is not limited with the example of Mount Hermon.  Hermon was a large mountain whereas, the mountains surrounding Jerusalem were not.  Yet David uses the picture of the dew falling on them both and not being limited to one or the other.  There is something very refreshing about dew soaked mornings and  David is conveying unity among God’s people is refreshing.

Lastly, David points out the way true unity is found.  The examples throughout the psalm speak of unity as coming from above and when we come to the second part of verse 3 we see that real unity comes from the Lord.  The Hebrew word for the Lord here is ‘Yahweh’ illustrating unity is found in God’s covenant nature, in other words within his Law.  Tracy and I have a friend who’s been very involved in the General Synod of the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Council.  But a while ago she resigned.  The reason for this, as far as we can make out, is that whenever a subject was being discussed and she wanted to apply scripture, people were saying something like: “that’s all very well, but we want to listen to people’s experience”.  Getting back to my guitar illustration, the leadership of the Church of England seem more concerned about being in tune with a particular group of people, rather than scripture!  But real unity can only be found in God’s Word!  But what is rather interesting is that the Lord has: ‘commanded the blessing, life for evermore’ (v3).  It’s not just the Lord gives it; he commands unity and the blessing that goes with it from and for his people.

In the end real unity is found in God’s Word.  The churches in Galatia had embraced Jewish teaching and probably had a superiority complex because of that.  But the Apostle Paul pulls the rug from under them.  ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise’ (Galatians 3:28-29).   Unity and reconciliation are only found in the ‘Word’ and that’s the Lord Jesus Christ who is the centre of all Scripture!

Would you like to listen to a sermon on the passage? When Brothers Dwell in Unity.