Psalms 133:1-3: in context

Psalm 133 is one of the shortest in the Bible, three verses, and it is simply a delight in one good thing: how good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. That is the whole subject. And to say how good it is, the psalm reaches for two images, both of them things that flow down and cover everything they touch. The first is the precious anointing oil poured on the high priest's head, running down over Aaron's beard and down onto the collar of his robes, an extravagant, consecrating abundance spilling from the top and soaking everything below. The second is the dew of Mount Hermon, the great northern peak, falling on the hills of Zion, a fresh, life-giving moisture coming down from the heights onto the dry ground.

Both pictures say the same thing about unity. It is not a thin, grudging, keep-the-peace arrangement. It is generous and overflowing, something that pours down and spreads over the whole community, blessing everyone it runs across. And the psalm ends by naming why it matters so much. For there, it says, there where God's people dwell together in unity, the LORD commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Unity is not just pleasant; it is the very place God chooses to pour out his blessing. Which means division is not a neutral thing. To fracture the fellowship is to break up the ground where the oil was meant to run and the dew was meant to fall.

The psalm says God commands his blessing where his people dwell together in unity. Am I one who helps the oil run down and the dew fall, or do I keep breaking up the very ground where God pours out his blessing?