The other Saturday I drove down to Rugby Park for the Kilmarnock - Hearts game. Hearts brought a huge travelling support and completely filled the Chadwick Stand. They were in full voice throughout the game but perhaps were at their loudest when they erupted into a rendition of the Queen song, Radio Ga Ga.
Giving it everything they bellowed out…
All we hear is radio ga ga
Radio goo goo
Radio ga ga
All we hear is radio ga ga
Radio blah blah
Radio what’s new
Radio, someone still loves you
The Hearts fans were united in enthusiasm and energy as they sang a song that is close to…meaningless!!
We live in a fragmented and discordant world. And often the occasions when people do unite around a common cause or ideal it turns out to be superficial, or worse can actually be destructive.
Against that background we turn from the clamour and bustle of our modern world to the sacred hush of God’s eternal Word.
Today we focus on the penultimate psalm in the “songs of ascents” collection. Psalm 133.
We find that King David once again opens his heart and as he does we find him yearning for a quality of life and fellowship that many long for but few attain…
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life for evermore.
As you read over David’s words celebrating the blessing of unity among God’s people, it is helpful to reflect on how we ought to live in community of faith.
I believe three words express David’s deep longing that the people of God would be one in heart and mind. They act as useful guides as we journey with our fellow pilgrims.
The first is…
➡️ Priceless (verse 1)
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
This sentence captures an Old Testament truth that all Israelites, including even debtors, slaves and offenders, were brothers in God’s sight (e.g. Deuteronomy 15:3, 12; 25:3).
From the perspective of the New Testament, Jesus taught that if God is my Father, then the church is my family (Matthew 6:9; John 17). Eugene Peterson said in this regard that “when we become Christians, we are among brothers and sisters in faith. No Christian is an only child.”
However, the fact that we are a family of faith does not mean we are one big happy family. The people we encounter as brothers and sisters in faith are not always nice people. It is therefore incumbent on us that we make a commitment to pursue unity in the church. To do that we need to let go of bitterness, pride and selfish ambition and make “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). We are called to “bear with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).
Priceless becomes…
➡️ Sacred (verse 2)
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
Here is the first of two images in Psalm 133 that offer a great deal of insight into the task of fostering and shaping a good and pleasant life together in Christ.
The picture comes from Exodus 29, where instructions are given for the ordination of Aaron and other priests. This included anointing with oil. Oil, in Scripture, is a sign of God’s presence, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. But in this context oil was used to anoint an individual and mark him as a priest. And so living in the community of God’s people means that I see my brother or sister as a priest. When we see another believer as God’s anointed, our relationships are profoundly affected (1 Peter 2:9). The anointing oil points to unity as a sacred blessing from God.
And sacred becomes…
➡️ Miraculous (verse 3)
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
The second image is of Mount Hermon's dew. I use the word miraculous because Hermon was the main mountain in the north and Zion was the main mountain in the south. And here Hermon’s dew falls on Zion’s hill. That they should be unified in this way could only be an act of God. In a similar way, David recognised that the unity of the family of God’s people is a miraculous work of God.
Of this priceless, sacred and miraculous community the Psalm ends, “For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life for evermore.” What a truly remarkable gift from God…his blessing.
I conclude by quoting Eugene Peterson once again who said, “Living together in a way that evokes the glad song of Psalm 133 is one of the great and arduous tasks before Christ’s people.” It may not be easy but it honours our Lord Jesus and becomes a window through which a watching world can see the communal life that was part of God’s original intention for his creation (John 17:23). The Christian church has a much better song to sing!
(Picture - Eaglesham Moor)
Song choice - The God We Love - CityAlight, Matt Redman)
"the journey" playlist -
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r5rMcrNlmUMQqHyIBfCmg?si=YtwsF-OuT9-160jOeH26gQ&pi=iHT32HMRSleMD
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