Bible Commentaries

PSALM 133

THE EXCELLENCY OF BROTHERLY UNITY

This is the fourteenth of the so-called Pilgrim Songs, or Songs of Ascents. The superscription attributes the Psalm to David, but that superscription was omitted by the RSV, perhaps indicating some reluctance on the part of translators to accept David's authorship. A tiny thing such as this points to the weakness of that version.

Leupold accepted the Davidic authorship, pointing out that, "The evidence against it is not convincing."¹ Such things as the existence of Aramaisms in the text, often relied upon by the late-daters of Biblical books, are utterly worthless as evidence of date, as we have repeatedly emphasized.

Mitchell Dahood pointed out that, "Although wanting in the Targum and in some manuscripts of the LXX, the attribution of this Psalm to David is sustained in the Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11."² These are commonly described as the "Dead Sea Scrolls, and are discussed in Vol. IV of James A. Sanders book, Discoveries in the Judean Desert of Jordan (Oxford University Press, 1965).

In this light there is no excuse whatever for denying David as the author here.

As for the occasion, there are several guesses; but the most reasonable one, to us, is that of Matthew Henry. "Some conjecture that David penned this psalm upon the occasion of the union of all the Twelve Tribes when they met unanimously to make him king."³

Psalms 133:1-3

The Text of this Psalm

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

That ran down upon the beard even Aaron's beard;

That came down upon the skirt of his garments;

Like the dew of Hermon,

That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion:

For there Jehovah commanded the blessing,

Even life forevermore."

"For brethren to dwell together in unity" (Psalms 133:1). To us it appears as ridiculous that some interpreters have tried to find in this a Biblical injunction recommending that married brothers live in the same dwelling with their parents. From the beginning, God has ordained that a man should "leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife" (Genesis 2:24). Mixing multiple families under one roof is an impossible social device. "What is referred to here is a covenant nation of `brothers' worshipping together in Jerusalem."⁴

As Dummelow pointed out, "This exquisite gem of a song describing the blessings of unity was especially suitable as a Pilgrim Song, when rich and poor, priest and peasant, would fraternize on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem."⁵

Quoting Hengstenberg, Delitzsch stated that, "David here brings to the consciousness of the church the glory of the fellowship of the saints."⁶

"Like the precious oil on the head ... of Aaron ... that ran down on his beard ... and skirt of his garments" (Psalms 133:2). In Leviticus 8, are recorded God's instructions to Moses for the anointing of Aaron the High Priest, who, by virtue of his office, is an Old Testament type of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Significantly, the anointing oil was poured upon the head of Aaron; and all of the scholarly disagreement about whether it ran down to his collar or the hem of his skirt is pointless. In all probability it ran all the way to the floor! Just try pouring even a small cup of oil on anyone's head! There was an exceedingly important reason for this most generous pouring of oil on Aaron's head. It symbolized in the Great Anti-Type the unlimited reception of the Holy Spirit by our Lord upon the occasion of his baptism.

Contrasting with this, of course, was the fact that the suffragan priests received no such treatment, the holy oil, in their anointing, being merely sprinkled upon their garments, not poured upon them. Those lesser priests, the sons of Aaron, are Old Testament types of Christians; and the great spiritual impact of these facts is that, "Although Christ was endowed with the unlimited possession of the Holy Spirit, Christians receive only a token gift."

The mention here of that holy oil of anointing with its undeniable application as a symbol of the Holy Spirit is most significant. Brethren dwelling together in unity is possible only when such fruits of the Holy Spirit as love, joy, peace, goodness, longsuffering, kindness, faithfulness, self-control, etc. (Galatians 5:22f) are found among them. Where these are present, one finds a little breath of heaven on earth. Blessed indeed is such unity.

The mention of Aaron, the high priest here also has another significance, pointed out by Rawlinson. "He bore on his breastplate the names of the twelve tribes; so when the anointing oil was poured on his head, it ran down over all the tribes of Israel, stressing their oneness and unity."⁷

"There Jehovah commanded the blessing" (Psalms 133:3). Just as the blessings of God in the Old Dispensation were promised only to those who worshipped God in that city, the same truth prevails today in the fact that God's promises are limited to those in "one place." Where is that? An apostle has made it clear enough.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

"Jehovah commanded the blessing" (Psalms 133:3). How do blessings Come? God commands them. The same truth is stated in Deuteronomy 28:8 and in Leviticus 25:31.

"Like the dew of Hermon that cometh down upon the mountains of Zion" (Psalms 133:3). The geographical problem here lies in the fact of "Mount Hermon's being a hundred air miles from Jerusalem."⁸ There are several possible solutions: (1) This is a figure of speech, meaning that very plentiful dew will fall upon Jerusalem, meaning that very plentiful dew will fall upon Jerusalem. (2) The cold breezes from Hermon actually produce heavy dew in Jerusalem. (3) the "dew of Hermon" is used in the same sense that Isaiah used the word dew in that prophecy (Isaiah 26:19) as a symbol of the resurrection and immortality. Dahood adopted this view, stating that, "The mention of `life forevermore' at the end of the verse suggests some allusion to immortality in `the dew of Hermon.'"⁹

Commenting on the psalm as a whole, McCaw wrote that, "The falling of Hermon's dew on Zion would be a miracle, and fellowship is a miracle of divine grace (Ephesians 2:11-22) wherein individual blessings are shared with mutual profit. Such fellowship (3b) is something God delights to bless, and is proof of the possession of life forevermore (1 John 3:14).¹⁰

To this writer, the great message of this little gem is the desirability of harmony and unity in the fellowship of the church. The fragmentation of Christianity is the most deplorable and discouraging aspect of modern Christendom. The architect of the church edifice which God enabled us to build in Manhattan depicted this fragmentation in a large fractured cross enshrined in the front window (57 feet high), designed by the noted Parisian artist J. Duval.

Just as that fractured cross is still beautiful, so Christianity, despite its fragmentation, despite its bitter disputes, anathemas and denunciations is still surpassingly beautiful. God has commanded us to keep the "Spirit of unity in the bond of peace"; but we cannot `keep' that which does not exist. We can only look up to God in our helplessness and plead with Him to look upon us all with loving compassion and pity.