Thoughts on Unity

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

Psalm 133 (NIV)

1 How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.

3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated that our community of believers begins and consists “solely in what Christ has done to both of us.” As we come together to worship, we offer our praise, our thanksgiving, and our lives to the Almighty One. We remind each other through the reading of Scripture, through prayer, through singing and other creative expressions what God has done for us through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. The imagery in verse 2 and 3 of Psalm 133 is rich with ideas.

The priestly anointing oil was made of fragrant oils and spices (Exodus 30:23-25). It was used to anoint the tabernacle and everything in it and the ark of the Covenant. It was poured on the head of Aaron, the priest in order for him to minister to the Lord. When we as believers live in unity, it allows us to minister to the Lord. It is fragrant for all to perceive; believers and non-believers. It covers us from the head downward. It doesn’t stay in one place. Unity will flow from the leaders in a church to its members. This blessing flows from God to his saints; from one saint to another; and from the saint to others with whom they have realtionship.

Mount Hermon is north of the Sea of Galilee. It rises to almost 10,000 ft above sea level and is covered with snow most of the year. Each day the sun’s rays melt some of the snow in the heights of that mountain and fill the air with mositure. In the evening, this moisture covers the ground in the lower elevations as heavy dew. This dew of Mount Hermon is heavier than anywhere else in this part of the world.

In 1867, one writer wrote these words about the dew of Hermon. “It penetrated everywhere, and saturated everything. The floor of our tent was soaked, our bed was covered with it, …dewdrops hung about everywhere. No wonder that the foot of Hermon is clad with orchard and gardens of such marvelous fertility in this land of droughts.” In the natural, the dews of Hermon cause a fertile land of fruit and flowers. God tells us our living in unity causes a spiritually fertile, fruitful land.