Psalm 133
Psalm 133 is short, sweet, and to the point. Three verses made up of four sentences present to the reader the psalmist’s vision of the harmony, the shalom, demonstrated when the people of God dwell peacefully together in a fertile and nurturing land. It is a vision of unity in community, and the blessings that befall the people who work and eat and play and worship and do all the activities of daily living as brothers and sisters. Certainly, this song would have been especially relevant for pilgrims traveling together on long journeys toward Jerusalem, journeys on which believers from all walks of life, regions and tribes gathered together for one purpose: the worship of the Lord in Jerusalem. Folks from all walks of life, gathered together, reflecting the heart of God and His purpose of unity among His people. The psalmist invites both a remembrance and an enactment of unity, yachad, with its denotations of oneness, safety, peace and completeness.
This song of ascents, or pilgrim song, (part of the collection of such psalms that runs from Psalm 120 to 134) uses three related images to illustrate “how good and pleasant” such a communal existence is. Interestingly, all three images involve a “coming down,” and so this Davidic song of ascents might also be called a song of descents, and those three descents might provide a ready-made structure for sermon presentation.
After inviting the reader to “look” at this harmonious coexistence, to observe it, to acknowledge the evidence, to take note of what lies before them, and which, one may assume, they themselves (both psalmist and reader) are a part of, the psalmist proceeds to metaphorically describe what is being observed. That is, the psalmist tells us what this situation may be compared to. First, it is like goodly oil anointing the head, a common practice in both Israelite and ancient Greek culture, and an activity connoting “the good life” not unlike a “spa day” or a trip to the salon to “pamper oneself” in our contemporary context. The first descent is the “coming down” of the oil from an anonymous head running down onto the beard (which might provide an opportunity to connect with any hipsters in your audience). When we read in the Hebrew scriptures that someone poured oil on someone or something (as in the sanctification of articles of the temple) that person or thing is ceremonially set apart as a blessed entity of the Lord. The Hebrew word used here for oil is shemen and in addition to oil or ointment, it denotes lavishness and generous, extravagant quantities, as well as sumptuousness, and demonstrates the abundance of God’s blessing to his people. It may be helpful to refer to Psalm 23’s “you anoint my head with oil” which may be read as “you abundantly bless me, and set me apart as one of your own.”
But as the psalmist arrives at the second descent, the wearer of the beard is given an identity, and the imagery is tied to the memory of the Hebrew people and their religious tradition, specifically the priesthood, as we discover that it is Aaron from whose beard the oil is “coming down” onto the high priestly robe. Second descent: oil from the beard to the collar of the robes, making clear the identity of the anointed one and admitting the reader, or the pilgrim, into the family whose tradition is ordained and established by YHWH.
Under normal circumstances, oil and water don’t mix, but that is not the case in Psalm 133, as the psalmist blends the dew that falls upon the northern Mount Hermon with the oil that has fallen upon the head and the beard. But this dew carries a similar promise, here the blessing and provision of God comes through the fruitfulness of creation. You may find it useful to suggest, as Dr. Hugh Macmillan has, that the process that is described here is a weather phenomenon unique to the area, in which a gentle mist rises up from the Mediterranean during the summertime, when the temperature is at its highest, and as westerly winds sweep across the sea in the late summer months, tiny drops of moisture are gathered and then condense on the surface of plants like a fine mist. That dew pools together at high elevations, coming first of all to Mount Hermon, and helps to keep up its consistent covering of snow, and to fill its waters, and nourish its trees, and then it flows down and helps the vegetation, including crops, to grow in the valleys. It is this amazing abundance of water that seems to appear from nowhere, this blessing from YHWH, that the psalmist compares to the unity and harmony of those who dwell together as brothers and sisters.
Three descents, coming down in this song of ascents, demonstrate the faithfulness of YHWH to his people and the blessings of living together in harmony as kindred. You may well find inspiration for sermon preparation by referring to another lectionary reading for today, Acts 4:32-35. There, the “the whole group of those who believed,” who “were of one heart and soul” and held all things in common, are a perfect example of the kind of “good and pleasant dwelling together” that Psalm 133 speaks of. Further, it is not insignificant that the harmony and unity of the early church in Acts 4 comes as a direct result of another descent, another “coming down,” namely that of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Jerusalem, where pilgrims who would likely have sung Psalm 133 together on their journey are gathered.
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