Sermon Psalm 133 “How Good and Pleasant It Is”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Presbyterian Church of Easton
Sermon Psalm 133 “How Good and Pleasant It Is”
April 11, 2021

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    I am beginning today a sermon series drawn from the Book of Psalms.  For many people the Book of Psalms is their most favorite book in the Bible because it has such beautiful poetry and tells us so much about God.   Listen to the words of the psalmist.  
  
Psalm 133
How very good and pleasant it is
    when kindred live together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down over the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
    life forevermore.

    Before we begin looking at this psalm let’s pray.   Heavenly Father, we thank you for blessing us with so many very good and pleasant things.  We praise you for creating a world that is perfect for us, your people.   Help us to always be grateful for all the blessings we receive from you.  Amen.

Psalm 133 is a Psalm of Ascents.  This means that it was sung by pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem to worship in the temple.   Psalm 132 tells us that the context is that they are going to Jerusalem for the coronation of a king, a descendant of David.   So there is great joy and anticipation as the pilgrims approached Jerusalem.  They cry out, “How very good and pleasant it is”.  
    

I am certain that every one of us can think about things, places and times that we remember as being good and pleasant.   I can remember my wedding with Grace.  I can remember times with my family when we had family meals with visiting relatives.  And I can remember many times in church in fellowship.   All of these were good and pleasant.   And we can all add many, many more examples.
The psalmist wants us to know about four times that were good and pleasant for her.    The first was a time of unity among brothers and sisters.   The second was a time of the anointing a high priest.   The third was a time of experiencing the dew of Hermon.  And the fourth is the blessing of eternal life.   Let’s look at each of these.

How very good and pleasant it is
    when kindred live together in unity!

As the Hebrews approached Jerusalem for the coronation of a new king they must have remembered how good and pleasant it was when David and Solomon governed a united kingdom.   David united all twelve tribes of Israel into one powerful nation.   This led to an extended period of peace and prosperity through the reigns of David and his son Solomon.   But after Soloman, Israel had a series of bad kings and the kingdom was broken in two.   This led to constant war, destruction and exile.  So the pilgrims going to Jerusalem would pray for unity by singing Psalm 133.  They prayed for Mount Hermon in the Northern Kingdom and they prayed for Jerusalem in the Southern Kingdom, hoping to bring the kingdoms together.

    Augustine, a 5th century bishop,  said that unity could be found in the early church. He said that they were united by their faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit in them after Pentecost,  and by their caring of the poor and needy in their communities.  Augustine commended the monks in monasteries for their desire to serve God in unity.

    John Calvin, a 16th century protestant reformer, lamented the loss of unity in the church.   Calvin and others had been trying to reform the church and return it to biblical practices and beliefs.  But the reaction from Rome to their efforts resulted in protestant reformers being excommunicated from the church they so dearly loved.  

    Five hundred years ago, on April 16, 1521 Martin Luther, a protestant reformer appeared before the Diet of Worms.   On May 25, 1521 Emperor Charles V declared Luther to be a heretic.

    Calvin wanted unity in the church and said this about Psalm 133, “There can at the same time be no doubt; that the Holy Ghost is to be viewed as commending in this passage that mutual harmony which should subsist amongst all God’s children, and exhorting us to make every endeavor to maintain it.”
Many of us remember how good and pleasant it was when most people went to church every Sunday.  But now we lament the loss of unity in the church.   We are divided into so many denominations, worship styles, and theological beliefs.   And as a result of this division, we now find that less than 50% of Americans belong to a church.  Wouldn’t it be good and pleasant if we were all united as faithful Christians?

    Let’s turn to the second thing that the Psalmist considers good and pleasant, the anointing of a High Priest.

How very good and pleasant it is...
It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down over the collar of his robes.

As the people of God made their way to Jerusalem for the anointing of a new king, they remembered a good and pleasant time when the High Priest was anointed.   Olive oil was poured over his head as a sign of God’s blessing upon him.   And the High Priest would wear a breastplate with twelve semi-precious stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. As the oil was poured over his head it also covered the twelve stones representing the blessing of God being poured out on all twelve tribes of Israel.  

Moses said that the tabernacle and its furnishing should also be anointed with oil.  Anointing set these objects aside for God’s use.  And Moses gave us the recipe for making the anointing oil.
Exodus 30:23-25 “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane, and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.

The Apostle James told us that if anyone is sick they should come to the elders of the church for prayers and anointing with oil.  James said that those who pray in faith will be richly blessed.

Augustine pointed out that the oil was first poured out on the head.  This would be the anointing of the head of the church, Jesus Christ.  Then the oil covered the beard.  The beard would be the anointing of the apostles and martyrs of the church.   And the oil covering the collar would refer to the Holy Spirit anointing us to do God’s will today.

    Calvin pointed out that the anointing of the head, the beard, and the collar indicated that the anointing is spread over the entire church.  This is an indication of God’s blessing of the church, helping us to repent and leading us to a new life of obedience in Christ.   Calvin said, “We maintain, therefore, that men (and women) are to be united amongst themselves in mutual affection, with this as the great end, that they may be placed together under the government of God.”

    Here, the Presbyterian Church of Easton, we have prayer services on Tuesdays at 2, and Wednesdays and Sundays at 7.   At these services, we anoint people (with a very small amount of oil) representing all the blessings God is pouring down on us, our families, and our church.  I hope you will come to pray with us.  If you do I believe that you and your family will be richly blessed.  Let’s turn now to the Dew of Hermon.

How very good and pleasant it is...
It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion.

When Grace and I lived in California we experienced a weather phenomenon that is not seen here in the east.   It is called “June Gloom”.   The summers in southern California are very hot.   Temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees!   Thankfully, the humidity levels are very low.   But for much of the month of June, we experienced natural air conditioning.  Here is how it would happen.

In the early morning hours, God would send a marine layer from the Pacific Ocean over southern California.   It would contain cool, moist air.   It was very good and pleasant.   But as June got closer and closer to July this marine layer would disappear earlier and earlier each day.  Finally the intense heat would return.

The Dew of Hermon is similar to June Gloom.   Mount Hermon sits just east of the Jordan river in the midst of a desert.   But in certain times of the year it picks up moisture from the Mederitainian Sea and that moisture makes the desert bloom.   How good and pleasant it must be!

The Hebrew word “hermon”  comes from the same root as the Hebrew word  “haram”.   “Haram” means to separate things permanently.  So when God in creation separated the waters from the dry land this was “haram” a permanent separation.

The word “haram”  also has the sense that we cannot know what is beyond the separation barrier.  We live on dry land, and cannot know what happens is the waters beyond.   This concept was applied to death.   Death is a permanent separation.   And we cannot know what happens after we die.  So death is a “haram”.   And this brings us to the fourth thing the psalmist wants us to know is good and pleasant, life forevermore.

How very good and pleasant it is...
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
    life forevermore.

    The surprising conclusion of Psalm 133 is that death is not a “haram”.  Death is a separation.   But we know what goes on on the other side.   We enjoy the blessing of eternal life.   And we know a little about what life is like after we die because we have the experience of Jesus Christ after his resurrection from the dead.   

Augustine wondered about the phrase, “For there the Lord ordained his blessing.”   And he asked to where the word “there” was referring.   Augustine answered his own question by saying that the blessing resides in the unity of believers.  He said, “Where did He command it? Among the brethren who dwell together. There He enjoined blessing, there they who dwell with one heart bless God.”   So as we come together as church in unity to worship and bless God we receive the blessing of eternal life.

Calvin answered this question differently.   The place where the Lord ordained his blessings was in the Dew of Hermon.  Here is what he said, “It is evident that Mount Hermon must have been rich and fruitful, being famed amongst places for pasture. Mountains depend principally for fertility upon the dews of heaven, and this was shown in the case of mount Zion. David adds in the close, that God commands his blessing where peace is cultivated; by which is meant, that he testifies how much God is pleased with concord amongst men (and women), by showering down blessings upon them.”  Again the blessings of Almighty God pour down upon the faithful as they worship together in unity.

How very good and pleasant it is
    when kindred live together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down over the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
    life forevermore.  Amen.