Psalms · psalm 133 of 150
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Psalm 133 is a song of ascents by David that celebrates the unity of God's people. It declares that it is good and pleasant when brothers dwell together in unity, and compares it to the precious oil running down Aaron's beard and to the dew of Mount Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. There the Lord commands his blessing, life forevermore.
Psalm 133 is the fourteenth of the Songs of Ascents and one of the briefest, with only three verses. As pilgrims from the twelve tribes arrived in Jerusalem for the festivals, they sang of their joy at being together. It is attributed to David, who brought the tribes together in one kingdom, and it is one of the most quoted biblical texts about the unity of believers.
The psalm opens with an exclamation: behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! The word brothers can refer to a family or to the whole people of Israel, who gathered in Jerusalem. The psalm does not describe a distant ideal but an experience that can be seen and tasted.
Verse 2 offers the first picture: it is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. It was the anointing oil of the high priest, which consecrated Aaron to serve God. It is abundant, fragrant and consecrated: unity flows over everyone, from head to hem.
Verse 3 adds the second picture: it is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. Hermon is a high mountain in the north, covered with snow, whose abundant dew refreshes the land. And it ends with the reason for it all: there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
It is good and pleasant when brothers dwell together in unity. The unity of God's people is not only useful; it is a good and pleasant experience to share.
Unity is like the precious oil poured on Aaron's head, running down his beard to the collar of his robes. It is abundant, fragrant and consecrated: it touches the whole body from the head.
It is also like the dew of Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion, and there the Lord commands the blessing, life forevermore. Unity is a gift that refreshes and comes from God.
5 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: As good and pleasant. — Psalm 133:1
Answer: Precious oil running down Aaron's beard. — Psalm 133:2
Answer: To the collar of his robes. — Psalm 133:2
Answer: The dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. — Psalm 133:3
Answer: The blessing, life forevermore. — Psalm 133:3
Psalm 133 reminds us that unity is not a luxury but part of God's plan for his people. In a small group you can talk about what helps and what harms harmony among brothers and sisters: gossip, differences that divide and the forgiveness that reconciles. You can also pray for another congregation in the city.
Jesus prayed that his disciples would be one, and Paul urges us to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Unity does not mean everyone thinking alike but living together in the love of Christ. We can ask God to pour that oil and that dew on our church.
Psalm 133 ends with the Lord's blessing and life forevermore. Psalm 134, the last of the Songs of Ascents, closes the collection with a call to those who serve by night in the house of the Lord: bless the Lord.
Aaron was the first high priest, anointed with oil when he was consecrated, as Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8 describe. The picture suggests that unity is holy and comes from God, and that it flows from the head to the whole body, in a people who serve the Lord together.
Hermon is a high mountain at the far north of Israel, with snow much of the year. Its abundant dew waters the land. That this dew falls on Zion, far to the south, is a poetic picture of freshness and life that joins the people from north to south.
In context they are the members of the people of Israel, and perhaps those of a single family. Christians apply it to brothers and sisters in the faith, the church, which forms a family in Christ. The psalm does not set rules but celebrates the joy of living in harmony.