The Pilgrim Path---Psalm 133

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

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 is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

“HOW GOOD AND PLEASANT…”

From Exodus 30: 22 – 32:

The LORD said to Moses, “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. With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. And you shall say to the people of Israel, “This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

From Charles Spurgeon: What a scared thing must brotherly love be when it can be likened to an oil which must never be poured on any man but on the LORD’S high priest alone! It is a diffusive thing: being poured on his head the fragrant oil flowed down upon Aaron’s head, and thence dropped upon his garments till the utmost hem was anointed therewith; and even so doth brotherly love extend its benign power upon all concerned; its goodness and pleasure are shared in by the lowliest members of the household; even the servants are the better and the happier because of the lovely unity among the members of the family…for as by the anointing oil Aaron was set apart for the special service of Jehovah, even so those who dwell in love are the better fitted to glorify God in his church.

From Thomas Watson: There is but one God, and they that serve him should be one. There is nothing that would render the true religion more lovely, or make more proselytes to it, than to see the professors of it tied together with the heartstrings of love. If God be one, let all that profess him be of one mind, and one heart, and thus fulfill Christ’s prayer, “that they all may be one.”

From John Calvin: God commands his blessing where peace is cultivated; by which is meant, that he testifies how much he is pleased with concord amongst men, by showering down blessings upon them. The same sentiment is expressed by Paul in other words, (II Cor. 13: 11; Phil. 4: 9) “Live in peace, and the God of peace shall be with you.”

From John Duncan: Possess what you may, if you have not love you are nothing, and are getting nothing.

From D. L. Moody: If we do not love one another, we certainly shall not have much power with God in prayer.

From Andrew Murray: Our forgiving love toward men is the evidence of God’s forgiving love in us. It is a necessary condition of the prayer of faith.

From Theophilus Gale: If love sets its heart on God, it becomes spiritual, noble, and divine; but if it loves the world it becomes carnal, base, and worldly.

Grace and Peace in Jesus, the Only Redeemer of broken and wretched souls, Pastor Jason