Psalms 133 and 134: Oil, Dew, and the Night Watch

Psalm 133 opens with one of the most quoted lines in Scripture — "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" — and then, instead of explaining the idea, does something far more interesting: it shows you what unity feels like. It is like precious ointment poured on Aaron's head, so lavish that it runs down his beard and onto the very hem of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon descending on the mountains of Zion — an impossibility, geographically speaking, which is rather the point. Unity among brothers is a kind of miracle, a thing that should not happen but does, and when it does, something cascades downward from it that blesses everything it touches. Then Psalm 134 arrives as a quiet coda, a nighttime blessing. It addresses the servants of the Lord who stand watch in the temple through the dark hours — those faithful few who bless God when no one is looking. "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord." And the psalm answers them with a benediction: "The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion." It is the shortest of exchanges, yet it contains the whole economy of worship: we bless God, and God blesses us, and somehow no one is diminished by the transaction.

00:00 Brethren in Unity
00:10 The Precious Ointment
00:22 The Dew of Hermon
00:32 The Blessing Commanded
00:40 The Night Watch Begins
00:48 Lift Up Your Hands
00:55 Blessed Out of Zion