During 2025, Peachtree Church is focusing on the Book of Psalms with a series called Dwell, through which we seek to deepen our conversation with God and open ourselves to hearing his response. The practice of praying three times each day will unite the voices of our hearts and souls as we seek the day when we will see the full realization of the Kingdom of God, promised in Revelation 21:3: “…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
We will email devotionals twice weekly with Monday’s providing an overview of the Psalm as a whole, and Wednesday’s focused on that week’s Daily Dwell.
Psalm 133:1-3
“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.”
Devotional
Psalm 133 is near the conclusion of the “Psalter-within-the-Psalter”: The Songs of Ascent. If you and I were to read Psalms 120-134 in one sitting, we’d experience a proper pilgrimage, an ancient Israelite returning home. The grouping of these Psalms begins with an appropriate lament from a single Israelite, “Woe is me for I am an alien in Meschech” (Psalm 120:5) and ends with a group of Israelites gettin’ their praise on: “Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!” (Psalm 134:1)
As we reach Psalm 133, we can understand the occasion. The pilgrims have turned a corner and can see Jerusalem (here, “Zion”) in their sights. What I’ve been struck by in this Psalm is how the writer focuses not so much on God or the buildings in Jerusalem as on the people they have been journeying with: “How good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity.” (Psalm 133:1)
Part of our journey with God is recognizing the pieces of God that have been present with us in the numerous faces around us.
I celebrated another birthday a few weeks back, which brought about an array of notes and messages, all of which tended to my soul. My kids are a year older, so their birthday gifts and cards reveal a greater intimacy between us, not just as family members, but also as friends.
Ginger gave me a framed picture of us from the earliest days of our dating relationship. In the picture, we’re teenagers washing dishes in her family’s kitchen. The photo brought a sense of amazement at how far we’ve come together (and how carpenter jeans could have ever been worth wearing).
This time of year, two years ago, one of my favorite professors, Dr. Henry Lederle, passed away. I remember wearing a bright yellow suit to his funeral because it was his favorite color. When I greeted his wife, Fran, in the receiving line, she was pleasantly surprised and thankful for the gesture.
I don’t know about you, but I am thankful for the myriad of people I get to enjoy life with.
But relationships aren’t a given; they are a gift. Like the dew from Mt. Hermon (Psalm 133:3) from the north in Palestine that has the slightest chance to reach the parched ecosystem in Jerusalem to the south, each precious relationship we have is a gift. I hope that each of us can treat one another that way.
Instead of reflection questions today, I’d like to share a poem that an old friend from Memphis gave me about the effort of making friends. Her dad gave it to her, and it has helped her sustain her lifelong devotion to hospitality and friendship. May we be devoted to the same effort.
For Reflection
The Making of Friends by Edgar A. Guest
If nobody smiled and nobody cheered and nobody helped us along,
If each every minute looked after himself and good things all went to the
strong,
If nobody cared just a little for you, and nobody thought about me,
And we stood all alone to the battle of life, what a dreary old world it
would be!
If there were no such a thing as a flag in the sky as a symbol of
comradeship here,
If we lived as the animals live in the woods, with nothing held sacred or
dear,
And selfishness ruled us from birth to the end, and never a neighbor had
we,
And never we gave to another in need, what a dreary old world it would be!
Oh, if we were rich as the richest on earth and strong as the strongest
that lives,
Yet never we knew the delight and the charm of the smile which the other
man gives,
If kindness were never a part of ourselves, though we owned all the land we
could see,
And friendship meant nothing at all to us here, what a dreary old world it
would be!
Life is sweet just because of the friends we have made and the things which
in common we share;
We want to live on not because of ourselves, but because of the people who
care;
It’s giving and doing for somebody else–on that all life’s splendor
depends,
And the joy of this world, when you’ve summed it all up, is found in the
making of friends.
Prayer
Father, Son, and Spirit, out of the overflow of the love and friendship You have with You we can have companionship with You.
May Your love pour in our hearts so we can pour it out towards others.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
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