The Quiet Strength of Together

Introduction

Imagine walking into a room where people listen, love, and lift each other up. No tension, no drama—just peace. You can feel it. Now imagine the opposite: A room full of tension, whispered gossip, and invisible walls built by politics, pride, or past wounds. You can feel that too. Both unity and division have a presence. One brings life. The other drains it.

Psalm 133 starts with a wake-up call: “Behold!” In Hebrew, that’s God saying, “Don’t miss this!” Because when God’s people live together in unity, something sacred happens.

Unity isn’t pretending we’re all the same. It’s choosing love in the middle of our differences. And when we do that—God says it’s not just good... it’s pleasant. Healing like oil. Refreshing like dew. And so important to God, He commands a blessing wherever unity lives.

Psalm 133:1–3 NASB 2020

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, Running down upon the beard, As on Aaron’s beard, The oil which ran down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For the Lord commanded the blessing there—life forever.

Prayer of Illumination

Your Word, O Lord, is our inspiration, our light, and our motion. Your Word, O Lord, is power, is wisdom, and is comfort. Guide us today, as we listen to your Word read and proclaimed, and fill us with understanding and the desire to change. Speak Lord! Your people listen. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Point 1 – Unity Is a Witness to the Goodness of God

Psalm 133:1 – “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

1. Unity Is Both Good and Pleasant

The psalm opens with an exclamation—not just that unity is necessary, but that it is good and pleasant. These are emotional, experiential words. Unity delights the heart of God because it reflects His character.

2. Unity Comes Through Christ

True unity isn’t man-made—it flows from the cross of Jesus.

Ephesians 4:5–6 NASB 2020

one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

This is the foundation of our unity: through Christ, we are made one family. When our hearts and minds are aligned toward God, we become one—united in purpose, love, and mission.

3. Unity Is a Testimony in a Divided World

We live in a polarized world—politically, culturally, and even within the Church. But when believers choose unity, we become a countercultural witness to the grace, peace, and goodness of Jesus.

A 2022 Barna survey revealed that disunity is one of the top causes of pastoral burnout. It’s not just hurting leaders—it’s hindering the Church’s mission. But unity, when rooted in Christ, is both good and pleasant—morally right and spiritually refreshing. It draws attention not to us, but to the God who makes unity possible.

4. Gospel Connection

In the same way, God can redeem what once divided us—our pain, pride, or past—and use it to reveal His glory.

“A unified church makes the gospel visible.”

Not everything that feels pleasant is good. Some things please the flesh but pull us from God. But in His goodness, God paid for our sin, offered us forgiveness, and united heaven and earth, so we could walk in relationship with Him again.

That’s good news from a good God. And unity is how we show it.

Point 2 – Worship Unites Us Beyond Our Differences

Psalm 133:2 – “It is like precious oil poured on the head…”

1. The Power of the Image

Psalm 133 compares unity to precious anointing oil—the fragrant, sacred blend used to consecrate Israel’s high priest (Exodus 30:22–33). It flowed from his head to his beard and down his robe, touching every part of him—just as God’s grace touches every part of the Body of Christ.

The oil’s aroma (a mix of olive oil and four costly spices) represented God’s blessing and drew the worshiping community together.

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary Psalm 133

When brothers and sisters in Christ gather for worship, it is beautiful. When we come together in peace, love, and unity, it reflects the attitude of Christ (see

It set the priest apart as holy—and worship calls us to be set apart too. The oil of the Holy Spirit flows through the Church and brings the power and presence of God to His people.

We must give our whole lives to God, worshiping in Spirit (in the power of the Spirit) and Truth (centered on Jesus and His presence with us), and living holy, surrendered lives.

Worship can’t thrive where unity dies. We can’t truly say we’re worshiping God if we’re living in division and striving with others.

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary Psalm 133

God frees him to rain down blessing on them. This explains why the devil seeks to sow discord among God’s people. He wants to block the flow of God’s blessings.

God’s people can’t carry the Gospel to the world if they’re too busy fighting each other.

2. The Deeper Meaning

In worship, we are united—not by politics or preferences—but by our shared need for a Mediator, Jesus the Anointed One.

Unity ≠ uniformity. The global Church includes Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant believers—but we all proclaim the same core gospel, as expressed in the ancient creeds.

We have too much in common in Christ to be torn apart by what’s different.

Just like the anointing oil covered the high priest’s breastplate—with all twelve tribes’ names—the Spirit’s anointing covers every believer, wherever they worship.

Illustration: Unity in Our Community

Think of our local ministerial alliance: Baptists, Methodists, Nazarenes, Church of Christ, and others praying and serving side by side.

We’re doing great things together to unite our community in Christ:

5th Sunday prayer & meals

Community Thanksgiving service

Holy Week Services

Baccalaureate

See You at the Pole

Monthly prayer meetings and planning for outreach

Different accents of faith—one fragrance of Christ. The enemy loves to weaponize differences, but the Spirit perfumes them. When the oil of unity flows, division loses its grip.

3. Application: Let Unity Be Your Worship

Bring a sacrifice of praise. Unity is an act of worship—choose grace over grumbling.

Smell like Jesus. Let your words and life carry the fragrance of Christ wherever you go.

2 Corinthians 2:15 NASB 2020

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:

4. Stand firm on the essentials of our faith.

Celebrate the gospel we share—and hold loosely the secondary issues that can divide.

I’m not here to preach a political message or push a national agenda. I’m here to point us to the Kingdom of God—because above all, we are citizens of heaven.

And the one thing that matters most for the Church is this: Lay everything else aside and fix our eyes on one person—Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

Live sent. A united church is a powerful witness. When we leave the sanctuary, we carry that aroma of Jesus into a broken world.

Mark 3:25 NASB 2020

If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

There will be no denominational corners in heaven, so let’s practice heaven’s harmony here and now. Unity is a sweet-smelling aroma to God—one of the purest ways we can worship Him.

Point 3: Unity Brings Refreshing and Life

“It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion…” – Psalm 133:3

1. The Power of Dew in a Dry Land

In ancient Israel, dew was life. In a dry, arid land where rain was rare, the morning dew was a gift from above—gentle, quiet, but essential. It refreshed the ground, nourished the crops, and brought life where there would otherwise be barrenness.

That’s the image God uses for unity.

Just as dew flows down from Mount Hermon (means a light set on a high place), the high place often associated with God’s presence, so unity flows down from God to His people. It is not man-made—it is God-given. And where it falls, life grows.

Illustration: Experiencing the Morning Dew

If you’ve ever stepped outside early in the morning—before the sun fully rises—you’ve felt it: the cool, gentle dew settling on the ground. You didn’t hear it fall. It wasn’t loud or dramatic. But it was there—refreshing, life-giving, and quiet.

That’s how true unity works. It doesn’t always arrive with a shout. Sometimes it’s the quiet grace of people choosing to forgive, choosing to listen, choosing to worship together despite their differences. It’s God’s presence settling in, softening hearts and refreshing souls.

Dew doesn’t come from us—it comes from above. So does the unity we need.

Unity is a gift from God—gentle, sacred, and powerful.

2. Spiritual Renewal Is Daily

Just like physical dew, we need spiritual refreshment every day. We can’t borrow yesterday’s anointing for today’s battle.

You can’t live on yesterday’s dew.

Each day requires a fresh outpouring of God's presence through prayer, Scripture, worship, and fellowship.

Read your Bible. Pray. Get to church. Shine the light of Christ. Bear one another’s burdens. Encourage one another in faith. You need today’s dew.

Psalms (Vol. III) Psalm 133

Dew is no surface-blessing. Its refreshing goes to the roots of the plants. God’s blessings are often unobserved because they do not change our circumstances, but refresh and renew us; they give us new life.—R. T.

God’s daily refreshing through the Holy Spirit gives us strength and power to live and share our faith in a weary, divided world.

3. This Is No Ordinary Dew

Psalm 133 speaks of a dew that saturates—not a light mist, but a deep, soaking presence that covers everything it touches. This isn’t symbolic fluff—it’s a call to action.

Just as the dew touches every blade of grass, our lives should touch every corner of a dry, thirsty world.

We are called to bring life, refreshment, and hope to a culture worn down by division, fear, and spiritual drought.

We must go—soaked in God’s Spirit—and be the dew to this dry and desperate world.

4. Historical Insight and Modern Meaning

Mount Hermon (in the north) and Mount Zion (in the south) once symbolized division in Israel. But in this psalm, they are united by the image of the dew—a beautiful picture of reconciliation.

In the same way, our divided world—racially, politically, socially—can experience healing when the Church walks in unity.

When we worship together across our differences, God commands His blessing—not just on us, but through us.

5. Challenge: Be the Dew

So what does it look like to be the dew?

Speak peace into tense conversations.

Choose grace when you're tempted to gossip.

Say “I forgive you” before the other person says “I’m sorry.”

Be someone who refreshes—not drains—others in your family, friend group, or church.Unity doesn’t need a stage. It just needs a heart that says, “Let’s walk together.”

Today’s Takeaway: Unity is good and pleasant—and when we worship together in unity, God commands a blessing.

Conclusion: The Power of Unity Starts With Us

Psalm 133 reminds us that unity isn’t just a nice idea—it’s a sacred calling and a spiritual witness. It’s like oil that brings healing. Like dew that brings refreshment. It is good. It is pleasant. And it is possible—through Jesus.

But unity doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when people like us decide to lay down pride, preferences, and past wounds to pursue what matters most: Christ and His Kingdom.

So here’s the challenge: Let’s stop letting the world tell us what should divide us. Let’s start letting the cross define what unites us.

Because when the Church walks in unity, the world gets a glimpse of heaven.

And maybe, just maybe, someone will come to believe in Jesus—not because we won the argument, but because we stood together in love.

Church—what if we became known not just for what we believe, but for how we love each other? What if people said, “I don’t agree with everything they teach—but I’ve never seen a community more unified, more encouraging, more Christ-like.” That kind of unity is magnetic. It opens hearts to Jesus.

Unity is good. Unity is pleasant. And through Jesus, unity is possible. Let’s be the oil. Let’s be the dew. Let’s be the Church the world’s been waiting for.