Psa. 3 title

Psalm 133 is the praise of a saint, in his going up to Zion, concerning Jehovah’s commanded blessing on brothers who dwell in oneness. When Zion is built up and when God is resting there and dwelling in Jerusalem, as depicted in Psa. 132, we have a place where we can gather and where we can dwell together in oneness. How good and how pleasant this is!

In this psalm the believers’ dwelling together in oneness is likened to the inestimable goodness of the precious ointment on the head of Aaron and to the incalculable pleasantness of the dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion.

The unity spoken of here is a picture of the genuine oneness in the New Testament. This oneness is the processed and consummated Triune God mingled with the believers in Christ (John 17:21-23). Since the Body of Christ is such a mingling (Eph. 4:4-6), the Body itself is the oneness. According to the picture in this psalm, the genuine oneness is constituted of the spreading ointment and the descending dew for the gradual building up of the Body of Christ in the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity.

Referring to the holy anointing oil in Exo. 30:23-33 (see notes there), which signifies the all-inclusive, compound, anointing Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God (1 John 2:20, 27).

Aaron typifies Christ as the High Priest (Heb. 5:4-5), and Aaron’s garments typify the church, the Body of Christ, as the fullness, the expression, of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23 see note Exo. 28:2^1a and note Exo. 28:2²). The oil running down from Aaron’s head to the hem of his garments signifies that both the Head and the Body, both Christ and the church, are under the anointing of God’s fine oil (Heb. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:21). The anointing of the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving Spirit is the element of the genuine oneness (Eph. 4:3-4a and note Eph. 4:3^2a).

Signifying the fresh and refreshing grace of God, which comes to us through God’s fresh compassions (Lam. 3:22-23; cf. Prov. 19:12). This grace — the Triune God processed and consummated to be our life supply for our enjoyment (John 1:14, 16-17; 2 Cor. 13:14) — waters us. Hermon, a high mountain, signifies the heavens, the highest place, from which the dew descends. The anointing of the Spirit (v. 2) and the supply of grace make it possible for us to live in oneness. Cf. note Exo. 16:13^2b.

The many mountains of the one Zion typify the many local churches as the components of the unique universal church. In the local churches we daily enjoy the Lord’s grace as the descending dew.

Referring to the eternal life of God (John 3:16; Eph. 4:18), which is commanded by God as a blessing to those who dwell together in oneness in the church life. Psalm 132 typifies the church life, in which God enters into His rest and we obtain satisfaction and rest in the habitation of God. Psalm 133 typifies the church living — the highest living, a living in which the brothers dwell together in oneness. Such a living causes God to come in to bless us with the anointing Spirit, the watering grace, and the eternal life.