Again this Sunday, I'm sharing from the Made for Community reading plan from Love God Greatly that I worked on back in 2015. With this study, as I have often done, I used the SOAP method of Bible study. Just a quick reminder that the S is for Scripture, O is for Observation, A is for Application and P is for Prayer. The fourth section is Made for Community with the Body of Christ. So here we go with the Scripture for the third day of that section.
S= "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." (Psalm 133:1)
O= This short psalm (just 3 verses) is titled by C.I. Scofield in the Scofield Study Bible: "The blessedness of brotherly love".
Psalm 133 is one of the fifteen "songs of degrees". The accurate rendering of the word translated "degrees" is "ascents". So these are "songs of ascents". Most scholars take the view that these psalms "were either sung by pilgrims on the ascending march from the Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem, or that they were sung by worshipers from all parts of Palestine as they went up to Jerusalem for the great festivals."
So this psalm is one of those songs, and its particular theme is love and unity among brethren.
The word "brethren" here has a cross-reference of Hebrews 13:1 -- "Let brotherly love continue." Another reference given for comparison is Genesis 13:8 -- "And Abram said to Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are brethren."
Psalm 133:1 reminds us that:
* It is good
* It is pleasant
for brethren to live in unity with one another.
A= It's a good and pleasant thing for the body of Christ to dwell together in unity. Over the years I have found this to be very true and so comforting. When we get together with dear Christian friends, it's a taste of heaven. Likewise, coming to church and worshiping together is a blessing.
But when the unity is disturbed, our fellowship no longer seems good and pleasant. It becomes difficult and strained -- quite unpleasant. A verse that came to my mind is Romans 12:18 -- "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."
Hebrews 12:14-15 remind us that we are to "follow peace with all men" and that we are to diligently watch for any "root of bitterness" that may spring up and trouble us. I wish that more believers would take this advice to heart!
P= "Lord, again, I am so thankful for Your Word! It is so practical and helpful! I pray that You would help me to dwell in unity with other believers. Help me to seek to live peaceably with others and to watch diligently to uproot any roots of bitterness.
"I praise You for the unity that you have given to our merged church and the love You have given us for one another and for You. I pray that You would work in the hearts of those within all of Your local churches so that all might have this mindset of pleasing You and seeking unity with others. I pray that You would bring all of Your people to the place where our unity can be a testimony to our communities and to the world around us. I thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."
Just a quick little testimony about this verse, Psalm 133:1. Many years ago, I began working as a teacher's aide in a Christian school. It was an ACE school that incorporated Scripture memory into every subject by way of a memory verse in each workbook, or PACE. Part of preparing for the test on each PACE was being able to recite the memory verse. Well, as I checked in with students preparing to test, I was appalled to find that some students made no effort whatsoever to even attempt memorizing the verse. (And I should add that the verses were majorly simplified for the younger ones. For example, all there was to Psalm 133:1 was "Dwell together in unity." Very simple.)
I made it my project to get some of these kids to memorize this particular verse. Not only is it a fine verse to have hidden in one's heart, but it almost rhymed: "Dwell together in UNITY, Psalm one hundred and THIRTY-three". It took awhile. They had so conditioned themselves to believe that they couldn't memorize, it was really like pulling teeth to get them to try it. But at least one of them, maybe more, did manage to recite the verse to their supervisor correctly. It may have made no difference to their lives at all; as far as I know, none of them are walking with God today. But I believed it was important to show them that they could, indeed, memorize God's Word -- which will always accomplish the purpose to which He sends it!
Memorizing Scripture is so important. God's Word tells us that it will not return void so perhaps your former students will remember when they have a need. My first grade teacher in public school mind you, taught us the 21st Psalm explaining that if we ever found ourselves in trouble, we could say it. Walking with Jesus is all important and reminding ourselves of God's goodness is great comfort.
ReplyDeleteThank you for today's lesson.
What a wonderful thing that your first grade teacher taught you that psalm against potential times of trouble in your young lives. Were you ever able to go back and thank her for doing that? I wish my first grade teacher had done something similar. The trajectory of my school career and my life might have been quite different. But ah well, God is in control of all the details of our lives so I won't fret about what might have been.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, what a comfort in reminding ourselves of God's goodness -- and what a marvelous blessing to have Jesus by our side and to have the privilege of walking with Him!