Good & Pleasant -- Unity; Psalms 133-134, Proverbs 26

May the mumbling commence!

What is good and pleasant?  How do we please the Lord?  I have always loved the words of Psalms one-hundred thirty-three and one-hundred thirty-four.  Read them:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brethren to dwell together in unity! 

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

Running down on the beard,

The beard of Aaron,

Running down on the edge of his garments. 

It is like the dew of Hermon,

Descending upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the Lord commanded the blessing –

Life forevermore. (Psalm 133)

Behold, bless the Lord,         

All you servants of the Lord,

Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! 

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,

And bless the Lord. 

The Lord who made heaven and earth

Bless you from Zion! (Psalm 134)

Dwell together in unity.  That is how we are a good and pleasant people of the Lord.  It makes the lives of our religious leaders pleasant.  Unity makes the greatest anointing for any leader.  How good!  How pleasant!  The earth even benefits when unity reigns among the people of God.  It means life to all forevermore.

Yet, there are many things that can drive us apart – estrange us from one another.  What do we do with those things?  What can be the rallying cry?  What is there that can unify us?

The unifying factor of the people of God is the call to bless the Lord.  All servants of the Lord are called to bless their Creator – who made heaven and earth.  Stand in awe.  Raise your hands.  Bless the Lord.  Bless the Lord from Zion.

Where is Zion?  Zion is more than a simple geographical location.  Zion is a state of mind ruled totally by the Lord.  Zion draws us together – in unity.  We bless the Lord from Zion only when we can offer up our unique blessings and praises of the Lord together. 

Let us not worry ourselves about how other people worship God.  Our only worry should be that the Lord is blessed.  Everything else is window dressing.  Let us drop our tale bearing.  Let us leave behind contention that has no purpose to please and bless the Lord.  Read from Proverbs chapter twenty-six:

Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;

And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. 

As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,

So is a contentious man to kindle strife. 

The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,

And they go down into the inmost body. (Verses 20-22)

Let us remove the wood of tales, of gossip and slander and libel.  Let us remove the charcoal of contention.  Though we may think they sustain us with warmth and barbeque, they will taint us to our inmost parts.  They will infect our hearts and the attitudes which grow there.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out