Psalm 133
A song of ascents. Of David.
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
- Psalm 133:1

The psalm that we’re going to be looking at this week is subtitled “a song of ascents” (as are all of the psalms numbered 120 through 134). Eugene Peterson calls this collection of psalms “an old dog-eared songbook.” According to Peterson, these “fifteen psalms were likely sung, possibly in sequence, by Hebrew pilgrims as they went up to Jerusalem to the great worship festivals.”

Jerusalem was a city planted on top of a mountain. Pilgrims heading to Jerusalem would climb the whole way until they reached the tabernacle or (later) the Temple. To quote Peterson once again: “the ascent was not only literal, it was also a metaphor: the trip to Jerusalem acted out a life lived upward toward God.”

This week’s psalm lands toward the end of the psalms of ascents. The pilgrims singing it in the ancient world would have been singing psalms together for miles and miles. On their journey, undoubtedly, conflicts would have arisen. When we travel together – whether literally or figuratively – our immaturities and selfish sides rise to the surface.

The community that ascends the mountain of the Lord together is a community that values unity. This requires the community to become versed in practices of confession, repentance, forgiveness, truth-speaking, and gentleness. The ascent has the potential to purify us and our community, but only if our love for God spills over into life-linking love for our brothers and sisters.

Take some time to reflect on your fellow pilgrims who are walking and singing with you on your spiritual ascent toward God. Who are you grateful to have alongside you? Who are you struggling to connect with on your journey? Take a moment to thank God for sending you on your spiritual journey in the presence of a community.