John Calvin Commentary Psalms 133

Behold how good, etc. I have no doubt that David in this Psalm gives thanks to God for the peace and harmony that followed a long and melancholy state of confusion and division in the kingdom, and that he would exhort all individually to strive for the maintenance of peace.

This is the subject elaborated on, at least as far as the shortness of the Psalm allows. There was ample reason to praise the goodness of God in the highest terms for uniting into one a people that had been so deplorably divided. When he first came to the kingdom, the larger part of the nation considered him an enemy to the public good and were alienated from him.

Indeed, so deadly was the feud that existed, that nothing but the destruction of the opposing party seemed to offer the prospect of peace. The hand of God was wonderfully and most unexpectedly seen in the concord that followed among them, when those who had been inflamed with the most violent antipathy cordially coalesced.

This peculiarity in the circumstances that prompted the Psalm has unfortunately been overlooked by interpreters, who have considered that David merely offers a general commendation of brotherly union, without any such particular reference. The exclamation with which the Psalm opens, Behold! is particularly expressive, not only as it sets the state of things visibly before our eyes, but also as it suggests an implied contrast between the delightfulness of peace and those civil commotions that had almost torn the kingdom apart.

He proclaims the goodness of God in exalted terms, as the Jews, through long experience of internal feuds that had nearly ruined the nation, had learned the inestimable value of union. That this is the meaning of the passage is further shown by the particle gam, at the end of the verse.

It should not be understood, as some who have mistaken the Psalmist’s meaning do, as being a mere copulative, but as adding emphasis to the context. It is as if he had said: We, who were naturally brothers, had become so divided as to view one another with more bitter hatred than any foreign enemy; but now, how good it is that we should cultivate a spirit of brotherly concord!

At the same time, there can be no doubt that the Holy Spirit is commending in this passage the mutual harmony that should exist among all God’s children, and exhorting us to make every effort to maintain it. As long as animosities divide us and resentments prevail among us, we may undoubtedly still be brothers by our common relationship to God, but we cannot be considered one as long as we present the appearance of a broken and dismembered body.

As we are one in God the Father and in Christ, this union must be ratified among us by mutual harmony and fraternal love. If it should happen in God’s providence that the Papists should return to that holy concord from which they have apostatized, it would be in such terms that we would be called to give thanks to God. Meanwhile, we are bound to receive into our brotherly embrace all who cheerfully submit themselves to the Lord.

We are to set ourselves against those turbulent spirits that the devil will never fail to raise up in the Church, and be diligent to maintain fellowship with those who show a teachable and compliant disposition. But we cannot extend this fellowship to those who obstinately persist in error, since the condition for receiving them as brothers would be our renouncing Him who is Father of all, from whom all spiritual relationship originates.

The peace that David recommends is one that begins in the true head, and this is quite enough to refute the unfounded charge of schism and division that has been brought against us by the Papists, while we have given abundant evidence of our desire for them to coalesce with us in God’s truth, which is the only bond of holy union.

Like the precious ointment upon the head. Here we have clear proof that David, as we have just said, holds that all true union among brothers originates with God and has this as its legitimate object: that all may be brought to worship God in purity and call upon His name with one accord.

Would this analogy have been borrowed from holy ointment if its purpose was not to show that religion must always hold the first place? Any harmony, it is thus implied, that may prevail among men is tasteless if not filled with the sweet aroma of God’s worship. Therefore, we maintain that men are to be united among themselves in mutual affection with this as the great end: that they may be placed together under the government of God.

If there are any who disagree with these terms, we would do better to oppose them strenuously than to purchase peace at the expense of God’s honor. We must hold that when the Priest is mentioned, it is to suggest that harmony originates in the true and pure worship of God. Meanwhile, by the beard and skirts of the garments, we are led to understand that the peace which springs from Christ as the head is spread throughout the entire Church.

The other image, of the dew falling upon Mount Zion and Hermon, signifies that a holy unity not only has a sweet aroma before God, but also produces good effects, just as the dew moistens the earth and supplies it with sap and freshness. We know that Moses said of Judea that it was not like Egypt, fertilized by the overflowings of its river, but a land that drank daily of the rain of heaven (Deuteronomy 11:11).

David suggests that human life would be lifeless, unprofitable, and wretched unless sustained by brotherly harmony. It is evident that Mount Hermon must have been rich and fruitful, as it was famous among places for pasture. Mountains depend principally for their fertility on the dews of heaven, and this was shown in the case of Mount Zion.

Finally, David adds that God commands His blessing where peace is cultivated. This means that He testifies how much He is pleased with harmony among men by showering down blessings upon them. The same sentiment is expressed by Paul in other words, (2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9): “Live in peace, and the God of peace shall be with you.” Let us then, as much as is in our power, strive to walk in brotherly love so that we may secure the divine blessing.

Let us even stretch out our arms to those who differ from us, desiring to welcome them if they will only return to the unity of the faith. Do they refuse? Then let them go. We recognize no brotherhood, as I have already said, except among the children of God.