This entire short psalm was written by David and is one of the Psalms of Ascent. This collection of psalms is composed of Psalms 120-134. These songs “were traditionally sung by Hebrew pilgrims, who ascended the uphill road to Jerusalem to attend annual festivals in the Temple” (Madeline Kalu, in her 2023 article “What Are the Songs of Ascent in the Bible?” on Christianity.com). Can you imagine how those pilgrims felt? They had been traveling together for a while, and I bet there were little kids running around and parents trying to corral them and people talking over each other - and even in that chaos, God kindly calls us to unity.

Jesus reveals even more about this unity in John 13. After washing the feet of His own disciples and predicting His own betrayal, Jesus states, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Not only is unity among believers good and precious; it is a key component of our witness to unbelievers! When people see the unity of God’s people through our love for one another, they are led to the goodness of our God.

How unified does the Church look to unbelievers today? God calls us “one body” in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). But when I think about different divisions within that Body today, it doesn’t feel very unified! We aren’t ever going to agree with everyone about everything, but are we allowing our unity to disintegrate by little disagreements and frustrations? There is a godly and biblical way to handle disagreements within the Church (see Paul’s writings in the New Testament), but sometimes I think we let little things morph into big things, all the while allowing our unity to slip away. As Paul instructs Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:23-24, “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” Are we becoming quarrelsome, or are we focused on loving each other in unity?

I can imagine that, after traveling together for so long, the pilgrims headed to Jerusalem had plenty to quarrel about. But instead of arguing, God called them – and calls us – to keep our focus on the Lord (Psalm 121:1-2) and dwell with one another as a united Body.

When we recognize our unity as life-giving to us and as a powerful testimony to others, we experience the goodness and blessing of God. He has made us to be part of His Body and has given us one another. Praise God for His gracious provision and gift!