Psalms 133:1
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
BSB
ASV
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!
KJV
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. He says two things: good and pleasant. Martyrdom is good, but it is not pleasant: for it has its tortures and punishments, and there is always pain in torments, and certainly in pain there is no pleasantness. Behold how good and how pleasant. Again, pleasure is pleasant. For example, to eat sweet foods seems to be pleasant: for it drives one to lust.
They are blessed of God, and therefore blessed indeed: There, where brethren dwell together in unity, the Lord commands the blessing, a complicated blessing, including all blessings. It is God's prerogative to command the blessing, man can but beg a blessing. Blessings according to the promise are commanded blessings, for he has commanded his covenant for ever.
Behold. It is a wonder seldom seen, therefore behold it! It may be seen, for it is the characteristic of real saints, —therefore fail not to inspect it! It is well worthy of admiration; pause and gaze upon it! It will charm you into imitation, therefore note it well! God looks on with approval, therefore consider it with attention. How good and holy pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! No one can tell the exceeding excellence of such a condition; and so the Psalmist uses the word "how" twice;—Behold how good! and how pleasant!
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
1 Corinthians 1:10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united…
leads to
Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
so that there should be no division in the body, but that its members should have mutual concern for one another.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.
Through
1 Peter 3:8Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
leads to
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
Through
John 13:35By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
leads to
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.
