Psalm 133:3 NKJV
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.
The Refreshment of the High Places
My Notes
Psalm 133:3 NKJV
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.
In the final verse of this “unity song,” David shifts our focus from the fragrant, indoor setting of the temple (the oil) to the crisp, outdoor majesty of the mountains (the dew). If you’ve ever walked through a garden early in the morning, you know that dew is quiet, refreshing, and life-giving. But David isn’t talking about a light mist; he’s talking about the dew of Hermon.
Mount Hermon was the highest peak in the region—snow-capped, lush, and green. It stood in stark contrast to the parched, brown wilderness often found in the lowlands of Israel. To the ancient mind, it almost looked like the massive Hermon was “dropping” its abundant moisture across the miles onto the smaller, drier mountains of Zion.
A Supernatural Refreshment Geographically, Hermon and Zion are far apart, but spiritually, David is making a point: Unity acts like a pipeline for God’s refreshment. When we live in harmony, it’s like a cool breeze and a heavy dew hitting a dry desert. Conflict makes our lives feel like a spiritual wilderness—cracked, dusty, and exhausting. But unity makes our relationships thrive, turn green again, and grow. It “allays the heat” of our tempers and animosities, cooling the air so we can finally breathe.
The Command of the King. Perhaps the most staggering part of this verse is that God “commanded the blessing.” Think about that. We often beg for a blessing, but God says that when His children dwell in unity, He orders the blessing to be there. It’s an authoritative decree. Where love reigns, God reigns. He is so delighted to see His children happy in one another that He makes sure they are happy in Him.
Life That Never Ends The ultimate “commanded blessing” is life forevermore. Unity isn’t just a social strategy for a better church potluck; it is a foretaste of eternity. Love is the language of heaven. When we choose to walk in one accord, we are actually practicing for our forever home. We are pulling the “life of the ages” down into our present-day reality.
If you find your soul feeling a bit “dry” today, check the climate of your relationships. The sacred dew of the Spirit descends in its fullness where hearts are joined together. You don’t have to manufacture the growth; you just have to provide the atmosphere of unity, and God will command the life.
Key Takeaways
- Unity is Refreshing: Like dew on a hot morning, harmony cools down heated arguments and refreshes weary souls.
- It’s a Top-Down Blessing: Just as dew flows from the heights of Hermon to the lowlands of Zion, God’s Spirit flows from Christ (our Head) down into the everyday parts of our lives.
- The Landing Pad for Blessings: God commands His favor to land where people get along. If we want the “commanded blessing,” we must cultivate the “commanded unity.”
- A Foretaste of Heaven: Living in love is essentially “Heaven 101.” It is the beginning of the eternal life we will enjoy forever.
Cross References (NKJV)
2 Corinthians 13:11 > “Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Ephesians 4:4–6 > “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Psalm 42:8 > “The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—a prayer to the God of my life.”
A Closing Prayer
Abba, thank You for the refreshing “dew” of Your Spirit. Forgive us for the times we have allowed our hearts to become dry wildernesses of debate and difference. We want Your “commanded blessing” in our lives, our families, and our churches. Lead us into a most precious spiritual unity. Help us to be “peaceable and gentle, easy to be entreated,” so that we can reflect Your heart to a parched world. I ask for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Questions to Think About
- The Wilderness Check: Does any area of my life (my home, my job, my ministry) feel like a “dry wilderness” right now? Is there a lack of unity contributing to that dryness?
- The Cooling Nature: How can I act like “dew” in a heated situation this week? How can I help “cool down” an animosity rather than fueling the fire?
- Commanded Favor: Do I truly believe that God commands blessings where there is unity? How would my behavior change if I realized my cooperation with others unlocks God’s favor?
Proverb for Today
Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; Proverbs 24:3-5 NKJV
Daily Scripture
But the Lord is with me as a mighty, awesome One. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not prevail. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper. Their everlasting confusion will never be forgotten. But, O Lord of hosts, You who test the righteous, And see the mind and heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them; For I have pleaded my cause before You. Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the poor From the hand of evildoers. Jeremiah 20:11-13 NKJV
Bill
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Summary of Commentaries:
The commentaries below view the “dew of Hermon” as a metaphor for unity’s refreshing, life-giving power. Just as Hermon’s moisture revives parched landscapes, brotherly love restores spiritual strength. God “commands” this blessing where believers dwell in harmony, particularly within His church. This unity serves as a foretaste of heaven, offering “life forevermore.” Ultimately, this divine refreshment descends from the exalted Christ, nourishing our lives with the Holy Spirit’s transformative grace and eternal peace.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion.” From the loftier mountains, the moisture appears to be wafted to the lesser hills: the dews of Hermon fall on Zion. The Alpine Lebanon ministers to the minor elevation of the city of David, and so does brotherly love descend from the higher to the lower, refreshing and enlivening in its course. Holy concord is as dew, mysteriously blessed, full of life and growth for all plants of grace. It brings with it so much benediction that it is as no common dew, but as that of Hermon, which is specially copious and far-reaching. The proper rendering is, “As the dew of Hermon that descended upon the mountains of Zion,” and this tallies with the figure which has been already used; and sets forth by a second simile the sweet descending diffusiveness of brotherly unity.
“For there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” That is, in Zion, or better still, in the place where brotherly love abounds. Where love reigns, God reigns. Where love wishes blessing, there God commands the blessing. God has but to command, and it is done. He is so pleased to see his dear children happy in one another that he fails not to make them happy in himself. He gives especially his best blessing of eternal life, for love is life; dwelling together in love, we have begun the enjoyments of eternity, and these shall not be taken from us. Let us love forevermore, and we shall live forevermore. This makes Christian brotherhood so good and pleasant; it has Jehovah’s blessing resting upon it, and it cannot be otherwise than sacred like “the precious ointment,” and heavenly like “the dew of Hermon.”
O for more of this rare virtue! Not the love which comes and goes, but that which dwells; not that spirit which separates and secludes, but that which dwells together; not that mind which is all for debate and difference, but that which dwells together in unity. Never shall we know the full power of the anointing till we are of one heart and of one spirit; never will the sacred dew of the Spirit descend in all its fulness till we are perfectly joined together in the same mind; never will the covenanted and commanded blessing come forth from the Lord our God till once again we shall have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Lord, lead us into this most precious spiritual unity, for thy Son’s sake. Amen.
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Enduring Word
It is like the dew of Hermon: King David used a second word picture to show how wonderful unity is among the people of God. It is also like the rich dew that covers Mount Hermon, making it green and moist. It is a distinct contrast to the dry wilderness found in other parts of Israel. Unity among God’s people makes life thriving and healthy. (Guzik)
i. “On this mountain the dew is very copious. Mr. Maundrell says that ‘with this dew, even in dry weather, their tents were as wet as if it had rained the whole night.’” (Clarke)
ii. “The dew was ever the agent of renewal, of refreshment, of fertilizing force: that out of which life was maintained in strength.” (Morgan)
iii. “It refreshes the thirsty ground and quickens vegetation; so fraternal concord, falling gently on men’s spirits, and linking distant ones together by a mysterious chain of transmitted good, will help to revive failing strength and refresh parched places.” (Maclaren)
iv. “To the Jew, it seemed as though the Hermon range over-towered the land and was able to drop its dews across the intervening distance upon the mountains of Zion. Thus, from the glory of His exaltation, Jesus drops the dew of the Holy Spirit as blessing upon the lowlands of our life – that blessing which is life forevermore.” (Meyer)
Descending upon the mountains of Zion: This blessing comes upon Jerusalem, which David established as the center for Israel’s worship. In Jerusalem, their unity would be displayed and enjoyed. (Guzik)
i. “This dew is not to be taken literally [in Jerusalem], for the falling of the dew availed very little to the refreshment or improvement of the hills of Zion and Moriah, especially as now they were filled with buildings; but allegorically, for the favor or blessing of God, which is frequently called and compared to the dew, as Proverbs 19:12,Isaiah 18:4,Hosea 14:5,Micah 5:7.” (Poole)
The LORD commanded the blessing–life forevermore: The blessing of unity is something God commands, something the previously cited New Testament passages teach (John 17:20-23, Ephesians 1:9-10, Romans 12:18). Since we will have life forevermore with the people of God, we should work hard to enjoy unity with them now. (Guzik)
i. “O for more of this rare virtue! Not the love which comes and goes, but that which dwells; not that spirit which separates and secludes, but that which dwells together; not that mind which is all for debate and difference, but that which dwells together in unity.” (Spurgeon)
ii. “O, come the day when division shall cease, and enmity be done away; when the tribes of the spiritual Israel shall be united in a bond of eternal charity, under the true David, in the Jerusalem which is above; and saints and angels shall sing this lovely Psalm together!” (Horne)
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Albert Barnes
As the dew of Hermon … – On the situation of Mount Hermon, see the notes at Psalms 89:12. The literal rendering of this passage would be, “Like the dew of Hermon which descends on the mountains of Zion.” According to our version, two things are referred to: the dew of Hermon and the dew on the mountains of Zion, but this is not in the original. There no dew is referred to but that which belongs to Hermon. It has, of course, been made a question how the dew of Hermon, a remote mountain, could be said to descend on the mountains of Zion, and our translators have sought to solve the difficulty by inserting the words “and as the dew.” Some have supposed that the proper interpretation is to refer the comparison in the passage to the dew of Hermon, and that all which follows is an application of the thought: “Like the dew of Hermon is the influence which comes down upon the mountains of Zion,” etc.
The most probable and plausible interpretation, however, it seems to me, is, that the mind of the poet was turned to the dew of Hermon – to the gentleness, and the copiousness, and the vivifying nature of that dew – diffusing beauty and abundance all around – and that he thought of that dew, or dew like that, as descending on the mountains of Zion. Not that the dew of Hermon actually descended there; but when changing the comparison, in illustration of brotherly love, from oil to dew, he most naturally thought (perhaps from some former observation) of the dew of Hermon, and immediately thought of Zion as if that dew descended there: that is, love, unity, and concord there would be as if the dew of Hermon should descend on the barren hills of Zion or Jerusalem, there diffusing beauty, abundance, fertility. The comparison of the influence of brotherly love, or unity, with dew is not a forced or unnatural one. So calm, so gentle, so refreshing on the tender grain, on the young plants, on the flowers, is dew, that it is a striking image of the influences which produce brotherly love and harmony.
For there the Lord commanded the blessing – He appointed that as the place of worship; as the seat of his residence; the source of all holy influences. See Psalms 78:67-69, note; Psalms 87:2, note.
Even life for evermore – literally, “Life to eternity.” That is, such influences go from that place as to lead to eternal life, or as to secure eternal life. It is in Zion, in his church, that he has made known the way to eternal life, and the means by which it may be obtained. To the end of the world, this beautiful psalm will be sung in the church alike as expressing the charm which there is in unity among brethren and in the church; and as tending to promote that unity whose beauty it is designed to commend. Happy will be that day when the church shall be so united that it may be sung everywhere, as expressing what is, and not merely what should be.
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John Gill
for there the Lord commanded the blessing; either in the mountains of Zion; so Kimchi: and if Mount Zion is meant by it, the church, often signified thereby, is the dwelling place of the Lord; here he records his name and blesses; here his word is preached, which is full of blessings; and here ordinances are administered, which are blessed of God to his people. Theodoret thinks some respect is had to the pouring down of the Spirit on the apostles in Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost: but rather the sense is, where brethren dwell together in unity, there the God of love and peace is; the Gospel of the grace of God is continued; and the ordinances of it made beneficial to the souls of men, they meeting together in peace and concord; see 2 Corinthians 13:11. God is said to “command the blessing” when he promises it, and makes it known to his people, or bestows it on them, Psalm 105:8;
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Matthew Henry
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. Blessings that take effect are commanded blessings, for he speaks, and it is done.
They are everlastingly blessed. The blessing which God commands on those that dwell in love is life forevermore; that is the blessing of blessings. Those that dwell in love not only dwell in God, but do already dwell in heaven. As the perfection of love is the blessedness of heaven, so the sincerity of love is the earnest of that blessedness. Those that live in love and peace shall have the God of love and peace with them now, and they shall be with him shortly, with him forever, in the world of endless love and peace.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“As the dew of Hermon,” etc. As touching this similitude, I think the prophet useth the common manner of speaking. For whereas the mountains oftentimes seem to those that behold them afar off, to reach up even unto heaven, the dew which cometh from heaven seemeth to fall from the high mountains unto the hills which are under them. Therefore, he saith that the dew descendeth from Hermon unto the mount Sion, because it so seemeth unto those that do behold it afar off.
—Martin Luther.
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