Unity in the Church.
Applying the words of the psalm to a Christian community gathered together for the worship and the work of our Lord, we may regard—
I. THAT IN WHICH UNITY CONSISTS. This we find in:
1. The acceptance of the same truth in the same sense. It is not enough that all subscribe to the same Creed, or agree to use the same words in prayer or sacred song,—that is only a formal and outward unity; there must be a substantial, intelligent agreement. Not necessarily, not indeed possibly, the acceptance of Christian truth in all its particulars in the same sense; but the reception, in the mind, of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith by all professed believers.
2. Essential oneness in aim and spirit; all being animated by the same desire to promote the glory of Christ and the elevation of mankind; all having the same spirit of earnestness and holy expectation.
3. Readiness to concede and co-operate. There can be no good work without hearty union of forces, and there can be no such combining without a cheerful readiness to concede to one another. Each must "esteem other better than himself."
4. Mutual esteem and affection. This can only be attained by a disposition to recognize and to honor all that is best in other people, and a determination to make the least of anything that is unpleasing or even unworthy.
II. ITS ATTRACTIVENESS. (Psalms 133:2.) As fragrant as the sacred oil used in priestly consecration is the odor of brotherly love. And as an exquisite fragrance attracts whilst anything offensive repels, so the presence of unity in the Church is a constant invitation, unformed and voiceless, but influential and effective. No one will come to the community where discord is the prevailing state; many hearts will be won, many feet will repair to the circle where peace and concord dwell.
III. ITS BEAUTY. (Psalms 133:3.) It is as beautiful in the moral realm as the dew on which the sun is shining is exquisite in the material. We admire unity when we see it. It shows the presence of the finest moral and spiritual qualities. It is the fair product of self-control, of obedience to the Word and will of God, of the study of the character and spirit of Jesus Christ. It is the reproduction of his own life. It is a spiritual result on which the eye of the soul rests with a pure and keen delight.
IV. ITS VALUE AS VITAL TO ALL TRUE SUCCESS. (Psalms 133:3.) "There the Lord commanded the blessing," etc. There may be the appearance of success without it, but not the reality. Other, human qualities may command great congregations, large contributions, elegant and commodious premises; but without the unity which our Lord requires in his people, there will be no Divine blessing, there will not be the communication of the "life for evermore," the eternal life which is born of his Spirit. No leader or teacher can over-estimate the value of the spirit of unity in the Church of Christ. No surrender of our own preferences can be too great to secure it. For nothing should we pray more earnestly: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem;" Jesus himself prayed that "they all may be one." They who cannot achieve any great things in utterance or in organization may render essential service by breathing and diffusing a peaceful spirit, by promoting the unity which is the unvarying condition of all real success.