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Psalm 89:18
For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
16In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted.
17For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted.
18For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.
20I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil,
Notice
The shield and the king both belong to YHWH, a claim that can unsettle the weight you place on human protection.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What changes in your view of leadership when Israel's king is described as belonging to God?
Write on thisWhere do you look for the kind of security a shield represents?
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Where else Scripture says this
12 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.
This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Exodus 15:11Who is like you, LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?Both passages name the LORD and his holiness, with Exodus praising his incomparable glory and the psalm declaring Israel's king his possession.
Psalm 47:9The princes of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted!Both passages say that shields belong to God, linking the language of protection with his authority over rulers.
Psalm 7:10My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.Both passages connect a shield with God, locating protection in relation to him.
Isaiah 33:22For the LORD is our judge. The LORD is our lawgiver. The LORD is our king. He will save us.Both passages connect kingship with the LORD: Israel's king belongs to him, and Isaiah names the LORD himself as king.
Psalm 71:22I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.Both passages address God as the Holy One of Israel, naming the same God in declarations of belonging and praise.
Psalm 47:6Sing praises to God! Sing praises! Sing praises to our King! Sing praises!Both passages link God and kingship, though Psalm 47 names God as King while Psalm 89 declares that Israel's king belongs to him.
Revelation 3:7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who …Both passages join holiness with authority, though Revelation describes the holy speaker's power to open and shut.
Isaiah 12:6Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”Both passages name the Holy One of Israel, with Isaiah celebrating his greatness among Zion's people.
Isaiah 1:4Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD. They have despised the Holy …Both name the LORD as the Holy One of Israel, though Isaiah describes the people's rejection of him.
Isaiah 43:3For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.Both identify the LORD as the Holy One of Israel and connect him with his people's protection.
Hosea 13:10Where is your king now, that he may save you in all your cities? And your judges, of whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?Both concern kings and protection, though Hosea questions the king's ability to save while the psalm declares the king belongs to God.
Deuteronomy 33:27–29The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’Both use images of protection in connection with God: a shield belonging to him and everlasting arms beneath his people.
Where this verse fits
Leadership weight. fear for the future. praise and worship.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
Human strength has a place in this verse, and it has a master. Israel's shield and king belong to YHWH, the Holy One of Israel.
Now put it in your words.
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).