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Psalm 89:20
I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil,
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,
21with whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him.
22No enemy will tax him. No wicked man will oppress him.
Notice
The holy oil marks David as chosen by God, while “my servant” keeps his royal calling under the authority of the one who chose him.
Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.
What do God's words “my servant” tell you about David's place as king?
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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
1 Samuel 16:12–13He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. The LORD said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.”God's command to anoint David in Samuel names the choice recalled in the psalm: God has found his servant.
Isaiah 61:1–3The Lord GOD’s Spirit is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim …Both passages describe anointing by the Lord, with Isaiah naming the work of proclaiming good news and release.
Psalm 45:7You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.Both passages speak of God anointing someone with oil; Psalm 89 names David, while Psalm 45 links anointing with righteousness.
1 Samuel 16:1The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send …God's provision of a king among Jesse's sons and his command to take oil share Psalm 89's emphasis on God's choice.
2 Samuel 23:1Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse says, the man who was raised on high says, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist …Both passages name David as God's anointed, identifying his exalted position with God's action.
John 3:34For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.Both describe someone appointed by God, though John speaks of God's words and Spirit rather than David's anointing with oil.
Exodus 30:25You shall make it into a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.Holy anointing oil is the shared detail: Exodus describes its preparation, and the psalm speaks of God anointing David.
1 Kings 1:39Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent, and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet; and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!”Oil marks royal anointing in both passages: God speaks of anointing David, and Zadok anoints Solomon before the people's acclamation.
Acts 13:22When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will …Both passages use “I have found David” as God's testimony concerning the man he chose to be king.
2 Samuel 22:51He gives great deliverance to his king, and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his offspring, forever more.”Both identify David as God's anointed; Samuel also speaks of God's deliverance and loving kindness toward him and his offspring.
Exodus 29:7Then you shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.Anointing with oil is the shared act, though Exodus gives an instruction and the psalm recalls God's action toward David.
John 1:41He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ).The shared wording is finding someone: God has found David, while Simon's brother announces that he has found the Messiah.
One step
Something small to carry out of this verse
Encouragement
David's kingship begins with God's choice. Even with oil on his head, he remains God's servant; the king of Israel belongs to the Holy One.
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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).