Psalm 89:20-21

Psalm 89:20-21 ²⁰ I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,²¹ With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.

Today we are getting to the meat of God’s covenant with David in which God promised David that he would always have a man upon the throne of Israel. That promise is fulfilled in Jesus, He sits on the throne today. The truths contained in today’s verse about God’s anointing of David apply in a greater sense to Jesus. Let us first take a look at Matthew 22:42-46:

⁴²saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” ⁴³He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:⁴⁴‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?⁴⁵“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” ⁴⁶And no one was able to answer Him a word…(NKJV)

Jesus quotes directly from Psalm 110 in the debate with the Pharisees asking them a question He knew they would not answer because they would have to admit that He was God. Messiah was promised in the O.T. He would come from the line of David, He would be God with us, He would come to save that which was lost.

”My servant” the psalm says. Jesus came to us as the perfect servant to the Father. He says of Himself in John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Paul tells us of Jesus role as a servant in Philippians 2:7-8

“⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

God annointed and established David's throne, “With My holy oil I have anointed him, with whom My hand shall be established” the psalmist says. God the Father gave his anointing and approval to God the Son. Twice in the N.T. God the Father shouts from heaven “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”. God the Father’s approval of Jesus’ ministry is also demonstrated by the many miracles that He performed and the ultimate anointing and approval from the Father was demonstrated by the resurrection of the Son.

“My arm shall strengthen him”. Jesus led the perfect life during His ministry on earth. He gave us the perfect example of complete dependency upon the Father. He taught us to call upon the Father for “our daily bread”, He taught us to “seek first the kingdom of God” and all of our needs would be provided. I believe the ultimate display of Jesus’ dependency upon the Father is shown to us in the garden of Gethsemane. “Not my will but thine” Christ says and after a time of prayer with the Father, He is strengthened and bolstered and stands in front of an army to be taken to His death. God the Son trusted and depended upon God the Father.

Let us never forget that we serve God and that His word never fails. Let us also never forget that we are given the perfect example of how to live our lives before Him by the lover of our souls, Jesus Christ.

Today’s post is based on an outline from C.H. Spurgeon’s “The Treasury of David”. I thank God for the insight and ministry of this man... Jeff