In Ps 23:5 David wrote, “thou anointest my head with oil”.  When David was a teenager, the Lord instructed Samuel to anoint him as the successor King to Saul, 1 Sam 16:13.  When Samuel anointed him with the oil, “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him from that day forward”.

Being anointed with oil pictures being filled with the Spirit of God.   “Thou anointest my head with oil” signifies for us:

Our salvation.  It is good for us to remember that when we were saved, the Lord gave us his Holy Spirit.  We have the fruit of the Spirit, which produces in us character qualities that were completely unavailable to us before we trusted Christ to save us, Gal 5:22-23.  Now we can walk in Spirit and have victory over the flesh, in which dwells no good thing, Gal 5:16-17.  You can see the victory of Spirit over flesh clearly when you contrast Rom 8 with Rom 7.

Our eternal security.  Like David, upon whom came the Spirit from that day forward, we have to Spirit forever.  We are saved forever.  He will not take his Holy Spirit from us.  David prayed that God would not take his Holy Spirit from him, Ps 51:10-11.  He was in no danger of that because God had given him his sure mercies, 2 Sam 7:15-16; Acts 13:34.

Our unity with other believers.  Like Aaron, who was also anointed with oil, we dwell together in unity with other believers, Ps 133:1-2.  We are part of a flock of God’s sheep, Jn 10.  And we must endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Eph 4:3.  The Spirit desires to keep us together in close unity; the devil desires to divide us from one another.  How blessed we are to love each other, to serve each other, to pray for one another, and to comfort one another.

Our future reign with Christ.  Like David, who was a king, and Aaron, who was a priest, we are going to be kings and priests with Christ forever, Rev 5:9-10.  Kings and priests were both anointed.  Though our world and country are drifting further and further from the Lord, we will one day reign with Christ.  If we must suffer with Christ while we wait, then so be it.  “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”, Rom 8:18.

Conclusion: We must wait patiently for the Lord and stay close to the flock in which God has placed us.  One day, because we can say, “thou anointest my head with oil”, we will be forever with the Lord.

To read and hear the prior sermon in this series, see A Table Before Me. To read and hear the next sermon in this series, see My Cup Runneth Over.