Touch Not The Anointed Of The Lord

‘’…Touch not my anointed ones and do my prophets no harm.’’ Psalm 105: 15, 1 Chronicles 16:22
The verse under consideration is a very popular quotation in Christian circles. It is always readily recited to counter anyone who dares say anything against pastors or ministers of the gospel. It doesn’t really matter how gross the crime or heresy they are accused of is. The larger proportion of believers will readily brandish the above mentioned verse to hush whoever would have the temerity to voice his criticism of a man of God’s perverted behavior. This verse has been used and is still used to impose a code of silence on those who will otherwise speak against the abuses that so often tend to be rampant in certain Christian circles.
The question we ask is whether the verse under scrutiny was meant to be used the way it is being used. When the writer of holy writs gloriously penned this more than often quoted verse, did he intend it to be used by the modern believers as a blanket with which to cover abuses in the church?
The only way to know is go back to scripture and try our best to rightly divide it so that we may not have a cause to be ashamed. 2 Timothy 2:16.
The verse we are looking at is actually part of a song composed by King David and sang the day the ark of the Lord was finally brought to its resting place in the tabernacle David had built for it. The song in question is found verbatim in both Psalm 105 and 1 Chronicles 16. Full of thanksgiving, King David began relating how God had made a covenant with Abraham, transferred it to Isaac, Confirmed it to Jacob, and promised them a land in Canaan. He went on to state how when Israel was but few in numbers, they wandered from one nation and kingdom to the other. God did not permit anyone to harm them. He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying, “Touch not my anointed ones and do my prophets no harm.’’
From the context, it is clear that the anointed ones and the prophets were the people of God. The anointed ones here are in no way referring to the leaders, pastors, or even the prophetic office itself although such people are referred to in many other passages of the Old Testament as anointed ones. The anointed ones and prophets in this context however are the children of God. They are in no way a reference to modern day pastors, bishops, or ministers. In the New Testament every true believer is anointed with the Holy Spirit.
Just as the Israelites were strangers in the nation wherein they wandered as strangers, New Testament believers also live as strangers in this world. 1 Peter 1:1.  We also like the Israelites have received the promise of a home, a heavenly home. As we journey towards our promised land, we can draw comfort from the fact that God will not allow any man to harm us in any way. He will rebuke kings and rulers for our sakes. He will say to them, “Touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm.”
Yes, all believers are God’s prophets. A prophet is one who speaks forth or proclaims the word of the Lord. We all have received the ministry of reconciliation. We are ambassadors for Christ, kings, and priests, called to show forth the praises of he who called us to his marvelous light. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, 1 Peter 2:9.
To touch and do harm in this verse means the same thing. It means, to physically harm or hurt someone. It doesn’t mean in this context, to speak against the ills of a modern prophet. Instances of God preventing the wandering Israelites from being hurt, harmed, or killed as they went about homeless abound in scriptures.
He prevented Pharaoh, king of Egypt from taking Sarah, Abraham’s wife. In the process, God even inflicted Pharaoh’s household with disease. Genesis 12:14-20
God caused terror to fall on the Canaanites so that they didn’t attack the Israelites in retaliation for killing all the men in Shechem because the son of Hamor had defiled Dina, the daughter of Jacob. Genesis 34-35:5
As he ran from his life, David twice had the opportunity to end Saul’s life. But both times he spared Saul’s life and said that he would not lift a hand against the Lord’s anointed. 1 Samuel 24:10-11, 26:9.
So we can see that this verse cannot be used to stop people from verbally denouncing the abuses of bad church leadership.