Thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my
cup runneth over. - Psalm 23: 5 (KJV)
As we continue progressing through Psalm 23 we find our God assuring us that provision is found in Him. Verse four found us in the valley but verse five finds us on the mountaintop again, praise God!
The Psalmist does not want the point about God's provision to be glossed over or minimized so he paints three glorious pictures to outline the process of the provision of God. The first being that God will prepare a table for us in the very presence of our enemies. We limit our conceptualization of the word enemy by assigning a persona to the term. The enemies we face in life certainly can be personified in bodily form but they also can be found in our sins, fears and anxieties. These are our enemies as well. They can be found in our struggle to strive to become more Christ-like. Too often people think they are somehow beneath the promises and grace of God. They sell themselves short because they look at their own imperfection instead of seeing themselves as God does, covered by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. It is as if they seek Christian perfection before they are willing to accept the blessings Christ has for us in this life. Too often the enemy is ourselves. But God is so good.
God does not want you to shy away from your enemies. He does not wish for you to live a life of fear; for God has not given us a spirit of fear (2Timothy 1:7). He does not want you to fear what enemies you will face in this life, whether they are external or internal. He does not want you to hide your sins, bury them or deny they exist. No, instead He wants you to bring them to His table. To the table He is preparing for you. The table is symbolic of provision through sustenance. God is making a table for you and He wants you to invite your enemies to His table. He wants your mortal enemies to see how He takes care of His own. More importantly however He wants you to bring your internal enemies to Him. This includes what inhibits your walk with God. It is all of our fears and anxieties. Our doubts and our worries. Bring them all to God, to the table He prepares for you. 1Peter 5:7 declares, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." That is the God we serve. No matter what enemies we face, we can bring them directly to God.
Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus. -
While the beginning of verse five was powerful enough, David seeks to reinforce the picture of provision by next pronouncing, "thou anointest my head with oil." The biblical usage for anointing with oil is when God has set aside someone for special use. The familiar reference is when He has chosen someone to be king, such as David. The Psalmist is saying here that there are works that God has set aside for us to do and God wants to anoint us for those works. But we cannot expect to enter into the next level God has for us if we are still being defeated by the enemies in our lives at the level we are at.
Do you often feel as if your walk is more of a crawl? Perhaps God is waiting for you to bring your enemies to Him. Perhaps He is waiting for you to rely on Him for your provision. Do you find yourself occasionally doubting God's provision? When Abraham was instructed by God to sacrifice his child he still had the faith to say, "God will provide" (Genesis 22:8). That is the kind of faith that represents a life turned over to God. God has a purpose for you and this portion of verse five confirms that "he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6)." When you are done trying to deal with your enemies on your own, God will still be there at the table waiting for you to bring them to Him. Then you will receive a fresh anointing. Then you will see the direction of your walk open up more clearly. Then you will see the scope of God's provision. It seems that in life we think there are some things we can trust to God. There are some things we know He will provide but then there are others we hold back from Him. Maybe we hold onto a sin issue instead of completely turning it over to God and then wonder why we can never triumph over it. Maybe we believe that we can handle the situation or that we must somehow resolve it. When we are through leaning upon our own understanding, God will be waiting for us at His table so He can anoint our head with oil. The fresh anointing we so desperately seek.
The final portion of verse five finds David exclaiming what
will happen within the provision of God. Your cup will run over. You will have
more than you can possibly imagine or can handle. You will be completely
satisfied. There is nothing in the world that can make such promises. We are
bombarded with advertising that falsely portrays sin as satisfaction. Beer will
make you popular and smoking is fun. Profanity has become part of popular
culture. The amount of images of sexual behavior seen today in nearly every
facet of society is staggering. 46% of high school students have already
engaged in sexual intercourse outside of marriage. One in every four of those
has contracted a sexually transmitted disease. A survey way back in 2001-2002
found that 64% of all TV programming contained sexual content. The American
Psychiatric Association states that by the age of 18 a
Rev. Anthony
