We continue on in Psalm 23 looking now at verse 5. While pondering over this passage I found His presence offered to us in ways that only God can. He has already offered us more than we deserve. He has offered us His presence, His provisions, His protection, and His preservation which includes protection from the power and penalty of death. Now in this verse we see His Preparation. There is nothing more that we could possibly ask from Him yet He continues to offer to meet the needs that we have. Let us now take this opportunity to see what God offers us as we continue to glean what we can from His precious Word. There is still a lot to ponder from the 23 psalm.
Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” Once again we see the psalmist placing before us in another perfect word picture, the eloquent illustration of God’s unfailing provision and care provided for His own.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” There is not one of us reading this that has not had an enemy, some of us more than others. Here in this passage we find that our God offers and prepares for us a table in the presence of our enemies. To some believers their greatest enemies are their own imaginations but whether real or in thought God prepares the table. This statement is here because of the reality of the life in which we live. We all have enemies and those who know not the Lord are His enemies and in turn ours as well. A truth that we can observe here is that if we did not have enemies, we are not the friends of God. “…Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4b) The bible also tells us that we are to do what we can to live at peace with all men, the best that we can is what is expected. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18) Notice that the Scripture says that it depends upon us. The author of Hebrews put it this way, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:” (Hebrews 12:14). Once again we are to be the pursuers of peace. Enemies are a part of life, and a fact that we must live with. But having the blessings of God and knowing that He is there to protect us is more than any of us deserve. With this thought in mind we can break down this passage a little more to see the greatness of it and the preciousness of our Lord.
“You prepare a table before me.” When taking a closer look at this passage we must first unpack the thought that it is God that is preparing the table, “You prepare a table...” This is not the responsibility of the Master, the preparation of the table it the normal responsibility of a servant, they are the ones who prepare the master’s table. It is the servant that is to unfold the tablecloth laying it across the table. It is the servant who is to put the table setting in place from the dinner ware down to the folded napkins on which the silver ware rests. The feast is at hand but here in this passage we see that it is the Master who is preparing and setting the table and He will do it for us. As it is always His practice, we find that nothing is hurried as it is done in His perfect time. I do believe that since it is His table that all is at peace because we are in the presence of the Master. The normal confusion at a meal time is minimized, even though the enemy is lurking at the door. Here we find that though we may be stressed God continues to prepare the table for His own, He is still in complete control. Here at the Lord’s table the believer can sit down and eat in peace because he is in the presence of God and once there, everything is in perfect peace. Notice what Scripture says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3) and “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) He is the one who provides the peace which is directly linked to His presence. He does this in the presence or in the sight of our enemies. He does this to let the enemy know that He is the Master of all and there is nothing that is outside of His control.
Once He has satisfied our appetite and we have received the proper nourishment He then turns to address our spiritual needs. “You anoint my head with oil.” Anointing is often found as a symbol of gladness it is a representation of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Here we find that the psalmist longed for a daily blessing from God, he longed for a receiving a fresh anointing from God. In the Old Testament economy the Holy Spirit did not dwell within the believer as He does today, so the psalmist here longed for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit in his life. Today every believer has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13). This indwelling does not exclude us from desiring a closeness with God and thus like the psalmist we can and should request a refreshing of the Spirit in our lives.
In our search for a closer relationship with God we do so through the Spirit of God in our lives. This is often described as the “filling of the Spirit” which is the crucial work of God. It is specifically the ministry of the Holy Spirit that gives a believer the capability of change, the transforming of our lives and growth in righteousness. Ephesians 5:18 we are commanded to be “…filled with the Spirit.” This is the empowering ministry of Spirit of God. The “filling” mentioned in Ephesians is a metaphor (or picture) of control. We can be filled (or controlled) by fleshly desires or by the Spirit of God. So for a believer there is one indwelling of the Spirit but there can be many fillings. We are command to “Be filled” and so that we can follow the command to “Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians5:16). The Spirit’s presence is permanent (at salvation as noted earlier) but we must repeatedly choose to yield to God, we must choose to experience the precious transforming power and work of His Spirit within our lives to change and to grow us. So we see that the true Christian experience is to, “walking in the Spirit” and to “be actively filled with the Spirit.” By our surrendering ourselves to the work and will of the Holy Spirit, we can face the many challenges that this life offers through the work and power of the Holy Spirit within us. It should not be enough for a believer to be sealed by the Holy Spirit; we should desire an active filling of the Spirits power. In doing so we can add to our lives a new day to day closeness to God. This is how we as believers have “our heads anointed with oil.”
“My cup runs over.” The cup here represents abundance that our God does supply and we cannot help but notice that the psalmist states that this abundance is more than his cup can handle. The cup if you will overflows because of the abundance of God. This cup rests at the table which is prepared for believers who may feast. This table once again is set before us in the presence and in spite of the believer’s enemies. It is here that the believer can feast knowing that God is there, it is faith and trust in His presence and knowing that we are protected by His strength and power where which He watches over us. It need not matter where the table is spread but even in the presence of our enemies we can sit and feast in peace.
This verse notes for us the preciousness of this table and its blessing. Every believer who resides at this table soon comes to the realization, as our psalmist reflects that God’s provision far exceeds our expectations. We cannot help but notice that his cup was more than full, it overflowed. Our God provides us with so much more than enough. We to get all of this in God, and our cup overflows because more than the psalmist had because we have Jesus and the Holy Spirit as well. In Christ we are truly wealthy, for we are fully complete in Him.
To be continued…
========================================
No comments:
Post a Comment