In our last lesson we looked at how the Lord protects us with His discipline. It can be hard to take, but we know His discipline is perfect because He is perfect. So, David wrote that the Lord's discipline and guidance is a comfort to him. It should be to us as well.
Today we will look at 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."
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You Prepare a Table Before Me
We can see in this verse how the Lord God treats David as an honored guest at His table. All the provisions have been placed there by the Lord. The psalmist takes no credit, nor should we for any of the blessings bestowed upon us by God.
Please read:
Ps 104:14-18
Acts 14:17
1 Tim 4:3-4
God warns us that if we obey Him we will have blessings....but if we disobey:
Deut 11:12-17
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In the Presence of My Enemies
It is important that we see how David tells us that not only is the table provided by the Lord and he is the honored guest, but that this is a victory table because the battle is won. This table has been set before the enemies of David.
We know that it is the Lord who scatters the enemies away from His people:
Num 10:35
Ps 3:3
Ps 5:12
Ps 18:48-49
Ps 27:6
Ps 68:1-2
Notice how the psalmist describes the Lord. He is our shield that protects us from the enemy. He lifts us up above those who attack us. He is the intense heat that melts the enemy like wax!
Praise God!
Our enemies have been conquered once and for all by the Lord who conquered death for us when He rose again. Take time today to really thank the Lord for fighting the battle for us.
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You Anoint My Head With Oil
As the honored guest at the table, it was the Jewish custom to anoint him with oil as a way of setting them apart, or sanctifying them, from other guests. Here we read how it is David whose head is anointed at the table provided by the Lord.
Ps 92:10-11
Notice how Jesus was treated when He was a guest at a Jewish table...
Luke 7:36-50
Compare the two. Jesus should have been treated as the honored guest by the Jewish leaders. He was their Messiah. He was there to sacrifice Himself that they would be reconciled to God.
Yet it was the woman with great sin who saw Jesus as the honored guest. She not only anoint his head, but His feet as well and with the oil of great price too.
Have we taken time to anoint our Lord as our honored guest? Is He welcome at our table? Would He feel welcome in our homes? Take time to meditate on what you have learned here today.
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My Cup Runs Over
We have seen how the Lord scattered away the enemies of His people. As humans, we desire justice from our enemies:
Ps 27:1-3
But how does God speak of our enemies?
Ex 23:4
Luke 6:27-36
Matt 5:44-45
Here we read what God says about enemies. He shows mercy and grace and tells us to do likewise.
Man wants justice taken out on his enemies by God:
Ps 55
Vengeance- That is the human reaction.
My son, Nathan, read this Psalm and said it shows a contradiction in Scripture in that Jesus was saying that we should love our enemies, but David asks God for vengeance upon the heads of his enemies.
I ask you, is this a contradiction in Scripture?
I asked my son, "Who is speaking in Luke, Matthew, and Exodus?" He answered, "God." Then I asked him, "Who is speaking in Psalm 55?"
And he answered, "David."
I was able to show him that man's desires for his enemies are far different that God's. Therefore, there is no contradiction. Had God been speaking in Psalm 55, then we would have a clear contradiction. But instead we see how man desires vengeance on those who have wronged him.
How does God respond to those who have wronged Him?
Luke 23:34
Luke 23:39-43
And why is this important to point out?
How did God see us before He saved us?
Ro 5:9-11
We were the enemies of God before the blood of Christ reconciled us to God! Now can you see why God tells us to love our enemies and pray for them? He tells us to lend to them and not to sue them. Why? Because that is what He has done for us.
And that is why our cups run over with all the blessings that the Lord has given us! Praise Him today with all your heart and soul.
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Covenant
So what is the greatest provision that the Lord bestowed upon us?
Salvation from His wrath and judgment. We are now reconciled to a holy God because He Himself became the propitiation for our sins. He Himself, knowing that only a perfect sacrifice would do, came down and became that spotless Lamb of the Passover for us.
Jesus overcame death for us. It was Jesus who conquered our enemies once and for all.
Luke 1:67-71
That's how much He loves us.
Now that's a Good Shepherd!
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"Loyalty is essential to leadership. The wise leader cultivates loyalty by being loyal- loyal to the Lord, loyal to the truth, and loyal to the people he leads. Nothing is more destructive of leadership that the leader who compromises his own loyalty."
-John MacArthur (The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 70)
Blessings,
Ruth
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