Welcome to My Beloved Shepherd blog where I'm sharing an in-depth meditation on Psalm 23. Today we are going to look at the first half of verse 5.
He prepares a table before me
In the presence of my enemies
This is an odd verse, isn't it? We've been talking about sheep, sheep, and more sheep. And now someone's putting on a dinner and there are enemies standing all around the place? Did this little poem just go off the rails?
We're still on the journey
Not at all. It's still all about the sheep and the shepherd. It's the next leg of the journey. This psalm follows what the sheep actually go through in the seasons of their life. As new lambs, they're frolicking in the green pasture and still waters, safe and secure in Shepherd's love. In verse three, the shepherd takes the sheep on a road trip. "He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." In verse 4, they are passing through rough territory. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me." In verse 5, the sheep have arrived!
Throughout the many long years of sheep farming across the globe when summer comes many shepherds move the sheep from the lowlands up to the tablelands in the mountains. It is cooler, greener and water is readily available. These tablelands belong to the shepherd, so he knows exactly where he is taking the sheep. In fact, the shepherd has been preparing them for the sheep. He takes years and even decades to create an environment for the sheep to thrive in. They get rid of the poisonous weeds, clean out the dead and decaying wood, remove boulders and rocks. They also make sure there is easy access to clean water. When the sheep finally arrive, there is everything their little sheep hearts could want.
Can you imagine after what seems a long and dangerous journey, the sheep arrive in this lush, cool playground? They can run, feed, sleep, and drink to their hearts' content.
What does that have to do with us?
Why did David include this in his psalm of how much the Lord is like a shepherd? And what does that line, "In the presence of my enemies" mean?
Walking in a true relationship with the Lord of the Universe is amazing and wonderful in every way. It's the adventure of a lifetime that never ends but gets better and better - sometimes by leaps and bounds. He pours out love, goodness, friendship, joy, help, belonging, provision, kindness, understanding, compassion, and - well, I could go on and on much longer than I already have. He is always with us and wanting to help us experience life on a higher plane. He wants to elevate us. That's what this verse is about, taking us up the mountain to that higher place. Do you want that? Do you want to live your life on a higher plane?
Pro-tip: How to get the higher plane
Here's the very cool way God does that.
He creates a higher place inside of us!
If you took a very talented figure skater and put her in the Olympics trials when she is at the beginning of her career, of course, she would fail in a big way. But after training, practicing, coaching, and competing she will, one day, be completely ready for the Olympics.
Think about what the shepherd is doing to prepare the tablelands. He is getting rid of the poisonous weeds, cleaning up the deadwood, removing the rocks and boulders. He cleans up the water sources, so they flow fresh and sweet for the sheep. That is what the Lord is doing in you! That’s how he elevates you to a higher place.
Just a few verses after psalms 23 is this intriguing passage:
Psalm 24
3 Who may go up the mountain of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart. He who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, and has not made false promises.
Hikers Welcome!
God wants us to climb his mountain! He doesn't want us to stay down in the lowlands. I don't believe it's God who keeps us from getting to the high places. It's the things listed in verse four. They block our ability to climb. They keep us stuck in the lies. Our strength is small when those things are present in our lives. They are the very things that the Shepherd is cleaning up inside of us.
God is all about giving us more, making us more, lifting us up, elevating us.
This is REALLY good news for everyone! Right? But for those of us trapped on the broken path of life - it's the best news ever! God wants to helps us get off that path. He wants us on the sunshine path of joy, climbing higher and higher in his love. Doesn't that sound so amazing?
Well, IT IS!!!
My whole life I was stuck in the low and lousy paths. I lived on the surface of trying so hard to do everything right. I hated every little failure, of which there were many. I had no confidence in myself or in anything else, including God. I was sure that most people were on the brink of getting mad at me. The inner critic beat me bloody on a daily basis. I could go into a tailspin and spiral into the abyss of pain and darkness with just a little push. Sometimes, I stayed there for a LONG time.
“There is no try…”
I tried so hard to be a pure and honest Christian. I did all the true Christian things like study my Bible, sincerely seek to be like Jesus, worship God with a whole heart, help the hurting, love those who couldn’t love me back, and many other things. It was a long list. Maybe for a moment, I felt a little better about myself. But that feeling went away quickly. And at the end of the day, I was still on the broken path of life.
But not anymore!!! As the Lord transformed me through healing of my childhood wreckage, I am able to walk on this new path. I am able to climb the Lord's holy mountain. I have been elevated! It is glorious! I am filled with joy beyond words to describe it.
He wants that for you, too. How do I know that? Well, first off, it's written in many places all over the Bible. Second, it's in keeping with his nature of love and relationship. And third, I've experienced it. And continue to experience it. I've seen it in the lives of many others as well.
My friend, let yourself believe it! Believe that the God of all love and compassion wants this for you too.
Now, what about that second line?
In the presence of my enemies
There are several observations I'd like to share about this line:
- These enemies are not stopping the Shepherd from his preparations. He isn’t afraid of these bad guys. He is stronger than them. He can handle them.
- These preparations must be of great importance to the Shepherd that he continues even in the face of direct opposition.
- These are MY enemies. They are not just any enemies or the Shepherd's enemies. They are specifically MY enemies. This last point is SO important.
Here are a few dictionary definitions of the word, "Enemy."
1. One that is antagonistic to another, one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent
2. Something harmful or deadly
3. A hostile unit or force
Who are your enemies?
I want you to think about your own life in reflection of the above definitions. What is antagonistic in your life? What is seeking to injure or overthrow you? Are you struggling with something harmful or deadly? Is there a hostile force that you face?
Maybe you have actual external enemies that are hostile and antagonistic toward you. But I guarantee you that all of us have internal enemies that fit the above definitions perfectly. It‘s the internal enemies that keep us from that higher plane of living. Here are some other words that describe these enemies:
- addictions
- the inner critic
- perfectionism
- bad habits
- weaknesses
- fears
- buried anger and bitterness
Put these two lines together and Wow!
You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies
The message of this beautiful couplet is that even though our lives are filled with problems and FAR from perfect, that doesn’t stop the Good Shepherd from doing his beautiful transforming work of elevating us. Whether your enemies are internal or external, Jesus is going to go right on loving, helping and transforming you. He's going to go right on elevating you to a higher place.
If you desire to live on that higher plane of joy and love, I strongly encourage you to chase down the transformative process. Commit to it. Pray, beg, plead with the Holy Lord God to inner healing. Believe me, He WILL answer that prayer!
Every step of this great psalm has a dual purpose. The first purpose is that what the verse directly states. But the second purpose is to prepare us/the sheep for the next step. The Good Shepherd has brought us to this high place in verse 5 for a most magnificent purpose that will be revealed in the next line. It is really the zenith of this psalm and just thinking about it, gets me so excited and brings tears to my eyes.