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.… I. First, THERE ARE TEMPTATIONS, commonly so called, which can be a trouble even when they have ceased to be a dread. Just when all is peace and glory there comes the ribald murmur of an evil thought, the haunting disquiet of some evil imagination. Or doubts, again, rise up at the most solemn moments, at some turning point in our path. "This steep road cannot be right. The higher path of duty is a mistake. The view of uninterrupted splendour which I have promised myself will never come! The path leads nowhither; it is but a sheep track, beaten by the tramp of unenquiring generations. I am the slave of an imposture, the victim of a cunningly devised fable." Doubts are certainly among those that trouble us. And then there is the constant weakness, the weariness of the road, the faintness which makes us stumble, the distaste for prayer, the distractions which perplex us. He does not concern Himself with them; He is busying Himself about me. The way lies through obstacles more and even greater than these. It is not His care to remove temptation, but to strengthen the tempted. He never promised to remove trouble; but He has promised to make anxiety out of the question. He never promised to remove pain; but He has promised to elevate it into a bearing, supporting cross. "He prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." II. AND WHAT IS THIS TABLE, so strange, so unexpected, prepared in the presence of enemies thirsting for my life? Preeminently it speaks to a Christian of the blessed Sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood. In a wider meaning it is our Holy Religion. It represents all those different ways and means of grace in which God strengthens us against temptation. If, then, we are to push our way through these obstacles, He would seem to say that above all things it is necessary that religion should preoccupy the soul; it is the empty soul that is so mercilessly tormented. A man that has no principle, no settled religious beliefs, no settled religious obligations, who depends on his surroundings and companions, it is he who is so mercilessly tormented. And no less in "the table" do we trace a provision of strength. Over and over again Holy Scripture appeals to us with warning voice, "Be strong." God knows the strain which we have to undergo, the unhealthy atmosphere, the miasmatic plain, the poisonous swamps and jungles through which the path winds, and therefore He prepares a table of strength. What strength we might have if we made use of this table of religion! We should find ourselves a source of strength to all around us. And yet again, the table is a feast of good things. There is the intense interest of religious life and religions work. Worldly men cannot understand it, simply because they have not thrown themselves into it. It would seem to be a fact that our enjoyment of everything is in direct proportion to the interest which we bestow upon it, and to the extent in which we devote ourselves to it. Even the very games and recreations of life are insipid when we cannot play them, or neglect to enter into them. "The joy of the Lord is your strength." See how joyful, how bright God is all around us in His marvellous works. Do not let us despise enthusiasms; they carry us on. They are a table of delight prepared in the presence of our enemies. III. And as the angels came and ministered to Christ after His temptation, so THE ANOINTED HEAD AND THE REPLENISHED CUP SPEAK OF THE JOY AND GLADNESS WHICH WAIT ON THOSE WHO OVERCOME. There is the oil of joy and grace poured over our heads, which makes us prophets, priests, and kings of God to all those with whom we are brought into contact. And at the end there comes the full cup. Everything contributes to the store of wealth, and all things work together for good, because we love God. Life in all its changes, health, prosperity, affliction, all add to the great store of blessing, and God's mercy fills the cup of happiness to overflowing. (W. C. E. Newbolt, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. |
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