by Jilene Scherenske
This is the ninth in a series of articles on Psalm 23. I have found this study to be a great blessing to my soul and trust it will be to yours also. The reader should be aware that I have used Phillip Keller’s book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 as a resource. I refer often to his book and knowledge of the care of sheep. Then I take his insights, combine them with the Word of God and meditate thereon. This is the result of my meditations.
Psalm 23:5a
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies…” Keller says that as we contemplate this phrase, we must think of the sheep now arriving at the tablelands of the high mountains. Here is some of the finest grazing land. The shepherd prepares this land for his sheep. How does he do that? Early in the spring he starts making more than one trip to these tablelands. He decides which areas will be good for heavy grazing, and which will only endure light grazing. He decides where to camp so that the sheep have the best grazing. He also will take minerals and salt and distribute them in key spots for the benefit of the sheep as they graze throughout the summer. A very needful thing that the shepherd must do is seek out the poison plants that may be hiding in these grazing areas. Keller tells us about one particular plant called cammas. There were blue cammas which were beautiful and good to eat. But then there were white cammas which tended to blend in and was very poisonous. One little nibble and the sheep would become paralyzed and quickly die. The sheep would not instinctively stay away from poisonous plants. The shepherd knew this and had to seek out this plant and all poisonous plants and then eliminate them from the grazing area by pulling out everyone of them, a very tedious and difficult task as one can imagine. Honestly, I cannot imagine the work of pulling weeds from an entire pasture! Pastures are huge! It would be back breaking! As a teenager my father asked me to pull a certain weed out of our shelterbelt because this particular weed was choking out our young evergreens. I hated it! It was back breaking work! But that was just a little bit of land, this was an entire pasture – unimaginable! Many times the shepherd would have to get down on his knees to complete the task. Yet the shepherd must be diligent and thorough in order to prevent the death of even one sheep!
As the earthly shepherd, so Jesus goes before us to prepare the path He has for us and to keep us safe on it. He did this for Peter when satan desired Peter, but Jesus stated that He had already prayed for Peter that he would not fail (Luke 22:31-32). Yes, Peter did end up denying Christ, but look at the remainder of his life. He went on strong for the Lord amidst great persecution. I am thinking also of Hebrews 4:15 which tells us: For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. When He was on earth, Jesus suffered every kind of temptation we will ever encounter. He went ahead of us and because of His death and resurrection He made a way for us to escape those temptations. He made it possible for us to escape feeding upon the evil weeds which can surround our lives. He knew ahead of time that poison would seek to destroy us. He also knew, that just like sheep, we would tend to eat the poison out of ignorance, or carelessness, or because our flesh wanted it! He promises in 1Corinthians 10:13: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. He lives on high today ever praying for us so that our path will be cleared of poison. He makes a way for us to escape when the poison comes near. He prays for us fervently all the time! Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Wow! Praise God! We are safe because of Jesus’ intercessions for us, and because He has gone before and prepared the path for us.
He clears our spiritual path of poison so that we can eat the luscious grass! It is not a table filled with bare necessities, such as bread and water. It is a feast!!!! He goes above and beyond to set the table with much more than we need. He comes to give us abundant life! Not just an ordinary life. Abundant life! Life that is so focused on Jesus and obedience to Him that it is overflowing with love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, gentleness, goodness, and faith. When we are filled with all these we are indeed blessed beyond measure. And each is readily available to us. 2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: It is a spiritual feast for sure, but it is also a feast of things we need for physical life. And it is a feast in our mind. Even if we do not have what someone else has, we can still be feasting because we have all that we need to be satisfied, to be joyful. Paul feasted while in his jail cell. Just look to his writings. Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. He did not write that instruction to others and not do it himself! He spent his time rejoicing in the Lord no matter what situation he was in!
Another way that the shepherd goes before to prepare the tableland is to keep an eye out for predators. While choosing and preparing the land he looks for packs of wolves, coyotes, cougars and bears. If these try to bother the flock, he must hunt them down or trap them so that the sheep are safe. These predators will lurk up on the rocks and have full view of the sheep, looking for a chance to make a swift attack. By so doing they make the flock to stampede, thus making it easy to grab a straggler. Only the alertness of the shepherd will prevent an attack from occurring.
This is exactly what Jesus does for us. His Word warns us that satan walks about as a lion seeking to devour us. 1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: But our Shepherd Jesus knows every trick, every deceitful maneuver that satan will attempt to use to devour us. His Word keeps us safe; it keeps us aware of those tricks, the subtleness of satan. Keller states that cougars were especially cunning. They come in the night and toy with the sheep. With some they would simply tear large patches of wool from their skin. With others they would cause them to stumble and break their legs. Some would be killed instantly, and the cougar would drain their blood and eat their livers. Still others were torn open and badly clawed. But so subtle and skillful were the cougars that Keller never saw them nor heard them, and the sheep would be so frightened that they were paralyzed with fear and unable to bleat out. The only thing that can keep us from such attacks is walking close to Jesus. It is a place of utter safety. Always it was the sheep that roamed, that stayed a distance away from the flock, that were the first victims. As our Shepherd, Jesus longs for us to stay close to Him. It is the only way to avoid attack. We must remain in step with Him. I do not dance, but I know that if the wife does not allow the husband to lead and stay in step with him it won’t work! It is like my husband and I. Everywhere we go we hold hands. I love having my hand in his. Often, he guides me around a puddle, or down an aisle I was not planning on going down. Yet I just simply stay in step with him and we walk along in unison and I am protected. So it is with Jesus. The only way we can stay in step with Him is by reading His Word every day, by praying meaningfully, and by meditating upon what His Word has said to us that day. As we have stated before, His Word is powerful, powerful enough to keep us safe as long as we heed it.
Because Jesus has lived on earth amongst us as the Son of man, He knows what life here is like. He knows all that threatens us. Therefore, He has made every provision to win the fight against satan, who is a defeated foe – something we must never forget and must remind satan of continually. Whether it be a focus on self and fleshly things, or a desire for something of the world, satan will use it to his advantage to make us stumble. But praise be to God, we have the victory in Him Who has already conquered satan. Let us then live in that attitude of rest. Let us be confident in our Shepherd Jesus and peacefully walk on the mountain top that Jesus has prepared for us. Even though we are in plain view of the enemy, even though there are storms that may arise, poisonous weeds that may still grow up, and other problems, it is impossible for them to have any effect upon us as long as we stay close to Jesus. Jesus has gone to great personal care and sacrifice to prepare this tableland for us. We must huddle close to Him.
Yes, the enemy of our souls, of our mind, our will, and our emotions watches as we feast at this table and there is absolutely nothing he can do about it! We are completely protected by Jesus our Shepherd. It is the picture of sheep peacefully grazing of the lush green grass and all the while completely aware that a cougar is watching them, but also completely secure in the protection of their shepherd. Paul experienced this. Even though he suffered much, yet he never lost his joy and continually reminded others who were suffering to rejoice in the Lord. Impotent….that’s a wonderful adjective to describe our enemy!
One last chore of the shepherd to get the tableland ready for summer grazing is to clear out the water holes and all other drinking places for the sheep. They are typically filled with leaves, twigs, stones, and soil. He may need to repair small dams that hold the water in. He may need to open the springs that have become overgrown with grass and brush.
His Word is our Living Water. Jesus will do all that it takes to make that Living Water available to us, including giving us a thirst for it. I well remember when I forsook His Word. I lost my thirst for it. It was the worst time of my life. But in His faithfulness, He brought back to me a thirst for it and made a way for His Word to once again become a living and active part of my life.
There is another tableland to consider. It is the table of communion. This is a tremendous table that He has prepared for us. Every communion ought to be a praise service for all of His love and care for us. We ought to have in mind the great love He displayed for us by the loss of reputation, loss of respect, false accusations, ridicule, even being spat upon. And then there was the awfulness of the torture He suffered. A torture so great that every piece of skin was ripped from His body, organs visible, totally unrecognizable as a human being except that He still had the shape of a body. On top of all that, He, the Holy One, bore ALL the sins of every human being, past present and future. What mental anguish! He came knowing that would happen. But He came out of love for us, out of a desire to shepherd us. This is love defined. He came so that we might have life abundant. We must remember this when we approach communion and be prepared to partake of the table He has already prepared for us.
A shepherd is thrilled beyond words to watch his sheep thriving on the high, rich summer range. So Jesus is pleased beyond measure to see us flourishing on the tablelands of the abundant life He has made possible for us. He loves seeing us walk in holiness, in selflessness, in peace, in awareness of His presence and utter enjoyment as we enjoy intimacy with Him.
Application
Jesus has gone before us by His life here on earth to clear out the poisons that seek to destroy us. He has furnished our path with the minerals and salts of His Word. He intercedes for us at all times. When was the last time you thanked Him for His example in His earthly ministry, and for what the cross accomplished so that we can have victory over those poisons, and for His intercession for you today? What does the fact that He intercedes for us every day so completely, tell you about how He feels about you? For me it assures me of His love for me, and of His care and protection of me. Let us praise Him for all of this.
Not only does Jesus remove the poisons from our path, He keeps us safe from the enemy so much so that the enemy watches us feasting on His Word and in His blessings but cannot do a thing about it. Remember, Job was feasting in goodness from the Lord when satan came to ask the Lord permission to vex him? Satan had watched Job feasting a long time but he could not do one thing about it. And after Job’s trials, Job went on to feast even more heartily upon the Lord and satan was powerless to affect it. There is no reason for fear in the Christian’s life. God is so much more powerful than our enemy. He knows every move the enemy might be planning. He is on top of it! We can feast and not fear. We just must stay in step with Jesus and His Word like I do with my husband when we walk and hold hands. Are you staying in step with the Shepherd?
One last thing the Jesus does for us, and we have already mentioned it, He gives us His Word, the Living Water. But it is not much use to us if we do not drink it in. He has uncovered it and made it readily available to us. Be sure you are drinking it in every day and drinking as much as Jesus would have you drink. My doctor is always telling me I should drink up to 80 ounces of water a day. He says that would maximize my health. Do I? I would have to say “no” on most days! Let us make sure we are not making that same mistake with the Word of God. Is He prompting you to spend more time in His Word? Do it! It will increase your feasting! Is your thirst lacking? Then ask Him for a greater thirst. He will give it!
Jesus has gone before us in our lives and prepared an absolutely magnificent banquet. He prepares to feed us with His Word and His very presence. He spares nothing. He owns it all. He prepares a table filled with the power of God to protect us from ourselves, the world, and the devil. We can feast in perfect security. He gives us to eat of the attitudes He places in our hearts. Perfect joy. Perfect peace. Perfect love. The table He prepares is done so with the aim of bringing us close to Him. Having gone through the valleys to get to the mountain top, we ought by now to know the blessing and needfulness of remaining close to Him. And when we remain close, we find utter joy, and complete satisfaction, no matter what our situation.
What about the communion table He has prepared for us? Do we look forward to it? Do we celebrate it? Why do we have it? So that we remember His death, burial, and resurrection. It should then remind us of what He did to accomplish for us our banqueting table, our abundant life here and the eternal life in heaven with Him that is yet to come. It should remind us to be extremely thankful for what He has done. It should also remind us that He has conquered satan. Satan is a defeated foe. Satan would like us to think otherwise and get some hold in our life, but the communion table reminds us that that does not have to happen. We also can be victorious and bold in our Christian walk. We just must die to self and allow the Spirit to control us! So many things this table reminds us. So many things to celebrate.
Jesus has also prepared an unbelievable banqueting table that we will enjoy in heaven. We cannot imagine how glorious it will be! Be sure to thank Him in advance for it. Let us look forward to it. In so many ways Jesus prepares our path. Every day our path is prepared for that day and our path is prepared all the way into eternity! Praise Him!