Abundant Provision (Psalm 23:5)

It is possible that verse 5 of the psalm explains something that a shepherd did for his sheep as he led them along the valley that took them to the higher summer pastures – we considered this possible interpretation of the valley when we looked at verse 4. Some commentators suggest that the shepherd would travel the route beforehand and store provisions at regular distances, so that food would be available when the sheep reached those locations. Whether that was the case or not, it is true that the heavenly Shepherd will ensure that adequate supplies are available wherever he takes his people.

Others suggest that the imagery of a shepherd does not exist in this verse or in the next, and that instead the author now uses the imagery of a host because he refers to a table with food on it, and a cup from which the psalmist drinks. Verse 6 further suggests that the psalmist is now inside a building called the house of the Lord. It is obvious that some details may not fit with the usual imagery of a shepherd outside in the countryside with his sheep. Yet we should remember that the Jewish imagery of a shepherd also referred to the way that a king would perform his duties, and it may be that here we have a description of royal bounty as well as shepherd care.

The enemies

The first detail that verse 5 states is that God’s people have enemies. Indeed the psalmist is saying that each believer can have his own enemies. We can also see that they are more than one. David himself knew what it was like to have powerful enemies, both before he became king and subsequently as well. Even more importantly for each of the sheep is the fact that the Shepherd of their souls had enemies. The devil was his enemy, as were the leaders of Israel, whether political like the Herodians, traditional like the Pharisees, or anti-supernatural like the Sadducees. Indeed it is likely that the only occasion when they were united together was when they were attacking Jesus at the time of his arrest.

An important aspect of the experience of Jesus is that it has enabled him to empathise with his people when they encounter their enemies. Some people can express sympathy with us, but we know that they have not been through the experience personally. But it is very different when we meet someone who has gone through the same experience – that individual can empathise with us because he understands what it is like. So we as sheep get comfort from knowing that the Shepherd knows what it is like to have fierce enemies determined to harm him.

What enemies do they have? The Bible, as we know, says that they have three enemies – the world, the flesh and the devil. We can grasp who the last one is because he is a creature, although a fallen one. The flesh does not refer to our physical body, although sometimes our bodily desires can lead us into sin. Instead, the flesh is a way of describing remaining sin in a believer. And the world does not mean people, even although people can lead us into sin. Rather, the world refers to the outlooks of people, their hopes and ambitions, their interests and their goals, the ideas that prevent people putting God first in their lives and so replace him with things. The important details to note are that those enemies work together against believers and that the Lord does not remove them from the presence of believers.

There is a reminder here that a believer does not have to be sinless in order to be blessed by the Shepherd. Of course, if that was the case, then there would be no blessings experienced in this world. Sometimes we imagine that temptations take us out of God’s presence, but they do not. It is not a sin to be tempted, and often temptations come at moments of closeness, such as at the Lord’s Supper. The psalmist is describing one of the unusual features of the spiritual life which is that we can be in the presence of the Shepherd and in the presence of spiritual enemies simultaneously.

The table

While it is possible that the psalmist is referring to a kind of literal table – perhaps a pile of stones elevated above the ground – I would suggest that what he has in mind is variety of provision. Whenever we see a table, we usually see more than one type of food on it. It is similar with the provision that Jesus makes.

Having said that is the case, we should also remember that the provision that Jesus gives is all connected to himself. Another way of saying this is to recognise that all our blessings come through our union with Jesus. There are many blessings that we can have and Jesus the Shepherd knows which one we should have at particular stages in our Christian experience.

The blessing that we are going to need most frequently is that of forgiveness. Yet we know that the reception of forgiveness is preceded by repentance for the particular sins for which we need forgiveness. Where did the repentance come from? It came from Jesus in heaven. At other times, we may desire peace in our souls. We may be disturbed for a variety of reasons, some because of difficult providences, some because of hostility shown against us, some because of wrong things we may have said. Where can we receive peace from? It comes from Jesus in heaven. We can go through a list of blessings that we need, but all of them will come from Jesus.

As we think of this reality, it is important to know that Jesus wants to give us as many blessings as we will need at any time. Our faith should anticipate a well-laden table. Moreover, we know that Jesus has the wisdom regarding which blessings can be the main course at such times. Since that is the case, it is our responsibility to trust him for the provision. It is like one of the sheep saying to another sheep, ‘I don’t know where the shepherd will take us today, but I know that he will provide suitable food for the circumstances I will go through. It is a fact that each expression of faith by one believer should strengthen the expectations of other believers. It would be wrong to say to another believer, ‘He will not provide any food today!’  

The oil

Whenever a sheep made its way through a pasture or along a path, it was liable to have its face affected by the heat of the sun and its eyes affected by parasites. The sun would cause the skin on the face to crack and various sores would appear. The one thing that would be obvious from seeing such a sheep was that it was unable by itself to do anything about the needs it had. Of course, David would have been able to do something about physical problems that arose from being outside, but he was not able to do anything to cater for the needs of his soul. Anything he would have tried would not have solved the problems he had.

The way that the shepherd dealt with those problems was to use oil as a medicine. He is not referring to crude oil, but to oil in the sense of ointment. We see an example of such oil when Mary anointed the head of Jesus. This leads us to ask how the Shepherd gives us this oil and what does the oil signify. And in order to answer those questions we need to ask what the cracks on the skin and parasites could indicate?

One possibility is that a Christian is under attack and receives wounds in his heart because of strong opposition. Some opposition leaves external marks, but others leave internal scars. Maybe the opposition comes from family, from relatives, from friends, from colleagues who have treated the precious name of the Shepherd with contempt, and the sheep feels it in his or her soul. Who can deal with that heart apart from the Saviour? And the good thing is that he does deal with it.

Another possibility is that the affairs of life blind the sheep to spiritual realities. Those affairs may not be wrong in themselves, but they can cause us to be so busy with earthly things and we find that our spiritual vision is affected. It is good when that happens to know that the Shepherd is aware of it and has the means by which he can restore our perception of heavenly realities. Paul was aware of such dangers when he urged the Colossians to set their affections on things above.

There are many examples that could have been chosen to illustrate the blessings conveyed in the illustration of the oil. But we can ask ourselves what would the consequences of the anointing be. One outcome would be that the sheep would feel at ease, that the disturbances caused by the cracks and the parasites would no longer happen. Instead the sheep would have an incredible experience of peace brought into its experience by the wisdom and care of the shepherd. And it is inevitable, on the spiritual level, for such tenderness not to create anticipations within the heart of the sheep of Jesus for future applications whenever necessary.

Another consequence of experiencing the tender care of the shepherd would be the aroma that would permeate the place where the sheep was. The other sheep would know that it had received the kind attention of the shepherd. Something similar, but vastly greater, occurs in the spiritual life as well. Every believer gives out a smell, but sometimes it is not an aroma. At times, the smell can be one of jealousy, or of legalism, or of divisiveness. None of them are ever fragrant and the other sheep know it, unless they too are spreading the wrong smells. But when a Christian has received the gracious care of the Good Shepherd, there words are automatically fragrant and become a blessing to others. They don’t have to draw attention to themselves, but the aroma draws attention to the capabilities of the gracious Saviour.

The cup

It is not entirely clear what the cup refers to. If the imagery concerns a sheep, then it could be taken from the practice of the shepherd giving lots of refreshing water to the sheep. Or David could be using as an illustration what would happen in the King’s presence when he would pour wine for his guests. Either way, the illustration points to the copious nature of the blessings we can receive from the King. What are some of them? Here are a couple of experiences of the sheep of Jesus.

One experience is mentioned by Jesus in John 10:10 where he says that he had come to give abundant life. What did he include in his promise? We can suppose that he is speaking mainly about spiritual life, although from a long-term point of view there is no need to exclude the future life of the resurrection from within his meaning. After all, it is eternal life, and therefore it must include length as well as depth within its fullness.

Life needs space within which to live, and the space that is given to spiritual life is very large. The space that is given to the sheep of Jesus is as large as his blessings. Life also needs strength in order to appreciate what it has to offer, and the strength that is given to believers is the Holy Spirit. Further, for life to be life it has to be satisfying, and the life that Jesus gives satisfies the searching soul with peace and contentment. And we can say that real life must provide a sense of security, no matter what takes place, and Jesus assures his people that no one can remove them from his hand.

Another experience is receiving great answers to our prayers. Paul reminded the Ephesians of the possibilities that were connected to prayer: ‘Now unto him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.’ What can we say about our prayers? Have you ever tried to speculate how many of your prayers God has answered? Imagine a person who has been a Christian for twenty years and he makes twenty petitions a day (of course, he makes a lot more). In that example, he would have made about 150,000 prayers. Of course, if he were to make twenty petitions an hour, say for twelve hours of the day, he would have offered 1,800,000 petitions. And if he has been a Christian for forty years, the number of petitions gets very large. How many has the Lord answered? We tend to focus on the ones he has so far not answered rather than thanking him for the many he has answered far above what we expected.

The psalmist is not suggesting that having a full cup is an unusual experience. Instead he is saying that the sheep of Jesus are given a full cup from him. The cup pictures the spiritual blessings they are entitled to through his grace. He purchased those blessings for them by his death. I suppose the real question is whether or not we drink out of the overflowing cup. This cup can never empty, no matter how much we drink from it.