Spiritual Starvation and Developing Hunger + “In the Presence of Mine Enemies”
In The Presence of Mine Enemies.
“A Sheep, saith Aristotle, is a foolish and sluggish creature…aptest to wander, though it feel no want, and unablest to return…a sheep can make no shift to save itself from tempests or inundation; there it stands and will perish, if not drive away by the Shepherd.” –Trapp as quoted by David Guzik
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:…” Psalm 23:5
Psalm 23 has amazed me in recent history. WOW. God has squeezed drop after drop of comfort and beauty out of it. It is a breathtaking image painted with David’s pen that oozes with the reality of dark shadows, bright highlights, and bold colors. Green pastures, pitch-black valleys, and the golden highlights of goodness and mercy woven throughout it all. It is no surprise that the words of the sweet shepherd-turned-king have been a consolation to untold masses throughout the ages. David knew both the heart of a shepherd and the weak, foolish nature of sheep. He knew both the serene settings of still waters and green pastures, yet also knew the reality of treacherous valleys and present enemies. He knew the care, comfort, and concern of a shepherd’s heart, and he also knew the discipline and protection of a shepherd’s staff.
One of the most beautiful aspects of David’s writings, in my opinion, is that he does not deny the existence of fears and feelings. He is not in denial of circumstances and situations. He often conveys real pain, real struggle, real hardship, real adversity, but he always comes back with worship, or truth, or the acknowledging of God in spite of the present realities. David’s pen repeatedly relates raw, unfiltered, vulnerable, broken images of his heart, and what a gift this is to those of us who are following along behind through our own “green pastures” and “dark valleys.”
Psalms 23 is no exception to this facet of David. He says, “YES! Though I walk through the valley of the death, I will fear no evil, FOR THOU ART WITH ME…” He conveys to his Shepherd that, oh yes!, the valley is real and he’s walking through, but the presence of the Shepherd defines the valley, not the fear. He’ll pass through the valley because he’s not alone in the valley. What a beautiful statement of confidence in the Shepherd’s heart and the Shepherd’s leading.
He goes on to say, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” David again acknowledges that the enemies are real and the enemies are present, but in spite of that, the Shepherd prepares a table THERE. This is not an image of a quick, brown-bag lunch offered in a hurried fashion, but the Shepherd with care and intentionality serving up his best fare, in no rush, while the enemies look on. Charles Spurgeon said: “When a soldier is in the presence of enemies, if he eats anything at all, he snatches a hasty meal, and away he hastens to the fight. But observe: ‘Thou preparest a table before me,’ just as a servant does when she unfolds the damask cloth and displays the ornaments of the feast on an ordinary peaceful occasion. Nothing is hurried, there is no confusion, no disturbance, the enemy is at the door, and yet God prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect peace.” With foresight and care, he feeds and simultaneously protects while enemies look on. He is not ruffled or flustered by the proximity of the foe, for He is the One who determines how close they can get. Though enemies are present, His constant care and close protection will feed and nourish there.
Sometimes, he allows the enemies to linger. Could He do away with them? Oh, yes…most certainly. Like the 185,000 Assyrians that fell in one day by one angel, no enemy can stand when He gives the word for their destruction. Sometimes, He just chooses to care for us and lead us and work in us, while they look on. They may snarl and lurk, they may even assume they will imminently destroy us, but He allows for our care IN THEIR PRESENCE. Maybe to build our faith and teach faint-hearted sheep that the Shepherd always holds the “final answer” and is shaken by nothing, by no enemy? Maybe he allows the enemy to remain because He enjoys having even an unwelcome audience while He does some of His finest work? Maybe the yet-present enemy creates a greater bond between sheep and Shepherd and He knows this? Maybe it keeps the sheep CLOSE? Why He prepares a table IN the presence of enemies, I’ll never know, but He does, and I am so grateful for a Shepherd who cares for me, even when the fiercest of enemies look on! He is truly the Good Shepherd!
One of the other beautiful things about Psalm 23 is the striking contrast of scenery it portrays. Though it clearly paints the aforementioned Valley and the present enemies, it also conveys the realities of lush, viridescent meadows and calm waters. Though the Valley is long, and the enemies seem to lurk endlessly, such will not always be the case. There will be fresh seasons, and the Shepherd will lead to a new scene in His perfect time. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul…” (It is hysterical to me that He has to ‘make me lie down.’ 😊 I identify with that! Lol.) A fresh, beautiful place with a restored soul will come. Psalm 23 declares it.
I could go on, for there is so much beauty that drips from the simple, “common chapter,” but I’ll stop there. Psalm 23 is proof that God’s Word is always fresh. Though I’ve read it a “million times,” and I assume there’s nothing more to see, God can yet use the simplicity of and power of His written Word to wrap my wounded heart again. Psalm 23 is “common” for a reason, and it may be common, but always comforting.
I will close with these beautiful words from Henry Ward Beecher on Psalm 23 as quoted by Charles Spurgeon: