Eating a Meal in the Presence of Your Enemies

My Great-Uncle George was a pastor in St. Clair County, Alabama, and I was fortunate enough to inherit some of the books in his library. One of them is a neat little book written in 1953 by Charles Allen called “God’s Psychiatry.” In this book, Rev. Allen suggests a prescription for anyone troubled or afraid: take one 23rd Psalm five times a day for seven days. 

Each day, read the 23rd Psalm when you first wake up, then after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner, and right before bed. Don’t just read it flippantly, but “carefully, meditatively, and prayerfully.” “Think about each phrase,” he writes, “soaking up as much of the meaning as possible.” Do this each day for seven days. 

If you’re struggling, afraid, burdened, worried, tired, try this remedy and see how it works for you. 

As we close out our look at this Psalm, we come to the final two verses, where David shifts from the image of sheep and shepherd to one of guest and host.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:5-6)

I love watching old scary movies, I mean like old, black-and-white not-so-scary movies. In so many of them, someone is traveling through a dark forest, and it begins to storm or there are wolves around or something else happens that leads the person to knock on the door of a dark, mysterious castle. And we’re all thinking, “Don’t knock on that door! Has it ever turned out well for anyone who knocks on a door??”

In the 23rd Psalm, though, it’s a good thing to go inside. There’s safety inside the house. 

When we lived in Georgia, our neighbors had a basement, and we didn’t, so one night during a tornado warning we took our three children and spent a few hours in their basement. They made it such an adventure for the kids that they forgot all about the tornado warning. It was good to be safely inside.

There is danger outside. In the Psalm, there’s a war raging. Right in the middle of the battle, the guest goes inside the host’s house for a meal. The enemy is helpless in stopping the guest from enjoying the blessings of the host. 

What David is teaching us is that God is always there for us no matter what circumstances we face. When we turn to God, he doesn’t just do the bare minimum for us. He overflows our cups. God gives us more than we could ever imagine. That’s what Paul was saying in Ephesians:

Now to 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. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

No matter what you’re facing, God promises to be with you, and he is capable of blessing you far more than you can even imagine. No matter what you think of to ask for, God can do more. 

Does that mean that nothing bad will ever happen to us? Of course not, but it does mean that we are never alone in our struggle and our sufferings. It means that when God allows us to face difficulties he is always there to walk with us through those difficulties in his power and strength and love.

David closes out the Psalm by saying that he will “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” He’ll have access to the Temple for worship for the rest of his life. He’ll have access to God for as long as he lives. No matter where we find ourselves in life, we are never outside of God’s presence. 

David is also referring to eternity. This is what we talked about in the previous post when we looked at walking through the valley of the shadow of death. No matter what difficulties we face in this life, no matter how hard the struggle or intense the pain, we can keep one eye on the future. Again, Paul says something similar:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)

There’s a future waiting for us where all of the pain, worry, burdens, hardships, tears, and sorrow will be gone. No matter how difficult things get here, we know that a new day is coming. Keeping one eye on that future will help make the present pain and dangers more bearable. 

The next time you struggle, look back at the 23rd Psalm. Take Charles Allen up on his prescription, and meditate on this Psalm five times a day for seven days. Ask God to come to you like a shepherd caring for his sheep and like a host caring for his guest. As Rev. Allen says, “The 23rd Psalm is one of the most powerful pieces of writing in existence, and it can do marvelous things for any person. It can change your life in seven days.” 

Try it and see. 

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