VERSE 5
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." The bereaved and benighted pilgrim now enters a new path of experience. He is emerging from the thick darkness of the valley. Light from on high is breaking through the clouds and scattering its beams over his path. He only begins to realize what has happened and to find out where he is. The departure of his fellow pilgrim is no dream of the night but a stern reality under the hand of the Lord. It meets him everywhere and in every form. He has never trodden this lonely way before, but the footsteps of many are found here, and of Him who knows from experience every step of the way and how to succor those who are passing through these gloomy regions. (Heb. 2:17-18.)
Happy thought! The dark and dreary valley, with its days and nights of heaviness, introduce the exhausted pilgrim, in due time, to the rich provisions of the Shepherd's care and to a more intimate acquaintance with Himself. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." He is still in the wilderness and in the presence of his enemies, but divine refreshment is provided to strengthen him on his way, and in the presence of the Lord all enemies are powerless. Thus the Good Shepherd, when the first heat of the trial is over, causeth His weary ones to sit down under His protection and partake of the rich repast which He has prepared with His own hands. Blessed Lord, what thoughtful love and tender care are Thine! In the day of nature's extreme weakness, when there is not so much as strength left to see a friend, far less to encounter a foe, Thou thinkest of us and carest for us.
Others may upbraid, but Thou upbraidest not. Secured by Thy presence, we sit in safety at Thy table, feed on the bounties of Thy love, and are hidden, under the shadow of Thy wing, from the assaults of the enemy.
Sayest thou, my soul, canst thou say, as many, that such a repast—such an expression of the Lord's own deep sympathies—would amply repay all thy sore travel through the valley? I seek not so to balance things—I cannot—I dare not propose to my Lord another such journey through the desert for anything. Still, if He leads the way, there must be unspeakable blessedness to the soul in following Him. But there is no reason why the Christian should not be perfectly happy with the Lord, though in the depths of sorrow.
“The Lord is my shepherd," he may well say at all times, "I shall not want.”
“Wherever He may guide me
No want shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me,
And nothing can I lack.
His wisdom never faileth,
His sight is never dim;
He knows the way He taketh,
And I will walk with Him.”
But here it may be profitable to observe, on meditating on this new line of experience, that the Good Shepherd is not now leading the soul beside the still waters and the green pastures. No, He has done so already. He is now leading the soul into further truth, and into a path of richer experience. As the babes, in 1 John 2, know Abba, Father, and the forgiveness of sins (vv. 12, 13), so the flock of the Good Shepherd in our beautiful Psalm start their journey in the knowledge of Himself and of what He is to them and of His grace and love in their salvation. But, as we also read in the same chapter of "young men and fathers" (vv. 13, 14), so here, some are led on to a more individual character of blessing. "Thou preparest a table before me... Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
For example: The woman who came to Jesus, in the house of Simon, under deep distress of soul about her sins: He introduced her at once, we may say, to the green pastures and the still waters. He met her heart's desire about sin with an unqualified pardon—salvation and peace. He thus led her, without raising a single question as to the past or present, into the grace and love of His heart and into the value of His cross. He made her, as it were, to lie down—to find perfect rest—in the green pastures and beside the peaceful waters of His boundless mercy. Such is the Lord's way in grace with every soul that comes to Him; and such is the inalienable heritage of every sheep and lamb of His flock. As to these things, there is no difference between the babes, the young men and the fathers. One may know them better than another and enjoy them more than another, but they are offered the same to all. And observe, further, He never needs to repeat these precious sayings. The word has gone forth from His mouth, and "the word of the Lord endureth forever." 1 Peter 1:25. When He has said, "Thy sins are forgiven.... Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:48, 50), these words endure forever; just as the blood on the doorposts never was repeated.
“Blest Lamb of God, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till every ransomed saint of God
Be saved to sin no more.”
Let us now turn, in further illustration of the truth before us, to the bereaved sisters of Bethany. They, too, were in great distress, but of a very different kind to hers who bathed His feet with tears. It was no question with Martha and Mary as to forgiveness and justification, but of needed consolation and strength in the hour of their deep sorrow and of nature's utter weakness. And, oh, what new treasure He opens out to them! The deep treasures of His love, tenderness, sympathies, power and consolations. Oh, what sights they saw, what words they heard, and what blessings they received! "But for the death of their brother," as one has sweetly said, "they might never have seen the Redeemer's tears." But this was not all, though these tears must have been the wonder of heaven and the deepest consolation of His bereaved ones in all ages. They are embalmed in the heart of sorrow. But the mourning sisters were also privileged to see, not only the most touching expression of His manhood, but the crowning display of His Godhead.
“Jesus wept"—"Lazarus, come forth.”
And it was to them, in their deep sorrow, that He revealed the blessed truth—"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die." John 11:25-26.
What glory to God, may we not say—what a telling forth of what our Jesus is—what comfort for the mourner—what blessing to Mary flowed from the death of Lazarus! In a high and blessed sense the soul has only to do with the Lord Himself at such a time. Experience becomes more and more a personal thing. Now it is not so much the language of the soul—what great things the Lord has done for me, as, what the Lord Himself is to me. Communion is not only a real but a personal thing. "Thou preparest a table before me." "Thou"—"me." And sweeter far than tongue can speak or pen can write is the refreshment which the Lord provides at such times. It comes with the unmistakable impression of His own hand.
He who knows the end from the beginning, and sees what is coming, alone can make provision. Nothing takes Him by surprise. The cloud that has darkened the heavens and desolated the earth, He saw before it was the size of a man's hand. It may have come upon the pilgrim suddenly, like a thunderclap, so that, for the moment, he knew not where to look, what to say or what to do. He was overwhelmed—his soul was sinking in deep waters. But there was one eye that saw what was coming and prepared for it. And, oh, what a preparation is His! With wonder and amazement the soul can only worship in the presence of a love that has thought of everything and provided for everything, even to the least thing. Adorable Lord, what grace is Thine! What care for Thy people! But why wonder? No event, no circumstance in the event, could be too minute for Him who counts the hairs of our head and suffers not a sparrow to fall to the ground without His providence.