'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.'

Turning to 'the Shepherd Psalm', we focus our attention on Psalm 23:5 - 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows'. We are to feast on God's Word. We are to be filled with God's Spirit. The 'table' is the place of feasting. 'Oil' is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. As we feast on God's Word, we will have good cause to say, again and again, 'God is good': His 'goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life' (Psalm 23:6). The Lord never fails us. He always comes with His life-giving Word, the Word of life, through which our life on earth becomes the beginning of life eternal, the pathway to a life in which the fullness of God's love will be revealed in a way that we can hardly begin to imagine: 'I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever' (Psalm 23:6). This is what Christ is preparing for us (John 14:2)!
(Year One, 2nd January: Psalm 23:1-6)