Friday, February 9, 2007

The Table of Abundance and Satisfaction

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust
  under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
(Psalm 36:7-9)
Here is a table prepared before us in the presence of our enemies. David knows that the wicked are around. That is what the first part of this psalm is about (Psalm 36:1-4).

The wicked are the ones who have no fear of God before their eyes. That is, they do not recognize how mighty and majestic God is and stand in awe of Him. Their eyes are too full of themselves to see the holiness of God, so they are unaware of their depravity. They fill their mouths with wickedness and deceit, and are always plotting trouble, never seeking what is good, never detesting what is evil.

David is well aware of their presence, but he is not troubled one bit because he is aware of a much greater Presence. He has filled his eyes, his mouth, his heart and his thoughts with the goodness of God:
Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
(Psalm 36:5-6)
This leads him to the lovingkindness of the Lord — the chesed (Hebrew), the steadfast love of Yahweh, by which He entered into covenant with His people. It is the love with which He has promised to always love us and take care of us. It is the same agape love (Greek) which He showed to us in Jesus Christ: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

It is in this love that we can trust and find protection under the shadow of His wings. It is by this love that He offers us full access to His house and all its provision. It is this love that prepares a table before us where we can be abundantly satisfied, drinking from the river of His pleasures — the luxuries and delights of God! His love is a fountain of life. That is why Jesus came, that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). It is by this love and this light that we can truly see and understand what life is about.

The Table of Abundance and Satisfaction is not just for when we die and go to heaven. It if for us right here and right now, even in the presence of our enemies. Even now we can drink from the river of the pleasures of God, to enjoy, not only His protection and provision, but even His delicacies and delights. It is all portrayed for us, even presented to us, in the Table of the Lord. For there we see Jesus, the love of God manifested in the body given and the blood shed for us. Everything we need — salvation, forgiveness, freedom from captivity, healing, provision, even prosperity — is found in the new covenant made in Jesus’ blood, and can be laid hold of at this Table.

It is here that the petition of David finds fulfillment for us, who have been made the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ:
Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
(Psalm 36:10)
The Table of the Lord is the Table of Abundance and Satisfaction of every need and godly desire you could ever have. When the enemy shows himself and adverse circumstances press in around you, that is a good time to go this Table and drink from the might river of God.

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