The Lord Is My Host

Psalm 23 (Part 3) Life Group Discussion Notes

Ask one of the group to slowly read Psalm 23.

This week we’re focusing the lens on the final two verses of this famous Psalm:

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

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for ever.

A Change of Scene

In these verses, David changes the scenery. The imagery moves from God as shepherd, to God as host. For us, we move from sheep to guests. This Psalm is full of imagery that helps us to understand God’s protection and provision, but the sheep-shepherd relationship is quite one-sided. It’s an amazing picture of who God is—and it teaches us important things about our dependency on Him and our tendency to wander away—but it’s not the full picture of how God wants us to relate to Him. There’s so much more.

The Lord Is My Host

In David’s time and time-zone, hospitality was hugely important. Hosts would go to great lengths to care for their guest; preparing a table of the best food they could find; pouring oil on their head to refresh them on arrival; and providing constant top-ups to their cup. All this to honour them and build relationship. This is how David had experienced God and this is the gospel; not that God cleans us up and sends us away; but that he forgives us and then invites us in. The experience is abundant.

The Experience is Por-table

When can we experience this kind of interaction with God? When we’ve cleaned ourselves up a bit? When we’ve got away from all the noise and mess of everyday life? When our enemies or hardships are safely behind us? No. God, prepares a table for us, right in the middle of it all. The table is portable; the offer is always there; to sit down and receive a time of refreshing, of relating, of honouring in the Holy Spirit.

The Experience is Life-long

Surely, this goodness and mercy of God is available to us for as long as it’s called ‘today’. Whenever we stop; turn around; we find the table has followed us, even down this dark alley.

The Experience is Eternal

We can echo David’s confident song of hope, that we will sit at the Father’s table for ever because this honour is paid for by Jesus. As He was considering His imminent crucifixion, we told His disciples,

“In my Father’s house are many rooms… I am going to prepare a place for you… I will come back to take you to be with me” (John 14:1-3)

In John 10:11, Jesus says this,

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep.”

He goes on to say,

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

Jesus laid down his life, so that we can have life to the full. We don’t earn this, it’s a gift of God. When God chooses you, gives you faith to believe and places you in His hand – no one can snatch you out.

As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, ‘we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ A big part of these good works is having enjoyed God’s hospitality, to extend the same to others.

Romans 15:7,

^‘Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’

Questions

• Is there anything stopping you from seeing yourself as a guest at God’s table?
• Have you ever experienced the Holy Spirit ‘testifying with your spirit that you are a child of God?’ (Romans 8:16)
• What would it look like for us to ‘welcome’ others in the way Christ has welcomed us?