"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (Psa. 23:5).

"Table" is a word that refers to a high, flat-topped plateau where the shepherds take their sheep to feed in the summer. These tablelands are always referred to as "mesas," a Spanish word for tables. They are called this all over the world.

Early in the season the shepherd has to make many trips into this rough, wild country to prepare and choose the best places for his sheep to feed. He will have to take along a supply of salt and minerals to be distributed over the range for the benefit of the sheep. He will look over the vegetation to see how well it is growing. He must also check for poisonous weeds and pull them all out. There are some weeds that are so poisonous that just a nibble of a few leaves will instantly cause the sheep to become paralyzed, stiffen up, and die.

Then there are the predators (wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, etc.) that are hiding in the mountains,. If they raid and stampede the flock, the shepherd will have to go out and try to trap them, or kill them, so that his sheep can rest.

Lastly there are the water holes, springs, or drinking places that are full of leaves, twigs, stones, and soil, or overgrown with grass, that have to be cleared out after the autumn and winter months.

All this is no small job for any shepherd; nor was it for ours. Our enemies were too strong - too powerful for us - so our blessed Lord and Shepherd came and killed them all so that we might live.

But we aren’t home yet. We are following our Shepherd and these poisonous weeds, weeds such as the cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things, keep growing up (Mk. 4:19). 

Let us make sure that we know where the salt is, the salt of His covenant - His everlasting love. If we eat plenty of that, we won’t have such strong desires for poisonous weeds. If we are still lambs, young in the faith, we will be more prone to feed on these weeds, but our Shepherd has a cure for them. It is the cure that Peter experienced. He would have died for sure, but the Lord prayed for him, and so He will for all His sheep (Lk. 22:31-32, Jn. 17:9,15-17).

Oh, Shepherd of Israel, forgive us. We have caused You so much grief, so much work; You are our hope, our only hope. Save us from ourselves!