The Bible

 

Psalms 23:5

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5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Commentary

 

Explanation of Psalms 23:5

By Brian David

This depiction of an Aztec feast is from the Florentine Codex

If we keep following the Lord through the valley of the shadow of death, He will ultimately endow us with a new heart and a new mind, filled with love and wisdom and prepared for heaven. That's what is pictured in this verse.

A "table" represents the parts of us that can be filled with love and wisdom. Oil represents loving what is good because we love the Lord, and to be anointed lets us be a representative of the Lord. A cup, like the wine that would typically fill it, represents true spiritual thinking centered on love to the neighbor. So we are filled by the Lord, loving Him, loving what is good, and overflowing with wisdom regarding life.

But what about the "presence of mine enemies"? The Writings say that even with the highest angels, the Lord cannot actually remove the possibility of evil from us without detroying our humanity. It's a complex idea, but essentially, the possibility of evil is what makes us different from the Lord, what keeps us separate. And he created us to be separate so that he could love us. So even in the beautiful state pictured here, our enemies – evil and falsity – are still nearby.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 375 [34])

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #650

Study this Passage

  
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650. 'Length' means the holiness, 'breadth' the truth, and 'height' the good, of the remnants described by the numbers. This cannot be confirmed so easily from the Word because every single thing has reference to the particular subject or thing under discussion. For example, when 'length' applies to time it means perpetual and eternal, as in 'length of days' Psalms 23:6; 21:4, but when it applies to space it means consequent holiness. The situation is the same with 'breadth' and 'height'. All earthly objects are three-dimensional, but no such dimensions can be used in reference to celestial and spiritual things. When they are used to refer to these they mean the degree of perfection, greater or less, independent of the dimensions given, as well as identity and quantity. In this case they are identified as remnants, which are few in quantity.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.