Full Cup

While David is in the midst of his enemies, the Lord spreads a table, anoints him with oil, gives him a cup (Psalm 23). It’s a symbol of communion in the midst of danger.

But the full cup is not just a cup of joy. It’s a cup of judgment. 

The word for “overflow” means being satisfied with drink (cf. Psalm 36:8), but it also describes swords that are satisfied with the blood of enemies (Isaiah 34:5) or of sacrifices (Isaiah 43:24), or land satiated with blood (Isaiah 34:7). 

Yahweh has a full cup, which He dispenses as a cup of wrath to His enemies (Jeremiah 25). 

Psalm 23 is a hymn of consolation for an endangered king. But it is a royal Psalm, and David’s cup is a cup of kingship.