A New Scene “You (Yahweh) prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” If Psalm 23 were a film, this would be the scene where the camera angle shifts. The landscape fades from the dusty wilderness and dark valley to something unexpected — a table. And not just any table, but one prepared by God. Previously we had been walking through fields and valleys, led by the Shepherd with his rod and staff steadily leading us.

The Darkest Valley “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” So, in this line of the 23 rd Psalm, we have a remarkable change in direction. The path turns downhill at a steep angle, and we end up in the valley. In fact, the writer says it is the darkest valley. There is also a change in the writer’s tone and even word usage here that’s easy to miss but impossible to overstate. You see up unt