Now we come to the fourth stage of the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ (Psa. 23:5). The Lord spreads a table—a feast—before us in the presence of our adversaries (1 Cor. 10:21). The Lord's table is a feast. Every Lord's Day when we come to His table to take the feast, it is always in the presence of our adversaries. Every day is a fighting day to us. We Christians have to fight. Otherwise, we will be defeated. There may be adversaries in our business, in our home, and even in the church. On the one hand, we enjoy the feast of the Lord, and on the other hand, we should fight for the victory. If we are defeated during the week, it will be difficult for us to enjoy the Lord's table that much. We need to fight the battle in the Lord all week long before we come to the Lord's table. Then we will be able to have a rich enjoyment of the Lord as our feast at His table.
In the fourth stage of the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ, the Lord anoints our head with oil (of exultant joy—Heb. 1:9); our cup (of blessing—1 Cor. 10:16a) runs over. To anoint the head is to anoint the whole body. Psalm 133 speaks of the ointment upon the head spreading down to the skirts of the garments. No doubt, this is the anointing of the compound, life-giving Spirit in Christ's resurrection. All the riches of Christ's being and doing are compounded together in this anointing compound ointment.
The Bible uses the word cup to indicate blessing. The cup of blessing runs over. Psalm 23:5 speaks of the table, the feast, which is Christ with His riches for our enjoyment. Then there is the anointing oil, which is the Spirit. Then there is the cup of blessing, which refers to the Father. The Father is the blessing, even the source of blessing. Thus, in verse five there is the Triune God—the Son as the feast, the Spirit as the anointing oil, and the Father as the source of blessing.