Jamieson, Fausset and Brown on Psalms 23:5-6

5-6. Another figure expresses God's provided care.

a table--or, "food," anointing

oil--the symbol of gladness, and the overflowing

cup--which represents abundance--are prepared for the child of God, who may feast in spite of his enemies, confident that this favor will ever attend him. This beautiful Psalm most admirably sets before us, in its chief figure, that of a shepherd, the gentle, kind, and sure care extended to God's people, who, as a shepherd, both rules and feeds them. The closing verse shows that the blessings mentioned are spiritual.