The celebration in the house of the Lord continues as David describes his participation in the festival. David is using metaphor to describe what it is like to have a personal loving relationship with his God. The Lord is his shepherd-king. The benefits of his relationship with the shepherd-king are described as a celebration, a feast.
Anointing the head of the honored guest was common for many a millennium in the Middle East. (Psalm 45:7, 92:10; Amos 6:6-7) Two women on separate festive occasions anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped the oil with their hair. (Matthew 26:6-13; Luke 7:36-50; John 11:2) David is saying that his relationship with God included the honor and pleasure of his head being anointed with oil.
David, saying that his cup overflows is poetically saying that his soul is full of sweetness, like the finest wine overflowing from his cup. Living with and under the care of the shepherd-king is a never-ending flow of the soul’s wine.
The cup of my youth was empty. I tried filling it with liquor and self-gratification. But no matter how much I poured into the cup it always remained empty. When the shepherd-king Jesus took me into his fold I experienced and continue to experience the life that David is describing in Psalm 23. Never pass up the offer to come into shepherd-king’s fold.
