November 19, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, November 19.
On November 19, 1863, the President of the United States delivered a brief message to a crowd of 15,000 people, gathered in a cemetary in Pennsylvania. 161 years later, the Gettysburg Address remains, in the opinion of historians and ordinary folks, the greatest speech in the history of the world.
It had been just four months since the Battle of Gettysburg, a bloody victory for the Union Army that claimed over 50,000 lives, and served as a turning point in the War Between the States. The ceremony that afternoon included band music, hymns, prayers, and a keynote address by Edward Everett, considered one of the supreme orators of his time. Everett had had a remarkable career, serving as a congressman, senator, governor, Harvard president, and Secretary of State. His speech at the battlefield that day lasted two hours - not unusual for that era. When he finally finished there was thunderous applause. And then Lincoln slowly rose to his feet and approached the podium.
On the train trip from Washington, the President had been running a high fever and suffering from a severe headache. Some historians theorize that he was in the early stages of smallpox. After returning to the White House he would spend several days in bed. But on that autumn afternoon in Gettysburg, the great crowd was expecting a great speech. What Lincoln gave them was 271 words. After Everett’s two hour oration, the President was finished in two minutes. Accounts from witnesses tell us that there was no applause at the close of the address. Perhaps the onlookers were surprised that it was over so quickly. Perhaps they were stunned by the sheer power of his prose. On that day, Abraham Lincoln gave them comfort and inspiration. Read the Gettysburg Address again today and, again, you will be comforted and inspired.
2500 years before Gettysburg, King David penned a brief message of his own. It’s just 115 words. And when you count to the center of the 23rd Psalm, you find these words - “Thou art with me”. It is illuminating that that little phrase is at the very center, the very heart of this message from God. And it’s illuminating that in the verses before that central phrase, David refers to God in the third person - “HE maketh me to lie down”, “HE leadeth me”, “HE restoreth my soul”. But, afterwards, David makes it personal - THY rod and THY staff”, “THOU preparest a table”, THOU anointest my head”.
Read the 23rd Psalm again today and, again, you will be comforted and inspired.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
