The great orator rose with confident calm, And lifted his voice in the Twenty-Third Psalm. Each word was precise, each phrase clearly drawn, And thunderous applause filled the hall before long.
Then an old preacher stood, his frame bowed with years, He read the same passage through weathered tears. No flourish, no polish, no practiced display Yet hearts in the room were undone that day.
For the difference was not in the verse or the tone, Nor the beauty of language so skillfully shown. The orator knew every word by his part, But the preacher knew the Shepherd… deep in his heart.
One spoke of green pastures, still waters, and rod, The other had walked them with trust in his God. And when he said, “I shall not fear,” it was clear He wasn’t reciting… the Shepherd was near.
Psalm 23:1 (KJV) “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
