I am an emeritus professor from Cornell University and was a Commissioned Lay Preacher in the Presbyterian Church (USA). For many years I have followed the Daily Lectionary as printed in the Mission Yearbook of my church. For each day of a two-year cycle, the lectionary lists four psalms and three other scriptural passages--usually one from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. My practice is to copy down a verse or two from one of the psalms and from each of the other three passages. After I have written out all four selections, I reflect upon them, rearrange their order, and incorporate them into a meditation. Sometimes I retain much of the original wording; sometimes all that remains of a selection is an idea that was stimulated when I read the original words. All selections are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. For the Daily Lectionary, see the link below.

To Find Rest in You--Apr. 20, 2016


I thank you, O God, for you are good;
your steadfast love endures forever.
You test our hearts and you well know
I am not righteous enough to enter
your kingdom, nor to be entrusted to
carry the message of your gospel.
Nevertheless, I ask for your presence
to go with me, that somehow,
somewhere, I may find rest in you.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 99; 147:1-11; 9; 118
Exod. 33:1-23
1 Thess. 2:1-12
Matt. 5:17-20

Selected Verses
Ps. 118:29
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
          for his steadfast love endures forever.

Exod. 33:14
[The LORD] said [to Moses], “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

1 Thess. 2:4
…but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Matt. 5:20
“…For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  [Jesus to the crowds on the mountain]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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