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.

Tonight It Is Enough to Know--April 21, 2017

[From April 17, 2009 archive]

I do not ask you to declare the things that are to come,
nor yearn to shine like the brightness of the sky;
I do not need to understand your power,
even how to say your holy name.

Tonight it is enough to know
you will not forsake the
work of your hands.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 96; 148; 49; 138
Dan. 12:1-4, 13
Acts 4:1-12
John 16:1-15  

Selected Verses
Ps. 138:8
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
            your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
            Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Dan. 12:3
Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Acts 4:7
When [Annas the high priest and those around him] had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, "By what power or by what name did you do this?"

John 16:13
“…When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  …  ”  [Jesus to his eleven disciples, at table with them]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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