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.

Judge of All the Earth--May 7, 2017


Lord God, Judge of all the earth,
holiness befits your house forevermore.
Our house is built upon sand;
when the rain falls, the floods come,
what will become of us?
Teach us to discipline ourselves,
and to keep alert for evil,
which prowls like a roaring lion,
looking to devour us.
Though your decrees are very sure,
so is your steadfast love.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 93; 150; 136; 117
Gen. 18:22-33
1 Peter 5:1-11
Matt. 7:15-29 

Selected Verses
Ps. 93:5
 Your decrees are very sure;
          holiness befits your house,
          O LORD, forevermore.

Gen. 18:25
"…Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked!  Far be that from you!  Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"  [Abraham, bargaining with the LORD over the destruction of Sodom] 

1 Peter 5:8
Discipline yourselves, keep alert.  Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.

Matt. 7:27
"…The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!"  [Jesus, to the crowds on the mountain]

No comments:

Post a Comment