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.

Morning Prayer--Jan. 27, 2022

[Adapted from Jan. 25, 2018 archive]

 

In the morning let me hear of your steadfast love,

for in you, O God Almighty, I put my trust. 

 

You know that I am never blameless 

as I approach you, but teach me,

Lord, the way I should go; 

to you I lift up my soul.

 

On his own, Jesus could do nothing; 

he sought to do only your will.

 

How much more than he

am I in need of you!

 

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 143; 147:12-20; 81; 116

Gen. 16:15-17:14

Heb. 10:1-10

John 5:30-47

 

Selected Verses 

Ps. 143:8

Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, 
          for in you I put my trust. 
Teach me the way I should go, 
          for to you I lift up my soul.

 

Gen. 17:1

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.  …”

 

Heb. 10:1

Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.

 

John 5:30

“I can do nothing on my own.  As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.  …”  [Jesus to those who wanted to kill him]


Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

2 comments:

  1. Mea SententiaJanuary 27, 2022 at 5:17 PM

    For many years I used Ps 143.8-10 as a morning prayer. A fellow college student recommended this practice to me. I like your adaptation of this, using the other verses.

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  2. Elmer E. EwingJanuary 27, 2022 at 9:27 PM

    Thank you--I am glad to know about the way you have used vss. 8-10. They do go well together. For me, the "enemies" in vs. 9 would be the things that separate me from God and from other people: my ego, indifference to the needs of others, sloth, etc. (I am fortunate to live in a place and at a stage in my life that do not present much concern about encounters with wild animals or threatening humans.)

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