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.

February 04, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 63, 90, 125
Genesis 24:28-38, 49-51
Hebrews 12:12-29
John 7:14-36

II. Selections
Psalm 63:5-6
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night ...

Genesis 24:50
Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good.

Hebrews 12:15
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.

John 7:36
What does he mean by saying, 'You will search for me and you will not find me' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?"

III. Meditation: In the watches of the night
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night.

You find us; we do not find you.
You come to us; we do not go to you.
Why should we hide from you
or resist your will for us?

May we work to see that no one
fails to obtain your grace;
that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble,
lest through it many become defiled.

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