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.

October 14, 2006

I. Readings
Psalms 98, 104, 138
Hosea 10:1-15
Acts 25:13-27
Luke 8:16-25

II. Selections
Psalm 138:7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
and your right hand delivers me.

Hosea 10:13-14a
You have plowed wickedness,
you have reaped injustice,
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your power
and in the multitude of your warriors,
therefore the tumult of war shall rise against your people,
and all your fortresses shall be destroyed ...

Acts 25:23
So on the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with their military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then Festus gave the order and Paul was brought in.

Luke 8:17
For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.

III. Meditation: Though the mighty parade in their pomp

Nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed,
nor secret that will not come to light.
Though the mighty parade in their pomp,
protected by the powerful and renowned;
though they disdain the humble
whose wisdom far exceeds their own;
when they plow with wickedness,
they shall reap its harvest, eating the fruit of lies.

When we walk in the midst of trouble,
teach us to depend not upon our own power
nor in the multitude of our warriors,
lest the tumult of war rise against us
and all our fortresses be destroyed.
Strengthen our faith, that we may trust in you
to preserve us from the wrath of our enemies,
to stretch out your right hand and deliver us.

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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