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 29, 2008

I. Readings
Psalms 96, 132, 134
Nahum 1:1-14
Revelation 12:1-6
Luke 11:37-52

II. Selections
Psalm 132:4-5
" ...I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."
[ attributed by the psalmist to David]

Nahum 1:7-8a
The LORD is good,
a stronghold in a day of trouble;
he protects those who take refuge in him,
even in a rushing flood.

Revelation 12:4b
Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

Luke 11:52
" ...Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." [ Jesus]

III. Meditation: A place for you to dwell

Though the dragon stands to devour us,
you are a stronghold in a day of trouble
and protect all who take refuge in you.

Then protect us, when we hold the key
of knowledge, from refusing to enter
while we block the way of others.

And the key of knowledge is simple:
we must want to find a place for you,
a place for you to dwell-in our heart.

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