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.

For Human Glory--September 17, 2010


I. Readings
Psalms 130, 148, 32, 139
Esther 1:1-4, 10-19
Acts 17:1-15
John 12:36b-43

II. Selections
Psalm 139:5
You hem me in behind and before,
      and lay your hand upon me.

Esther 1:12
But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command conveyed by the eunuchs. At this the king was enraged, and his anger burned within him.

Acts 17:14
Then the believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind.

John 12:43
…for [those, including the authorities, who believed in Jesus but did not confess it] loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.

III. Meditation

For love of human glory, we want to be up front;
sometimes duty requires us to remain behind.

You lay your hand upon us, hem us in.
(Your hand is not heavy, unless we
chafe under it, but it is firm.)

Even a king cannot always
have his own way.
Should we?
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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