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.

To God Who Protects the Simple--Nov. 18, 2010

I do not know what tomorrow will bring—
life is a mist that will vanish one day.
But when I am willing to lose,
you provide all I need;
when brought low,
you save me.

Therefore let me revere you,
stand in awe of your name;
let me live in the covenant
you have given your people.

Lectionary Readings
Psalms 143, 147:12-20, 81, 116
Malachi 2:1-16
James 4:13-5:6
Luke 17:20-37

Selected verses
Psalm 116:6
The LORD protects the simple;
      when I was brought low, he saved me.

Malachi 2:5
My covenant with [Levi] was a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.

James 4:14
Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Luke 17:33
“…Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. …” [Jesus to his disciples]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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