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.

A Mighty Hand, an Outstretched Arm--March 4, 2011


God, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm
you liberated your people; do not let us go astray
or allow the proud to lead us back into slavery.

Lord, grant that we may we make you our trust,
following Jesus on the hard road that leads to life,
lest when you come, you do not find us as you wish.


Lectionary Readings
Ps. 84; 148; 25; 40
Deut. 5:1-22
2 Cor. 12:11-21
Matt. 7:13-21

Selected Verses
Ps. 40:4
Happy are those who make
      the LORD their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
      to those who go astray after false gods.

Deut. 5:15a
Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm…

2 Cor. 12:20a
For I fear that when I come, I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish…

Matt. 7:14
“…For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. …” [Jesus to the crowds]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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