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 Deliverer; a Savior--Dec. 24, 2011



The needy will call and find a deliverer;
their hearts will thrill and rejoice.

God's children will receive the Spirit in their hearts;
God's people will find a savior from their sins.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 80; 149; 80; 72
Isa. 60:1-6
Gal. 3:23-4:7
Matt. 1:18-25

Selected Verses
Ps. 72:12
For [the King] delivers the needy when they call,
      the poor and those who have no helper.

Isa. 60:5
Then you shall see and be radiant;
      your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
      the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

Gal. 4:6
And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"

Matt. 1:21
"…[Mary] will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." [An angel of the Lord, in a dream to Joseph]
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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