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.

If God Had Not Been on Your Side--April 1, 2013


 Jesus, if God had not been on your side,
the flood would have swept you away;
the torrent would have gone over you.

But deliverance belongs to God,
and God freed you from death;
it was impossible for you to
be held in death's power.

Come, Lord Jesus, take us to yourself,
so that where you are, we may be also.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 97; 145; 124; 115
Jonah 2:1-10
Acts 2:14, 22-32
John 14:1-14

Selected Verses

Ps. 124:1, 4
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side
          — let Israel now say —
…then the flood would have swept us away,
          the torrent would have gone over us…

 
Jonah 2:9
"…But I with the voice of thanksgiving
          will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
          Deliverance belongs to the LORD!”
[Jonah's prayer]

Acts 2:24
"…But God raised [Jesus] up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.  …"

John 14:3
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.  …"  [Jesus to the eleven]

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