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.

Guard the Lives of Your Faithful--Aug. 19, 2013


 O God, you love those who hate evil,
and there is much evil in the world to hate.

You guard the lives of your faithful,
and there are many who are faithful to you.

Protect the faithful when they suffer
for their courage in bearing witness to you.

Protect them when they are willing to be
gentle and forgiving with ones who hate them.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 135; 145; 97; 112
2 Sam. 17:24-18:8
Acts 22:30-23:11
Mark 11:12-26

Selected Verses

Ps. 97:10
The LORD loves those who hate evil;
          he guards the lives of his faithful;
          he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

2 Sam. 18:5
The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom."

Acts 23:11
That night the Lord stood near [Paul] and said, "Keep up your courage!  For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome."

Mark 11:25
"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."  [Jesus to his disciples]

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