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.

Lifted up from the Gates of Death--Aug. 31, 2015


Although Jesus suffered from those who hated him,
O God, you did not reject your anointed one;
in steadfast love, your mercy triumphed
over the judgment of his enemies,
and from the gates of death
you lifted him up.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 62; 145; 73; 9
2 Chron. 6:32-7:7
James 2:1-13
Mark 14:53-65

Selected Verses
Ps. 9:13
Be gracious to me, O LORD.
          See what I suffer from those who hate me;
          you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death…

2 Chron. 6:42
"…O LORD God, do not reject your anointed one.  Remember your steadfast love for your servant David.”  [Solomon's prayer upon dedicating the temple]

James 2:13
For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Mark 14:64b-65
All of [the priests, elders, and scribes] condemned [Jesus] as deserving death.  Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!”  The guards also took him over and beat him.
Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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