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.

Pluck Us from the Fire--Dec. 16, 2015


Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty--
Savior of those who at your right hand seek refuge--
you who come at an hour when we least expect you,
wondrously show your steadfast love
and pluck us from the fire.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 50; 147:1-11; 53; 17
Zech. 3:1-10
Rev. 4:1-8
Matt. 24:45-51

Selected Verses
Ps. 17:7
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
            O savior of those who seek refuge
            from their adversaries at your right hand.

Zech. 3:2
And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan!  The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!  Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?" 

Rev. 4:8b
Day and night without ceasing [the four living creatures around the throne] sing,
"Holy, holy, holy,
the Lord God the Almighty,
who was and is and is to come."

Matt. 24:50
"…the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. …"  [Jesus to his disciples] 

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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