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.

In God We Are Safe Forever--Nov. 3, 2017


Heavenly Father, you are the one who gives success or failure,
for when you pursue your good purpose, no more could we
hold back the winds that blow, or stop the weeds from sprouting,
than we could block your steadfast love and faithfulness.
 Do not withhold your mercy from us; in you we are safe forever.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 84; 148; 25; 40
Neh. 2:1-20
Rev. 6:12-7:4
Matt. 13:24-30

Selected Verses
Ps. 40:11
Do not, O LORD, withhold
          your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
          keep me safe forever. 

Neh. 2:19-20a
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they mocked and ridiculed us, saying, "What is this that you are doing?  Are you rebelling against the king?"  Then I replied to them, "The God of heaven is the one who will give us success, and we his servants are going to start building…"

Rev. 7:1
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on earth or sea or against any tree.

Matt. 13:26
"…So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well.  …"  [Jesus to his disciples]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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