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.

By Your Hands, O God--April 6, 2018



By the strength of your hands, God,
you brought your people out of Egypt,
and in steadfast love, your hands created us.
You will not forsake us--for through our Lord,
Jesus Christ, you have given us victory over
the power of sin and the sting of death.
Christ has risen; we need not look
for the living among the dead.
In that knowledge, make us
steadfast in serving you,
for we know our labor
will not be in vain.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 96; 148; 49; 138
Exod. 13:1-2, 11-16
1 Cor. 15:51-58
Luke 24:1-12

Selected Verses
Ps. 138:8
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
          your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
          Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Exod. 13:15b-16
"'Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.'  It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt." [Moses telling the people how to answer their child's question about the firstborn]

1 Cor. 15:56-58
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Luke 24:5
The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the [two men in dazzling clothes] said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen. …"

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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