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.

Free from the Law of Sin and of Death--July 5, 2018


God, Gracious and Loving God,
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust. 
You are not a human being—you keep your promises.
You are like a king who gave a wedding banquet
for your Son, and all were invited
to be set free from the law of sin and of death.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

Lectionary Readings 
Ps. 143; 147:12-20; 81; 116
Num. 23:11-26
Rom. 8:1-11
Matt. 22:1-14

Selected Verses 
Ps. 143:8
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
          for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
          for to you I lift up my soul.

Num. 23:19
“…God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it?  Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?  …” [Balaam to Balak]

Rom. 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 

Matt. 22:1-2
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.  …”

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