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.

But You Regard the Lowly--Sept. 15, 2018


Creator God, when I consider the wonder
of all you have made, when I compare it with
the limits of my understanding, then I realize
I know nothing at all.  If I am disturbed,
if my mind is unsettled, remind me
that you regard the lowly.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 104; 149; 138; 98
Job 38:1-17
Acts 15:22-35
John 11:45-54

Selected Verses
Ps. 138:6
For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;
          but the haughty he perceives from far away.

Job 38:4
"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell me, if you have understanding.  …" [The LORD to Job]

Acts 15:24
"The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.  Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds…" [from a letter sent with Barsabbas and Silas]

John 11:49-50
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to [the council], "You know nothing at all!  You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." 

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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