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.

To Test God--March 5, 2019


Dear God, when I presume to test you,
it is only myself I am testing.
When I accuse you of forgetting me,
it is I who have forgotten you.
Remind me of all you have done,
lest I drift away from you.
What I have to say about myself
matters very little;
what I have to say about you
is all important.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 42; 146; 102; 133
Deut. 6:16-25
Heb. 2:1-10
John 1:19-28

Selected Verses
Ps. 42:9a
 I say to God, my rock,
          “Why have you forgotten me? 

Deut. 6:16
Do not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Heb. 2:1
Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.

John 1:22
Then [the priests and Levites] said to [John], "Who are you?  Let us have an answer for those who sent us.  What do you say about yourself?"

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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