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.

Our Stronghold in Times of Trouble--April 29, 2020


Lord Jesus Christ, God’s beloved,
God was well pleased with you—
a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.

In you the fullness of God was pleased to dwell;
through you God was pleased to reconcile all things.

When God summoned you
to the top of the mountain,
like Moses, you went up
to be our stronghold.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 99; 147:1-11; 9; 118
Exod. 19:16-25
Col. 1:15-23
Matt. 3:13-17

Selected Verses
Ps. 9:9
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
          a stronghold in times of trouble.

Exod. 19:20
When the LORD descended upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, the LORD summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Col. 1:19-20
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Matt. 3:17
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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