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.

Until the Destroying Storms Pass By--June 1, 2020


Be merciful, O God, be merciful,
until the destroying storms pass by. 

We have dug all over the field for treasure,
but have not found it—a chasing after wind.

All such toil is in vain; Christ has set us free;
he is our treasure, in him we take refuge.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 57; 145; 85; 47
Eccl. 2:1-15
Gal. 1:1-17
Matt. 13:44-52

Selected Verses
Ps. 57:1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
          for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
          until the destroying storms pass by.

Eccl. 2:11
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Gal. 1:3-5
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

Matt. 13:44
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  …”  [Jesus, to his disciples]

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

2 comments:

  1. Mea SententiaJune 3, 2020 at 9:07 PM

    I forgot to mention it at the time, but I really like this one. It spoke to my heart. 🙂

    ReplyDelete
  2. Elmer E. EwingJune 4, 2020 at 12:26 AM

    I'm glad to know that. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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