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.

In Spite of All--June 20, 2020


We confess, O God,
in spite of all the signs
you have done among us,
we have refused to believe;
we are under the power of sin;
we are stubborn and hard-hearted.

Yet you fulfill your purpose for us
by giving us Jesus.

You do not forsake the work of your hands;
your steadfast love endures forever.

Lectionary Readings
Ps. 104; 149; 138; 98
Num. 13:31-14:25
Rom. 3:9-20
Matt. 19:1-12

Selected Verses
Ps. 138:8
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
          your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
          Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Num. 14:25
And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me?  And how long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?  …”

Rom. 3:9
What then?  Are we any better off?  No, not at all; for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin…

Matt. 19:8
[Jesus] said to [those who came to test him], "It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  …”

Posted by Elmer E. Ewing

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