M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

12 And Samuel said to all Israel, I have listened to you in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you.

² And now, behold, the king walks before you. And I am old and gray, and behold, my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and Saul His anointed. Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded or oppressed? Or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes? Tell me and I will restore it to you.

⁴ And they said, You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.

⁵ And Samuel said to them, The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

⁶ And Samuel said to the people, It is the Lord Who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of Egypt.

⁷ Now present yourselves, that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and for your fathers.

⁸ When Jacob and his sons had come into Egypt [and the Egyptians oppressed them], and your fathers cried to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

⁹ But when they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of Hazor’s army, and into the hands of the Philistines and of the king of Moab, and they fought those foes.

¹⁰ And they cried to the Lord, saying, We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.

¹¹ And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel, and He delivered you out of the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt safely.

¹² But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, No! A king shall reign over us—when the Lord your God was your King!

¹³ Now see the king whom you have chosen and for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you.

¹⁴ If you will revere and fear the Lord and serve Him and hearken to His voice and not rebel against His commandment, and if both you and your king will follow the Lord your God, it will be good!

¹⁵ But if you will not hearken to the Lord’s voice, but rebel against His commandment, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

¹⁶ So stand still and see this great thing the Lord will do before your eyes now.

¹⁷ Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord and He will send thunder and rain; then you shall know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord in asking for a king for yourselves.

¹⁸ So Samuel called to the Lord, and He sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ And [they] all said to Samuel, Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil—to ask for a king.

²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, Fear not. You have indeed done all this evil; yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve Him with all your heart.

²¹ And turn not aside after vain and worthless things which cannot profit or deliver you, for they are empty and futile.

²² The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake, for it has pleased Him to make you a people for Himself.

²³ Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

²⁴ Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; for consider how great are the things He has done for you.

²⁵ But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king shall be swept away.

10 Brethren, [with all] my heart’s desire and goodwill for [Israel], I long and pray to God that they may be saved.

² I bear them witness that they have a [certain] zeal and enthusiasm for God, but it is not enlightened and according to [correct and vital] knowledge.

³ For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes [which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought, and deed] and seeking to establish a righteousness (a means of salvation) of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God’s righteousness.

⁴ For Christ is the end of the Law [the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him] as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him.

⁵ For Moses writes that the man who [can] practice the righteousness (perfect conformity to God’s will) which is based on the Law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it.^(A)

⁶ But the righteousness based on faith [imputed by God and bringing right relationship with Him] says, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into Heaven? that is, to bring Christ down;

⁷ Or who will descend into the abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we could be saved by our own efforts].^(B)

⁸ But what does it say? The Word (God’s message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach,^(C)

⁹ Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰ For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

¹¹ The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.^(D)

¹² [No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith].

¹³ For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.^(E)

¹⁴ But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

¹⁵ And how can men [be expected to] preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! [How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!]^(F)

¹⁶ But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us?^(G)

¹⁷ So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

¹⁸ But I ask, Have they not heard? Indeed they have; [for the Scripture says] Their voice [that of nature bearing God’s message] has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the far bounds of the world.^(H)

¹⁹ Again I ask, Did Israel not understand? [Did the Jews have no warning that the Gospel was to go forth to the Gentiles, to all the earth?] First, there is Moses who says, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.^(I)

²⁰ Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found by those who did not seek Me; I have shown (revealed) Myself to those who did not [consciously] ask for Me.^(J)

²¹ But of Israel he says, All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people unyielding and disobedient and self-willed [to a faultfinding, contrary, and contradicting people].^(K)

49 Concerning and against the Ammonites: Thus says the Lord: Has Israel no sons [to return after their captivity and claim the territory of Gad east of the Jordan which the Ammonites have taken over]? Has [Israel’s Gad] no heir? Why then has Milcom [the god the Ammonites call their king] dispossessed and inherited Gad, and [why do] his people dwell in Gad’s cities?

² Therefore behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it [the high ground on which it stands] will become a desolate heap, and its daughter [villages] will be burned with fire. Then will Israel dispossess those who dispossessed him, says the Lord.^(A)

³ Wail, O Heshbon [in Moab, just south of Ammon], for Ai [in Ammon] is laid waste! Cry out, you daughter [villages] of Rabbah! Gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament, and run to and fro inside the [sheepfold] enclosures; for Milcom [the god-king] shall go into exile, together with his priests and his princes.

⁴ Why do you boast of your valleys? Your valley flows away, O [Ammon] rebellious and faithless daughter, who trusted in her treasures, who said, Who can come against me?

⁵ Behold, I will bring terror upon you, says the Lord, the Lord of hosts, from all who are round about you; and you will be driven out, each man fleeing straight before him [without thought of his neighbor], and there will be no one to gather together the fugitives.

⁶ And ^[a]afterward I will reverse the captivity of the children of Ammon and restore their fortunes, says the Lord.

⁷ Concerning and against Edom: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Is there no longer wisdom in Teman [a district in Edom]? Has counsel vanished from the intelligent and prudent? Is their wisdom all poured out and used up?^(B)

⁸ Flee, turn back, dwell deep [in the deserts to escape the Chaldeans], O inhabitants of Dedan [neighbor of Edom]! For I will bring the calamity and destruction of Esau upon him [Edom] when I inspect and punish him.

⁹ If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some ungleaned grapes? If thieves came by night, would they not destroy only what is enough [for them]?

¹⁰ But I have stripped Esau (Edom) bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he cannot hide himself. His offspring will be destroyed, with his brethren and his neighbors; and he will be no more.

¹¹ Leave your fatherless children; I will [do what is necessary to] preserve them alive. And let [those who have been made] your widows trust and confide in Me.

¹² For thus says the Lord: Behold, they [Israel] whose rule was not to drink the cup [of wrath] shall assuredly drink—and are you to remain unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you shall surely drink.^(C)

¹³ For I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that Bozrah [in Edom, between Petra and the Dead Sea] shall become a horror, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all its cities shall be ^[b]perpetual wastes.

¹⁴ I have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger is sent to the nations, saying, Gather together and come against her! And rise up for the battle.

¹⁵ For, behold, I will make you [Edom] small among the nations and despised among men.^(D)

¹⁶ Your [object of] horror (your idol) has deceived you, and the pride of your heart [has deceived you], O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock [Sela or ^[c]Petra], who hold and occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s, I will bring you down from there, says the Lord.

¹⁷ And Edom shall be an astonishment and a horror; everyone who goes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss with horror at all its plagues and disasters.

¹⁸ As [it was] in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, says the Lord, no man shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man live in it temporarily.

¹⁹ See, there comes up one [Nebuchadnezzar] like a lion from [lurking in] the jungles (the pride) of the Jordan against the strong habitation [of Edom] and into the permanent pastures; for in a twinkling I will drive him [Edom] from there. And I will appoint over him the one whom I choose. For who is like Me? And who will appoint for Me the time and prosecute Me for this proceeding? And what [earthly, national] shepherd can stand before Me and defy Me?

²⁰ Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has made against Edom, and His purposes which He has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely they shall be dragged away [by Nebuchadnezzar], even the little ones of the flock; surely He shall make their habitation desolate because of them and their fold shocked at their fate.

²¹ At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; at their crying the sound shall be heard at the Red Sea.

²² Behold, one will come up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against [the Edomite city of] Bozrah; and in that day the hearts of the mighty warriors of Edom will be like the heart of a woman in her pangs [in childbirth].^(E)

²³ Concerning and against Damascus [in Syria]: Hamath and Arpad are confounded and put to shame, for they have heard bad news; they are fainthearted and wasting away; there is trouble and anxiety [like] on a [storm-tossed] sea which cannot rest.

²⁴ Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee, and terror and panic have seized her; anguish and sorrow have taken hold of her, like a woman in childbirth.

²⁵ How [remarkable that] the renowned city is not deserted, the city of my joy! [exclaims one from Damascus].

²⁶ Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day, says the Lord of hosts.^(F)

²⁷ And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it will consume the palaces of Ben-hadad [title of several kings of Syria].

²⁸ Concerning Kedar [a tribe of nomad Arabs] and concerning the kingdoms of ^[d]Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite: Thus says the Lord [to him]: Arise, go up against Kedar and destroy the sons of the east.

²⁹ Their tents and their flocks shall they [the Chaldeans] take—their tent hangings and all their utensils and their camels. And men shall cry to them, Terror on every side!^(G)

³⁰ Flee, wander far off, dwell deep [in the deserts], O you inhabitants of Hazor [in the Arabian Desert] says the Lord, for ^[e]Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon has planned a course against you and has conceived a purpose against you.

³¹ Arise [Nebuchadrezzar], get up into a nation which is at ease, which dwells without care, says the Lord, [a nation] which has neither gates nor bars, which dwells apart and alone.

³² And their camels will be booty, and their herds of cattle a spoil; and I will scatter to all [the four] winds those who [as evidence of their idolatry] clip off the corners of their hair, and I will bring their calamity from every side, says the Lord.^(H)

³³ And Hazor shall become a dwelling place of jackals, a desolation forever; no man shall dwell there; neither shall a son of man live in it temporarily.

³⁴ The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning and against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

³⁵ Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief [weapon and part] of their strength.

³⁶ And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four corners of heaven; and I will scatter them toward all those winds, and there will be no nation to which the outcasts of Elam will not come.

³⁷ And I will cause ^[f]Elam to be dismayed and terrified before their enemies and before those who seek and demand their lives; and I will bring evil and disaster upon them, even My fierce anger, says the Lord. And I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them.

³⁸ And I will set My throne [of judgment] in Elam [whose capital city was Shushan, from which God wrought wonders through Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel]; and I will destroy from their king and princes, says the Lord.^(I)

³⁹ But it shall be ^[g]in the latter days (the end of days) that I will reverse the captivity and restore the fortunes of Elam, says the Lord.

Psalm 26

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on, and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide.

² Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind.

³ For Your loving-kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth [faithfully].

⁴ I do not sit with false persons, nor fellowship with pretenders;

⁵ I hate the company of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I will wash my hands in innocence, and go about Your altar, O Lord,

⁷ That I may make the voice of thanksgiving heard and may tell of all Your wondrous works.

⁸ Lord, I love the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.

⁹ Gather me not with sinners and sweep me not away [with them], nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

¹⁰ In whose hands is wickedness, and their right hands are full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful and gracious to me.

¹² My foot stands on an even place; in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

Psalm 27

[A Psalm] of David.

¹ The Lord is my Light and my Salvation—whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

³ Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, [even then] in this will I be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple.^(A)

⁵ For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; have mercy and be gracious to me and answer me!

⁸ You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].

⁹ Hide not Your face from me; turn not Your servant away in anger, You Who have been my help! Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!

¹⁰ Although my father and my mother have forsaken me, yet the Lord will take me up [adopt me as His child].^(B)

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain and even path because of my enemies [those who lie in wait for me].

¹² Give me not up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me; they breathe out cruelty and violence.

¹³ [What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!

¹⁴ Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.