M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
God’s Covenant with David
7 Now when the king was settled in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,(A) 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.”(B) 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”(C)
4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? 6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders[a] of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’(D) 8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel,(E) 9 and I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.(F) 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and be disturbed no more, and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,(G) 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.(H) 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.(I) 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.(J) 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.(K) 15 But I will not take[b] my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.(L) 16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me;[c] your throne shall be established forever.”(M) 17 In accordance with all these words and with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
David’s Prayer
18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?(N) 19 And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house into the distant future. May this be instruction for the people,[d] O Lord God! 20 And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God!(O) 21 Because of your promise and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness so that your servant may know it. 22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.(P) 23 Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another[e] nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people and to make a name for himself, doing[f] great and awesome things, driving out[g] nations and their gods before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt?(Q) 24 And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.(R) 25 And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. 26 Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.(S) 27 For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.(T) 28 And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant;(U) 29 now, therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant so that it may continue forever before you, for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”(V)
Salutation
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:(A)
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(B)
Paul’s Thanksgiving after Affliction
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation,(C) 4 who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ.(D) 6 If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.
8 We do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself.(E) 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us;[a] on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again,(F) 11 as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many may give thanks on our[b] behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.(G)
The Postponement of Paul’s Visit
12 Indeed, this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with holiness[c] and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God—and all the more toward you.(H) 13 For we write you nothing other than what you can read and also understand; I hope you will understand until the end— 14 as you have already understood us in part—that on the day of the Lord Jesus we are your boast even as you are our boast.(I)
15 Since I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double favor;[d](J) 16 I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on to Judea.(K) 17 Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards,[e] ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to you is not[f] “Yes and No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not “Yes and No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”(L) 20 For in him every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God.(M) 21 But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us,(N) 22 who has put his seal on us and given[g] us his Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.(O)
23 But I call on God as witness against me: it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth.(P) 24 I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy because you stand firm in faith.(Q)
The Useless Vine
15 The word of the Lord came to me:
2 O mortal, how does the wood of the vine surpass all other wood,
the vine branch that is among the trees of the forest?(A)
3 Is wood taken from it to make anything?
Does one take a peg from it on which to hang any object?
4 It is put in the fire for fuel;
when the fire has consumed both ends of it
and the middle of it is charred,
is it useful for anything?(B)
5 When it was whole it was used for nothing;
how much less—when the fire has consumed it,
and it is charred—
can it ever be used for anything!
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(C) 7 I will set my face against them; although they escape from the fire, the fire shall still consume them, and you shall know that I am the Lord when I set my face against them.(D) 8 And I will make the land desolate because they have acted faithlessly, says the Lord God.(E)
Psalm 56
Trust in God under Persecution
To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many fight against me.
O Most High,(A) 3 when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.(B)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?(C)
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.(D)
6 They stir up strife; they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they hoped to take my life.(E)
7 Do not deliver them for any reason;[a]
in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!(F)
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?(G)
9 Then my enemies will retreat
in the day when I call.
This I know, that[b] God is for me.(H)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
12 My vows to you I must perform, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.(I)
13 For you have delivered my soul from death
and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
in the light of life.(J)
Psalm 57
Praise and Assurance under Persecution
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
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.(K)
2 I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.(L)
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.(M)
4 I lie down among lions
that greedily devour[c] human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.(N)
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(O)
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah(P)
7 My heart is steadfast, O God;
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.(Q)
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.(R)
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(S)
10 For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the clouds.(T)
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(U)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.