M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

The Special Box in the Place of Worship

16 They brought the special box of God, and put it inside the tent David had set up for it. Then they gave burnt gifts and peace gifts to God. ² When David finished giving the burnt gifts and peace gifts, he prayed in the name of the Lord that good would come to the people. ³ He gave to every man and woman in Israel a loaf of bread, a share of meat, and a loaf of dried grapes.

⁴ David chose some of the Levites to do the work in front of the special box of the Lord. They were to be glad and thank and praise the Lord God of Israel. ⁵ Asaph was the leader, then Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They were to play harps. And Asaph played loud-sounding timbrels. ⁶ The religious leaders Benaiah and Jahaziel sounded the horns all the time in front of the special box with the Law of God.

A Song of Praise

⁷ Then on that day David first called upon Asaph and his brothers to give thanks to the Lord. ⁸ “O give thanks to the Lord. Call upon His name. Let the people know what He has done. ⁹ Sing to Him. Sing praises to Him. Tell of all His great works. ¹⁰ Have joy in His holy name. Let the heart of those who look to the Lord be glad. ¹¹ Look to the Lord and ask for His strength. Look to Him all the time. ¹² Remember His great works which He has done. Remember the special things He has done and how He has judged, ¹³ O children of Israel His servant, sons of Jacob, His chosen ones! ¹⁴ He is the Lord our God. He is judge of all the earth. ¹⁵ Remember His agreement forever, the Word which He gave to families and a thousand of their family groups to come. ¹⁶ Remember the agreement He made with Abraham, and His promise to Isaac. ¹⁷ To Jacob He made it a Law to be kept, as an agreement forever to Israel. ¹⁸ He said, ‘I will give the land of Canaan to you as the share of your birth-right,’ ¹⁹ when they were few in number. They were very few, and strangers in the land. ²⁰ They traveled from nation to nation, from the people of one king to the people of another. ²¹ He let no man make it hard for them. He spoke strong words to kings because of them, saying, ²² ‘Do not touch My chosen ones. Do not hurt those who speak for Me.’ ²³ Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Tell the good news of His saving power from day to day. ²⁴ Tell of His greatness among the nations. Tell of His great works among all the people. ²⁵ For great is the Lord. He is to be given much praise. And He is to be honored with fear more than all gods. ²⁶ For all the gods of the people are false gods. But the Lord made the heavens. ²⁷ Honor and great power are with Him. Strength and joy are in His place. ²⁸ Praise the Lord, O families of the people. Praise the Lord for His greatness and strength. ²⁹ Praise the Lord for the greatness of His name. Bring a gift and come to Him. Worship the Lord clothed in His holiness. ³⁰ Shake with fear before Him, all the earth. Yes, the world is made to last. It will not be moved. ³¹ Let the heavens be glad. Let the earth be filled with joy. And let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord rules!’ ³² Let the sea thunder, and all that is in it. Let the field be happy, and all that is in it. ³³ Then the trees of the woods will sing for joy before the Lord. For He is coming to judge the earth. ³⁴ O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. ³⁵ Then say, ‘Set us free, O God Who saves us. Gather and save us from among the nations, to give thanks to Your holy name, and have joy in Your praise. ³⁶ Honor be to the Lord, the God of Israel forever and ever.’” Then all the people said, “Let it be so!” and they praised the Lord.

Worship at Jerusalem

³⁷ So David left Asaph and his brothers there in front of the special box with the Law of the Lord. He left them there to do the work in front of the special box always. They were to do whatever work needed to be done each day. ³⁸ He left Obed-edom there with his sixty-eight brothers. Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were to watch the gate. ³⁹ David left Zadok and his brothers who were the religious leaders in front of the meeting tent of the Lord in the high place at Gibeon. ⁴⁰ They were to give burnt gifts to the Lord on the altar of burnt gifts all the time, morning and evening. They were to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord which He told Israel. ⁴¹ With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest who were chosen by name. They were to give thanks to the Lord, because His loving-kindness lasts forever. ⁴² Heman and Jeduthun had horns and timbrels for making sounds of joy as the songs of God were sung. The sons of Jeduthun were to watch the gate.

⁴³ Then all the people left. Each one went home. And David returned to bring good to those of his house.

The Power of the Tongue

3 My Christian brothers, not many of you should become teachers. If we do wrong, it will be held against us more than other people who are not teachers. ² We all make many mistakes. If anyone does not make a mistake with his tongue by saying the wrong things, he is a perfect man. It shows he is able to make his body do what he wants it to do. ³ We make a horse go wherever we want it to go by a small bit in its mouth. We turn its whole body by this. ⁴ Sailing ships are driven by strong winds. But a small rudder turns a large ship whatever way the man at the wheel wants the ship to go.

⁵ The tongue is also a small part of the body, but it can speak big things. See how a very small fire can set many trees on fire. ⁶ The tongue is a fire. It is full of wrong. It poisons the whole body. The tongue sets our whole lives on fire with a fire that comes from hell. ⁷ Men can make all kinds of animals and birds and fish and snakes do what they want them to do. ⁸ But no man can make his tongue say what he wants it to say. It is sinful and does not rest. It is full of poison that kills. ⁹ With our tongue we give thanks to our Father in heaven. And with our tongue we speak bad words against men who are made like God. ¹⁰ Giving thanks and speaking bad words come from the same mouth. My Christian brothers, this is not right! ¹¹ Does a well of water give good water and bad water from the same place? ¹² Can a fig tree give olives or can a grape-vine give figs? A well does not give both good water and bad water.

Wisdom from Above

¹³ Who among you is wise and understands? Let that one show from a good life by the things he does that he is wise and gentle. ¹⁴ If you have jealousy in your heart and fight to have many things, do not be proud of it. Do not lie against the truth. ¹⁵ This is not the kind of wisdom that comes from God. But this wisdom comes from the world and from that which is not Christian and from the devil. ¹⁶ Wherever you find jealousy and fighting, there will be trouble and every other kind of wrong-doing. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. Then it gives peace. It is gentle and willing to obey. It is full of loving-kindness and of doing good. It has no doubts and does not pretend to be something it is not. ¹⁸ Those who plant seeds of peace will gather what is right and good.

Edom to Be Judged

¹ This is the special dream of Obadiah, what the Lord God says about Edom. We have heard this news from the Lord. And a man has been sent among the nations to say, “Get ready! Let us go fight a war against Edom.” ² “I will make you small among the nations. Everyone will hate you. ³ The pride of your heart has fooled you. You live in the holes of the rock. Your home is high in the mountains. And so you say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’ ⁴ Even when you build your home as high as the eagle, and make your nest among the stars, I will bring you down from there,” says the Lord. ⁵ “If robbers came to you during the night, O how you will be destroyed! Would they not steal only enough for themselves? If those who gather grapes came to you, would they not leave some behind? ⁶ O how Esau will be robbed! His hidden riches will be looked for until they are found. ⁷ All the men you have made an agreement with will drive you from the country. The men at peace with you will lie to you and get power over you. Those who eat your bread will set a trap for you, but you will not know it.” ⁸ The Lord says, “On that day I will destroy the wise men from Edom and understanding from Mount Esau. ⁹ Then your powerful soldiers will be troubled, O Teman, and every one from Mount Esau will be killed.

Edom Hurt His Brother

¹⁰ “Because you have hurt your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and destroyed forever. ¹¹ You stood aside on that day when strangers carried his riches away. Men from another land went in through his gate and divided Jerusalem among themselves. And you were like one of them. ¹² Do not look down on your brother in the day of his trouble. Do not be happy about the sons of Judah in the day they are destroyed. Yes, do not speak with pride in the day of their trouble. ¹³ Do not go in through the gate of My people in the day of their trouble. Do not speak with pride about their suffering in the day of their trouble. And do not rob their riches in the day of their trouble. ¹⁴ Do not stand at the cross-roads to kill their people who get away. And do not put into prison those who are left alive in the day of their trouble.

¹⁵ “For the day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. What you do will come back to you on your own head. ¹⁶ Just as you drank on My holy mountain, so all the nations will drink all the time. They will drink and drink, and be as if they had never been.

Israel Will Win

¹⁷ “But on Mount Zion there will be a way to be set free, and it will be holy. The people of Jacob will own what belongs to them. ¹⁸ The people of Jacob will be a fire. The people of Joseph will be burning. But the people of Esau will be like dry grass. They will set them on fire and destroy them. None of the people of Esau will be left alive,” for the Lord has spoken. ¹⁹ People of the Negev will live on Mount Esau. And those in the lower land will live in the land of the Philistines. They will live in the land of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will own Gilead. ²⁰ The people of Israel who are living among the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the people of Jerusalem who are in Sephared, will own the cities of the Negev. ²¹ The men of Jerusalem who fight and win the battle will go up Mount Zion to rule over Mount Esau. And the nation will belong to the Lord.

Jesus Calls Simon and James and John ^(A)

5 While Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, many people pushed to get near Him. They wanted to hear the Word of God. ² Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen were not there because they were washing their nets. ³ Jesus got into a boat which belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to push it out a little way from land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Push out into the deep water. Let down your nets for some fish.” ⁵ Simon said to Him, “Teacher, we have worked all night and we have caught nothing. But because You told me to, I will let the net down.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught so many fish, their net started to break. ⁷ They called to their friends working in the other boat to come and help them. They came and both boats were so full of fish they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he got down at the feet of Jesus. He said, “Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man.” ⁹ He and all those with him were surprised and wondered about the many fish. ¹⁰ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised also. They were working together with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will fish for men.” ¹¹ When they came to land with their boats, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Bad Skin Disease ^(B)

¹² While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to Him with a bad skin disease over all his body. When he saw Jesus, he got down on his face before Him. He begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can heal me.” ¹³ Jesus put His hand on him and said, “I will, be healed.” At once the disease went away from him. ¹⁴ Then Jesus told him to tell no one. He said, “Go and let the religious leader of the Jews see you. Give the gift on the altar in worship that Moses told you to give when a man is healed of a disease. This will show the leaders you have been healed.” ¹⁵ The news about Jesus went out all the more. Many people came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. ¹⁶ Then He went away by Himself to pray in a desert.

Jesus Heals a Man Let Down through the Roof of a House ^(C)

¹⁷ On one of the days while Jesus was teaching, some proud religious law-keepers and teachers of the Law were sitting by Him. They had come from every town in the countries of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was there to heal them. ¹⁸ Some men took a man who was not able to move his body to Jesus. He was carried on a bed. They looked for a way to take the man into the house where Jesus was. ¹⁹ But they could not find a way to take him in because of so many people. They made a hole in the roof over where Jesus stood. Then they let the bed with the sick man on it down before Jesus. ²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

²¹ The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers thought to themselves, “Who is this Man Who speaks as if He is God? Who can forgive sins but God only?” ²² Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said to them, “Why do you think this way in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’?

²⁴ “So that you may know the Son of Man has the right and the power on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the man who could not move his body, “I say to you, get up. Take your bed and go to your home.” ²⁵ At once the sick man got up in front of them. He took his bed and went to his home thanking God. ²⁶ All those who were there were surprised and gave thanks to God, saying, “We have seen very special things today.”

Jesus Calls Matthew ^(D)

²⁷ After this Jesus went out and saw a man who gathered taxes. His name was Levi (Matthew). Levi was sitting at his work. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ Levi got up, left everything and followed Jesus. ²⁹ Levi made a big supper for Jesus in his house. Many men who gathered taxes and other people sat down with them. ³⁰ The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers talked against the followers of Jesus. They said, “Why do You eat and drink with men who gather taxes and with sinners?” ³¹ Jesus said to them, “People who are well do not need a doctor. Only those who are sick need a doctor. ³² I have not come to call good people. I have come to call sinners to be sorry for their sins and to turn from them.”

Jesus Teaches about Going without Food So You Can Pray Better ^(E)

³³ They asked Jesus, “Why do the followers of John and of the proud religious law-keepers go without food so they can pray better, but Your followers keep on eating and drinking?” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Can the friends at a wedding be sorry when the man just married is with them? ³⁵ The days will come when the man just married will be taken from them. Then they will not eat food so they can pray better in those days.”

The Picture-Story of the Cloth and the Bags

³⁶ Then Jesus told them a picture-story. He said, “No one sews a piece of cloth from a new coat on an old coat. If he does, the new coat will have a hole. The new piece and the old coat will not be the same. ³⁷ No man puts new wine into old skin bags. If they did, the skins would break and the wine would run out. The bags would be no good. ³⁸ New wine must be put into new bags and both are kept safe. ³⁹ No one wants new wine after drinking old wine. He says, ‘The old wine is better.’”