M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Remember the Lord’s Provisions
8 “Be careful to observe every command that I’m instructing you today, in order that you may live, increase, and enter and take possession of the land that the Lord promised by an oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the desert to humble[a] and test you in order to make known what was in your heart—whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled[b] you, causing you to be hungry, yet he fed you with manna that neither you nor your ancestors had known, in order to teach you that human beings are not to live by food alone—instead human beings are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
4 “The clothes you wore[c] did not wear out, nor did your feet blister during these 40 years. 5 Be convinced in your heart that as a father disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing[d] him, 7 because the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land—a land with rivers and deep springs flowing to the valleys and hills. 8 It’s a land filled[e] with wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates. It’s a land filled[f] with olive oil and honey— 9 a land without scarcity. You’ll eat food in it and lack nothing. It’s a land where its rocks are iron and you can dig copper from its mountains.”
Remember the Source of Blessings
10 “When you have eaten and are satisfied, bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you. 11 Be careful! Otherwise, you will forget the Lord your God by failing to keep his commands, ordinances, and statutes that I’m commanding you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you have built beautiful houses and lived in them, 13 when your cattle and oxen have multiplied, and when your silver and gold have increased, 14 then you will become arrogant. You’ll neglect the Lord your God, 15 who brought you out of the land of Egypt—from the house of slavery—and who led you through the vast and dangerous desert—that parched land without water—with its poisonous snakes and scorpions. He brought water out of solid rock for you 16 and fed you in the desert with manna that neither you nor your ancestors had known to humble and test you so that things may go well with you later. 17 You may say to yourselves, ‘I have become wealthy by my own strength and by my own ability.’[g] 18 But remember the Lord your God, because he is the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth, in order to confirm his covenant that he promised by an oath to your ancestors, as is the case today. 19 If you neglect the Lord your God, follow other gods, and serve and worship them, I testify to you today that you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just like the nations whom the Lord destroyed before you, so will you be destroyed, because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.”
A Davidic Psalm[a]
God is My Refuge
91 The one who lives in the shelter of the Most High,
who rests in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the Lord,
“You are my refuge, my fortress,
and my God in whom I trust!”
3 He will surely deliver you from the hunter’s snare
and from the destructive plague.
4 With his feathers he will cover you,
under his wings you will find safety.
His truth is your shield and armor.
5 You need not fear terror that stalks[b] in the night,
the arrow that flies in the day,
6 plague that strikes in the darkness,
or calamity that destroys at noon.
7 If a thousand fall at your side
or ten thousand at your right hand,
it will not overcome you.
8 Only observe[c] it with your eyes,
and you will see how the wicked are paid back.
9 “Lord, you are my refuge!”
Because you chose the Most High as your dwelling place,
10 no evil will fall upon you,
and no affliction will approach your tent,
11 for he will command his angels
to protect you in all your ways.
12 With their hands they will lift you up
so you will not trip over a stone.
13 You will stomp on lions and snakes;
you will trample young lions and serpents.
The Lord Speaks
14 Because he has focused his love on me,
I will deliver him.
I will protect him[d]
because he knows my name.
15 When he calls out to me,
I will answer him.
I will be with him in his[e] distress.
I will deliver him,
and I will honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life;
I will show him my deliverance.
Sennacherib Attacks
36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah,[a] King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 2 Then the king of Assyria sent his field commander,[b] along with a very[c] large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. When the field commander stopped at the aqueduct at the Upper Pool on the road to Laundryman’s Field, 3 Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, the recorder, went out to him.
4 The field commander told them:
“Tell Hezekiah, king of Judah,[d] ‘This is what the mighty king, the king of Assyria, has to say: What is this “guarantee” that makes you yourself[e] rely on it?[f] 5 Do you really think that guarantees alone can withstand[g] strategy and military strength? On whom are you now depending, that you’re rebelling against me? 6 Take note: you’re relying on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the palm of anyone who leans on it. This is what Pharaoh king of Egypt is like to everybody who depends on him!
7 But if you all[h] say to me, “We are depending on the Lord our God”—isn’t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, while he kept on telling Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship in front of this altar in[i] Jerusalem’?[j] 8 Come now, all of you,[k] make a bet with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you can furnish riders for them! 9 How, then, can you repulse even one officer from[l] the least of my master’s officials, when you are depending for yourselves[m] on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 10 One other thing: have I really marched against this country to destroy it apart from the Lord’s direction?[n] The Lord himself ordered me, ‘March against this country to[o] destroy it.’”[p]
11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah replied to him,[q] “Please speak with[r] your servants—with us[s]—in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak to us in Hebrew[t] where the people sitting on[u] the wall can hear.”
12 But the field commander asked, “Was it only to all of you and to your[v] master that my master sent me to speak these things? Wasn’t it also to the men sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?”
13 Then the[w] commander stood up and shouted out loud in Hebrew:[x]
“Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 This is what the king of Assyria[y] says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you—for he cannot save you! 15 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to rely on the Lord when he says, “The Lord will really deliver[z] us!” and[aa] “This city will never be handed over to the king of Assyria!” 16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and from his own fig tree, and everyone will drink water from his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—to[ab] a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.’ 18 Be careful not to let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, “The Lord will save us.” Has any god of any nation ever delivered[ac] his country from the[ad] king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sephar-vaim? Have they saved Samaria from me?[ae] 20 Who among all the gods of these countries has delivered[af] their land from me?[ag] How then can the Lord deliver[ah] Jerusalem from me?’”[ai]
21 But the people remained silent and didn’t respond to him with so much as a single word, because the king had commanded, “Don’t answer him.”
22 Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Asaph’s son Joah, the recorder, approached Hezekiah with their clothes torn,[aj] and let him know what the field commander had said.
The Vision of the First Seal Opened
6 Then I saw the lamb open the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Go!” 2 Then I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow, and a victor’s crown had been given to him. He went out as a conqueror to conquer.
The Vision of the Second Seal Opened
3 When the lamb[a] opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Go!” 4 A second horse went out. It was fiery red, and its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth and to make people slaughter one another. So he was given a large sword.
The Vision of the Third Seal Opened
5 When the lamb[b] opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Go!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a scale in his hand. 6 I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “One day’s ration of wheat for a day’s wage, or three day’s ration of barley for a day’s wage![c] But don’t damage the olive oil or the wine!”
The Vision of the Fourth Seal Opened
7 When the lamb[d] opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Go!” 8 I looked, and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades[e] followed him. They were given authority over one-fourth of the earth to kill people using wars, famines, plagues, and the wild animals of the earth.
The Vision of the Fifth Seal Opened
9 When the lamb[f] opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given. 10 They cried out in a loud voice,
“Holy and true Sovereign,
how long will it be before you judge
and take revenge on those living on the earth
who shed our blood?”
11 Each of them was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until the number of[g] their fellow servants and their brothers was completed, who would be killed as they themselves had been.
The Vision of the Sixth Seal Opened
12 Then I saw the lamb[h] open the sixth seal. There was a powerful earthquake. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon turned as red as blood.[i] 13 The stars in the sky fell to the earth like a fig tree drops its fruit when it is shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people concealed themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. 16 They told the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to endure it?”
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