M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

³⁹ And Mary arose in those days, and went into the mountains with haste, into a town of Judea, ⁴⁰ and entered into the house of Zacharias, and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And it happened, as Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe sprang in her belly. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and cried out with a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And how does it happen that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For lo, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe sprang in my belly for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed are you who believed, for those things will be performed that were told you from the Lord.

⁴⁶ And Mary said, My soul does magnify the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour. ⁴⁸ For he has looked on the poor degree of his handmaiden. Behold, now from henceforth all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹ For he who is mighty has done great things unto me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ And his mercy is on them who fear him, throughout all generations. ⁵¹ He shows strength with his arm. He scatters those who are proud in the imagination of their hearts. ⁵² He puts down the mighty from their seats and exalts those of low degree. ⁵³ He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He remembers mercy and helps his servant Israel, ⁵⁵ even as he promised to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

⁵⁶ And Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and returned again to her own house.

⁵⁷ Elizabeth’s time came to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbours and her relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy upon her, and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹ And when it was the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and were calling him by the name Zacharias, after his father. ⁶⁰ However his mother spoke and said, Not so, but he shall be called John. ⁶¹ And they said to her, There is no one in your family called by this name.

⁶² And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called. ⁶³ And he asked for writing tablets and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marvelled. ⁶⁴ And Zacharias’ mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue also, and he spoke, lauding God.

⁶⁵ And awe came on all those who dwelt near to them. And also these stories were spread abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and everyone who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child will this be? And the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷ And his father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, ⁶⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. ⁶⁹ And he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, ⁷⁰ just as he promised by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began: ⁷¹ that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us, ⁷² to fulfil the mercy promised to our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, ⁷³ and to perform the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, ⁷⁴ to give us, so that we, delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear all the days of our life, ⁷⁵ in such holiness and righteousness as are accepted before him.

⁷⁶ And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest. For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁷⁷ and to give knowledge of salvation to his people for the remission of sins, ⁷⁸ through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high has visited us, ⁷⁹ to give light to those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰ And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was out in the wilderness till the day came when he was to show himself to the Israelites.

It is not eloquence and glorious painted words of worldly wisdom that can edify and convert souls to Christ, but the plain words of the scripture. For they tell of him and his cross.

2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not in gloriousness of words or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. ² Nor did I show myself to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. ³ And I was among you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴ And my words and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

⁶ That which we speak of is wisdom among those who are sound: not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world (who come to nothing), ⁷ but we speak the wisdom of God, which is in secret and lies hid, which God ordained before the world for our glory. ⁸ Which wisdom none of the rulers of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. ⁹ But as it is written: The eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love him.

¹⁰ But God has revealed them to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yea, the bottom of God’s secrets. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of a man which is within him? In the same way, the things of God are known by no man, but by the Spirit of God. ¹² And we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes of God, in order to know the things that are given to us by God – ¹³ which things also we speak, not in the wise words of man’s wisdom, but with the wise words of the Holy Spirit, making spiritual comparisons of spiritual things. ¹⁴ For the natural man does not perceive the things of the Spirit of God. For they are but foolishness to him. Nor can he perceive them, because they are spiritually examined. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual evaluates all things. Yet he himself is judged by no man. ¹⁶ For who knows the mind of the Lord, or who shall inform him? But we understand the mind of Christ.