M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 4
Advantages of Fidelity. 1 Now therefore, Israel, hear the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.(A) 2 In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God,(B) which I am commanding you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. 3 You have seen with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal-peor:(C) the Lord, your God, destroyed from your midst everyone who followed the Baal of Peor; 4 but you, who held fast to the Lord, your God, are all alive today. 5 See, I am teaching you the statutes and ordinances as the Lord, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to possess. 6 Observe them carefully, for this is your wisdom and discernment in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “This great nation is truly a wise and discerning people.”(D) 7 (E)For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? 8 Or what great nation has statutes and ordinances that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?(F)
Revelation at Horeb. 9 However, be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live, but make them known to your children(G) and to your children’s children, 10 that day you stood before the Lord, your God, at Horeb, when the Lord said to me: Assemble the people for me, that I may let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear[a] me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their children. 11 (H)You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain blazed to the heart of the heavens with fire and was enveloped in a dense black cloud. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire.(I) You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He proclaimed to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep: the ten words,[b] which he wrote on two stone tablets.(J) 14 At that time the Lord charged me to teach you the statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land you are about to cross into and possess.
Danger of Idolatry. 15 Because you saw no form at all on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, be strictly on your guard 16 not to act corruptly by fashioning an idol for yourselves to represent any figure, whether it be the form of a man or of a woman,(K) 17 the form of any animal on the earth, the form of any bird that flies in the sky, 18 the form of anything that crawls on the ground, or the form of any fish in the waters under the earth. 19 And when you look up to the heavens and behold the sun or the moon or the stars, the whole heavenly host, do not be led astray into bowing down to them and serving them.(L) These the Lord, your God, has apportioned to all the other nations under the heavens; 20 but you the Lord has taken and led out of that iron foundry, Egypt, that you might be his people, his heritage, as you are today.(M) 21 But the Lord was angry with me on your account(N) and swore that I should not cross the Jordan nor enter the good land which the Lord, your God, is giving you as a heritage. 22 I myself shall die in this country; I shall not cross the Jordan; but you are going to cross over and take possession of that good land.(O) 23 Be careful, therefore, lest you forget the covenant which the Lord, your God, has made with you, and fashion for yourselves against his command an idol in any form whatsoever.(P) 24 For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.[c](Q)
God’s Fidelity and Love. 25 (R)When you have children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, should you then act corruptly by fashioning an idol in the form of anything, and by this evil done in his sight provoke the Lord, your God, 26 I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that you shall all quickly perish from the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You shall not live in it for any length of time but shall be utterly wiped out.(S) 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and there shall remain but a handful of you among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you shall serve gods that are works of human hands, of wood and stone, gods which can neither see nor hear, neither eat nor smell.(T) 29 Yet when you seek the Lord, your God, from there, you shall indeed find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.(U) 30 In your distress, when all these things shall have come upon you, you shall finally return to the Lord, your God, and listen to his voice. 31 Since the Lord, your God, is a merciful God, he will not abandon or destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.(V)
32 Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created humankind upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? 33 Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?(W) 34 Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders,(X) by war, with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? 35 All this you were allowed to see that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other.(Y) 36 Out of the heavens he let you hear his voice to discipline you; on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard him speaking out of the fire. 37 For love of your ancestors he chose their descendants after them and by his presence and great power led you out of Egypt, 38 dispossessing before you nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to give their land to you as a heritage, as it is today. 39 This is why you must now acknowledge, and fix in your heart, that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.(Z) 40 And you must keep his statutes and commandments which I command you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever.(AA)
Cities of Refuge. 41 (AB)Then Moses set apart three cities in the region east of the Jordan, 42 to which a homicide might flee who killed a neighbor unintentionally, where there had been no hatred previously, so that the killer might flee to one of these cities and live: 43 Bezer in the wilderness, in the region of the plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
II. Second Address
A. The Lord’s Covenant with Israel
Introduction. 44 This is the law[d] which Moses set before the Israelites.(AC) 45 These are the decrees, and the statutes and ordinances[e] which Moses proclaimed to the Israelites after they came out of Egypt,(AD) 46 (AE)beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses and the Israelites defeated after they came out of Egypt.(AF) 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og, king of Bashan, as well—the land of these two kings of the Amorites in the region beyond the Jordan to the east: 48 from Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon to Mount Sion[f] (that is, Hermon) 49 and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan to the east, as far as the Arabah Sea[g] under the slopes of Pisgah.
Psalm 86[a]
Prayer in Time of Distress
1 A prayer of David.
I
Incline your ear, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and oppressed.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, Lord;
to you I call all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant;
to you, Lord, I lift up my soul.(A)
5 Lord, you are good and forgiving,
most merciful to all who call on you.(B)
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my cry for help.(C)
7 On the day of my distress I call to you,
for you will answer me.
II
8 None among the gods can equal you, O Lord;
nor can their deeds compare to yours.(D)
9 All the nations you have made shall come
to bow before you, Lord,
and give honor to your name.(E)
10 For you are great and do wondrous deeds;
and you alone are God.
III
11 Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,(F)
single-hearted and revering your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart,
glorify your name forever, Lord my God.
13 Your mercy to me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol.(G)
14 O God, the arrogant have risen against me;
a ruthless band has sought my life;
to you they pay no heed.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.(H)
16 Turn to me, be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your handmaid.(I)
17 Give me a sign of your favor:
make my enemies see, to their confusion,
that you, Lord, help and comfort me.
Psalm 87[b]
Zion the True Birthplace
1 (J)A psalm of the Korahites. A song.
I
His foundation is on holy mountains,
2 The Lord loves the gates[c] of Zion
more than any dwelling in Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
Selah
II
4 Rahab and Babylon I count
among those who know me.
See, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia,
“This one was born there.”
5 [d]And of Zion it will be said:
“Each one was born in it.”(K)
The Most High will establish it;(L)
6 the Lord notes in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born there.”(M)
Selah
7 So singers and dancers:
“All my springs are in you.”(N)
Chapter 32
The Kingdom of Justice
1 See, a king will reign justly
and princes will rule rightly.(A)
2 Each of them will be like a shelter from the wind,
a refuge from the rain.
They will be like streams of water in a dry country,
like the shade of a great rock in a parched land.(B)
3 The eyes of those who see will not be closed;
the ears of those who hear will be attentive.(C)
4 The hasty of heart shall take thought to know,
and tongues of stutterers shall speak readily and clearly.
5 No more will the fool be called noble,
nor the deceiver be considered honorable.(D)
6 For the fool speaks folly,
his heart plans evil:
Godless actions,
perverse speech against the Lord,
Letting the hungry go empty
and the thirsty without drink.(E)
7 The deceits of the deceiver are evil,
he plans devious schemes:
To ruin the poor with lies,
and the needy when they plead their case.(F)
8 But the noble plan noble deeds,
and in noble deeds they persist.
The Women of Jerusalem
9 You women so complacent, rise up and hear my voice,
daughters so confident, give heed to my words.(G)
10 In a little more than a year
your confidence will be shaken;
For the vintage will fail,
no fruit harvest will come in.(H)
11 Tremble, you who are so complacent!
Shudder, you who are so confident!
Strip yourselves bare,
with only a loincloth for cover.(I)
12 Beat your breasts
for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vine;(J)
13 For the soil of my people,
overgrown with thorns and briers;
For all the joyful houses,
the exultant city.(K)
14 The castle[a] will be forsaken,
the noisy city deserted;
Citadel and tower will become wasteland forever,
the joy of wild donkeys, the pasture of flocks;(L)
15 [b]Until the spirit from on high
is poured out on us.
And the wilderness becomes a garden land
and the garden land seems as common as forest.(M)
16 Then judgment will dwell in the wilderness
and justice abide in the garden land.
17 The work of justice will be peace;
the effect of justice, calm and security forever.(N)
18 My people will live in peaceful country,
in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.(O)
19 And the forest will come down completely,
the city will be utterly laid low.[c](P)
20 Happy are you who sow beside every stream,
and let the ox and the donkey go freely!(Q)
Chapter 2
To Ephesus. 1 [a]“To the angel of the church[b] in Ephesus,[c] write this:
“‘The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands says this: 2 “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and discovered that they are impostors.[d] 3 Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. 5 Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 But you have this in your favor: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans,[e] which I also hate.
7 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor[f] I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God.”’(A)
To Smyrna.[g] 8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna,[h] write this:
“‘The first and the last, who once died but came to life, says this: 9 “I know your tribulation and poverty, but you are rich.[i] I know the slander of those who claim to be Jews and are not, but rather are members of the assembly of Satan.(B) 10 Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.(C) The victor shall not be harmed by the second death.”’[j]
To Pergamum.[k] 12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum,[l] write this:
“‘The one with the sharp two-edged sword says this: 13 “I know that you live where Satan’s throne[m] is, and yet you hold fast to my name and have not denied your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was martyred among you, where Satan lives. 14 [n]Yet I have a few things against you. You have some people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block before the Israelites: to eat food sacrificed to idols and to play the harlot.(D) 15 Likewise, you also have some people who hold to the teaching of [the] Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore, repent. Otherwise, I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor I shall give some of the hidden manna;[o] I shall also give a white amulet upon which is inscribed a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it.”’(E)
To Thyatira.[p] 18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira,[q] write this:
“‘The Son of God, whose eyes are like a fiery flame and whose feet are like polished brass, says this: 19 “I know your works, your love, faith, service, and endurance, and that your last works are greater than the first. 20 Yet I hold this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols.[r] 21 I have given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her harlotry. 22 So I will cast her on a sickbed and plunge those who commit adultery with her into intense suffering unless they repent of her works. 23 I will also put her children[s] to death. Thus shall all the churches come to know that I am the searcher of hearts and minds and that I will give each of you what your works deserve.(F) 24 But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not uphold this teaching and know nothing of the so-called deep secrets of Satan:[t] on you I will place no further burden, 25 except that you must hold fast to what you have until I come.
26 “‘“To the victor,[u] who keeps to my ways[v] until the end,
I will give authority over the nations.(G)
27 He will rule them with an iron rod.
Like clay vessels will they be smashed,
28 just as I received authority from my Father. And to him I will give the morning star.
29 “‘“Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.