M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
17 “Do not give to the Lord your God a bull or a sheep which is not perfect. For that is a hated thing to the Lord your God.
2 “You may find among you, within any of your towns the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who does what is sinful in the eyes of the Lord your God by sinning against the Lord’s agreement. 3 If he has served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon or the stars, which I have told him not to worship, 4 and if someone told you about this, then you should do your best to find out if it is true. If it is true that this hated thing has been done in Israel, 5 then bring that man or woman who has done this sinful act to your gates, and kill the man or woman with stones. 6 If two or three people tell what they know against this person, he who is to die must be put to death. But he should not be put to death if only one person speaks against him. 7 Those who speak against him should be first to put him to death. And then all the people should join them. You must get rid of all sin from among you.
8 “There may be a problem too hard for you to decide, between two kinds of killing, between two kinds of questions about the law, between two kinds of hurting, problems argued about in your courts. Then get up and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 Go to the Levite religious leader or the judge who is at work at that time. Ask them, and they will tell you what they decide. 10 Then do what should be done by what they tell you they have decided at that place which the Lord chooses. Be careful to do all they tell you. 11 Do what they teach you about the Law and about what they decide. Do not turn aside from what they tell you to do, to the right or to the left. 12 The man must die who does foolish things and will not listen to the judge or the religious leader who serves the Lord your God. You must get rid of sin from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid. They will not act in a foolish way again.
A King
14 “When you go into the land the Lord your God gives you, and own it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will have a king rule over me like all the nations around me,’ 15 then you will set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. Set a king over you from among your brothers. Do not give a stranger power over you if he is not your brother. 16 He must not take many horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get many horses. Because the Lord has told you, ‘You must never again return that way.’ 17 He must not take many wives for himself or his heart may turn away. And he must not gather much silver and gold for himself.
18 “When he sits on the throne of his nation, he should write this Law for himself in a book in front of the Levite religious leaders. 19 It should be kept with him and he should read it all the days of his life. Then he will learn to fear the Lord his God, by being careful to obey all the words of these Laws. 20 And he will not think he is better than his brothers. He will not turn aside from the Law, to the right or to the left, so that he and his children may live long in his nation in Israel.
The Lord Watches Over All His Works
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great. You are dressed with great honor and wonderful power. 2 He covers Himself with light as with a coat. He spreads out the heavens like a tent. 3 He makes His home on the waters. He makes the clouds His wagon. He rides on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes the winds carry His news. He makes His helpers a burning fire.
5 He set the earth in its place so that it will stay that way forever. 6 You covered it with the sea as with a coat. The waters stood above the mountains. 7 The waters left at Your strong words. They went away in a hurry at the sound of Your thunder. 8 The mountains went up and the valleys went down to the place that You made for them. 9 You set a place that they may not pass over. The waters will never cover the earth again.
10 He sends rivers into the valleys. They flow between the mountains. 11 They give water to all the animals of the field. The wild donkeys drink until they are no longer thirsty. 12 The birds of the sky nest beside them. They sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from His home above. The earth is filled with the fruit of His works.
14 He makes the grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to use. So He may bring food from the earth, 15 wine that makes man’s heart glad, oil to make his face shine, and food to make his heart strong. 16 The tall cedar trees that the Lord planted in Lebanon drink their fill. 17 The birds make their nests there. The stork has its nest in the green trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a safe place for the badgers. 19 He made the moon to mark the time of year. And the sun knows when to go down. 20 You make darkness and it becomes night. Then all the wild animals among the trees come out. 21 The young lions make a loud noise as they go after meat. And they get their food from God. 22 They go to their homes and lie down when the sun rises. 23 Then man goes out to his work and works until evening.
24 O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made. 25 There is the wide sea full of both large and small animals. There are too many for us to number. 26 The ships sail there. And the very large sea animal You have made plays in it.
27 They all wait for You to give them their food at the right time. 28 You give it to them and they gather it up. You open Your hand and they are filled with good things. 29 They are troubled and afraid when You hide Your face. And when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 They are made when You send Your Spirit. And You make the land of the earth new again.
31 May the shining-greatness of the Lord last forever. May the Lord be glad in His works. 32 He looks at the earth and it shakes with fear. He touches the mountains and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May the words of my heart be pleasing to Him. As for me, I will be glad in the Lord. 35 Let sinners be destroyed from the earth. And let the sinful be no more. Honor the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!
Good Will Come to Israel
44 “But now listen, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. 2 This is what the Lord Who made you, Who put you together before you were born, Who will help you, says, ‘Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, and you Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land and rivers on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your children, and will bring good to your children’s children. 4 They will grow like grass in the fields, and like poplar trees by the rivers.’ 5 This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s.’ And that one will call on the name of Jacob. Another will write on his hand, ‘I belong to the Lord,’ and will name Israel’s name with honor.”
Only One God
6 The Lord, the King of Israel and the One Who saves and frees from sin, the Lord of All, says, “I am the first and I am the last. There is no God besides Me. 7 Who is like Me? Let him make it known. Yes, let him tell Me what happened from the time I made people long ago. And let him tell the things that are coming and what is going to happen. 8 Do not fear. Do not be afraid. Have I not made it known to you from long ago? And you have heard Me. Is there a God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock. I know of none.”
Following False Gods Is Sinful
9 All who make objects to worship are for nothing. The things they think are worth much are worth nothing. Those who speak for them do not see or know, so they will be put to shame. 10 Who has made a false god or an object of worship that is of no worth? 11 See, all his friends will be put to shame, for the workmen themselves are only men. Let them all gather, let them stand up, let them shake with fear, and let them together be put to shame.
12 The one who works with iron makes a sharp tool for cutting, working over a fire. He makes it by beating it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry and has no strength. He drinks no water and becomes tired. 13 One works with wood, he marks it, and draws on it with a red marker. He makes it smooth and makes it like a man, like the beauty of a man, so that it may sit in a house. 14 He cuts down cedar trees, and takes a cypress or an oak, and lets it grow strong among the trees. He plants a fir tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself. He makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it. He makes an object of worship and bows down in front of it. 16 He burns half of it in the fire. Over this half he eats meat as he makes it ready, and is filled. He also warms himself and says, “O, I am warm. I see the fire.” 17 But he makes the rest of it into a god, his object of worship. He bows down in front of it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Bring me out of my trouble, for you are my god.”
18 They do not know, and they do not understand. For the Lord has covered their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot understand. 19 And no one remembers about it, or knows or understands enough to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, and have baked bread over the fire. I have cooked the meat over a fire and have eaten it. Should I make the rest of it into an object the Lord hates? Should I bow down in front of a block of wood?” 20 He eats ashes! A false idea in his heart has led him the wrong way. And he cannot save himself or say, “Is not what I have here in my right hand a lie?”
The Lord Does Not Forget Israel
21 “Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel, for you are My servant. I have made you, you are My servant. O Israel, I will not forget you. 22 I have taken away your wrong-doing like a dark cloud, and your sins like a fog. Return to Me, for I have bought you and set you free.” 23 Call out for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Call out for joy, you deep places of the earth. Break out into singing, you mountains and every tree. For the Lord has bought Jacob and set him free and has shown His shining-greatness in Israel!
People Will Live in Jerusalem Again
24 The Lord, Who makes you, bought you and saves you, and the One Who put you together before you were born, says, “I am the Lord, Who made all things. I alone spread out the heavens, and I alone spread out the earth. 25 I allow trouble to come on the special things done by men who lie and speak in pride. I make fools out of those who tell the future using their secret ways. I turn back wise men, and make their learning foolish. 26 I make the word of My servant sure, and act upon the words of the men who speak for Me. It is I Who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will have people living in her,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be built.’ And I will build her up again. 27 It is I Who says to the deep sea, ‘Dry up!’ And I will dry up your rivers. 28 It is I Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he will do all that I want him to do,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and of the house of God, ‘Your first stones will be laid again.’”
The Lamb Stands in Jerusalem
14 Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with Him. These people had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I heard a voice coming from heaven. It was like the sound of rushing water and of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like people playing music on their harps. 3 This large group sang a new song. They sang before the throne and in front of the four living beings and the twenty-four leaders. Only the 144,000 could learn this song. They had been bought by the blood of Christ and made free from the earth. 4 These are men who have kept themselves pure by not being married. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been bought by the blood of Christ and have been made free from among men. They are the first ones to be given to God and to the Lamb. 5 No lie has come from their mouths. They are without blame.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in the heavens. He was carrying the Good News that lasts forever. He was preaching to every nation and to every family group and to the people of every language and to all the people of the earth. 7 He said with a loud voice, “Honor God with love and fear. The time has come for Him to judge all men. Worship Him Who made heaven and earth and the sea and the places where water comes out of the earth.”
8 A second angel followed, saying, “Babylon has fallen! The great city Babylon has fallen! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her sinful sex life.”
9 A third angel followed, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the wild animal and his false god and receives a mark on his forehead or hand, 10 he will drink of the wine of the anger of God. It is mixed in full strength in the cup of God’s anger. They will be punished with fire and burning sulphur in front of the holy angels and before the Lamb. 11 The smoke of those who are being punished will go up forever. They have no rest day or night. It is because they have worshiped the wild animal and his false god and have received the mark of his name. 12 This is why God’s people need to keep true to God’s Word and stay faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write these words: ‘From now on those who are dead who died belonging to the Lord will be happy.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will have rest from all their work. All the good things they have done will follow them.”
The War of Armageddon
14 I looked and saw a white cloud. Sitting on the cloud was One like the Son of Man. He had a crown of gold on His head. In His hand He had a sharp knife for cutting grain. 15 Then another angel came out from the house of God and called to Him with a loud voice. He said, “Use Your knife and gather in the grain. The time has come to gather the grain because the earth is ready.” 16 He Who sat on the cloud raised His knife over the earth. And the grain was gathered in.
17 Then another angel came out from the house of God in heaven. He had a sharp knife for cutting grain also. 18 Another angel who has power over fire came out from the altar. He said with a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp knife, “Use your knife and gather in the grapes from the vine of the earth, for they are ready to gather.” 19 The angel used his sickle on the earth. He gathered from the vine of the earth and put the fruit into the large place for making wine. It was full of God’s anger. 20 They walked on it outside the city and blood came out of the place where wine is made. The blood ran as far as a man could walk in seven days. It came up as high as a horse’s head.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.