M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
I. Conquest of Canaan
Chapter 1
Divine Promise of Assistance. 1 After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun: 2 [a]Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites. 3 (A)Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses. 4 [b]All the land of the Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory.(B) 5 No one can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be with you:(C) I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7 (D)Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night,(E) that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed. 9 I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
10 (F)So Joshua commanded the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving as your possession.’”
The Transjordan Tribes. 12 (G)Joshua addressed the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you when he said, ‘The Lord, your God, is about to give you rest; he will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children, and your livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you here beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you must cross over armed, ahead of your kindred, and you must help them 15 until the Lord has settled your kindred, and they like you possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving them. Afterward you may return and possess your own land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, has given you east of the Jordan.”(H) 16 They answered Joshua, “We will do all you have commanded us, and we will go wherever you send us. 17 As completely as we obeyed Moses, we will obey you. Only, may the Lord, your God, be with you as God was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your orders and does not obey all your commands shall be put to death. Only be strong and steadfast.”
Psalm 120[a]
Prayer of a Returned Exile
1 A song of ascents.[b]
The Lord answered me
when I called in my distress:(A)
2 Lord, deliver my soul from lying lips,
from a treacherous tongue.(B)
3 What will he inflict on you,
O treacherous tongue,
and what more besides?[c]
4 A warrior’s arrows
sharpened with coals of brush wood
5 [e]Alas, I am a foreigner in Meshech,
I live among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long do I live
among those who hate peace.
7 When I speak of peace,
they are for war.(D)
Psalm 121[f]
The Lord My Guardian
1 A song of ascents.
I raise my eyes toward the mountains.[g]
From whence shall come my help?(E)
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.(F)
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;(G)
or your guardian to sleep.
4 Behold, the guardian of Israel
never slumbers nor sleeps.
5 [h]The Lord is your guardian;
the Lord is your shade
at your right hand.(H)
6 By day the sun will not strike you,
nor the moon by night.(I)
7 The Lord will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your soul.(J)
8 The Lord will guard your coming and going
both now and forever.(K)
Psalm 122[i]
A Pilgrim’s Prayer for Jerusalem
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
I
I rejoiced when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”(L)
2 And now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem, built as a city,
walled round about.[j](M)
4 There the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
As it was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.(N)
5 There are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.
II
Chapter 61
The Anointed Bearer of Glad Tidings
1 [a]The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
release to the prisoners,(A)
2 To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn;(B)
3 to place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.
Restoration and Blessing
They will be called oaks of justice,
the planting of the Lord to show his glory.
4 They shall rebuild the ancient ruins,
the former wastes they shall raise up
And restore the desolate cities,
devastations of generation upon generation.(C)
5 Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks,
foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers.
6 [b]You yourselves shall be called “Priests of the Lord,”
“Ministers of our God” you shall be called.
You shall eat the wealth of the nations
and in their riches you will boast.(D)
7 Because their shame was twofold[c]
and disgrace was proclaimed their portion,
They will possess twofold in their own land;
everlasting joy shall be theirs.(E)
God’s Word of Promise
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
an everlasting covenant I will make with them.(F)
9 Their offspring shall be renowned among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them:
“They are offspring the Lord has blessed.”
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
10 [d]I will rejoice heartily in the Lord,
my being exults in my God;
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation,
and wrapped me in a robe of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(G)
11 As the earth brings forth its shoots,
and a garden makes its seeds spring up,
So will the Lord God make justice spring up,
and praise before all the nations.
Chapter 9
The Healing of a Paralytic. 1 [a](A)He entered a boat, made the crossing, and came into his own town. 2 And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”(B) 3 At that, some of the scribes[b] said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, “Why do you harbor evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 [c]But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”(C) 7 He rose and went home. 8 [d]When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.
The Call of Matthew.[e] 9 As Jesus passed on from there,(D) he saw a man named Matthew[f] sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10 While he was at table in his house,[g] many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.(E) 11 The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher[h] eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.[i] 13 Go and learn the meaning of the words,(F) ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[j] I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
The Question About Fasting. 14 (G)Then the disciples of John approached him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast [much], but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.[k] 16 No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,[l] for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. 17 People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The Official’s Daughter and the Woman with a Hemorrhage. 18 [m]While he was saying these things to them,(H) an official[n] came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel[o] on his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”(I) 22 Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured.
23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”[p] And they ridiculed him. 25 When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. 26 And news of this spread throughout all that land.
The Healing of Two Blind Men.[q] 27 (J)And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed [him], crying out, “Son of David,[r] have pity on us!”(K) 28 When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
The Healing of a Mute Person. 32 (L)As they were going out,[s] a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him, 33 and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”(M) 34 [t]But the Pharisees said,(N) “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”
The Compassion of Jesus. 35 [u](O)Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. 36 (P)At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned,[v] like sheep without a shepherd. 37 [w](Q)Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; 38 so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
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.