M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
28 And it came about in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”
2 David said to Achish, “Surely you will know what your servant can do.”
And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will appoint you my bodyguard for life.”
The Medium of Endor
3 Now Samuel died and all Israel mourned him, and they buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and the necromancers from the land.
4 Then the Philistines gathered themselves together. And they came and camped in Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams, or by lots, or by prophets. 7 Then said Saul to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”
And his servants said to him, “There is woman medium in Endor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself, put on other clothes, and he went with two of his men. And they came to the woman by night and he said, “Please divine for me by a spirit, and bring up for me whom I will name to you.”
9 The woman said to him, “Listen, you know what Saul has done, how he has eliminated the mediums and necromancers from the land. Now why are you laying a trap for my life to cause my death?”
10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment will happen to you for this thing.”
11 Then said the woman, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.”
13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”
And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a divine being ascending out of the earth.”
14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?”
And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a robe.”
And Saul perceived that it was Samuel. And he kneeled with his face to the ground and bowed himself.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you roused me to bring me up?”
And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me any longer by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have called you that you might make known to me what I should do.”
16 Then said Samuel, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, David. 18 As you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out His fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 And moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”
20 Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground because he greatly feared the words of Samuel. Also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all day and all night.
21 The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified. And she said to him, “Listen, your handmaid has obeyed your voice. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22 Now therefore you also, please obey the voice of your maidservant and let me set before you a piece of bread, and eat so that you may have strength when you go on your way.”
23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat.”
But his servants, and also the woman, urged him and he listened to them. So he arose from the ground and sat on the bed.
24 Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she hurried and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 She brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.
The Rights of an Apostle
9 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet indeed I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 This is my answer to those who examine me. 4 Do we have no right to eat and to drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife as do other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?
7 Who goes to war at any time at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, but does not eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, but does not drink of the flock’s milk? 8 Do I say these things as a man? Or does the law not say the same thing also? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox while it treads out the grain.”[a] Is God concerned about oxen? 10 Or does He say it completely for our sake? For our sake, no doubt, this is written so that he who plows should plow in hope, and that he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope. 11 If we have sown for you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your material things? 12 If others partake of this right over you, should not we instead?
Nevertheless, we have not used this right, but suffer all things, lest we might hinder the gospel of Christ.
13 Do you not know that those who minister unto holy things live from the things of the temple? And do you not know that those who wait at the altar partake of the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.
15 But I have used none of these rights, nor have I written these things that it should be so done to me. For it would be better for me to die than allow anyone to make my boasting void. 16 Though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for the requirement is laid upon me. Yes, woe unto me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 So if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a commission. 18 What is my reward then? Truly that when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, so that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself servant to all, that I might win even more. 20 To the Jews, I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are outside the law, as outside the law (being not without God’s law, but under Christ’s law) that I might win those who are outside the law. 22 To the weak, I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 This I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might partake of it with you.
24 Do you not know that all those who run in a race run, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain it. 25 Everyone who strives for the prize exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one. 26 So, therefore, I run, not with uncertainty. So I fight, not as one who beats the air. 27 But I bring and keep my body under subjection, lest when preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
The Day of the Lord’s Wrath
7 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 2 And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel:
An end, the end is coming
upon the four corners of the land.
3 Now the end has come upon you,
and I will send My anger upon you,
and will judge you according to your ways,
and will recompense upon you all your abominations.
4 My eye shall not spare you,
nor will I have pity;
but I will recompense your ways upon you,
and your abominations shall be in your midst.
And you shall know that I am the Lord!
5 Thus says the Lord God:
A disaster, a singular disaster;
it is coming!
6 An end is coming,
the end has come;
it watches for you;
it has come!
7 Your doom has come to you,
O inhabitant in the land;
the time has come, the day of trouble is near,
and not the joyful shouting on the mountains.
8 Now I will shortly pour out My fury upon you,
and accomplish My anger upon you;
and I will judge you according to your ways,
and will recompense you for all your abominations.
9 My eye shall not spare,
nor will I have pity;
I will recompense you according to your ways,
and your abominations that are in your midst.
And you shall know that I am the Lord who strikes.
10 The day is coming!
Your doom has gone out;
the rod has blossomed,
pride has budded.
11 Violence has risen up
into a rod of wickedness;
none of them shall remain,
none of their people,
none of their wealth,
nor anything eminent among them.
12 The time has come,
the day has drawn near.
Do not let the buyer rejoice,
or the seller mourn,
for wrath is against all their multitude.
13 For the seller shall not return
to that which is sold,
although they both live;
for the vision concerning the whole multitude
shall not return;
nor shall any strengthen his life
by his iniquity.
14 They have blown the trumpet
even to make all ready,
but none goes to the battle;
for My wrath is against all the multitude.
15 The sword is outside,
and the pestilence and the famine within.
He who is in the field
shall die by the sword;
and he who is in the city,
famine and pestilence shall devour him.
16 Even when their survivors escape,
they shall be on the mountains
like doves of the valleys,
all of them mourning,
every one over his iniquity.
17 All hands shall be feeble,
and all knees shall be weak as water.
18 They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth,
and horror shall cover them;
and shame shall be upon all faces,
and baldness upon all their heads.
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets,
and their gold shall become abhorrent;
their silver and their gold
shall not be able to deliver them
in the day of the wrath of the Lord;
they shall not satisfy their souls,
or fill their stomachs,
for their iniquity has become a stumbling block.
20 They transformed the beauty of His ornaments into pride,
and made the images of their abominations
and of their detestable things with it;
therefore I will make it an abhorrent thing to them.
21 I will give it into the hands of the strangers
as plunder and to the wicked of the earth for destruction,
and they shall pollute it.
22 My face also I will turn from them,
and they shall pollute My secret place;
for the robbers shall enter
and defile it.
23 Make a chain,
for the land is full of bloody crimes,
and the city is full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the nations,
and they shall possess their houses;
I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease,
and their holy places shall be defiled.
25 When destruction comes,
then they shall seek peace, but there shall be none.
26 Mischief shall come upon mischief,
and rumor shall be upon rumor.
Then they shall seek a vision of the prophet;
but the law shall perish from the priest,
and counsel from the elders.
27 The king shall mourn,
and the prince shall be clothed with desolation,
and the hands of the people of the land shall tremble.
I will do to them according to their way,
and according to what they deserve I will judge them.
And they shall know that I am the Lord!
Psalm 45
For the Music Director. To the melody of “Lilies.” A Contemplative Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
1 My heart is overflowing with a good thought;
I am speaking my works for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skilled scribe.
2 You are fairer than all the sons of men;
favor is poured on your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
with your splendor and your majesty.
4 In your majesty ride prosperously
because of truth and meekness and righteousness;
and your right hand will teach you awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies;
peoples will fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
the scepter of Your kingdom is an upright scepter.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your companions.
8 All your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from the ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
forget your own people, and your father’s house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
12 The daughter of Tyre will be there with a gift;
even the rich among the people will entreat your favor.
13 The royal daughter is all glorious within her chamber;
her clothing is plaited gold.
14 She shall be brought to the king in embroidered garments;
the virgins, her companions who follow her,
shall be brought to you.
15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
they shall enter into the king’s palace.
16 Your sons shall succeed your fathers;
you will make them princes in all the land.
17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore the people will praise you forever and ever.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.