M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
David’s Song of Praise
22 David sang this song to the Lord when the Lord saved him from Saul and all his other enemies. 2 He said:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my Savior.
3 My God is my rock.
I can run to him for safety.
He is my shield and my saving strength,
my defender and my place of safety.
The Lord saves me from those who want to harm me.
4 I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I will be saved from my enemies.
5 “The waves of death came around me;
the deadly rivers overwhelmed me.
6 The ropes of death wrapped around me.
The traps of death were before me.
7 In my trouble I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my call for help reached his ears.
8 “The earth trembled and shook.
The foundations of heaven began to shake.
They trembled because the Lord was angry.
9 Smoke came out of his nose,
and burning fire came out of his mouth.
Burning coals went before him.
10 He tore open the sky and came down
with dark clouds under his feet.
11 He rode a creature with wings and flew.
He raced on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness his shelter,
surrounded by fog and clouds.
13 Out of the brightness of his presence
came flashes of lightning.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High raised his voice.
15 He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies.
His bolts of lightning confused them with fear.
16 The Lord spoke strongly.
The wind blew from his nose.
Then the valleys of the sea appeared,
and the foundations of the earth were seen.
17 “The Lord reached down from above and took me;
he pulled me from the deep water.
18 He saved me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me, because they were too strong for me.
19 They attacked me at my time of trouble,
but the Lord supported me.
20 He took me to a safe place.
Because he delights in me, he saved me.
21 “The Lord spared me because I did what was right.
Because I have not done evil, he has rewarded me.
22 I have followed the ways of the Lord;
I have not done evil by turning from my God.
23 I remember all his laws
and have not broken his rules.
24 I am innocent before him;
I have kept myself from doing evil.
25 The Lord rewarded me because I did what was right,
because I did what the Lord said was right.
26 “Lord, you are loyal to those who are loyal,
and you are good to those who are good.
27 You are pure to those who are pure,
but you are against those who are evil.
28 You save the humble,
but you bring down those who are proud.
29 Lord, you give light to my lamp.
The Lord brightens the darkness around me.
30 With your help I can attack an army.
With God’s help I can jump over a wall.
31 “The ways of God are without fault;
the Lord’s words are pure.
He is a shield to those who trust him.
32 Who is God? Only the Lord.
Who is the Rock? Only our God.
33 God is my protection.
He makes my way free from fault.
34 He makes me like a deer that does not stumble;
he helps me stand on the steep mountains.
35 He trains my hands for battle
so my arms can bend a bronze bow.
36 You protect me with your saving shield.
You have stooped to make me great.
37 You give me a better way to live,
so I live as you want me to.
38 I chased my enemies and destroyed them.
I did not quit till they were destroyed.
39 I destroyed and crushed them
so they couldn’t rise up again.
They fell beneath my feet.
40 You gave me strength in battle.
You made my enemies bow before me.
41 You made my enemies turn back,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They called for help,
but no one came to save them.
They called to the Lord,
but he did not answer them.
43 I beat my enemies into pieces,
like dust on the ground.
I poured them out and walked on them
like mud in the streets.
44 “You saved me when my people attacked me.
You kept me as the leader of nations.
People I never knew serve me.
45 Foreigners obey me.
As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
46 They all become afraid
and tremble in their hiding places.
47 “The Lord lives!
May my Rock be praised!
Praise God, the Rock, who saves me!
48 God gives me victory over my enemies
and brings people under my rule.
49 He frees me from my enemies.
“You set me over those who hate me.
You saved me from violent people.
50 So I will praise you, Lord, among the nations.
I will sing praises to your name.
51 The Lord gives great victories to his king.
He is loyal to his appointed king,
to David and his descendants forever.”
Other Apostles Accepted Paul
2 After fourteen years I went to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas. I also took Titus with me. 2 I went because God showed me I should go. I met with the believers there, and in private I told their leaders the Good News that I preach to the non-Jewish people. I did not want my past work and the work I am now doing to be wasted. 3 Titus was with me, but he was not forced to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 We talked about this problem because some false believers had come into our group secretly. They came in like spies to overturn the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to make us slaves. 5 But we did not give in to those false believers for a minute. We wanted the truth of the Good News to continue for you.
6 Those leaders who seemed to be important did not change the Good News that I preach. (It doesn’t matter to me if they were “important” or not. To God everyone is the same.) 7 But these leaders saw that I had been given the work of telling the Good News to those who are not Jewish, just as Peter had the work of telling the Jews. 8 God gave Peter the power to work as an apostle for the Jewish people. But he also gave me the power to work as an apostle for those who are not Jews. 9 James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, understood that God had given me this special grace, so they accepted Barnabas and me. They agreed that they would go to the Jewish people and that we should go to those who are not Jewish. 10 The only thing they asked us was to remember to help the poor—something I really wanted to do.
Paul Shows that Peter Was Wrong
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I challenged him to his face, because he was wrong. 12 Peter ate with the non-Jewish people until some Jewish people sent from James came to Antioch. When they arrived, Peter stopped eating with those who weren’t Jewish, and he separated himself from them. He was afraid of the Jews. 13 So Peter was a hypocrite, as were the other Jewish believers who joined with him. Even Barnabas was influenced by what these Jewish believers did. 14 When I saw they were not following the truth of the Good News, I spoke to Peter in front of them all. I said, “Peter, you are a Jew, but you are not living like a Jew. You are living like those who are not Jewish. So why do you now try to force those who are not Jewish to live like Jews?”
15 We were not born as non-Jewish “sinners,” but as Jews. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we followed the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law.
17 We Jews came to Christ, trying to be made right with God, and it became clear that we are sinners, too. Does this mean that Christ encourages sin? No! 18 But I would really be wrong to begin teaching again those things that I gave up. 19 It was the law that put me to death, and I died to the law so that I can now live for God. 20 I was put to death on the cross with Christ, and I do not live anymore—it is Christ who lives in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself to save me. 21 By saying these things I am not going against God’s grace. Just the opposite, if the law could make us right with God, then Christ’s death would be useless.
Prophecy Against Egypt
29 It was the tenth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 2 “Human, look toward the king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and all Egypt. 3 Say: ‘This is what the Lord God says:
I am against you, king of Egypt.
You are like a great crocodile that lies in the Nile River.
You say, “The Nile is mine;
I made it for myself.”
4 But I will put hooks in your jaws,
and I will make the fish of the Nile stick to your sides.
I will pull you up out of your rivers,
with all the fish sticking to your sides.
5 I will leave you in the desert,
you and all the fish from your rivers.
You will fall onto the ground;
you will not be picked up or buried.
I have given you to the wild animals
and to the birds of the sky for food.
6 Then all the people who live in Egypt will know that I am the Lord.
“‘Israel tried to lean on you for help, but you were like a crutch made out of a weak stalk of grass. 7 When their hands grabbed you, you splintered and tore open their shoulders. When they leaned on you, you broke and made all their backs twist.
8 “‘So this is what the Lord God says: I will cause an enemy to attack you and kill your people and animals. 9 Egypt will become an empty desert. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
“‘Because you said, “The Nile River is mine, and I have made it,” 10 I am against you and your rivers. I will destroy the land of Egypt and make it an empty desert from Migdol in the north to Aswan in the south, all the way to the border of Cush. 11 No person or animal will walk through it, and no one will live in Egypt for forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt the most deserted country of all. Her cities will be the most deserted of all ruined cities for forty years. I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, spreading them among the countries.
13 “‘This is what the Lord God says: After forty years I will gather Egypt from the nations where they have been scattered. 14 I will bring back the Egyptian captives and make them return to southern Egypt, to the land they came from. They will become a weak kingdom there. 15 It will be the weakest kingdom, and it will never again rule other nations. I will make it so weak it will never again rule over the nations. 16 The Israelites will never again depend on Egypt. Instead, Egypt’s punishment will remind the Israelites of their sin in turning to Egypt for help. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.’”
Egypt Is Given to Babylon
17 It was the twenty-seventh year of our captivity, in the first month, on the first day of the month. The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: 18 “Human, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army fight hard against Tyre. Every soldier’s head was rubbed bare, and every shoulder was rubbed raw. But Nebuchadnezzar and his army gained nothing from fighting Tyre. 19 So this is what the Lord God says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He will take away Egypt’s people and its wealth and its treasures as pay for his army. 20 I am giving Nebuchadnezzar the land of Egypt as a reward for working hard for me, says the Lord God.
21 “At that time I will make Israel grow strong again, and I will let you, Ezekiel, speak to them. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
God Saved Israel from Egypt
A maskil of Asaph.
78 My people, listen to my teaching;
listen to what I say.
2 I will speak using stories;
I will tell secret things from long ago.
3 We have heard them and known them
by what our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not keep them from our children;
we will tell those who come later
about the praises of the Lord.
We will tell about his power
and the miracles he has done.
5 The Lord made an agreement with Jacob
and gave the teachings to Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach to their children.
6 Then their children would know them,
even their children not yet born.
And they would tell their children.
7 So they would all trust God
and would not forget what he had done
but would obey his commands.
8 They would not be like their ancestors
who were stubborn and disobedient.
Their hearts were not loyal to God,
and they were not true to him.
9 The men of Ephraim had bows for weapons,
but they ran away on the day of battle.
10 They didn’t keep their agreement with God
and refused to live by his teachings.
11 They forgot what he had done
and the miracles he had shown them.
12 He did miracles while their ancestors watched,
in the fields of Zoan in Egypt.
13 He divided the Red Sea and led them through.
He made the water stand up like a wall.
14 He led them with a cloud by day
and by the light of a fire by night.
15 He split the rocks in the desert
and gave them more than enough water, as if from the deep ocean.
16 He brought streams out of the rock
and caused water to flow down like rivers.
17 But the people continued to sin against him;
in the desert they turned against God Most High.
18 They decided to test God
by asking for the food they wanted.
19 Then they spoke against God,
saying, “Can God prepare food in the desert?
20 When he hit the rock, water poured out
and rivers flowed down.
But can he give us bread also?
Will he provide his people with meat?”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was very angry.
His anger was like fire to the people of Jacob;
his anger grew against the people of Israel.
22 They had not believed God
and had not trusted him to save them.
23 But he gave a command to the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained manna down on them to eat;
he gave them grain from heaven.
25 So they ate the bread of angels.
He sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He sent the east wind from heaven
and led the south wind by his power.
27 He rained meat on them like dust.
The birds were as many as the sand of the sea.
28 He made the birds fall inside the camp,
all around the tents.
29 So the people ate and became very full.
God had given them what they wanted.
30 While they were still eating,
and while the food was still in their mouths,
31 God became angry with them.
He killed some of the healthiest of them;
he struck down the best young men of Israel.
32 But they kept on sinning;
they did not believe even with the miracles.
33 So he ended their days without meaning
and their years in terror.
34 Anytime he killed them, they would look to him for help;
they would come back to God and follow him.
35 They would remember that God was their Rock,
that God Most High had saved them.
36 But their words were false,
and their tongues lied to him.
37 Their hearts were not really loyal to God;
they did not keep his agreement.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.