M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Saul Fears David
18 When David finished talking with Saul, Jonathan felt very close to David. He loved David as much as he loved himself. 2 Saul kept David with him from that day on and did not let him go home to his father’s house. 3 Jonathan made an agreement with David, because he loved David as much as himself. 4 He took off his coat and gave it to David, along with his armor, including his sword, bow, and belt.
5 Saul sent David to fight in different battles, and David was very successful. Then Saul put David over the soldiers, which pleased Saul’s officers and all the other people.
6 After David had killed the Philistine, he and the men returned home. Women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul. They sang songs of joy, danced, and played tambourines and stringed instruments. 7 As they played, they sang,
“Saul has killed thousands of his enemies,
but David has killed tens of thousands.”
8 The women’s song upset Saul, and he became very angry. He thought, “The women say David has killed tens of thousands, but they say I have killed only thousands. The only thing left for him to have is the kingdom!” 9 So Saul watched David closely from then on, because he was jealous.
10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he prophesied in his house. David was playing the harp as he usually did, but Saul had a spear in his hand. 11 He threw the spear, thinking, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David escaped from him twice.
12 The Lord was with David but had left Saul. So Saul was afraid of David. 13 He sent David away and made him commander of a thousand soldiers. So David led them in battle. 14 He had great success in everything he did because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw that David was very successful, he feared David even more. 16 But all the people of Israel and Judah loved David because he led them well in battle.
Saul’s Daughter Marries David
17 Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will let you marry her. All I ask is that you remain brave and fight the Lord’s battles.” Saul thought, “I won’t have to kill David. The Philistines will do that.”
18 But David answered Saul, saying, “Who am I? My family is not important enough for me to become the king’s son-in-law.” 19 So, when the time came for Saul’s daughter Merab to marry David, Saul gave her instead to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now Saul’s other daughter, Michal, loved David. When they told Saul, he was pleased. 21 He thought, “I will let her marry David. Then she will be a trap for him, and the Philistines will defeat him.” So Saul said to David a second time, “You may become my son-in-law.”
22 And Saul ordered his servants to talk with David in private and say, “Look, the king likes you. His servants love you. You should be his son-in-law.”
23 Saul’s servants said these words to David, but David answered, “Do you think it is easy to become the king’s son-in-law? I am poor and unimportant.”
24 When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul said, “Tell David, ‘The king doesn’t want money for the bride. All he wants is a hundred Philistine foreskins to get even with his enemies.’” Saul planned to let the Philistines kill David.
26 When Saul’s servants told this to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. 27 So he and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. David brought all their foreskins to Saul so he could be the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal for his wife. 28 Saul saw that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David. 29 So he grew even more afraid of David, and he was David’s enemy all his life.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to fight the Israelites, but every time, David was more skillful than Saul’s officers. So he became famous.
Greetings to the Christians
16 I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a helper[a] in the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to accept her in the Lord in the way God’s people should. Help her with anything she needs, because she has helped me and many other people also.
3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, who work together with me in Christ Jesus 4 and who risked their own lives to save my life. I am thankful to them, and all the non-Jewish churches are thankful as well. 5 Also, greet for me the church that meets at their house.
Greetings to my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first person in Asia to follow Christ. 6 Greetings to Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greetings to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives, who were in prison with me. They are very important apostles. They were believers in Christ before I was. 8 Greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Greetings to Urbanus, a worker together with me for Christ. And greetings to my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greetings to Apelles, who was tested and proved that he truly loves Christ. Greetings to all those who are in the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greetings to Herodion, my fellow citizen. Greetings to all those in the family of Narcissus who belong to the Lord. 12 Greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, women who work very hard for the Lord. Greetings to my dear friend Persis, who also has worked very hard for the Lord. 13 Greetings to Rufus, who is a special person in the Lord, and to his mother, who has been like a mother to me also. 14 Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all God’s people with them. 16 Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of Christ’s churches send greetings to you.
17 Brothers and sisters, I ask you to look out for those who cause people to be against each other and who upset other people’s faith. They are against the true teaching you learned, so stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving our Lord Christ but are only doing what pleases themselves. They use fancy talk and fine words to fool the minds of those who do not know about evil. 19 All the believers have heard that you obey, so I am very happy because of you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.
20 The God who brings peace will soon defeat Satan and give you power over him.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy, a worker together with me, sends greetings, as well as Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.
22 I am Tertius, and I am writing this letter from Paul. I send greetings to you in the Lord.
23 Gaius is letting me and the whole church here use his home. He also sends greetings to you, as do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus. [24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.][b]
25 Glory to God who can make you strong in faith by the Good News that I tell people and by the message about Jesus Christ. The message about Christ is the secret that was hidden for long ages past but is now made known. 26 It has been made clear through the writings of the prophets. And by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations that they might believe and obey.
27 To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
The Meaning of Suffering
3 I am a man who has seen the suffering
that comes from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
2 He led me
into darkness, not light.
3 He turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
4 He wore out my flesh and skin
and broke my bones.
5 He surrounded me with sadness
and attacked me with grief.
6 He made me sit in the dark,
like those who have been dead a long time.
7 He shut me in so I could not get out;
he put heavy chains on me.
8 I cry out and beg for help,
but he ignores my prayer.
9 He blocked my way with a stone wall
and led me in the wrong direction.
10 He is like a bear ready to attack me,
like a lion in hiding.
11 He led me the wrong way and let me stray
and left me without help.
12 He prepared to shoot his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.
13 He shot me in the kidneys
with the arrows from his bag.
14 I was a joke to all my people,
who make fun of me with songs all day long.
15 The Lord filled me with misery;
he made me drunk with suffering.
16 He broke my teeth with gravel
and trampled me into the dirt.
17 I have no more peace.
I have forgotten what happiness is.
18 I said, “My strength is gone,
and I have no hope in the Lord.”
19 Lord, remember my suffering and my misery,
my sorrow and trouble.
20 Please remember me
and think about me.
21 But I have hope
when I think of this:
22 The Lord’s love never ends;
his mercies never stop.
23 They are new every morning;
Lord, your loyalty is great.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is mine,
so I hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who hope in him,
to those who seek him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the Lord to save.
27 It is good for someone to work hard
while he is young.
28 He should sit alone and be quiet;
the Lord has given him hard work to do.
29 He should bow down to the ground;
maybe there is still hope.
30 He should let anyone slap his cheek;
he should be filled with shame.
31 The Lord will not reject
his people forever.
32 Although he brings sorrow,
he also has mercy and great love.
33 He does not like to punish people
or make them sad.
34 He sees if any prisoner of the earth
is crushed under his feet;
35 he sees if someone is treated unfairly
before the Most High God;
36 the Lord sees
if someone is cheated in his case in court.
37 Nobody can speak and have it happen
unless the Lord commands it.
38 Both bad and good things
come by the command of the Most High God.
39 No one should complain
when he is punished for his sins.
40 Let us examine and see what we have done
and then return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hands and pray from our hearts
to God in heaven:
42 “We have sinned and turned against you,
and you have not forgiven us.
43 “You wrapped yourself in anger and chased us;
you killed us without mercy.
44 You wrapped yourself in a cloud,
and no prayer could get through.
45 You made us like scum and trash
among the other nations.
46 “All of our enemies
open their mouths and speak against us.
47 We have been frightened and fearful,
ruined and destroyed.”
48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
because my people are destroyed.
49 My tears flow continually,
without stopping,
50 until the Lord looks down
and sees from heaven.
51 I am sad when I see
what has happened to all the women of my city.
52 Those who are my enemies for no reason
hunted me like a bird.
53 They tried to kill me in a pit;
they threw stones at me.
54 Water came up over my head,
and I said, “I am going to die.”
55 I called out to you, Lord,
from the bottom of the pit.
56 You heard me calling, “Do not close your ears
and ignore my gasps and shouts.”
57 You came near when I called to you;
you said, “Don’t be afraid.”
58 Lord, you have taken my case
and given me back my life.
59 Lord, you have seen how I have been wronged.
Now judge my case for me.
60 You have seen how my enemies took revenge on me
and made evil plans against me.
61 Lord, you have heard their insults
and all their evil plans against me.
62 The words and thoughts of my enemies
are against me all the time.
63 Look! In everything they do
they make fun of me with songs.
64 Pay them back, Lord,
for what they have done.
65 Make them stubborn,
and put your curse on them.
66 Chase them in anger, Lord,
and destroy them from under your heavens.
Praise God Who Judges and Saves
David’s song from the time he acted crazy so Abimelech would send him away, and David did leave.
34 I will praise the Lord at all times;
his praise is always on my lips.
2 My whole being praises the Lord.
The poor will hear and be glad.
3 Glorify the Lord with me,
and let us praise his name together.
4 I asked the Lord for help, and he answered me.
He saved me from all that I feared.
5 Those who go to him for help are happy,
and they are never disgraced.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear God,
and he saves them.
8 Examine and see how good the Lord is.
Happy is the person who trusts him.
9 You who belong to the Lord, fear him!
Those who fear him will have everything they need.
10 Even lions may get weak and hungry,
but those who look to the Lord will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
I will teach you to worship the Lord.
12 You must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days.
13 You must not say evil things,
and you must not tell lies.
14 Stop doing evil and do good.
Look for peace and work for it.
15 The Lord sees the good people
and listens to their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil;
he makes the world forget them.
17 The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him,
and he saves them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 People who do what is right may have many problems,
but the Lord will solve them all.
20 He will protect their very bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate good people will be judged guilty.
22 But the Lord saves his servants’ lives;
no one who trusts him will be judged guilty.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.