M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David Shames Saul Again

26 The people of Ziph went to see Saul at Gibeah. They said to him, “David is hiding on the hill of Hakilah opposite Jeshimon.”

² So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph. His 3,000 chosen men of Israel went with him. They looked for David in the Desert of Ziph. ³ Saul made his camp on the hill of Hakilah, beside the road opposite Jeshimon. But David stayed in the desert. He heard Saul had followed him. ⁴ So David sent out spies and learned that Saul had come to Hakilah.

⁵ Then David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner were sleeping. Abner was the commander of Saul’s army. Saul was sleeping in the middle of the camp with all the army around him.

⁶ David talked to Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah. Abishai was Joab’s brother. He asked them, “Who will go down into Saul’s camp with me?”

Abishai answered, “I’ll go with you.”

⁷ So that night David and Abishai went into Saul’s camp. Saul was asleep in the middle of the camp. His spear was stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the army were sleeping around Saul. ⁸ Abishai said to David, “Today God has let you defeat your enemy! Let me pin Saul to the ground with the spear. I’ll only do it once! I won’t hit him twice.”

⁹ But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill Saul! No one can harm the Lord’s appointed king and still be innocent! ¹⁰ As surely as the Lord lives, the Lord himself will punish Saul. Maybe Saul will die naturally. Or maybe he will go into battle and be killed. ¹¹ But may the Lord keep me from harming his appointed king! Now pick up the spear and water jug that are near Saul’s head. Then let’s go.”

¹² So David took the spear and water jug that were near Saul’s head. They left, and no one saw them. No one knew about it or woke up. The Lord had made them stay asleep.

¹³ David crossed over to the other side of the hill. He stood on top of the mountain far from Saul’s camp. David’s and Saul’s camps were far apart. ¹⁴ David shouted to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Answer me, Abner!”

Abner answered, “Who is calling for the king? Who are you?”

¹⁵ David said, “You’re the greatest man in Israel. Isn’t that true? Then why didn’t you guard your master the king? Someone came into your camp to kill your master the king! ¹⁶ What you have done is not good. As surely as the Lord lives, you and your men should die. You haven’t guarded your master, the Lord’s appointed king. Look! Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were near his head?”

¹⁷ Saul knew David’s voice. He said, “Is that your voice, David my son?”

David answered, “Yes, it is, my master and king.” ¹⁸ David also said, “Why are you chasing me, my master? What wrong have I done? What evil am I guilty of? ¹⁹ My master and king, listen to me. If the Lord caused you to be angry with me, let him accept an offering. But if men caused you to be angry with me, let the Lord curse them! They have made me leave the land the Lord gave me. They have told me, ‘Go and serve other gods.’ ²⁰ Now don’t let me die far away from the Lord’s presence. The king of Israel has come out looking for a flea! You’re like a man hunting a partridge bird in the mountains!”

²¹ Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Today you respected my life. So I will not try to hurt you. I have acted foolishly. I have made a big mistake.”

²² David answered, “Here is your spear. Let one of your young men come here and get it. ²³ The Lord rewards every man for the things he does right and for his loyalty to him. The Lord put you into my power today. But I wouldn’t harm the Lord’s appointed king. ²⁴ I respected your life today. Surely, in the same way, the Lord will respect my life. Surely he will save me from all trouble.”

²⁵ Then Saul said to David, “You are blessed, my son David. You will do great things and succeed.”

So David went on his way, and Saul went back home.

About Marriage

7 Now I will discuss the things you wrote to me about. It is good for a man not to marry. ² But sexual immorality is a danger. So each man should have his own wife. And each woman should have her own husband. ³ The husband should give his wife all that she should have as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that he should have as her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have power over her own body. Her husband has the power over her body. And the husband does not have power over his own body. His wife has the power over his body. ⁵ Do not refuse to give your bodies to each other. But you might both agree to stay away from intimate relations for a time. You might do this so that you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again. This is so that Satan cannot tempt you in your weakness. ⁶ I say this to give you permission. It is not a command. ⁷ I wish everyone were like me. But each person has his own gift from God. One has one gift, another has another gift.

⁸ Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for them to stay single as I am. ⁹ But if they cannot control their bodies, then they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with lust.

¹⁰ Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband. ¹¹ But if she does leave, she must not marry again. Or she should go back to her husband. Also the husband should not divorce his wife.

¹² For all the others I say this (I am saying this, not the Lord): A brother in Christ might have a wife who is not a believer. If she will live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And a woman might have a husband who is not a believer. If he will live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ The husband who is not a believer is made holy through his believing wife. And the wife who is not a believer is made holy through her believing husband. If this were not true, then your children would not be clean. But now your children are holy.

¹⁵ But if the person who is not a believer decides to leave, let him leave. When this happens, the brother or sister in Christ is free. God called us^[a] to a life of peace. ¹⁶ Wives, maybe you will save your husband; and husbands, maybe you will save your wife. You do not know now what will happen later.

Live As God Called You

¹⁷ But each one should continue to live the way God has given him to live—the way he was when God called him. This is a rule I make in all the churches. ¹⁸ If a man was already circumcised when he was called, he should not change his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was called, he should not be circumcised. ¹⁹ It is not important if a man is circumcised or not circumcised. The important thing is obeying God’s commands. ²⁰ Each one should stay the way he was when God called him. ²¹ If you were a slave when God called you, do not let that bother you. But if you can be free, then become free. ²² The person who was a slave when the Lord called him is free in the Lord. He belongs to the Lord. In the same way, the one who was free when he was called is now Christ’s slave. ²³ You all were bought for a price. So do not become slaves of men. ²⁴ Brothers, in your new life with God each one of you should continue the way you were when you were called.

Questions About Getting Married

²⁵ Now I write about people who are not married. I have no command from the Lord about this, but I give my opinion. And I can be trusted, because the Lord has given me mercy. ²⁶ This is a time of trouble. So I think that it is good for you to stay the way you are. ²⁷ If you have a wife, then do not try to become free from her. If you are not married, then do not try to find a wife. ²⁸ But if you decide to marry, this is not a sin. And it is not a sin for a girl who has never married to get married. But those who marry will have trouble in this life. And I want you to be free from this trouble.

²⁹ Brothers, this is what I mean: We do not have much time left. So starting now, those who have wives should use their time to serve the Lord as if they had no wives. ³⁰ Those who are sad should live as if they are not sad. Those who are happy should live as if they are not happy. Those who buy things should live as if they own nothing. ³¹ Those who use the things of the world should live as if those things are not important to them. You should live like this, because this world, the way it is now, will soon be gone.

³² I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the Lord’s work. He is trying to please the Lord. ³³ But a man who is married is busy with things of the world. He is trying to please his wife. ³⁴ He must think about two things—pleasing his wife and pleasing the Lord. A woman who is not married or a girl who has never married is busy with the Lord’s work. She wants to give herself fully—body and soul—to the Lord. But a married woman is busy with things of the world. She is trying to please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this to help you. I am not trying to limit you. But I want you to live in the right way. And I want you to give yourselves fully to the Lord without giving your time to other things.

³⁶ A man might think that he is not doing the right thing with the girl he is engaged to. The girl might be almost past the best age to marry. So he might feel that he should marry her. He should do what he wants. They should get married. It is no sin. ³⁷ But another man might be more sure in his mind. There may be no need for marriage, so he is free to do what he wants. If he has decided in his own heart not to marry, he is doing the right thing. ³⁸ So the man who marries his girl does right. And the man who does not marry does even better.

³⁹ A woman must stay with her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to marry any man she wants. But she must marry another believer. ⁴⁰ The woman is happier if she does not marry again. This is my opinion, and I believe that I have God’s Spirit.

Ezekiel Cuts His Hair

5 “Now, human being, take a sharp sword. Use it like a barber’s razor to shave your head and beard. Then take scales and weigh and divide the hair. ² Burn one-third with fire when the days of the attack on Jerusalem are over. Burn it in the middle of the city. Then take one-third and cut it up with the knife all around the city. And scatter one-third to the wind. This is how I will chase them with a sword. ³ Also take a few of these hairs and tie them in the folds of your clothes. ⁴ Take a few more and throw them into the fire and burn them up. From there a fire will spread to all the people of Israel.

⁵ “This is what the Lord says: This is Jerusalem. I have put her at the center of the nations with countries all around her. ⁶ But she has refused to obey my laws. She has been more evil than the nations. She has refused to obey my rules even more than those around her. The people of Jerusalem have rejected my laws and have not lived by my rules.

⁷ “So this is what the Lord God says: You caused more confusion than the nations around you. You did not follow my rules or obey my laws. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you.

⁸ “So this is what the Lord God says: I myself am against you. I will punish you and the nations will watch. ⁹ I will do things among you that I have not done before. I will never do anything like them again. I will do them because you do the things I hate. ¹⁰ So fathers among you will eat their children. And children will eat their fathers. I will punish you. I will scatter to the winds all who are left alive. ¹¹ So the Lord God says: As surely as I live, you have made my Temple unclean. You have done it with all your evil idols and the hated things you do. Because of this I will cut you off. I will have no pity. I will show no mercy. ¹² A third of you will die by disease or be destroyed by hunger inside your walls. A third will fall dead by the sword outside your walls. And a third I will scatter in every direction. I will chase them with a sword. ¹³ Then my anger will come to an end. I will use it up against them. Then I will be satisfied. Then they will know that I, the Lord God, have spoken. After I have carried out my anger against them, they will know how strongly I felt.

¹⁴ “I will make you a ruin. And I will make you a shame among the nations around you. All who pass by will see this. ¹⁵ Then you will be shamed by the nations around you. They will make fun of you. You will be a warning to them. They will be terrified. This will happen when I punish you in my great anger. I, the Lord, have spoken. ¹⁶ I will send a time of hunger to destroy you. Then I will make your hunger get even worse. I will cut off your supply of food. ¹⁷ I will send a time of hunger and wild animals against you. They will kill your children. Disease and death will sweep through your people. I will bring the sword against you to kill you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Book 2

Psalms 42—72

Wishing to Be Near God

For the director of music. A maskil of the sons of Korah.

A Prayer for Protection