M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
1 Now after the death of Saul, when David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, he had stayed two days in Ziklag,
2 When on the third day a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance.
3 David said to him, Where have you come from? He said, I have escaped from the camp of Israel.
4 David said to him, How did it go? Tell me. He answered, The men have fled from the battle. Many have fallen and are dead; Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
5 David said to the young man, How do you know Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?
6 The young man said, By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa and I saw Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and horsemen were close behind him.
7 When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, Here I am.
8 He asked me, Who are you? I answered, An Amalekite.
9 He said to me, Rise up against me and slay me; for terrible dizziness has come upon me, yet my life is still in me [and I will be taken alive].
10 So I stood up against him and slew him, because I was sure he could not live after he had fallen. So I took the crown on his head and the bracelet on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.(A)
11 Then David grasped his own clothes and tore them; so did all the men with him.
12 They mourned and wept for Saul and Jonathan his son, and fasted until evening for the Lord’s people and the house of Israel, because of their defeat in battle.
13 David said to the young man who told him, Where are you from? He answered, I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.
14 David said to him, Why were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?
15 David called one of the young men and said, Go near and fall upon him. And he smote him so that he died.
16 David said to [the fallen man], Your blood be upon your own head; for you have testified against yourself, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed.
17 David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son,
18 And he commanded to teach it, [the lament of] the bow, to the Israelites. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar:
19 Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your high places. How have the mighty fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath, announce it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
21 O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, or fields with offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, as though he were not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In their lives and in their deaths they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
24 You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with [other] delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
25 How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
27 How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
12 Now about the spiritual gifts (the special endowments of supernatural energy), brethren, I do not want you to be misinformed.
2 You know that when you were heathen, you were led off after idols that could not speak [habitually] as impulse directed and whenever the occasion might arise.
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking under the power and influence of the [Holy] Spirit of God can [ever] say, Jesus be cursed! And no one can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, [a]extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the [Holy] Spirit remains the same.
5 And there are distinctive varieties of service and ministration, but it is the same Lord [Who is served].
6 And there are distinctive varieties of operation [of working to accomplish things], but it is the same God Who inspires and energizes them all in all.
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the [Holy] Spirit [the evidence, the spiritual illumination of the Spirit] for good and profit.
8 To one is given in and through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] a message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] a word of knowledge and understanding according to the same [Holy] Spirit;
9 To another [[b]wonder-working] faith by the same [Holy] Spirit, to another the extraordinary powers of healing by the one Spirit;
10 To another the working of miracles, to another prophetic insight ([c]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose); to another the ability to discern and distinguish between [the utterances of true] spirits [and false ones], to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues, to another the ability to interpret [such] tongues.
11 All these [gifts, achievements, abilities] are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually [exactly] as He chooses.
12 For just as the body is a unity and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so it is with Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
13 For by [[d]means of the personal agency of] one [Holy] Spirit we were all, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, baptized [and [e]by baptism united together] into one body, and all made to drink of one [Holy] Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one limb or organ but of many.
15 If the foot should say, Because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not [a part] of the body?
16 If the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body, would it be therefore not [a part] of the body?
17 If the whole body were an eye, where [would be the sense of] hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where [would be the sense of] smell?
18 But as it is, God has placed and arranged the limbs and organs in the body, each [particular one] of them, just as He wished and saw fit and with the best adaptation.
19 But if [the whole] were all a single organ, where would the body be?
20 And now there are [certainly] many limbs and organs, but a single body.
21 And the eye is not able to say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 But instead, there is [absolute] necessity for the parts of the body that are considered the more weak.
23 And those [parts] of the body which we consider rather ignoble are [the very parts] which we invest with additional honor, and our unseemly parts and those unsuitable for exposure are treated with seemliness (modesty and decorum),
24 Which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted (mingled, harmonized, and subtly proportioned the parts of) the whole body, giving the greater honor and richer endowment to the inferior parts which lack [apparent importance],
25 So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another.
26 And if one member suffers, all the parts [share] the suffering; if one member is honored, all the members [share in] the enjoyment of it.
27 Now you [collectively] are Christ’s body and [individually] you are members of it, each part severally and distinct [each with his own place and function].
28 So God has appointed some in the church [[f]for His own use]: first apostles (special messengers); second prophets (inspired preachers and expounders); third teachers; then wonder-workers; then those with ability to heal the sick; helpers; administrators; [speakers in] different (unknown) tongues.
29 Are all apostles (special messengers)? Are all prophets (inspired interpreters of the will and purposes of God)? Are all teachers? Do all have the power of performing miracles?
30 Do all possess extraordinary powers of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
31 But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all—love].
10 Then I looked and behold, in the firmament that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something looking like a sapphire stone, in form resembling a throne.
2 And [the Lord] spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, Go in among the whirling wheels under the cherubim; fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim and scatter them over the city. And he went in before my eyes.(A)
3 Now the cherubim stood on the south side of the house when the man went in; and the cloud [the Shekinah] filled the inner court.
4 Then the glory of the Lord mounted up from the cherubim to stand over the threshold of the [Lord’s] house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory.(B)
5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.(C)
6 And when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, [the man] went in and stood beside a wheel.
7 And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
8 And the cherubim seemed to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
9 And I looked and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one cherub and another wheel beside another cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling chrysolite.
10 And as for their appearance, they four looked alike, as if a wheel had been within a wheel.
11 When they went, they went in any one of the four directions [in which their four individual faces were turned]; they did not turn as they went, but to the place to which the front wheel faced the others followed; they turned not as they went.
12 And their whole body, their backs, their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that each had.
13 As regarding the wheels [attached to them], they were called in my hearing the whirling wheels.
14 And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, the second the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 And the cherubim mounted upward. This is the [same] living creature [the four regarded as one] that I saw by the river Chebar [in Babylonia].(D)
16 And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels did not turn from beside them.
17 When those stood still, these stood still; and when those mounted up, these [the wheels] mounted up also, for the spirit of life was in these [wheels].(E)
18 Then the glory of the Lord [the Shekinah, cloud] went forth from above the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.
19 And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight, and they went forth with the wheels beside them; and they stood at the entrance of the East Gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel [the Shekinah, cloud] was over them.
20 This is the living creature [of four combined creatures] that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubim.
21 Each one had four faces and each one had four wings, and what looked like the hands of a man was under their wings.
22 And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces which I saw by the river Chebar, with regard to their appearances and themselves; they went every one straight forward.
Psalm 49
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all you inhabitants of the world,
2 Both low and high, rich and poor together:
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will submit and consent to a parable or proverb; to the music of a lyre I will unfold my riddle (my problem).
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of those who would supplant me surrounds me on every side,
6 Even of those who trust in and lean on their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him—
8 For the ransom of a life is too costly, and [the price one can pay] can never suffice—
9 So that he should live on forever and never see the pit (the grave) and corruption.
10 For he sees that even wise men die; the [self-confident] fool and the stupid alike perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands their own [apart from God] and after their own names.
12 But man, with all his honor and pomp, does not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident, yet after them men approve their sayings. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the place of the dead); death shall be their shepherd. And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their form and beauty shall be consumed, for Sheol shall be their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol (the place of the dead); for He will receive me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
16 Be not afraid when [an ungodly] one is made rich, when the wealth and glory of his house are increased;
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he counts himself happy and prosperous, and though a man gets praise when he does well [for himself],
19 He will go to the generation of his fathers, who will nevermore see the light.
20 A man who is held in honor and understands not is like the beasts that perish.
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