M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Joshua Takes Moses’s Place
31 Then Moses continued to speak these[a] words to all Israel, 2 saying, “I am now 120 years old;(A) I can no longer act as your leader.[b] The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’(B) 3 The Lord your God is the one who will cross ahead of you.(C) He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.(D) 4 The Lord will deal with them as he did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.(E) 5 The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous;(F) don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you;(G) he will not leave you or abandon you.”(H)
7 Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with[c] this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their ancestors.(I) You will enable them to take possession of it. 8 The Lord is the one who will go before you.(J) He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.(K) Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
9 Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation,(L) during the Festival of Shelters,(M) 11 when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he chooses,(N) you are to read this law aloud before all Israel.(O) 12 Gather the people—men, women, dependents, and the resident aliens within your city gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear(P) the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. 13 Then their children(Q) who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
14 The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, 15 the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud,(R) and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.(S)
16 The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors,(T) and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods(U) of the land they are entering. They will abandon me(V) and break the covenant(W) I have made with them. 17 My anger will burn against them on that day;(X) I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey.(Y) Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ 18 I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. 19 Therefore write down this song(Z) for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,[d] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. 20 When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey,(AA) they will eat their fill(AB) and prosper.[e] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me(AC) and breaking my covenant.(AD) 21 And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because[f] their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do,[g] even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” 22 So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.
23 The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”(AE)
Moses Warns the People
24 When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word of this law, 25 he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, 26 “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the Lord now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead! 28 Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.(AF) 29 For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”(AG) 30 Then Moses recited aloud every single word of this song to the entire assembly of Israel:
מ Mem
97 How I love your instruction!(A)
It is my meditation all day long.(B)
98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies,(C)
for it is always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers
because your decrees are my meditation.(D)
100 I understand more than the elders(E)
because I obey your precepts.(F)
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path(G)
to follow your word.
102 I have not turned from your judgments,(H)
for you yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet your word is(I) to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth.
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;(J)
therefore I hate every false way.(K)
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet(L)
and a light on my path.
106 I have solemnly sworn(M)
to keep your righteous judgments.
107 I am severely afflicted;
Lord, give me life according to your word.(N)
108 Lord, please accept my freewill offerings of praise,(O)
and teach me your judgments.(P)
109 My life is constantly in danger,[a]
yet I do not forget your instruction.(Q)
110 The wicked have set a trap for me,(R)
but I have not wandered from your precepts.(S)
111 I have your decrees as a heritage forever;
indeed, they are the joy of my heart.(T)
112 I am resolved to obey your statutes
to the very end.[b](U)
ס Samek
113 I hate those who are double-minded,(V)
but I love your instruction.(W)
114 You are my shelter and my shield;(X)
I put my hope in your word.(Y)
115 Depart from me,(Z) you evil ones,
so that I may obey my God’s commands.(AA)
116 Sustain me as you promised,(AB) and I will live;
do not let me be ashamed of my hope.(AC)
117 Sustain me so that I can be safe(AD)
and always be concerned about your statutes.(AE)
118 You reject all who stray from your statutes,(AF)
for their deceit is a lie.
119 You remove all the wicked on earth
as if they were[c] dross from metal;(AG)
therefore, I love your decrees.(AH)
120 I tremble[d] in awe of you;(AI)
I fear your judgments.
True Fasting
58 “Cry out loudly, don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
Tell my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek me day after day
and delight to know my ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”(A)
3 “Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?(B)
We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!” [a]
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(C)
4 You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5 Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?(D)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,(E)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(F)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(G)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(H)
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?[b](I)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(J)
Your righteousness will go before you,(K)
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.(L)
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;(M)
when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(N)
10 and if you offer yourself[c] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(O)
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden(P)
and like a spring whose water never runs dry.(Q)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(R)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;(S)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13 “If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath,(T)
from doing whatever you want on my holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,(U)
seeking your own pleasure, or talking business;[d][e]
14 then you will delight in the Lord,(V)
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,(W)
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(X)
How to Give
6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness[a] in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.(A) 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[b](B)
How to Pray
5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.(C) 6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[c](D) 7 When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.(E) 8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.(F)
The Lord’s Prayer
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: (G)
Our Father in heaven,
your name be honored as holy.(H)
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.(I)
11 Give us today our daily bread.[d]
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.(J)
13 And do not bring us into[e] temptation,(K)
but deliver us from the evil one.[f](L)
14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.(M) 15 But if you don’t forgive others,[g] your Father will not forgive your offenses.
How to Fast
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces (N) so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,(O) 18 so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[h]
God and Possessions
19 “Don’t store up for yourselves treasures[i] on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.(P) 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,(Q) where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!(R)
24 “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (S)
The Cure for Anxiety
25 “Therefore I tell you:(T) Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?(U) 26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?(V) 27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span[j] by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith?(W) 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God[k](X) and his righteousness,(Y) and all these things will be provided for you.(Z) 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble(AA) of its own.
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