M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
32 Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak.
Let the earth hear the sayings from my mouth.
2 Let my teaching drop down like rain,
and let my sayings distill like dew,
like raindrops on grass,
like showers on green plants.
3 Yes, I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Ascribe greatness to our God.
4 He is the Rock! Perfect is his work.
Indeed all of his ways are justice.
He is a faithful God. He does no wrong.
Righteous and upright is he.
5 Israel acted corruptly against him.
They are not his children.
That is their fault.[a]
They are a twisted and crooked generation.
6 Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish people, who are not wise?
Is he not your father, who created you,
who made you and established you?
7 Remember the days of the distant past.
Consider the years of many generations.
Ask your father and he will tell you about it.
Ask your elders and they will describe it to you.
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
when he separated the children of Adam,
he established the boundaries for peoples
according to the number of the sons of Israel.[b]
9 But the allotment for the Lord is his people.
Jacob is the territory that is his possession.
10 The Lord found Jacob in a wild land,
in a desolate land, in a howling wasteland.
He encircled him. He cared for him.
He guarded him like the pupil of his eye.
11 As an eagle rises from its nest
and hovers over its young,
then spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on the edge of its wings,
12 so the Lord alone led Israel.
There was no foreign god with him.
13 He caused them to ride over the high places of the land,
and they ate the produce from the fields.
He caused them to suck honey from the rocks
and olive oil from the hardest flint.
14 He fed them with curds from the cattle and milk from the flocks,
with fat lambs, rams, and goats from Bashan,
with the very best wheat,
and they drank foaming wine, the blood of the grape.
15 Jeshurun[c] grew fat and kicked.
You grew fat, you were stout, you were stuffed.
Then he abandoned the God who made him,
and he mocked the Rock who saved him.
16 They made him jealous with strange gods.
They provoked him with abominations.
17 They sacrificed to demons that are not gods,
to gods they had not known,
to newcomers from their neighbors,
gods whom your fathers did not fear.
18 You failed to remember the Rock who conceived you.
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
19 The Lord saw this and rejected them,
because his sons and daughters had provoked him.
20 So the Lord said:[d]
I will hide my face from them,
until I see what their final condition will be,
because they are a twisted generation,
children who cannot be trusted.
21 They have made me jealous with their non-gods.
They have provoked me with their useless things.
So I will make them jealous by a non-people.
By a foolish nation I will provoke them.
22 For a fire has been ignited by my anger,
and it burns to the depths of hell.[e]
It devours the earth and its produce.
It sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.
23 I will pile up disasters for them.
I will use up all my arrows on them.
24 They will be sucked dry by hunger and burned up by fever.
I will send them bitter destruction.
Wild animals will sink their teeth into them
with the burning venom of snakes that crawl in the dust.
25 In the street the sword will take away their children.
Inside the houses terror will fill young man and
young woman alike,
the nursing child, together with the gray-haired old man.
26 I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces.
I will erase their memory from mankind,”
27 if I had not dreaded the taunting of the enemy.
I did not want their adversaries to misunderstand.
I did not want them to say,
“Our hand is high-and-mighty,
and the Lord has not done any of this.”
28 For they are a nation that never takes advice,
and they understand nothing.
29 If only they had been wise,
they would have comprehended this.
They would have understood
what the final outcome would be.
30 How could one pursue a thousand,
and two chase away ten thousand,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and the Lord had handed them over?
31 Yes, their rock is not like our Rock,
as our enemies themselves recognize.
32 For their vine grows from the vine of Sodom
and from the fields of Gomorrah.
Their grapes are poison grapes.
They have bitter clusters.
33 Their wine is burning snake venom
and the deadly poison of cobras.
34 Do I not have all this stored up with me?
Is this not sealed up in my storehouses?
35 To me belongs vengeance and repayment.
It will come at the time when their foot slips.
Indeed, the day of their disaster is near,
and their impending doom is coming quickly.
36 Yes, the Lord will judge his people,
but he will change his course of action toward his servants
when he sees that their strength is exhausted,
and that there are none left, either as prisoners or still free.
37 Then he will say:
Where are their gods,
the rock in which they sought refuge,
38 the gods that ate the fat of their sacrifices
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise up and help you.
Let them be a shelter over you.
39 Now see that I, only I, am he,
and there is not a god comparable to me.
I put to death and I make alive.
I wound and I heal.
There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven,
and I swear: “As I live forever,
41 if I sharpen the lightning, which is my sword,
and my hand grabs hold of judgment,
I will take revenge against my adversaries,
and I will repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword will devour flesh
from the blood of the slain and the captives,
from the long-haired heads of the enemy.”
43 Shout out with a cry of joy, you nations, because of his people,
for he will avenge the blood of his servants,[f]
and he will return vengeance to his adversaries,
but he will atone for the ground, for his people.
44 Moses came along with Hoshea[g] son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.
45 Then when Moses had finished speaking all of these words to all Israel, 46 he also said to them:
“Direct your heart to all the words that I am calling as a witness against you today. Instruct your children with them so that they may be careful to carry out all the words of this law, 47 for it is not empty talk for you, because it is your life. By this word you will live long on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”
48 On this same day the Lord spoke to Moses:
49 “Go up to Mount Nebo, this mountain of the Abarim range, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan that I am giving to the people of Israel as a possession, 50 and die on the mountain that you are about to ascend and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. 51 This will happen because you broke faith with me among the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin, by not treating me as holy among the people of Israel. 52 You may view the land from a distance, but you will not go into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Ayin: It Is Time to Act
121 I have carried out what is just and right.
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee good for your servant.
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes wear out,
as I watch for your salvation and your righteousness.
124 Deal with your servant according to your mercy,
and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant. Give me discernment,
so that I may know your testimonies.
126 Lord, it is time to do something!
They have broken your laws.
127 Because I love your commandments more than gold,
more than pure gold,
128 because I value everything in all your precepts,
I hate every wrong road.
Pe: Streams of Tears
129 Your testimonies are wonders.
That is why my soul guards them.
130 The doorway to your words lets in light.
It gives understanding to the inexperienced.
131 I open wide my mouth and I gasp,
because I long for your commandments.
132 Turn to me and give me grace.
This is your judgment for those who love your name.[a]
133 Keep my footsteps steady by your sayings,
and do not let any evil rule over me.
134 Redeem me from oppressive people,
and I will keep your precepts.
135 Make your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136 Streams of water run down from my eyes,
because they do not keep your laws.
Tsadhe: My Zeal for the Word
137 You are righteous, O Lord,
and your judgments are right.
138 You have commanded your testimonies.
They are righteous and very trustworthy.
139 My zeal wears me out,
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your saying has been thoroughly refined,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am insignificant and despised,
but I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is truth.
143 Distress and anguish have found me,
but your commandments are my delights.
144 Your testimonies are right forever.
Give me understanding, and I will live.
Guilt Separates People From God
59
Listen to me! The Lord’s arm is not too short to save,
and his ear is not too deaf to hear.
2 No, it is your guilt that has separated you from your God,
and your sins have hidden God’s face from you,
so that he does not hear.
3 Look, your hands are polluted with blood,
and your fingers drip guilt.
Your lips speak lies.
Your tongue mutters dishonesty.
4 No one calls for justice,
and no one argues his cases honestly.
They rely on empty arguments and commit perjury!
They conceive trouble and give birth to wickedness!
5 They hatch viper eggs,
and they weave spider webs.
Anyone who eats their eggs will die,
and a cracked egg hatches into a venomous snake.
6 They cannot make a garment from their webs,
and they will not be able to cover themselves with their deeds.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and violent actions fill their hands.
7 Their feet run to do evil,
and they hurry to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are futile[a] thoughts.
Destruction and ruin are the destination of their highways.
8 They do not know the road to peace,
and there is no justice on the route they follow.
They made crooked paths for themselves.
No one who walks on them will experience peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but look, there is only darkness.
We hope for bright light, but we walk around in the darkest gloom.
10 We grope along a wall like blind men.
We grope like people with no eyes.
We stumble at noon as if it were twilight.
Among the healthy, we are like dead men.
11 We growl like bears—all of us—
and like doves we always mourn.
We hope for justice, but there is none.
We hope for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 Yes, our rebellious deeds are many before you,
and our sins testify against us.
Our rebellious deeds are with us,
and as for our guilty deeds, we are aware of them.
13 Those deeds are rebellion and treachery against the Lord.
We turn back from following our God.
We incite oppression and apostasy.
We conceive and mutter deceitful words from our hearts.
14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away,
for truth stumbles in the city square,
and honesty cannot enter it.
15 The truth is missing,
and anyone who turns from evil makes himself prey.[b]
The Lord looked and saw something evil—
there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one.
He was appalled that there was no one who could intervene.
So his own arm worked salvation for him,
and his own righteousness supported him.
17 He clothed himself with righteousness like armor
and wore a helmet of salvation on his head.
He dressed in garments for vengeance,
and he wrapped himself with zeal like a cloak.
18 He will repay in full what they have earned,
namely, wrath to his foes and full payment to his enemies.
He will repay even the distant coastlands.
19 From the west they will fear the Lord’s name,
and from the rising of the sun they will fear his glory,
for he will come like a raging river,
driven by the Spirit[c] of the Lord.
20 Then a redeemer will come for Zion
and for those in Jacob who turn from rebellion.
This is the declaration of the Lord.
21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord. My Spirit, who is upon you, and my words, which I placed in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth or from the mouth of your offspring or from the mouth of their offspring, from this time forward and forever, says the Lord.
Consider the Beam in Your Own Eye
7 “Stop judging, so that you will not be judged. 2 For with whatever standard you judge, you will be judged, and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you focus on[a] the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4 How will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ when, in fact, you have a beam in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Do Not Throw Your Pearls to Pigs
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.
Keep Praying
7 “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. 9 Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone? 10 Or who, if his son asks for a fish, would give him a snake? 11 Then if you know how to give good gifts to your children, even though you are evil, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “So do for others whatever you want people to do for you, because this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow Gate
13 “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it. 14 How narrow is the gate, and how difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Watch Out for False Prophets
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. You do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do you? 17 So then, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
Wise and Foolish Builders
24 “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on bedrock. 25 The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on bedrock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—it was completely destroyed.”
28 When Jesus finished speaking these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught them as one who had authority, and not like their experts in the law.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.