M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? Am I guilty of something? What is my sin against your father that makes him seek my life?”
2 Jonathan said to him, “A curse on me if that happens.[a] You will not die. Look, my father does nothing whether important or unimportant without telling me about it. Why would my father hide this from me? It is not so.”
3 But David took an oath and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, so he might say, ‘Do not let Jonathan know about this, or he will be very upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives, and as surely as your soul lives, there is only a step between me and death.”
4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Ask me for whatever you really want, and I will do it for you.”
5 David said to Jonathan, “Listen, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am expected to dine with the king, but let me go so that I can hide in the countryside until the evening of the third day. 6 If your father misses me at all, say, ‘David urged me to excuse him so that he could run to Bethlehem, his hometown, because it is the annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 7 If he says, ‘That is fine,’ your servant will be at peace. But if it really displeases him, then you will know that he is planning evil. 8 You must show kindness to your servant, because you have made a covenant in the name of the Lord with me, your servant. But if I am guilty of anything, kill me yourself. Why should you bring me to your father?”
9 Jonathan said, “A curse on me if that occurs, because if I knew that my father was planning to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”
10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father gives you a harsh response?”
11 Jonathan said to David, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So the two of them went out into the field. 12 Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel! About this time tomorrow or the day after, when I have tested my father to see if he is favorably inclined toward David, I will send word to you so that you hear about it. 13 May the Lord punish Jonathan severely and double it,[b] if my father is planning to harm you and I do not disclose it to you and send you on your way, so that you may go in peace. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 You must show the mercy of the Lord to me, not only while I am still alive, so that I do not die, 15 but you also must not cut off your mercy from my house forever—no, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord demand an accounting from David’s enemies.” 17 Then Jonathan had David repeat the oath, because of the love that he had for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day,[c] go down quickly to the place where you hid on the previous occasion and stay by the stone named Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows off to the side of it, as if I were shooting at a target. 21 I will send the boy out and say, ‘Go and find the arrows!’ If I yell to the boy, ‘Hey! The arrows are closer this way. Come and pick them up,’ then you can come to me, because you are safe and, as the Lord lives, there is no danger. 22 But if I yell to the boy, ‘Hey! The arrows are farther out,’ then go on your way, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 Concerning this matter that you and I have spoken about, the Lord stands as a witness between you and me[d] forever.”
24 So David hid in the countryside. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 25 The king sat at his usual seat next to the wall. Jonathan was across from him,[e] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 Nevertheless, Saul did not say anything that day, since he thought, “Something has happened to him to make him ceremonially unclean. That’s what it is—he must be unclean.”
27 On the day after the new moon, the second day of the month, David’s place was still empty. So Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan answered Saul, “David begged me for permission to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city. My brother has ordered me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please excuse me so I can go and see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverted, unfaithful woman! Don’t I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?[f] 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, you will not be established, nor will your kingship. So send for him and bring him to me, because he must surely die!”
32 Jonathan answered his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”
33 Saul threw his spear at him to hit him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger, and he ate no food on the second day of the month, for he grieved for David, because his father had treated David so shamefully.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field at the time he had set with David. He took a young servant boy with him. 36 He said to his boy, “Run out and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy reached the area where Jonathan’s arrow had landed, Jonathan yelled to the boy, “Isn’t the arrow farther out from you?” 38 Jonathan shouted to the boy, “Go faster! Hurry up! Don’t be slow!” Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrows and came back to his master. 39 The boy did not know anything about what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew. 40 Jonathan gave his equipment to his boy and told him, “Go on ahead. Carry these things into the city.”
41 As soon as the boy was gone, David got up from the south side of the mound.[g] He fell down with his face to the ground and bowed three times. They kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more. 42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have both sworn in the Lord’s name. May the Lord stand between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.” David got up and left, and Jonathan went back into the city.
2 As for me, brothers, when I came to you, I did not come with superior speech or wisdom in order to proclaim to you the testimony[a] of God. 2 For I had no intention of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 I came to you[b] in weakness, in fear, and with much trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not marked by persuasive words of human[c] wisdom, but by a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
In-Depth Wisdom Is for Spiritual People
6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, but it is not a wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are being reduced to nothing. 7 Instead we speak God’s wisdom that has been hidden in mystery—before the ages, God foreordained that this wisdom would result in our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this world knew it. (If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.) 9 But as it is written:
What no eye has seen and no ear has heard
and no human mind has conceived—
that is what God has prepared for those who love him.[d]
10 But God revealed it to us through his[e] Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 Indeed, who among men knows a man’s thoughts except the man’s spirit within him? So also, no one else knows God’s thoughts except God’s Spirit.
12 What we received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the blessings freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak about these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual truths with spiritual words.[f] 14 However, an unspiritual person does not accept the truths taught by God’s Spirit, because they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually evaluated. 15 But the spiritual person evaluates all things, and he himself is evaluated by no one. 16 Indeed, “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who will instruct him?”[g] But we have the mind of Christ.
Remember, Lord[a]
5 Remember, Lord, what happened to us. Look and see our disgrace.
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our houses to foreigners.
3 We have become orphans without a father. Our mothers are widows.
4 We pay money to drink our own water. We must buy firewood for a price.
5 Our pursuers are at our throat. We are exhausted. We are given no rest.
6 We have made a deal with Egypt and Assyria to have enough bread.
7 Our fathers sinned. They are no more, and we have borne their guilt.
8 Slaves rule over us. No one rescues us from their hand.
9 We get bread at the risk of our life because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin is as hot as an oven because of fever from hunger.
11 Women in Zion have been violated, virgins in the cities of Judah.
12 Officials have been hung up by their hands. The dignity of elders has not been respected.
13 The best young men must grind grain, and boys stumble under loads of wood.[b]
14 Elders are no longer seated in the city gate. The best young men no longer play music.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased. Our dancing has turned into mourning.
16 The crown has fallen off our head. Woe to us, because we have sinned!
17 Our heart is sick over this. Over these things our eyes have grown dim—
18 over Mount Zion, which is devastated, so that jackals prowl on it.
19 You, Lord, remain forever. Your throne remains for generation after generation.
20 Why do you forget us completely? Why do you abandon us for so long?
21 Lord, turn us back to you, and we will return. Renew our days like long ago,
22 unless you have completely rejected us and you will be angry at us without limit.[c]
Psalm 36
Concerning the Rebelliousness of the Wicked
Heading
For the choir director. By the servant of the Lord. By David.
1 A declaration about the rebellion of the wicked is deep in my heart.[a]
The Arrogance of the Wicked
There is no dread of God before his eyes,
2 because he flatters himself in his own eyes
too much to notice his guilt and to hate it.
3 The words from his mouth are deception and deceit.
He has given up being wise and doing good.
4 He plots deception even on his bed.
He sets out on a path that is not good.
He does not reject wrong.
The Goodness of God
5 Lord, your mercy reaches to the heavens.
Your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is as high as the mountains of God.
Your justice is as deep as the ocean.
You save both man and animal, O Lord.
7 How precious is your mercy, O God!
So all people[b] find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They are satisfied by the rich food of your house.
You let them drink from your river of delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life.
In your light we see light.
Closing Prayer
10 Stretch out your mercy over those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Do not let the foot of the proud trample me.
Do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers have fallen.
They have been thrown down.
They are not able to rise!
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.