M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed at Ziklag for two days. 2 Then, on the third day, a man arrived from Saul’s camp. His clothing was torn, and there was dirt on his head. When he approached David, he fell to the ground and bowed down to him.
3 David said to him, “Where are you coming from?”
He answered, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”
4 David said to him, “What was the outcome? Tell me!”
The man said, “The people fled from the battle. Many of the people were struck down and died. Even Saul and his son Jonathan have died.”
5 David said to the young man who was talking to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 The young man who was talking to him said, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. There I saw Saul, leaning on his spear. The chariots and charioteers[a] were closing in on him. 7 When Saul looked behind him, he saw me and called to me and I answered, ‘I am here.’
8 “He said to me, ‘Who are you?’
“I said to him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
9 “Saul said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and put me to death. I am losing consciousness, but I am still alive.’[b] 10 So I stood beside him and ended his life, because I knew that he could not live after being so severely wounded. I took the crown on his head and the armlet on his arm, and I brought them here to my lord.”
11 David and all the men with him grabbed their clothing and tore it. 12 Until evening they mourned, wept, and fasted for Saul, for his son Jonathan, for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David asked the young man who had told him about Saul, “Where are you from?”
He said, “I am an Amalekite, who lives here as an alien.”
14 David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
15 David called to one of the young men, “Come here. Kill him!” He struck him down, and he died.
16 David said to him, “Your blood will be on your own head, because your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
David’s Lament
17 David mourned with this funeral song about Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 He gave orders to teach the men of Judah this song, which was named “The Bow,” so it was recorded in the Book of Jashar.[c]
19 The splendor of Israel has been slain upon your high places.
How the mighty warriors have fallen!
20 You must not tell about it in Gath.
You must not publish it in the streets of Ashkelon.
If you do, the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice.
The daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.
21 You mountains of Gilboa, may no dew or rain fall on you.
May your fields produce no special offerings.[d]
For there the shield of the mighty was desecrated.
The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain,
from the fat[e] of the mighty warriors,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
and the sword of Saul never returned empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan were the most loved and admired during their lives,
and in their deaths they were not separated.
They were swifter than eagles.
They were stronger than lions.
24 Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul.
He clothed you in scarlet and luxury.
He provided gold ornaments for your clothing.
25 How the mighty warriors have fallen in the midst of battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your high places!
26 I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan!
You were very dear to me.
Your love was more wonderful to me than the love of women.
27 How the mighty warriors have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!
All the Gifts of the Spirit Are Beneficial
12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were deceived and somehow led away to mute idols. 3 Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by God’s Spirit says, “A curse be upon Jesus,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of ministries, and yet the same Lord. 6 There are various kinds of activity, but the same God, who produces all of them in everyone.
7 Each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one person a message of wisdom is given by the Spirit; to another, a message of knowledge, as the same Spirit provides it; 9 by the same Spirit, faith is given to someone else; and to another, the same[a] Spirit gives healing gifts. 10 Another is given powers to do miracles; another, the gift of prophecy; another, the evaluating of spirits; someone else, different kinds of tongues;[b] and another, the interpretation of tongues. 11 One and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them to each one individually as he desires.
The Diversity of the Gifts Enhances the Unity of the Body of Christ
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by[c] one Spirit we all were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free people, and we were all caused to drink one Spirit. 14 Furthermore, the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” it does not on that account cease to be part of the body. 16 If the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” it does not on that account cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has arranged the members in the body, each and every one of them, as he desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But as it is, there are many members, yet one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need for you,” or again the head to the feet, “I have no need for you.” 22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are much more necessary. 23 As for the parts of the body we consider less honorable, these we provide with more honor. We treat our unpresentable parts with more modesty, 24 whereas our presentable parts have no such need. But God put the body together in a way that gave more honor to the parts that lack it. 25 He did it so that there might not be any division in the body, but that the members might all have the same concern for one another. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 You are the body of Christ, and individually you are members of it. 28 And God appointed in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then miracles, healing gifts, helpful acts, leadership abilities, kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all miracle workers? 30 Do all have healing gifts? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly seek the greater gifts. And now, I am going to show you a more excellent way.
The Glory Is Seen Again
10 Then I looked, and there, above the vaulted ceiling[a] that was over the heads of the cherubim, there was something that looked like a sapphire, shaped like a throne. It could be seen above the cherubim. 2 The Lord[b] said to the man dressed in linen, “Reach into the structure for the wheels that is beneath the cherubim, fill your cupped hands with fiery coals from among the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” So he went in while I watched.
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple while he, the man, approached, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Then the Glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was full of the radiance of the Glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far away as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.
6 When he commanded the man dressed in linen, “Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,” the man went and stood beside the wheel. 7 Then a cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim and reached into the fire that was between the cherubim. He lifted up some coals, and he put them into the cupped hands of the man dressed in linen, and the man took them and went out.
8 The cherubim had something that seemed like the form of a human hand under their wings.
9 Then I looked, and right there beside the cherubim were four wheels, one wheel beside each cherub, and the wheels looked like topaz. 10 The four of them all looked alike—there was a wheel inside each wheel.[c] 11 The cherubim could move in any of the four directions toward which one of them faced, without turning as they moved. They went straight ahead in the direction they faced, never turning from side to side.[d]
12 Their entire body, their back, their hands, their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes all around. (I mean the wheels that belonged to the four of them.) 13 As for the wheels, they were called “wheelwork”[e] in my hearing.
14 Each one of the cherubim had four faces. One face was the face of a cherub.[f] The second face was the face of a man. The third was the face of a lion, and the fourth was the face of an eagle.
15 Then the cherubim rose. These were the living creatures that I had seen by the Kebar Canal. 16 Whenever the cherubim moved, the wheels moved alongside them, and whenever the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not turn away from their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels would stand still, and when the cherubim rose, the wheels would rise with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
18 Then the Glory of the Lord moved out from the threshold of the temple and took a position above the cherubim. 19 As I watched, the cherubim lifted up their wings and rose from the ground. As they went out, the wheels remained beside them. They[g] stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the House of the Lord, and the Glory of the God of Israel was above the cherubim. 20 These were the living creatures that I had seen beneath the God of Israel at the Kebar Canal, and I now knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces, and each had four wings, with something like the hands of a man underneath their wings. 22 The faces looked like the faces that I had seen by the Kebar Canal—exactly the same. Each one went straight ahead.
Psalm 49
The Fool Trusts in Riches
Heading
For the choir director. By the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
Introduction
1 Hear this, all you peoples.
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of this world,
2 all you children of Adam, all mankind,
rich and poor alike.
3 My mouth will speak wisdom.
The meditation of my heart will give understanding.
4 I will listen carefully to wise teaching.
With a lyre I will explain deep truths.
The Limitations of Riches
5 Why should I fear days of trouble,
days when the wickedness of my pursuers surrounds me?[a]
6 They trust in their wealth.
They place their confidence in the abundance of their riches.
7 But no one can by any means redeem himself.[b]
He cannot give God a ransom for himself—
8 (Yes, the ransom for their souls is costly.
Any payment would fall short.)[c]
9 —so that he could live on forever and not see the pit.
10 Yes, we can see that wise men die.
The fool and the senseless alike perish,
and they leave their wealth to others.
11 They think their houses will remain forever,
their dwellings for generation after generation[d]
because they named lands after themselves.
12 But man, though he has riches, does not even spend a night here.
He is like the animals that perish.
13 This way of theirs is foolishness,
but their followers approve of what they say. Interlude
14 They are like a flock destined for the grave.
Death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule over them in the morning.
Their bodies will be consumed by the grave,
far from their mansions.[e]
The Limitless Power of God
15 But surely God will redeem my life from the power of the grave.
Yes, he will take me to himself. Interlude
Review and Conclusion
16 Do not be afraid when a man grows rich,
when the glory of his house increases,
17 because when he dies, he cannot take anything along.
His glory will not go down with him.
18 Throughout his life he congratulates himself:
“People praise you because you have done so well for yourself.”
19 He will go to the gathering place of his fathers.
They will never see the light!
20 A man who has riches but does not understand
is like the animals that perish.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.