M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Absalom’s Rebellion
15 After this, Absalom acquired for himself a chariot, horses, and fifty men to run in front of him. 2 Absalom would get up early and stand beside the road by the gatehouse. Absalom would call out to every man who had a legal issue to bring before the king for judgment, and he would say, “What city are you from?” The person would say, “Your servant is from such-and-such of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Absalom would say to him, “Your claims are good and valid, but there is no one from the king to listen to you.” 4 Then Absalom would say, “I wish someone would make me a judge in the land. Then everyone who has a legal issue or needs a judgment could come to me, and I would give him justice.”
5 Whenever someone approached to bow down to him, he would reach out, take hold of him, and kiss him. 6 Absalom acted this way to everyone of Israel who came to the king for judgment. In this way Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 After four[a] years Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron and fulfill my vow, which I have made to the Lord, 8 because when I was at Geshur in Aram, your servant vowed, ‘If the Lord will really return me to Jerusalem, I will serve the Lord.’”
9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he set out and went to Hebron.
10 But Absalom sent agents throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “When you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem who had been invited went along with Absalom. They went innocently, since they did not know what was going on.
12 While he was offering sacrifices, Absalom summoned David’s advisor, Ahithophel of Giloh, to come from Giloh, his hometown. The conspiracy gained strength as more and more people were going over to Absalom.
13 A messenger came to David and said, “The hearts of the men of Israel are following Absalom.”
14 So David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Get ready. We must flee, or we will not escape from Absalom. Hurry up and go, so that he does not come quickly, overtake us, bring down disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
15 The officials of the king said to him, “Here we are. We, your servants, will do everything our lord the king decides.” 16 So the king set out with his entire household, but he left ten concubines[b] to watch over the house. 17 The king and all his people set out. They stopped at a house some distance away.
David’s Flight
18 All his troops were passing by in front of David. All the Kerethites, Pelethites, and Gittites—six hundred men from Gath who had come under his command—were passing by in front of the king. 19 The king said to Ittai from Gath, “Why are you going with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom, because you are a foreigner and an exile from your home. 20 You arrived just yesterday. Today should I cause you to wander with us, when I myself do not have a plan as to where I am going? Go back and take your fellow soldiers with you. May the Lord’s mercy and faithfulness be with you.”[c]
21 Ittai answered the king, “As the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king will be, whether it leads to death or life, there your servant will be.”
22 David said to Ittai, “Go ahead then. March on.” So Ittai from Gath and all his men and all the dependents who were with them marched by.
23 All the people of the land wept loudly as all the troops were marching by. The king crossed over the stream bed of the Kidron. All the people kept marching by in the direction of the wilderness.
24 Next came Zadok and all the Levites with him, who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God, and Abiathar offered up sacrifices until all the people finished passing by, as they left the city. 25 The king said to Zadok, “Return the Ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see it in its proper dwelling place. 26 But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ look, here I am. Let him do to me whatever is good in his eyes.”
27 The king said to Zadok the priest, “Aren’t you a seer?[d] Go back to the city in peace. You two priests, take your sons with you—your son Ahima’az and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. 28 Listen, I will be waiting at the fords in the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.” 29 So Zadok and Abiathar carried the Ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.
30 David went up along the ascent to the top of the Mount of Olives. As he walked along with his head covered, he was weeping, and he was walking barefoot. All the people who were with him also covered their heads. As they went up, they were weeping as they walked along.
31 David had been told, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David said, “Please, Lord, make the advice of Ahithophel foolish.”
32 David arrived at the summit, where he worshipped God.[e]
Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him. His robe was torn, and he had dirt on his head. 33 David said to him, “If you cross over with me, you will become a burden to me. 34 But if you return to the city and you say to Absalom, ‘Let me be your servant, O King. In the past I was a servant of your father. Now I will be your servant,’ then you can defeat the advice of Ahithophel for me. 35 Are not Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, with you there? Tell every word that you hear in the house of the king to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests. 36 Their two sons, Zadok’s son Ahima’az and Abiathar’s son Jonathan, are there with them. Through those two, the three of you will be able to send me every word that you hear.” 37 Hushai, the friend and advisor of David, went to the city, just as Absalom also was entering into Jerusalem.
Finish the Collection
8 Now brothers,[a] we want you to know about the grace of God that was given in the churches of Macedonia: 2 In a severe test of trouble, their overflowing joy and their deep poverty overflowed into an abundance of their generosity.[b] 3 I testify that of their own free will they gave according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, 4 pleading with us with an urgent request for the gracious privilege of joining in this service to the saints. 5 And they did this not as we had expected, but in keeping with God’s will they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us. 6 As a result we urged Titus, since he had already made a beginning, to bring to completion this gracious gift on your part. 7 But just as you overflow in every way—in faith, in word, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us[c]—see that you also overflow in this gracious gift.
8 I do not say this as a command, but to test how genuine your love is, by comparing it with the eagerness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.
10 And I am giving advice in this matter because it is going to be helpful for you. Last year, you were not only the first to take action, but also the first to be willing. 11 Now bring the work to completion too, so that your eagerness to start may be matched by your completing it with what you have. 12 For if the eagerness is there, a gift is acceptable according to what someone has, not according to what he does not have.
13 Certainly, our goal is not that others take it easy while you are burdened, but that there may be equality. 14 At the present time, your abundance will provide what they lack, in order that their abundance will also provide what you lack—in this way there will be equality. 15 As it is written, “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”[d]
16 Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you, 17 because he accepted our encouragement and went to you eagerly, of his own free will. 18 We sent along with him the brother who is recognized by all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. 19 Not only that—but also he was elected[e] by the churches to be our traveling companion, as we administer this gracious gift to the glory of the Lord and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We are trying to avoid any criticism of the way we are administering this lavish gift. 21 To be sure, we are taking into consideration what is proper, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of other people.
22 We sent along with them our brother who has often proved to us in many tests that he is eager, and now is even more eager, because of the great confidence he has in you.
23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. Our brothers, messengers sent by the churches, are the glory of Christ. 24 So then, show the evidence of your love in the sight of the churches, and demonstrate why we boasted to them about you.
Judgment on the Bloody City for Her Abominations
22 The word of the Lord came to me.
2 You, son of man, will you put them on trial,[a] will you put the bloody city on trial? Then list for her all her abominations. 3 Say that this is what the Lord God says.
O city, you shed blood in your midst, and you bring on your time of judgment. You manufacture idols throughout the city, and so you defile yourself. 4 Because of the blood you have shed, you have become guilty, and because of the filthy idols you have made, you have become defiled. You have brought near your final days. You have arrived at the end of your years. Therefore, I have made you a disgrace to the nations and subjected you to ridicule among all the countries. 5 Those nearby and those far away from you will ridicule you, who are notorious for impurity and full of turmoil.
6 Look at the rulers of Israel. Each one among you uses his power to shed blood. 7 In your midst, people have dishonored their fathers and mothers. They have exploited the alien in your midst. They have mistreated the fatherless children and the widows among you. 8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9 Slanderers are present among you to shed blood. In you there are people who eat on the mountains and commit obscene acts in your midst. 10 In your midst, a man uncovers the nakedness of his mother, who is reserved for his father, and men force themselves on a woman who is unclean during her period. 11 In your midst, a man commits an abomination with a neighbor’s wife. Another man obscenely defiles a daughter-in-law. Another forces himself on his sister, his father’s daughter. 12 In your midst, they take bribes to shed blood. You deduct a fee from the money you lend to people, and you demand that they repay more than you lent them. In this way you exploit your neighbor by extortion. And you have forgotten me, declares the Lord God.
13 Therefore, I clap my hands[b] against the dishonest profit you have made and over the bloodshed in your midst. 14 Will your courage endure? Will your hands remain strong in the days when I deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will accomplish it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations. I will disperse you throughout the countries and remove your uncleanness from you. 16 After you have been defiled in the eyes of the nations, you will know that I am the Lord.
17 The word of the Lord came to me.
18 Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside a furnace. They have become the slag from silver. 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says. Because you have all become slag, I am about to gather you inside Jerusalem. 20 As silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are placed inside a furnace to blast them with fire and to melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and my wrath. I will throw you into the furnace and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blast you with the fire of my fury, and you will be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted inside a furnace, in the same way you will be melted inside the city. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my wrath upon you.
23 The word of the Lord came to me.
24 Son of man, say to her, “You are a land not cleansed, a land that receives no rain in the day of rage.”
25 Jerusalem’s princes[c] within her are like a roaring lion, tearing its prey. They devour people’s lives. They seize treasures and valuables. They make many women widows within her.
26 Her priests do violence to my law by profaning what is holy to me, by not distinguishing between the holy and the common, and by not teaching the difference between the unclean and the clean. They disregard my Sabbaths, with the result that I am profaned among them.
27 Her officials inside her are like wolves, tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives in order to make dishonest profits.
28 Her prophets daub whitewash for them, seeing empty visions and forecasting false omens for them. They say, “This is what the Lord God says,” when the Lord has not spoken at all.
29 The ordinary citizens practice extortion and commit robbery. They oppress the poor and the needy. They unjustly deprive the alien of his due. 30 I looked for someone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy her, but I found no one. 31 Therefore, I will pour out my rage upon them. In the fire of my fury, I will make an end of them. I will bring down their conduct on their own heads, declares the Lord God.
Psalm 69
Prayer of an Innocent Sufferer: Save Me, O God
Heading
For the choir director. According to “Lilies.”[a] By David.
Prayer of an Innocent Sufferer
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink into the deep mud, where there is no place to stand.
I have entered deep waters, and the rapids rush over me.
3 I am worn out from my crying. My throat is sore.
My eyes are blurry, as I wait for my God.
The Unfairness of His Enemies
4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs on my head.
Those who want to destroy me, my lying enemies, are strong.
I must repay things I did not steal.
His Guilt and Shame
5 God, you know my folly,
and my guilt is not hidden from you.
6 May those who place their confidence in you[b]
not be put to shame because of me,
O Lord, the Lord of Armies.
May those who seek you not be disgraced because of me,
O God of Israel.
7 It is for your sake that I bear scorn.
Shame covers my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 Yes, zeal for your house consumes me.
The scorn of those who scorn you falls on me.
10 I wept as I fasted,
but this only brought insults to me.
11 When I wore sackcloth as my clothing,
I was a joke to them.
12 Those who sit in the gatehouse gossip about me,
and the songs of the drunks are about me.
An Interlude of Prayer
13 But I direct my prayer to you, O Lord, for a time of favor.
God, in the greatness of your mercy,
answer me with the certainty of salvation from you.
14 Rescue me from the mud, so I do not sink.
Let me escape from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the rapids rush over me.
Do not let the deep swallow me up.
Do not let the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for your mercy is good.
According to your great compassion, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant.
Because I am in distress, hurry, answer me.
18 Come near. Redeem my soul.
Ransom me because of my enemies.
His Shame
19 You know my disgrace, my shame, and my confusion.
All my foes are in front of you.
20 Disgrace has broken my heart, and I am helpless.
I waited for sympathy, but there was none.
I waited for comforters, but I did not find any.
21 Instead they put bitter poison in my food.
For my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
His Curse
22 May the table set before them become a snare.
May it be a trap to them and their allies.[c]
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see.
Make their legs always tremble.
24 Pour out your wrath on them.
Let the heat of your anger catch up with them.
25 May their camp be desolate.
May there be no one dwelling in their tents.
26 For they pursue those you have disciplined, O God,
and they talk about the pain of those you wound.
27 Add guilt to their guilt.
Do not let them enter into your righteousness.
28 May they be erased from the book of life.
May they not be listed among the righteous.
His Closing Prayer
29 But I am afflicted and in pain.
O God, may salvation from you set me on high.
30 I will praise God’s name in song.
I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.
31 For the Lord this is better than an ox,
than a bull that has horns and hoofs.
32 The poor will see and be glad.
You who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 For the Lord listens to the needy,
and he does not despise the captives who belong to him.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion,
and he will build the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it.
36 Then the descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell in it.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.