M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Josiah Son of Amon, King of Judah
22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in all the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Josiah Repairs the Temple
3 In King Josiah’s eighteenth year, the king sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam, to the House of the Lord, saying, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him weigh out the entire amount of silver which has been brought to the House of the Lord, which the gatekeepers have received from the people. 5 It is to be given to those who are appointed to supervise the work on the House of the Lord. They are to give it to those who are working in the House of the Lord to repair the damage to the temple. 6 Give it to the craftsmen, builders, and stonemasons so they can buy wood and quarried stone to repair the damage. 7 But no accounting is to be demanded for the silver which is given to them, because they are acting honestly.”
The Book of the Law Found
8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of the Lord.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported: “Your servants have paid out the silver which was found in the temple, and they have given it to those who are appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s house.”
10 Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Then Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the servant of the king:[a] 13 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this book, which has been found. For the Lord’s wrath which is burning against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book and do everything which was recorded for us.”
14 Then Hilkiah the priest, with Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah, went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, who was the son of Tikvah, who was the son of Harhas,[b] the keeper of the vestments.[c] She was living in Jerusalem in the Second District.
15 She gave them this message:
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Tell the man who sent you to me that 16 this is what the Lord says.
Look! I am bringing disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, everything written in the book which they read before the king of Judah, 17 because they have forsaken me and have burned incense and offerings to other gods, so that they provoked me to anger with all the works of their hands. My anger will be poured out on this place. It will not be quenched.
18 This is what you will say to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord:
The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken the words which you have heard. 19 But because your heart was repentant and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants—that it would be desolate and cursed—and you have torn your clothes and have wept before me, I, even I, have heard you, says the Lord.
20 Therefore, be aware of this! I will gather you to your fathers. You will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.
They brought this message back to the king.
Some Will Enter God’s Rest
4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be fearful that any one of you may be judged to have failed to reach it. 2 In fact, we have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united in faith with those who did listen. 3 Indeed, we who believe are going to enter his rest.
It happened just as he vowed when he said:
So I swore an oath in my wrath,
“They will never enter my rest.”[a]
And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way:
And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.[b]
5 And again in this statement:
They will never enter my rest.[c]
6 Therefore, since it is still the case that some do enter this rest, and yet those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not enter because of disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, namely, “today,” when he later said through David, as quoted before:
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.[d]
8 For, if Joshua had given them rest, then God would not have spoken later about another day.
9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God rested from his work. 11 Therefore, let us make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the point of dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, even being able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from him, but everything is uncovered and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we will give an account.
Jesus Is Our High Priest
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest, who has gone through the heavens, namely, Jesus the Son of God, let us continue to hold on to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. 16 So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.
Warnings and Descriptions of the Locust Plague
2 Hear this, you elders.
Listen, all of you who live in the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell it to your children,
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.
4 What the grasshoppers have left, the swarming locusts have eaten.
What the swarming locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten.
What the young locusts have left, the mature locusts have eaten.[a]
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail,[b] all you wine drinkers,
because of the sweet wine[c] that has been snatched from your mouth.
6 A nation has come up into my land, powerful and without number.
It has teeth like a lion and fangs like a lioness.
7 It has devastated my vines and shredded my fig trees.
It has completely stripped off their bark and thrown it aside,
so that their branches are bare and white.
8 Grieve like a virgin dressed in sackcloth,
who grieves for the husband[d] of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,
those who minister in the presence of the Lord.
10 The fields are devastated. The soil mourns.
The grain is devastated.
The new wine has run dry. The olive oil runs out.
11 Hang your heads, you farmers.
Wail, you vine growers, for the wheat and for the barley,
because the grain harvest has died in the field.
12 The vine has dried up, and the fig tree has withered.
The pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple tree—
all the trees in the countryside have dried up,
and joy has dried up for all the people.
13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and lament.
Wail, you who minister in front of the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God,
because the grain offerings and drink offerings
are being held back from the house of your God.
14 Set aside a day of fasting. Call a solemn convocation.
Summon the elders and everyone who lives in the land
to come to the house of the Lord your God.
Cry out to the Lord!
Announcement of the Day of the Lord
15 How terrible that day will be!
Yes, the Day of the Lord is near.
It will come like destruction from the Almighty.[e]
16 Hasn’t the food been cut off right before our eyes?
Happiness and celebration are cut off from the house of our God.
17 The planted seed is dried up under the clods of earth.[f]
The storehouses are in ruins.
The granaries have been broken down, because the grain has dried up.
18 Listen to how the cattle bellow!
The herds of cattle are milling around in confusion, because they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep are suffering punishment.
Closing Prayer
19 To you, O Lord, I call,
because fire has consumed the grazing lands in the wilderness,[g]
and flames have burned up all the trees in the countryside.
20 Even the animals in the countryside pant for you.
The streams of water have dried up,
and fire has consumed the grazing lands in the wilderness.
Psalm 140
Rescue Me From Evil Men
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
Plea for Deliverance
1 Keep me safe, Lord, from the evil man.
Protect me from the violent man,
2 who plans evil in his heart.
Every day they gather for battle.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a snake. Interlude
The poison of vipers is under their lips.
4 Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked.
Protect me from the violent man, who plans to trip my feet.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, and ropes.[a]
They have spread out a net along my route. Interlude
They have set traps for me.
Confidence
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my cry for mercy.
7 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you cover my head on the day for weapons.
8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked.
Do not let their scheme succeed when they rise up.[b] Interlude
Plea for Justice
9 May the trouble caused by their lips
fall on the heads of those who surround me.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Cause them to fall into the fire,
or into pits from which they will never rise.
11 Do not let the slanderer[c] be established in the land.
As for the man of violence—
may evil hunt him and beat him down.
Confidence
12 I know that the Lord will provide justice for the oppressed,
judgment for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name.
The upright will live in your presence.
Psalm 141
Guard My Lips and Heart
Heading
A psalm by David.
Accept My Prayer
1 Lord, I call to you. Hurry to me.
Turn your ear toward my voice when I call to you.
2 May my prayer linger before you like incense,
the lifting up of my hands like an evening offering.
Guard My Heart and Mouth
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart turn toward anything evil,
to take part in wicked deeds with men who do evil.
Let me not taste their delicacies.
Correct Me
5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is mercy.
Let him rebuke me—it is lotion[d] on my head.
My head will not refuse it.
Reject the Wicked
But my prayer is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their rulers will be thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
and they will hear that my words were pleasant.
7 They will say,[e] “As one splits and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
Closing Plea
8 But my eyes look to you, Lord God.[f]
In you I take refuge. Do not take away my life.
9 Keep me from the snares they have set for me,
from the traps of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.