M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 7
The Oracle of Nathan. 1 (A)After the king had taken up residence in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side,(B) 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent!”(C) 3 Nathan answered the king, “Whatever is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you.”(D) 4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the Lord: Is it you who would build me a house to dwell in?(E) 6 I have never dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up from Egypt to this day, but I have been going about in a tent or a tabernacle. 7 As long as I have wandered about among the Israelites, did I ever say a word to any of the judges whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?
8 Now then, speak thus to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts:[a] I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel.(F) 9 I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you. And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth.(G) 10 I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never again be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, 11 and from the day when I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you:(H) 12 (I)when your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He it is[b] who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. If he does wrong, I will reprove him with a human rod and with human punishments;(J) 15 but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul who was before you.(K) 16 Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever.[c](L) 17 In accordance with all these words and this whole vision Nathan spoke to David.
David’s Thanksgiving. 18 Then King David went in and sat in the Lord’s presence and said, “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that you should have brought me so far?(M) 19 And yet even this is too little in your sight, Lord God! For you have made a promise regarding your servant’s house reaching into the future, and giving guidance to the people, Lord God! 20 What more can David say to you? You know[d] your servant, Lord God! 21 For your servant’s sake and as you have had at heart, you have brought about this whole magnificent disclosure to your servant. 22 Therefore, great are you, Lord God! There is no one like you, no God but you, as we have always heard.(N) 23 What other nation on earth is there like your people Israel? What god has ever led a nation, redeeming it as his people and making a name by great and awesome deeds, as you drove out the nations and their gods before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt?(O) 24 (P)You have established for yourself your people Israel as your people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. 25 Now, Lord God, confirm the promise that you have spoken concerning your servant and his house forever. Bring about what you have promised 26 so that your name may be forever great. People will say: ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ when the house of your servant David is established in your presence. 27 Because you, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to your servant, ‘I will build you a house,’ your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer before you. 28 Since you, Lord God, are truly God and your words are truth and you have made this generous promise to your servant,(Q) 29 do, then, bless the house of your servant, that it may be in your presence forever—since you, Lord God, have promised, and by your blessing the house of your servant shall be blessed forever.”
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting. 1 [a]Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the holy ones throughout Achaia:(A) 2 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving. 3 (B)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement,[b] 4 who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.(C) 5 For as Christ’s sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ[c] does our encouragement also overflow. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement.[d]
8 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction that came to us in the province of Asia;[e] we were utterly weighed down beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life.(D) 9 Indeed, we had accepted within ourselves the sentence of death,[f] that we might trust not in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.(E) 10 He rescued us from such great danger of death, and he will continue to rescue us; in him we have put our hope [that] he will also rescue us again,(F) 11 as you help us with prayer, so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift granted us through the prayers of many.(G)
II. The Crisis Between Paul and the Corinthians
A. Past Relationships[g]
Paul’s Sincerity and Constancy. 12 [h]For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with the simplicity and sincerity of God, [and] not by human wisdom but by the grace of God. 13 For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand, and I hope that you will understand completely, 14 as you have come to understand us partially, that we are your boast as you also are ours, on the day of [our] Lord Jesus.(H)
15 With this confidence I formerly intended to come[i] to you so that you might receive a double favor, 16 namely, to go by way of you to Macedonia, and then to come to you again on my return from Macedonia, and have you send me on my way to Judea.(I) 17 So when I intended this, did I act lightly?[j] Or do I make my plans according to human considerations, so that with me it is “yes, yes” and “no, no”?(J) 18 As God is faithful,[k] our word to you is not “yes” and “no.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not “yes” and “no,” but “yes” has been in him.(K) 20 For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.(L) 21 [l]But the one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God;(M) 22 he has also put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.(N)
Paul’s Change of Plan. 23 (O)But I call upon God as witness, on my life, that it is to spare you that I have not yet gone to Corinth.[m] 24 Not that we lord it over your faith; rather, we work together for your joy, for you stand firm in the faith.
Chapter 15
Parable of the Vine. 1 [a]The word of the Lord came to me:
2 Son of man,
what makes the wood of the vine
Better than the wood of branches
found on the trees in the forest?(A)
3 Can wood be taken from it
to make something useful?
Can someone make even a peg out of it
on which to hang a vessel?
4 Of course not! If it is fed to the fire for fuel,
and the fire devours both ends of it,
Leaving the middle charred,
is it useful for anything then?
5 Even when it is whole
it cannot be used for anything;
So when fire has devoured and charred it,
how useful can it be?
6 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
Like vine wood among forest trees,
which I have given as fuel for fire,
So I will give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
7 I will set my face against them:
Although they have escaped the fire,
the fire will still devour them;
You shall know that I am the Lord,
when I set my face against them.(B)
8 Yes, I will make the land desolate,
because they are so unfaithful—
oracle of the Lord God.
Psalm 56[a]
Trust in God
1 For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim.[b] A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath.(A)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
3 My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High, 4 when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
5 I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.(B)
What can mere flesh do to me?(C)
II
6 All the day they foil my plans;
their every thought is of evil against me.
7 They hide together in ambush;
they watch my every step;
they lie in wait for my life.(D)
8 They are evil; watch them, God!
Cast the nations down in your anger!
9 My wanderings you have noted;
are my tears not stored in your flask,[c]
recorded in your book?(E)
10 My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
11 I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
12 In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
III
13 I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,(F)
14 For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
Psalm 57[d]
Confident Prayer for Deliverance
1 For the director. Do not destroy.[e] A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave.(G)
I
2 Have mercy on me, God,
have mercy on me.
In you I seek refuge.
In the shadow of your wings[f] I seek refuge
till harm pass by.(H)
3 I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
4 May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and mercy.
Selah
5 I must lie down in the midst of lions
hungry for human prey.(I)
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongue, a sharpened sword.(J)
6 Be exalted over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.(K)
II
7 They have set a trap for my feet;
my soul is bowed down;
They have dug a pit before me.
May they fall into it themselves!(L)
Selah
8 My heart is steadfast, God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant praise.(M)
9 Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.[g](N)
10 I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.(O)
11 For your mercy towers to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.(P)
12 Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.