M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 12[a]
Samuel’s Innocence. 1 Samuel said to all of Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and I have appointed a king over you. 2 Now you have a king leading you. I am old and gray, and my sons are in your presence. I have led you from the days of my youth up to the present. 3 Behold, I testify against you in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hands did I receive a bribe to close my eyes? I am willing to restore it all to you.”
4 They answered, “You have not cheated us nor have you oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from anyone’s hands.” 5 So Samuel said, “The Lord is a witness before you, and the anointed is also a witness before you, that you have not found anything in my hands.” They answered, “He is our witness.”
Samuel’s Review of the People. 6 Samuel then said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron, and he brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now, therefore, stay here, so that I can plead my case with you before the Lord concerning all of the righteous deeds that the Lord did on your behalf and for your fathers.
8 “After Jacob went into Egypt, your fathers cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and led them here to settle in this place. 9 They forgot the Lord, their God, so he sold them into the hands of Sisera, the leader of Hazor’s army, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10 They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have abandoned the Lord to serve the Baals and the Astartes. Deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’
11 “Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel. He rescued you out of the hands of the enemies who surrounded you so that you might live in safety. 12 But now when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, was attacking you, you said to me, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us,’ even though the Lord, your God, was your king.
13 Samuel’s Farewell.“Now, behold the king you have chosen, the one whom you desired. The Lord has given you a king. 14 If you fear the Lord and serve him and hearken to his voice and do not rebel against the commandment of God, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord, your God, then fine. 15 But if you do not hearken to the voice of the Lord and you rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you as it was against your fathers.
16 “Now, therefore, stand here and see this great thing that the Lord is doing before your eyes. 17 Is it not now the season for the wheat harvest? I will call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will perceive and realize the great wickedness that you have done before the Lord in asking for a king.”[b]
18 Samuel Intercedes on Behalf of the People. Then Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. All of the people were filled with fear of the Lord and of Samuel. 19 All of the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord, your God, for your servants that we might not die, for we have added this to our other evil deeds, that we asked for a king.”
20 But Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have done all of this wickedness, but you have not turned away from following the Lord. Serve the Lord with your whole heart. 21 Do not turn aside after useless things that cannot be to your profit, nor can they deliver you, for they are useless. 22 The Lord will not abandon you because of his great name,[c] for the Lord desired to make you his people.
23 “As for myself, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by not praying for you. I will instruct you in the way that is good and right. 24 Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with your whole heart, considering the great things he has done for you.[d] 25 But if you continue to do what is wicked, then both you and your king will perish.”
Chapter 10
1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 I can testify to the zeal that they have for God, but it is not based on knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and thereby seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted themselves to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the fulfillment of the Law for the justification of all who believe.
The Word Is Near You.[a] 5 Concerning the righteousness that comes from the Law, Moses writes, “The person who does these things will attain life by them.” 6 However, the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up to heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).”[b] 8 But what does it say?
“The word is near you,
on your lips and in your heart”
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim).
9 If you confess with your lips, “Jesus is Lord,”[c] and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For one believes in the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 As Scripture asserts, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all, and his generosity is manifested to all who call upon him. 13 Indeed, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 Not All Have Responded to the Good News. But how can they call on him if they have not come to believe in him? And how can they believe in someone about whom they have never heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach to them? 15 And how will there be people to preach if they are not sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim the good news!”
16 However, not all have accepted the good news. As Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 So then, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
18 And so I ask: Have they not heard? Indeed, they have:
“Their voice has gone out all over the world,
and their words to the ends of the earth.”
19 Well then, I ask: Is it possible that Israel failed to understand? First Moses says:
“I will make you envious
of those who are not a nation.
I will rouse your anger
against a foolish nation.”
20 And Isaiah boldly states:
“I was found by those
who were not looking for me.
I have revealed myself to those
who never asked for me.”
21 But regarding Israel, he says:
“All day long I have stretched forth my hands
to a disobedient and rebellious people.”
Chapter 49
Against the Ammonites.[a] 1 In regard to the Ammonites, thus says the Lord:
Has Israel no sons?
Has he no heir?
Why then has Milcom inherited Gad,
and why have his people settled in its towns?
2 Therefore, the days are coming,
says the Lord,
when I will sound the battle cry
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a desolate mound,
and its villages will be burned to the ground.
Then Israel will dispossess
those who dispossessed her, says the Lord.
3 Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been laid waste.
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah.
Wrap yourselves in sackcloth and mourn;
run to and fro and gash your bodies.
For Milcom will go into exile
together with his priests and his attendants.
4 Why do you glory in your strength
that is now beginning to ebb?
O rebellious daughter,
you place your trust in your treasures,
saying, “Who will dare to attack me?”
5 I will bring terror upon you from every side,
says the Lord God of hosts.
Every one of you will be driven away and scattered,
with no one to rally the fugitives.
6 But afterward, says the Lord,
I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites.
Against Edom.[b] 7 In regard to Edom, thus says the Lord of hosts:
Can wisdom no longer be found in Teman?
Has counsel ceased to exist in the prudent?
Has their wisdom become a thing of the past?
8 Turn away and flee, O inhabitants of Dedan;
seek refuge in remote locales.
For I will inflict retribution on Esau
when I decide upon the time to punish him.
9 If those who gather grapes were to come upon you,
would they not leave behind some gleanings?
If thieves came during the night,
would they not steal only what they wanted?
10 But I for my part will strip Esau bare;
I will discover his hiding places,
and he will have nowhere to conceal himself.
His children will perish,
as will his relatives and neighbors,
and he will be no more.
11 Leave behind your orphans;
I will support them,
and your widows will place their trust in me.
12 For thus says the Lord: If those who were not doomed to drink the cup still must drink it, should you alone be the one to go unpunished? You will not go unpunished. You will be required to drink it. 13 For by my own self I have sworn, says the Lord, that Bozrah will become an object of horror and reproach, a desolate wasteland, and a curse, and all her towns will be ruins forevermore.
14 I have received a message from the Lord,
a herald has been sent to all the nations,
“Gather together and prepare to attack her;
rise up for battle.”
15 I will make you the least among the nations,
the most despised of people, O Edom.
16 You have been deceived by your proud heart
and by the terror you inspire,
you who dwell in rocky crags
and look down from the heights of the hill.
Even though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s,
I will drag you down from there, says the Lord.
17 Edom will become an object of horror. Everyone who passes by will be appalled and astounded at the sight of all her wounds. 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors were overthrown, no one will live there, nor will anyone ever again settle there.
19 As when a lion comes up to rich pastures
from the dense thickets of the Jordan,
so will I in an instant drive away Edom from its land
and designate those whom I wish to settle there.
For who is like me?
Who can bring charges against me?
What shepherd can stand his ground against me?
20 Therefore, hear the plan
that the Lord has devised against Edom
and the schemes that he has in mind
to forestall the inhabitants of Teman.
They will be dragged away
like the smallest of the flock,
and their pastures will be completely destroyed.
21 At the sound of their downfall,
the earth will tremble,
and their anguished cries will be heard
as far away as the Red Sea.
22 Like an eagle he will soar and swoop down
and spread his wings against Bozrah,
and the hearts of Edom’s warriors on that day
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Against Damascus.[c] Concerning Damascus:
Hamath and Arpad are deeply troubled,
for they have heard distressing news.
In their concern, they are filled with anxiety,
tossed about like the sea
that cannot be calmed.
24 Damascus has been weakened;
gripped with panic, she prepares to flee.
Anguish and sorrow have overwhelmed her;
her pain is like that of a woman in labor.
25 How can this renowned city be forsaken
in which I take such delight?
26 Her young men will fall in her squares,
and all her warriors will perish on that day,
says the Lord of hosts.
27 Then I will set fire to the walls of Damascus
that will devour the palaces of Benhadad.
28 Against Arabia.[d] In regard to Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that were conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, thus says the Lord:
Rise up and attack Kedar.
Destroy the desert dwellers of the east.
29 Carry away their tents and their flocks,
their tent curtains and all their goods.
Seize their camels for yourselves
and let the shout be raised,
“There is terror on every side.”
30 Flee quickly to distant areas,
and take refuge in remote places,
inhabitants of Hazor, says the Lord.
For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
is determined to eradicate you
and has formulated a plan against you.
31 Thus says the Lord:
Rise up against a nation
that never bothers to strengthen its security,
that has no gates or bars
and is located in a remote area.
32 Their camels will become your booty,
and their herds of cattle will be your spoil.
I will scatter to the winds
those who shave their temples,
and I will bring ruin on them
from every side, says the Lord.
33 Hazor will become the lair of jackals,
an everlasting place of desolation,
where no one will live anymore,
nor will anyone stay there again.
34 Against Elam.[e] This word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah in regard to Elam, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah. 35 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring upon Elam the four winds
from the four quarters of the heavens.
I will scatter them to all these winds,
and there will not be a single nation
to which the exiles of Elam will not go.
37 I will cause the people of Elam
to tremble before their foes
and before those who are determined to kill them.
I will bring disaster upon them,
my burning anger, says the Lord.
I will pursue them with the sword
until I have completely destroyed them.
38 Then I will establish my throne in Elam
and destroy their king and his officials, says the Lord.
39 However, in the days to come
I will restore the fortunes of Elam, says the Lord.
Psalm 26[a]
Prayer for the Righteous
1 Of David.
O Lord, come to my defense,
for I have lived a blameless life.
I have placed my trust in the Lord,
and never have I wavered in that regard.
2 Test me, O Lord, and try me;
probe my heart and my mind.
3 For your kindness[b] is before my eyes,
and I am constantly guided by your truth.
4 I do not sit in the company of deceivers,
nor do I associate with hypocrites.
5 I abhor the assembly of the wicked,
and I refuse to associate with evildoers.
6 I wash my hands in innocence[c]
and join the procession around your altar, O Lord,
7 giving voice to your praises
and proclaiming all your wondrous deeds.[d]
8 I love the house where you dwell, O Lord,
the place where your glory resides.[e]
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with those who thirst for blood,[f]
10 whose hands carry out evil schemes,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 Rather, I choose to walk in innocence;
redeem me and be merciful to me.
12 My feet stand on level ground;[g]
in the full assembly I will bless the Lord.
Psalm 27[h]
Trust in God, Our Light and Salvation
1 Of David.
The Lord is my light[i] and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
2 When evildoers close in on me
to devour my flesh,[j]
it is they, my adversaries and enemies,
who stumble and fall.
3 Even if an army encamps against me,
my heart[k] will not succumb to fear;
even if war breaks out against me,
I will not have my trust shaken.
4 There is only one thing I ask of the Lord,
just one thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
so that I may enjoy the beauty of the Lord[l]
and gaze on his temple.
5 For he will hide me in his shelter
in times of trouble.
He will conceal me under the cover of his tent[m]
and place me high upon a rock.
6 Even now my head is raised high
above my enemies who surround me.
In his tent I will offer sacrifices[n] with joyous shouts;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
7 O Lord, hear my voice when I cry out;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart[o] says of you,
“Seek his face.”
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
9 do not hide your face[p] from me.
Do not turn away your servant in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not reject or forsake me,
O God, my Savior.
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord will gather me up.[q]
11 Teach me your way,[r] O Lord,
and lead me along a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Do not abandon me to the will of my adversaries,
for lying witnesses have risen against me,
breathing forth violence in their malice.
13 I am confident that I will behold the goodness of the Lord[s]
in the land of the living.
14 Place your hope in the Lord:
be strong and courageous in your heart,
and place your hope in the Lord.
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