M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 12
Nathan’s Parable. 1 The Lord sent the prophet Nathan to David, and when Nathan arrived, he said to him: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich and the other was poor. 2 The rich man had flocks and herds in great abundance, 3 but the poor man had nothing at all except for one little ewe lamb which he had bought. He cared for it, and the lamb grew up with him and with his children. It would share the little food he had and drink from his cup and sleep in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
4 “On one occasion the rich man welcomed a traveler into his house, but he had no wish to take one animal from his flock or herd to provide a meal for his guest. Instead he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared that for his visitor.”
5 On hearing this, David flew into a rage against that man, and he said to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die. 6 He must make fourfold restitution[a] for the lamb, because he has done this without showing the least bit of pity.”
David’s Punishment. 7 Then Nathan said to David: “You are that man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king of Israel, and I rescued you from the clutches of Saul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives as your own. I also gave you the house of Israel and the house of Judah. And if that had not been sufficient, I would have given you even more.
9 “ ‘Why have you shown your lack of gratitude to the Lord by doing what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and taken his wife to be your own after having killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, since you have shown contempt for me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
11 “Thus says the Lord: ‘I will bring misfortune upon you from within your own house. Before your very eyes I shall take your wives and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You have done such deeds in secret, but I will do them in broad daylight for all Israel to see.’ ”
13 David’s Repentance. David said to Nathan: “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied to David: “The Lord has decided to forgive your sin. You shall not die. 14 However, since you have shown your utter contempt for the Lord by this deed, the child born to you will die.”
15 After Nathan returned home, the Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and it fell gravely ill. 16 David, therefore, pleaded with God for the child. He maintained a strict fast, and throughout the night he would lie on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood around him, urging him to rise from the ground. However, he refused to do so, nor would he take food with them.
18 On the seventh day the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said: “While the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he refused to listen to us. How then can we inform him that the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” 19 However, David saw that his servants were whispering among themselves, and he realized that the child had died. He asked the servants: “Is the child dead?” They replied: “Yes, the child is dead.”
20 David, thereupon, rose from the ground, bathed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. He then went into the house of the Lord and worshiped before he returned to his own house. When he requested food, they set it before him, and he ate. 21 His servants said to him: “Why are you acting in this way? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive, but when the child died, you got up and ate food.”
22 David said: “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I thought: ‘Perhaps the Lord will be merciful to me and allow the child to live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
24 [b]David then proceeded to console his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and slept with her. As a result, she bore a son, whom they named Solomon. The Lord loved him, 25 and he sent a message to the prophet Nathan instructing him to name the child Jedidiah according to the Lord’s wish.
26 The Ammonite War Ends. Shortly thereafter, Joab attacked Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city. 27 Then Joab sent messengers to inform David: “I have assaulted Rabbah and gained control of the water supply. 28 Therefore, assemble the rest of the soldiers, lay siege to the city, and capture it. Otherwise I myself will capture the city, and then it will be named after me.”
29 Without delay, David assembled the rest of his soldiers and went to Rabbah, where he assaulted the city and captured it. 30 He took the crown of Milcom from his head. Weighing a talent of gold and encrusted with precious stones, it was placed on David’s head. He also carried out a tremendous amount of spoil from the city.
31 Furthermore, David led away the city’s inhabitants and set them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes or assigned them to toil at brickmaking. This was his regular procedure in regard to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and all of his soldiers returned to Jerusalem.
Chapter 5
1 Now we know that if the earthly tent in which we live is destroyed, we have a dwelling prepared for us by God, a dwelling in the heavens, not made with human hands, that will be eternal. 2 While we are in this earthly tent, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling; 3 for when we have put it on, we will not be naked.[a]
4 While we are enclosed in this earthly tent we groan, burdened because we do not wish to be stripped naked but rather to be further clothed, so that our mortal state may be swallowed up by immortality. 5 God is the one who has prepared us for this destiny, and he has given us the Spirit as a pledge of this.
6 Therefore, we are always confident, even though we realize that as long as we are at home in the body, we are exiles from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yet we are filled with confidence, even as we long to be exiled from the body and be at home with the Lord.
9 For this reason, whether at home or away, we strive to please him. 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive suitable recompense for his conduct in the body, whether good or bad.
11 Well Known to God. And so, with this fear of the Lord always foremost in our thoughts, we try to persuade others. We ourselves are well known to God, and I hope we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not once again commending ourselves to you, but we are rather affording you an opportunity to boast about us. Then you will have an answer to those who boast of external appearances and not the heart. 13 If, indeed, we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are rational, it is for your sake.
14 The Ministry of Reconciliation. For the love of Christ urges us forward, once we conclude that one has died for all, and therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised to life.
16 Therefore, from now on we will not regard anyone according to human standards. Even though we once judged Christ from a human point of view,[b] we no longer do so. 17 Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new.
18 All this has been done by God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and not holding people’s transgressions against them, and he committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is appealing to you through us. We implore you through Christ to be reconciled to God. 21 He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through him we might become the righteousness of God.[c]
Chapter 19[a]
Allegory of the Lions[b]
1 Raise a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:
What a lioness was your mother
among the lions!
She lay down among the young lions,
rearing her cubs.
3 She raised up one of her cubs;
he grew into a young lion,
and he learned to tear apart his prey;
he devoured men.
4 Then the nations sounded an alarm against him,
and he was caught in their pit.
They dragged him off with hooks
to the land of Egypt.
5 When his mother saw that her hopes were thwarted
and her expectations would not be fulfilled,
she took another of her cubs
and made a young lion of him.
6 He prowled among the lions
and grew into a young lion.
He learned to seize his prey;
he devoured men.
7 He ravaged their strongholds
and laid waste their cities.
The land and all of its inhabitants were terrified
at the sound of his roars.
8 The nations came forth against him
from the surrounding regions.
They spread their net over him,
and he was trapped in their pit.
9 With hooks they dragged him into a cage
and took him away to the king of Babylon.
He was imprisoned, and his roars were no longer heard
on the mountains of Israel.
Allegory of the Vine Branch
10 Your mother was like a vine
planted by the water.
It was fruitful and full of branches
because of the abundant water.
11 Its branches were strong,
suitable for a ruler’s scepter.
It towered in stately height
among the dense foliage.
It was conspicuous for its height
and its many branches.
12 However, it was uprooted in fury
and thrown to the ground.
Its strong branches became withered
and were consumed by fire.
13 Now it has been transplanted to the desert,
to a dry and thirsty land.
14 Fire burst forth from its stem,
devouring its branches and fruit.
It no longer has any strong branch
that could serve as a ruler’s scepter.
This is a lamentation, and it is used for this purpose.
Psalm 64[a]
Thanksgiving for Recovery from Illness
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 Listen, O God, to my cry of lament;
from the dreaded enemy preserve my life.
3 Protect me from the council of the wicked,
from the band of those who do evil.
4 They sharpen their tongues[c] like swords,
and they shoot forth their venomous words like arrows,
5 while they attack the innocent from ambush,
shooting suddenly and without fear.
6 [d]They agree on their evil plan,
and they resolve to lay snares,
saying, “Who will see us?”
7 They plot evil schemes
and devise shrewd plots;
the thoughts of their hearts[e] are hidden.
8 [f]However, God will shoot his arrows at them,[g]
and they will suddenly be struck down.
9 Their own tongues will bring them down,
and all who see them will wag their heads.[h]
10 [i]Then everyone will be in awe,
as they proclaim God’s mighty deeds
and contemplate what he has done.[j]
11 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will praise him.
Psalm 65[k]
Thanksgiving for Divine Blessings
1 For the director.[l] A psalm of David. A song.
2 It is fitting to offer praise to you,[m]
O God, in Zion.
To you our vows must be fulfilled,
3 for you answer our prayers.
To you all flesh must come,[n]
4 burdened by its sinful deeds.
Too heavy for us are our sins,
and only you can blot them out.[o]
5 Blessed[p] is the one whom you choose
and invite to dwell in your courts.
We will be filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
6 Through your awesome deeds[q] of righteousness,
you respond to us, O God, our Savior;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the far-off islands.
7 Clothed in your great power,
you hold the mountains in place.[r]
8 You quiet the roaring of the seas,
the turbulence of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.[s]
9 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth
are awestruck by your wonders.[t]
You call forth songs of joy
from sunrise and sunset.
10 You care for the earth and water it,
making it most fertile.
The streams of God[u] are filled with water
to provide grain for its people.
Thus, you prepare the earth for growth:
11 you water its furrows
and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers
and bless its yield.[v]
12 You crown the year with your bounty,[w]
and your tracks dispense fertility.
13 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
and the hills are covered with rejoicing.
14 The meadows are clothed with flocks,
and the valleys are decked out with grain;
in their joy they shout and sing together.[x]
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