M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
5 Moses continued speaking to the people of Israel and said, “Listen carefully now to all these laws God has given you; learn them, and be sure to obey them!
2-3 “The Lord our God made a contract with you at Mount Horeb—not with your ancestors, but with you who are here alive today. 4 He spoke with you face to face from the center of the fire, there at the mountain. 5 I stood as an intermediary between you and Jehovah, for you were afraid of the fire and did not go up to him on the mountain. He spoke to me and I passed on his laws to you. This is what he said:
6 “‘I am Jehovah your God who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.
7 “‘Never worship any god but me.
8 “‘Never make idols; don’t worship images, whether of birds, animals, or fish. 9-10 You shall not bow down to any images nor worship them in any way, for I am the Lord your God. I am a jealous God, and I will bring the curse of a father’s sins upon even the third and fourth generation of the children of those who hate me; but I will show kindness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 “‘You must never use my name to make a vow you don’t intend to keep.[a] I will not overlook that.
12 “‘Keep the Sabbath day holy. This is my command. 13 Work the other six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God; no work shall be done that day by you or by any of your household—your sons, daughters, servants, oxen, donkeys, or cattle; even foreigners living among you must obey this law. Everybody must rest as you do. 15 Why should you keep the Sabbath? It is because you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out with a great display of miracles.
16 “‘Honor your father and mother (remember, this is a commandment of the Lord your God); if you do so, you shall have a long, prosperous life in the land he is giving you.
17 “‘You must not murder.
18 “‘You must not commit adultery.
19 “‘You must not steal.
20 “‘You must not tell lies.
21 “‘You must not burn with desire for another man’s wife, nor envy him for his home, land, servants, oxen, donkeys, nor anything else he owns.’
22 “The Lord has given these laws to each one of you from the heart of the fire, surrounded by the clouds and thick darkness that engulfed Mount Sinai. Those were the only commandments he gave you at that time,[b] and he wrote them out on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 But when you heard the loud voice from the darkness and saw the terrible fire at the top of the mountain, all your tribal leaders came to me 24 and pleaded, ‘Today the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness; we have even heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Now we know that a man may speak to God and not die; 25 but we will surely die if he speaks to us again. This awesome fire will consume us. 26-27 What man can hear, as we have, the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, and live? You go and listen to all that God says, then come and tell us, and we will listen and obey.’
28 “And the Lord agreed to your request and said to me, ‘I have heard what the people have said to you, and I agree. 29 Oh, that they would always have such a heart for me, wanting to obey my commandments. Then all would go well with them in the future, and with their children throughout all generations! 30 Go and tell them to return to their tents. 31 Then you come back and stand here beside me, and I will give you all my commandments, and you shall teach them to the people; and they will obey them in the land I am giving to them.’”
32 So Moses told the people, “You must obey all the commandments of the Lord your God, following his directions in every detail, going the whole way he has laid out for you; 33 only then will you live long and prosperous lives in the land you are to enter and possess.
88 O Jehovah, God of my salvation, I have wept before you day and night. 2 Now hear my prayers; oh, listen to my cry, 3 for my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. 4 They say my life is ebbing out—a hopeless case. 5 They have left me here to die, like those slain on battlefields from whom your mercies are removed.
6 You have thrust me down to the darkest depths. 7 Your wrath lies heavy on me; wave after wave engulfs me. 8 You have made my friends to loathe me, and they have gone away. I am in a trap with no way out. 9 My eyes grow dim with weeping. Each day I beg your help; O Lord, I reach my pleading hands to you for mercy.
10 Soon it will be too late! Of what use are your miracles when I am in the grave? How can I praise you then? 11 Can those in the grave declare your loving-kindness? Can they proclaim your faithfulness? 12 Can the darkness speak of your miracles? Can anyone in the Land of Forgetfulness talk about your help?
13 O Lord, I plead for my life and will keep on pleading day by day. 14 O Jehovah, why have you thrown my life away? Why are you turning your face from me and looking the other way?
15 From my youth I have been sickly and ready to die. I stand helpless before your terrors. 16 Your fierce wrath has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have cut me off. 17 They flow around me all day long. 18 Lover, friend, acquaintance—all are gone. There is only darkness everywhere.
33 Woe to you, Assyrians,[a] who have destroyed everything around you but have never felt destruction for yourselves. You expect others to respect their promises to you, while you betray them! Now you, too, will be betrayed and destroyed.
2 But to us, O Lord, be merciful, for we have waited for you. Be our strength each day and our salvation in the time of trouble. 3 The enemy runs at the sound of your voice. When you stand up, the nations flee. 4 Just as locusts strip the fields and vines, so Jerusalem will strip the fallen army of Assyria![b]
5 The Lord is very great and lives in heaven. He will make Jerusalem the home of justice and goodness and righteousness. 6 An abundance of salvation is stored up for Judah in a safe place, along with wisdom and knowledge and reverence for God.
7 But now your ambassadors weep in bitter disappointment, for Assyria has refused their cry for peace. 8 Your roads lie in ruins; travelers detour on back roads. The Assyrians have broken their peace pact[c] and care nothing for the promises they made in the presence of witnesses—they have no respect for anyone. 9 All the land of Israel is in trouble; Lebanon has been destroyed; Sharon has become a wilderness; Bashan and Carmel are plundered.
10 But the Lord says: I will stand up and show my power and might. 11 You Assyrians will gain nothing by all your efforts. Your own breath will turn to fire and kill you. 12 Your armies will be burned to lime, like thorns cut down and tossed in the fire. 13 Listen to what I have done, O nations far away! And you that are near, acknowledge my might!
14 The sinners among my people shake with fear. “Which one of us,” they cry, “can live here in the presence of this all-consuming, everlasting fire?” 15 I will tell you who can live here: All who are honest and fair, who reject making profit by fraud, who hold back their hands from taking bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong. 16 Such as these shall dwell on high. The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress of safety; food will be supplied to them, and they will have all the water they need.
17 Your eyes will see the King in his beauty and the highlands of heaven far away. 18 Your mind will think back to this time of terror when the Assyrian officers outside your walls are counting your towers and estimating how much they will get from your fallen city. 19 But soon they will all be gone. These fierce, violent people with a strange, jabbering language you can’t understand will disappear.
20 Instead you will see Jerusalem at peace, a place where God is worshiped, a city quiet and unmoved. 21 The glorious Lord will be to us as a wide river of protection, and no enemy can cross. 22 For the Lord is our Judge, our Lawgiver and our King; he will care for us and save us. 23 The enemies’ sails hang loose on broken masts with useless tackle. Their treasure will be divided by the people of God; even the lame will win their share. 24 The people of Israel will no longer say, “We are sick and helpless,” for the Lord will forgive them their sins and bless them.
3
“This message is sent to you by the one who has the sevenfold Spirit[a] of God and the seven stars.
“I know your reputation as a live and active church, but you are dead. 2 Now wake up! Strengthen what little remains—for even what is left is at the point of death. Your deeds are far from right in the sight of God. 3 Go back to what you heard and believed at first; hold to it firmly and turn to me again. Unless you do, I will come suddenly upon you, unexpected as a thief, and punish you.
4 “Yet even there in Sardis some haven’t soiled their garments with the world’s filth; they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 Everyone who conquers will be clothed in white, and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and his angels that he is mine.
6 “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
7
“This message is sent to you by the one who is holy and true and has the key of David to open what no one can shut and to shut what no one can open.
8 “I know you well; you aren’t strong, but you have tried to obey[b] and have not denied my Name. Therefore I have opened a door to you that no one can shut.
9 “Note this: I will force those supporting the causes of Satan while claiming to be mine[c] (but they aren’t—they are lying) to fall at your feet and acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
10 “Because you have patiently obeyed me despite the persecution, therefore I will protect you from the time of Great Tribulation and temptation,[d] which will come upon the world to test everyone alive. 11 Look, I am coming soon![e] Hold tightly to the little strength you have—so that no one will take away your crown.
12 “As for the one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; he will be secure and will go out no more; and I will write my God’s Name on him, and he will be a citizen in the city of my God—the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from my God; and he will have my new Name inscribed upon him.
13 “Let all who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
14
“This message is from the one who stands firm,[f] the faithful and true Witness of all that is or was or evermore shall be, the primeval source of God’s creation:
15 “I know you well—you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were one or the other! 16 But since you are merely lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth!
17 “You say, ‘I am rich, with everything I want; I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that spiritually you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
18 “My advice to you is to buy pure gold from me, gold purified by fire—only then will you truly be rich. And to purchase from me white garments, clean and pure, so you won’t be naked and ashamed; and to get medicine from me to heal your eyes and give you back your sight. 19 I continually discipline and punish everyone I love; so I must punish you unless you turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the things of God.
20 “Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me. 21 I will let everyone who conquers sit beside me on my throne, just as I took my place with my Father on his throne when I had conquered. 22 Let those who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.