M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 6
The Ark Brought to Jerusalem. 1 David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in all. 2 Then he set forth with his entire force to Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the Ark of God, which bears the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim.
3 They placed the Ark of God on a new cart and brought it forth from the house of Abinadab, which stood on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart. 4 Uzzah walked alongside the Ark of God, with Ahio walking in front. 5 David and the entire house of Israel danced joyfully before the Lord with all their might, singing to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.
6 When they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the Ark of God and steadied it because the oxen were stumbling. 7 This aroused the Lord’s anger against Uzzah because of his irreverent act, and he died there beside the Ark of God. 8 David became greatly upset because the Lord had vented his anger against Uzzah, and to this very day that place is called Perez-uzzah.
9 David greatly feared the Lord that day, and he said: “How can the Ark of the Lord be placed in my care?” 10 Therefore, he decided not to take the Ark of the Lord to be in his care in the City of David. Instead he took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. 11 The Ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.
12 When King David was informed that the Lord had blessed the family of Obed-edom and everything that belonged to him because of the Ark of God, David went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David amid great rejoicing.
13 When the bearers of the Ark of the Lord had advanced six steps, David sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf. 14 [a]Then, girded with a linen ephod, he danced before the Lord with all his might, 15 as he and all the Israelites brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of trumpets.
16 As the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, watched from a window. When she saw King David leaping and whirling around before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought in the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the name of the Lord of hosts. 18 When he had finished making these offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19 Then he distributed food to all of the people, both men and women, giving to each person in the multitude a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a raisin cake. Then all the people returned to their homes.
20 When David returned to bless his household, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said: “What an exhibition the king of Israel has made of himself today, exposing himself in the view of the slave girls of his followers like any vulgarian who chooses to shamelessly expose himself before them!”[b]
21 David replied to Michal: “I was dancing in gratitude for the Lord, not for them. The Lord chose me instead of your father and his entire family and appointed me as leader over Israel, the people of the Lord. I shall continue to dance before the Lord in gratitude, 22 and I will demean myself even more. I will be lowly in your esteem, but I will be held in honor by those slave girls of whom you speak.”
23 Saul’s daughter Michal had no children to the day of her death.
VIII: Final Recommendations and Greetings[a]
Chapter 16
The Collection. 1 Now in regard to the collection for the saints,[b] you should follow the instructions I gave to the churches of Galatia. 2 On the first day of every week,[c] each of you should set aside and save whatever you can spare, so that when I come to you, no collections will have to be taken. 3 And when I arrive, I shall send those who have been approved by you with letters of recommendation to deliver your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should also go, they will accompany me.
Paul’s Plans. 5 I shall come to visit you after passing through Macedonia—for I am going to pass through Macedonia. 6 I may stay for some time with you, perhaps even for the entire winter, and then you can send me forth on my journey, wherever I may be going. 7 I do not want to see you now in passing. If the Lord permits, I hope to spend some time with you. 8 However, I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a wide door for productive work has been opened for me, although there are also many adversaries to face.
10 News of Other Missionaries. If Timothy comes, put him at ease, for he is doing the work of the Lord just as I am. 11 Therefore, let no one treat him with disdain. Rather, send him on his way in peace when he leaves you to come to me, for the brethren and I are expecting him.
12 As for our brother Apollos, I urged him strongly to visit you with the others, but he was determined not to go at this particular time. He will come to you when he has the opportunity.
13 Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Everything that you do should be done in love.
15 As you know, brethren, the members of the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. 16 I urge you to put yourselves at the service of such people and of all those who work and toil with them.
17 I was delighted at the arrival of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence. 18 For they have raised my spirits as well as yours. Such men deserve recognition.
19 Salutations and Best Wishes. The Churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca greet you warmly in the Lord, together with the Church that meets in their house. 20 All the brethren send their greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, have written this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed.[d] O Lord, come! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love to you all in Christ Jesus.
Chapter 14
Idolatry of the Elders. 1 Some of the elders came into my presence and sat down before me.[a] 2 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 3 Son of man, these men have reserved a special place in their hearts for their idols and have continued to revere the occasions of sin that led to their downfall. Why should I allow myself to be consulted by them?
4 Therefore, speak to them and declare this: Thus says the Lord God: To all those belonging to the house of Israel who continue to revere their idols in their hearts and fail to remove the stumbling block of their iniquity and then approach a prophet, I, the Lord, will deliver my answer to those who approach me with their multitude of idols. 5 In this way, I will recapture the hearts of the house of Israel, all of those who have been estranged from me through their idols.
6 Therefore, say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For if any members of the house of Israel or any aliens who reside in Israel separate themselves from me, holding the memory of their idols in their hearts and keeping the cause of their iniquity before their eyes, and then approach a prophet to consult me, I, the Lord, will answer them myself. 8 I will set my face against them, and I will make them an example and a byword. I will cut them off from the midst of my people, and thus you will know that I am the Lord.
9 If a prophet is led astray into making a prophecy, I, the Lord, shall have been the one who deceived that prophet. I will stretch out my hand against him and eradicate him from the presence of my people Israel. 10 The punishments received by the inquirer and the prophet shall be identical, 11 so that the house of Israel will never again stray from me or defile themselves any longer with all their sins. Thus, they shall be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord God.
12 Individual Responsibility.[b] This word of the Lord came to me: 13 Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful, and I stretch out my hand against it and cut off its supply of food, inflicting famine on it and removing from its midst all of its inhabitants and its animals, 14 even if the three men, Noah, Daniel,[c] and Job were there, they could save no one but themselves by their own righteousness, says the Lord God.
15 If I were to unleash wild animals throughout the land to ravage it, so that it would become a desolate wasteland through which no one could traverse because of the savage beasts, 16 even if those three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither sons nor daughters; they alone would survive.
17 Or if I were to bring the sword down on that country, commanding the sword to pass through the land, isolating it from man and beast, 18 even if those three men were in it, says the Lord God, they would be unable to save either their sons or their daughters; they alone would be saved.
19 Or if I were to inflict a pestilence upon that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, destroying all people and animals with it, 20 even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, says the Lord God, they would save neither son nor daughter; they would only save themselves by their righteousness.
21 Thus says the Lord God: Even if I were to inflict upon Jerusalem my four dreadful scourges—sword, famine, wild animals, and pestilence—to cut off from it both men and animals, 22 even so some survivors will be left in it, both men and women. When they come to you and you observe their conduct and their actions, you will be consoled despite the disaster I have inflicted upon Jerusalem.[d] 23 They will be a source of consolation when you reflect upon their conduct and their deeds, and you will come to realize that it was not without good reason that I have done to it what I did.
Psalm 55[a]
Prayer in Time of Betrayal by a Friend
1 For the director.[b] On stringed instruments. A maskil of David.
2 [c]Give ear to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my supplication.
3 Listen to my cry and answer me,
for my troubles afford me no peace.
4 I am terrified by the shouts of the enemy
and the uproar of the wicked.
For they inflict troubles upon me,
and in their anger they revile me.
5 [d]My heart[e] is filled with anguish,
and I am beset by the terrors of death.
6 Fear and trembling overpower me;
horror overwhelms me.
7 I say, “If only I had wings like a dove
so that I could fly away and be at rest!
8 I would flee away
and seek shelter in the wilderness. Selah
9 I would hurry to a place of refuge,
far from the savage wind and tempest.”
10 [f]Restrain the wicked, O Lord, and confound their speech,[g]
for I see violence and strife in the city.
11 Day and night they make their rounds on its walls,
and within it are iniquity and malice.
12 Destruction is also in its midst;
oppression and treachery pervade its streets.
13 [h]If it was an enemy who reviled me,
I could endure that.
If a foe had treated me with contempt,
I could manage to avoid him.
14 But it was you, one like myself,
a companion and a dear friend,
15 with whom I engaged in pleasant conversation
as we walked with the festive throng
in the house of God.
16 Let death strike my enemies by surprise;
let them descend alive to the netherworld,
for evil dwells in their homes
and in the depths of their hearts.[i]
17 [j]But I make my appeal to God,
and the Lord will save me.
18 Evening, morning, and noon[k]
I will cry out in my distress,
and he will hear my voice.
19 [l]He will deliver me in peace and safety
from those who are arrayed against me,
even though there are many of them.
20 God will hear me and humiliate them,
he who has been enthroned forever. Selah
For they neither change their ways
nor have any fear of God.
21 My companion treats his friends harshly
and breaks his covenant.
22 His speech is smoother than butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are more soothing than oil,
yet in reality they are drawn swords.
23 Entrust your cares to the Lord,
and he will uphold you;[m]
he will never allow the righteous to waver.
24 But you, O God, will send the wicked
down to the pit of destruction;[n]
those who are bloodthirsty and treacherous
will not live out half their days.
But as for me,
I will put my trust in you.
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