M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Chapter 5
The Ten Commandments.[a] 1 Moses then summoned all of the Israelites and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the decrees that I proclaim in your hearing today. Learn them and carefully observe them. 2 The Lord, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with those of us who are still alive and present today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the flame.
5 “I stood between you and the Lord at that time, declaring the word of the Lord to you, for you were afraid and did not go up the mountain because of the fire. He said, 6 ‘I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out from the land of slavery. 7 You shall have no god other than me. 8 You shall not make any idols in the form of anything that dwells in the heavens above or on the earth below or even in the waters below the land. 9 You shall not prostrate yourself to them nor worship them. I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God. I visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 10 but I will show mercy to the thousandth generation on those who love me and observe my commandments.
11 “ ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain, for the Lord will not consider blameless those who take his name in vain.
12 “ ‘You shall observe the Sabbath by keeping it holy, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you. 13 You are to labor on six days, doing all of your work then. 14 The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, your God. You shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor your cattle, nor even the foreigner living in your town. Thus your manservant and maidservant can rest as well. 15 Remember that you were once a slave in the land of Egypt. The Lord, your God, brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord, your God, has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.[b]
16 “ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you,[c] so that you might have a long life and things might go well with you in the land that the Lord, your God, has given you.
17 “ ‘You shall not murder. 18 You shall not commit adultery. 19 You shall not steal. 20 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 21 You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife. Nor shall you desire your neighbor’s house or land, or his manservant or his maidservant, or his ox or ass or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’ ”
22 Moses at Sinai. These are the things that the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly on the mountain from the midst of the flame, out of the cloud and the deep darkness, this and nothing more. He then wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 When you heard the voice coming out of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire,[d] all of the leaders of your tribes and your elders drew near to me.
24 You said, “The Lord, our God, has shown us his glory and his majesty. We have heard his voice coming forth from out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God were to speak to him. 25 But now, why should we die, for this great fire will consume us if we listen anymore to the voice of the Lord, our God? We will surely die. 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out from the midst of the flames, as we have, and continued to live? 27 You approach him and listen to all that the Lord, our God, will say to you. Then you can tell us all that the Lord, our God, said to you. We will listen and obey.”
28 The Lord heard what you said to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people has said to you. Everything that they said is acceptable. 29 Oh, that they would have fear of me in their hearts and they would observe all of my commandments always. Then things would go well with them and their children forever. 30 Go tell them, ‘Go back to your tents.’ 31 But you, stay here with me, so that I can pass on to you all of the commandments and statutes and decrees that you are to teach them so that they might observe them in the land that I am giving to them to possess. 32 Therefore, be careful to observe what the Lord, your God, has commanded of you. Do not turn away from it to the right nor the left. 33 Continue in all of the ways that the Lord, your God, has commanded you. Continue in them so that you may live and prosper and that you may long dwell on the land of your inheritance.”
Psalm 88[a]
Prayer in Affliction
1 A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.[b] For the director. According to Mahalath. For singing. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
2 [c]O Lord, the God of my salvation,
day and night I cry out to you.
3 Let my prayer come before you;
give ear to my cry for help.
4 [d]For my soul[e] is filled with misery,
and my life draws near to the netherworld.
5 I am numbered among those who go down to the pit;[f]
all strength has failed me.
6 I have been abandoned among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no longer
and whom your hand has abandoned.[g]
7 [h]You have lowered me into the depths of the pit,
into the darkest regions of the abyss.
8 Your wrath lies heavy upon me;
all your waves engulf me. Selah
9 You have caused my closest friends to shun me
and made me hateful in their sight.
I am shut in with no means of escape,[i]
10 and my eyes grow dim[j] with my suffering.
[k]Every day I call out to you, O Lord,
and spread out my hands to you.
11 Do you perform wonders[l] for the dead?
Do the shades rise up and give you praise? Selah
12 Is your kindness[m] celebrated in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the tomb?
13 Are your wonders known in the region of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?[n]
14 [o]But for my part, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer rises before you.
15 Why do you cast me away, O Lord?[p]
Why do you hide your face from me?
16 Since infancy I have been wretched and close to death;
I have borne your terrors
and have now reached the point of exhaustion.
17 Your wrath has weighed down upon me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
18 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they encircle me completely.
19 You have caused my friends and neighbors to shun me;
my sole companion now is darkness.[q]
Chapter 33
Overthrow of Assyria
1 Woe to you, O destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed!
Woe to you, O traitor,
who yourself have not been betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you yourself will be destroyed;
when you have ceased betraying,
you yourself will be betrayed.
2 O Lord, be merciful to us,
for we have placed our hope in you.
Be our strength every morning,
our salvation in times of trouble.
3 At the sound of tumult, peoples flee;
nations scatter when they behold your majesty.
4 Your spoil is gathered as if by caterpillars;
like a swarm of locusts men descend upon it.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Her strength will derive from the Lord’s unchanging stability;
her deliverance will result from wisdom and knowledge;
her treasure is the fear of the Lord.
7 Listen to the valiant cry aloud in the streets for help;
the ambassadors who seek peace weep bitterly.
8 The highways are deserted;
no longer are there any travelers on the road.
Treaties are broken and their terms are ignored;
no one is deemed worthy of respect.
9 The land languishes in mourning;
Lebanon withers in its shame.
Sharon has become a desert;
Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.[a]
10 Now I will rise up, says the Lord.
Now I will be exalted,
now I will be lifted up.
11 You conceive chaff and give birth to stubble;
like fire my Spirit will devour you.
12 The peoples will be burned as though by lime,
like thorns that have been cut
and consumed in the fire.
13 You who are far away,
listen to what I have done,
and you who are near,
acknowledge my strength.
14 The sinners in Zion are filled with terror;
trembling has seized the godless.
“Can any of us survive the devouring fire?
Can any of us survive the everlasting flames?”
15 Those who walk righteously and speak honestly,
who refuse to enrich themselves by extortion,
who reject any bribes offered to them
and stop their ears from listening to plans for murder
and shut their eyes from looking on evil—
16 these people will dwell on the heights;
their refuge will be rocky cliffs,
where they will have an abundance of food and water.
Peace and Prosperity in Zion
17 Your eyes will behold the king in his splendor
and gaze upon a land that stretches far and wide.
18 Your mind will then meditate on the terror.
“Where is the man who did the counting?
Where is the man who weighed the tribute?
Where is the man who counted the towers?”
19 No longer will you encounter the insolent people,
those who employ an obscure speech
that you cannot understand
and who stammer in a language
that you are unable to comprehend.
20 Gaze upon Zion,
the city of our sacred feasts.
Your eyes will behold Jerusalem as a quiet abode,
as a tent that will not be moved,
whose stakes will never be pulled up
and none of whose ropes will be broken.
21 There we will behold the Lord in all his majesty,
in a place of rivers and broad streams,
upon which no enemy galleys with oars can go
or a majestic ship can sail.
22 For the Lord is our judge,
the Lord is our lawgiver.
The Lord is our king;
he is the one who will save us.
23 If the rigging of an enemy ship is loose,
unable to hold the mast in place
or to keep the sails spread out,
then abundant spoils will be divided;
even the lame will carry off the plunder.
24 No inhabitant will say, “I am sick,”
for the people who live there
will be forgiven for their sins.
Chapter 3
To Sardis.[a] 1 “To the angel of the Church in Sardis,[b] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:
“ ‘ “I know your deeds. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be on guard and strengthen what remains and is at the point of death. For I have not found any of your deeds perfect in the sight of my God. 3 Therefore, remember the teaching that you have received and heard. Hold on to it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you.
4 “ ‘ “However, there are still a few in Sardis who have not soiled their robes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 Anyone who is victorious will be dressed like these in white robes, and I shall not blot his name from the book of life.[c] Rather, I shall acknowledge it in the presence of my Father and his angels.
6 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’
To Philadelphia.[d] 7 “To the angel of the Church in Philadelphia,[e] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the holy one,
the true one,
who has the key of David,
who opens the door,
and no one can shut it;
who closes the door,
and no one can open it:
8 “ ‘ “I know your deeds. I have set before you an open door[f] that no one will be able to close. I know that your strength is limited, yet you have kept my word and have not disowned my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who claim to be Jews but are not, for they are lying—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and recognize that I have loved you.
10 “ ‘ “Because you have kept my word to endure patiently, I will keep you safe during the time of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to put the inhabitants of the earth to the test. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you already have so that no one may rob you of your crown.
12 “ ‘ “Anyone who is victorious I will make into a pillar in the temple of my God, and never again will he depart from it. I will inscribe on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God, as well as my own new name.[g]
13 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’
14 To Laodicea.[h]“To the angel of the Church in Laodicea,[i] write:
“ ‘These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation:
15 “ ‘ “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either hot or cold. 16 As it is, since you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot,[j] I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, ‘I am rich; I have prospered; I have everything I want,’ never realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.[k]
18 “ ‘ “I advise you to buy from me gold that has been refined by fire so that you will be truly rich, and white robes to clothe you so that you may keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. 19 I reprove and discipline all those whom I love.[l] Therefore, be sincere in your desire to repent.
20 “ ‘ “Behold, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with that person and that person with me. 21 To anyone who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself overcame and sat with my Father on his throne.
22 “ ‘ “Whoever has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches.” ’ ”
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