M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
Ceremony of the Red Heifer
19 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is a statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish and on which no yoke has been laid.(A) 3 You shall give it to the priest Eleazar, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.(B) 4 The priest Eleazar shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.(C) 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its entrails,[a] shall be burned. 6 The priest shall take cedarwood, hyssop, and crimson material and throw them into the fire in which the heifer is burning.(D) 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp, but the priest shall remain unclean until evening.(E) 8 The one who burns the heifer[b] shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water; he shall remain unclean until evening. 9 Then someone who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and they shall be kept for the congregation of the Israelites for the water for cleansing. It is a purification offering.(F) 10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.
“This shall be a perpetual statute for the Israelites and for the alien residing among them. 11 Those who touch the dead body of any human being shall be unclean seven days.(G) 12 They shall purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day and so be clean, but if they do not purify themselves on the third day and on the seventh day, they will not become clean.(H) 13 All who touch a corpse, the body of a human being who has died, and do not purify themselves defile the tabernacle of the Lord; such persons shall be cut off from Israel. Since water for cleansing was not dashed on them, they remain unclean; their uncleanness is still on them.(I)
14 “This is the law when someone dies in a tent: everyone who comes into the tent and everyone who is in the tent shall be unclean seven days. 15 And every open vessel with no cover fastened on it is unclean. 16 Whoever in the open field touches one who has been killed by a sword or who has died naturally,[c] or a human bone, or a grave shall be unclean seven days.(J) 17 For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt purification offering, and running water shall be added in a vessel;(K) 18 then a clean person shall take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the furnishings, on the persons who were there, and on whoever touched the bone, the slain, the corpse, or the grave. 19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean ones on the third day and on the seventh day, thus purifying them on the seventh day. Then they shall wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water, and at evening they shall be clean.(L) 20 Any who are unclean but do not purify themselves, those persons shall be cut off from the assembly, for they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. Since the water for cleansing has not been dashed on them, they are unclean.(M)
21 “It shall be a perpetual statute for them. The one who sprinkles the water for cleansing shall wash his clothes, and whoever touches the water for cleansing shall be unclean until evening. 22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean, and anyone who touches it shall be unclean until evening.”(N)
Psalm 56
Trust in God under Persecution
To the leader: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
all day long foes oppress me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many fight against me.
O Most High,(A) 3 when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.(B)
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?(C)
5 All day long they seek to injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.(D)
6 They stir up strife; they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they hoped to take my life.(E)
7 Do not deliver them for any reason;[a]
in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!(F)
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?(G)
9 Then my enemies will retreat
in the day when I call.
This I know, that[b] God is for me.(H)
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
12 My vows to you I must perform, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.(I)
13 For you have delivered my soul from death
and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
in the light of life.(J)
Psalm 57
Praise and Assurance under Persecution
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
1 Be merciful to me, O God; be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
until the destroying storms pass by.(K)
2 I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.(L)
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah
God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.(M)
4 I lie down among lions
that greedily devour[c] human prey;
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.(N)
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(O)
6 They set a net for my steps;
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah(P)
7 My heart is steadfast, O God;
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.(Q)
8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.(R)
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(S)
10 For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the clouds.(T)
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let your glory be over all the earth.(U)
Isaiah’s Son a Sign of the Assyrian Invasion
8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’[a](A) 2 and have it attested[b] for me by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.”(B) 3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for before the child knows how to call ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”(C)
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently and melt in fear before[c] Rezin and the son of Remaliah,(D) 7 therefore the Lord is bringing up against it the mighty flood waters of the River, the king of Assyria and all his glory; it will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks; 8 it will sweep on into Judah as a flood and, pouring over, will reach up to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.(E)
9 Take notice,[d] you peoples, and be dismayed;
listen, all you far countries;
gird yourselves and be dismayed![e]
10 Take counsel together, but it shall be brought to naught;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.”(F)
11 The Lord spoke thus to me while his hand was strong upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:(G) 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears or be in dread.(H) 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.(I) 14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(J) 15 And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”(K)
Disciples of Isaiah
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.(L) 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.(M) 18 See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.(N) 19 Now if people say to you, “Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and mutter; should not a people consult their gods, the dead on behalf of the living,(O) 20 for teaching and for instruction?” surely those who speak like this will have no dawn!(P) 21 They will pass through the land,[f] greatly distressed and hungry; when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse[g] their king and their gods. They will turn their faces upward,(Q) 22 or they will look to the earth, but they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness.[h](R)
The Righteous Reign of the Coming King
9 [i]But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.(S)
2 [j]The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.(T)
3 You have multiplied exultation;[k]
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.(U)
4 For the yoke of their burden
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.(V)
5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.(W)
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.(X)
7 Great will be his authority,[l]
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.(Y)
Warning against Partiality
2 My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality.(A) 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,”(B) 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?(C) 6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts?(D) 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.(E) 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.(F) 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of[a] the law.(G) 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.(H) 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.(I)
Faith without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Surely that faith cannot save, can it?(J) 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food(K) 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works, and I by my works will show you faith.(L) 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.(M) 20 Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is worthless?[b] 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?(N) 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and by works faith was brought to completion.(O) 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,”[c] and he was called the friend of God.(P) 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers[d] and sent them out by another road?(Q) 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.