M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

David Spares Saul

24 When Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines,^(A) he was told, “David is in the wilderness near En-gedi.”^{(B) 2} So Saul took 3,000 of Israel’s choice men^(C) and went to look for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. ³ When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself.^[a](D) David and his men were staying in the back of the cave,^{(E) 4} so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the Lord told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

⁵ Afterward, David’s conscience bothered^[b](F) him because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.^{[c] 6} He said to his men, “I swear before the Lord: I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed.^(G) I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”^{(H) 7} With these words David persuaded^[d] his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul.

Then Saul left the cave and went on his way. ⁸ After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed to the ground in homage.^{(I) 9} David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’? ¹⁰ You can see with your own eyes that the Lord handed you over to me today in the cave.^(J) Someone advised me to kill you,^(K) but I^[e][f] took pity on you and said: I won’t lift my hand against my lord, since he is the Lord’s anointed. ¹¹ See, my father!^(L) Look at the corner of your robe in my hand, for I cut it off, but I didn’t kill you. Look and recognize that there is no evil or rebellion in me. I haven’t sinned against you even though you are hunting me down to take my life.^(M)

¹² “May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord take vengeance on you for me, but my hand will never be against you.^{(N) 13} As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness comes from wicked people.’^(O) My hand will never be against you. ¹⁴ Who has the king of Israel come after? What are you chasing after? A dead dog? A flea?^{(P) 15} May the Lord be judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver^[g] me from you.”^(Q)

¹⁶ When David finished saying these things to him, Saul replied, “Is that your voice, David my son?”^(R) Then Saul wept aloud ¹⁷ and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have done what is good to me though I have done what is evil to you.^{(S) 18} You yourself have told me today what good you did for me: when the Lord handed me over to you, you didn’t kill me.^{(T) 19} When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go unharmed?^[h](U) May the Lord repay you with good for what you’ve done for me today.

²⁰ “Now I know for certain you will be king, and the kingdom of Israel will be established^[i] in your hand.^{(V) 21} Therefore swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”^{(W) 22} So David swore to Saul. Then Saul went back home, and David and his men went up to the stronghold.^(X)

Immoral Church Members

5 It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality^(A) among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated^[a] among the Gentiles^(B)—a man is living with his father’s wife.^{(C) 2} And you are inflated with pride, instead of filled with grief^(D) so that he who has committed this act might be removed from your congregation. ³ For though I am absent in body but present in spirit,^(E) I have already decided about the one who has done this thing as though I were present. ⁴ When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus with my spirit and with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ turn that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,^(F) so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord.^(G)

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast^(H) permeates the whole batch of dough?^{(I) 7} Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch. You are indeed unleavened, for Christ our Passover^(J) has been sacrificed.^{[b] 8} Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old yeast or with the yeast of malice and evil^(K) but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Church Discipline

⁹ I wrote to you in a letter not to associate^(L) with sexually immoral people.^{(M) 10} I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy^(N) and swindlers^(O) or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world.^{(P) 11} But now I am writing^[c] you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer^[d](Q) who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard^(R) or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. ¹² For what business is it of mine to judge^(S) outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? ¹³ But God judges outsiders. Put away the evil person from among yourselves.^(T)[e]

3 He said to me: “Son of man, eat what you find here. Eat this scroll,^(A) then go and speak to the house of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll. ³ “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat^[a] and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate it,^(B) and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.^(C)

⁴ Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. ⁵ For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language but to the house of Israel. ⁶ You are not being sent to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. No doubt, if I sent you to them, they would listen to you.^{(D) 7} But the house of Israel will not want to listen to you because they do not want to listen to Me.^(E) For the whole house of Israel is hardheaded and hardhearted. ⁸ Look, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.^{(F) 9} I have made your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Don’t be afraid of them or discouraged by the look on their faces, even though they are a rebellious house.”

¹⁰ Next He said to me: “Son of man, listen carefully to all My words that I speak to you and take them to heart. ¹¹ Go to your people, the exiles, and speak to them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”^(G)

¹² The Spirit then lifted me up,^(H) and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me—praise the glory of the Lord in His place!— ¹³ with the^[b] sound of the living creatures’ wings brushing against each other^(I) and the sound of the wheels beside them,^(J) a great rumbling sound. ¹⁴ So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I left in bitterness and in an angry spirit, and the Lord’s hand was on me powerfully.^{(K) 15} I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days.^(L)

Ezekiel as a Watchman

¹⁶ Now at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me:^{(M) 17} “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel.^(N) When you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.^{(O) 18} If I say to the wicked person,^(P) ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. ¹⁹ But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life.^{(Q) 20} Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity,^(R) and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die.^(S) If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. ²¹ But if you warn the righteous person that he should not sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he listened to your warning, and you will have saved your life.”

²² Then the hand of the Lord was on me there, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain,^(T) and I will speak with you there.”^{(U) 23} So I got up and went out to the plain. The Lord’s glory was present there,^(V) like the glory I had seen by the Chebar Canal,^(W) and I fell facedown. ²⁴ The Spirit entered me and set me on my feet.^(X) He spoke with me and said: “Go, shut yourself inside your house. ²⁵ And you, son of man, they will put ropes on you^(Y) and bind you with them so you cannot go out among them. ²⁶ I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth,^(Z) and you will be mute^(AA) and unable to rebuke them, for they are a rebellious house. ²⁷ But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth,^(AB) and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse—for they are a rebellious house.

Psalm 39

The Fleeting Nature of Life

For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Davidic psalm.