Bible Reading Plan — M'Cheyne One Year

Greeting

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

²Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

⁴According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

⁵Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

⁶To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

⁷In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

⁸Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

⁹Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

¹⁰That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

¹¹In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

¹²That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

¹³In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

¹⁴Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom

¹⁵Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

¹⁶Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

¹⁷That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

¹⁸The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

²⁰Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,

²¹Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

²²And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

²³Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Rebuke of the Shepherds Who Did Not Tend the Flock

¹And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

²Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

³Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.

⁴The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.

⁵And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

⁶My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

⁷¶ Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

⁸As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

⁹Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;

¹⁰Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

The Shepherd Who Will Himself Seek and Feed the Flock

¹¹¶ For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

¹²As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

¹³And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

¹⁴I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

¹⁵I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.

¹⁶I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

¹⁷And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.

¹⁸Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?

¹⁹And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.

²⁰¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.

²¹Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;

²²Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

One Shepherd, David, and a Covenant of Peace

²³And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

²⁴And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

²⁵And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.

²⁶And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.

²⁷And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.

²⁸And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.

²⁹And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

³⁰Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD.

³¹And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.

An Appeal Against United Adversaries

¹Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

²For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

³They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

⁴They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

⁵For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:

⁶The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;

⁷Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;

⁸Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

⁹Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:

¹⁰Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.

¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:

¹²Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.

¹³O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.

¹⁴As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;

¹⁵So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.

¹⁶Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

¹⁷Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:

¹⁸That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

A Pilgrim Longing for the Lord's Courts

¹How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

²My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

³Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

⁴Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

⁵Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

⁶Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

⁷They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

⁸O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

⁹Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

¹⁰For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

¹²O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.