For the Love of God, Volume 1/Introduction

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Robert Murray M’Cheyne was born in Edinburgh on May 21, 1813. He died in Dundee on March 25, 1843—not yet thirty years of age. He had been serving as minister of St. Peter’s, Dundee, since 1836. Though so young, he was known throughout Scotland as “the saintly M’Cheyne”; nor was his remarkable influence limited to the borders of Scotland.

His friend and colleague in ministry, Andrew Bonar, collected some of M’Cheyne’s letters, messages, and miscellaneous papers, and published them, along with a brief biography, in 1844 as Robert Murray M’Cheyne: Memoir and Remains. That work has been widely recognized as one of the great spiritual classics. Within twenty-five years of its initial publication, it went through 116 British editions, quite apart from those in America and elsewhere. Contemporary believers interested in Christian living under the shadow of genuine revival could scarcely do better than to read and reflect on this collection of writings.

One of M’Cheyne’s abiding concerns was to encourage his people, and himself, to read the Bible. To one young man, he wrote, “You read your Bible regularly, of course; but do try and understand it, and still more to feel it. Read more parts than one at a time. For example, if you are reading Genesis, read a Psalm also; or if you are reading Matthew, read a small bit of an Epistle also. Turn the Bible into prayer. Thus, if you were reading the First Psalm, spread the Bible on the chair before you, and kneel and pray, ‘O Lord, give me the blessedness of the man’; ‘let me not stand in the counsel of the ungodly.’ This is the best way of knowing the meaning of the Bible, and of learning to pray.” This was not some quaint or escapist pietism, for at the same time, M’Cheyne was himself diligent in the study of Hebrew and Greek. While a theological student, he met regularly for prayer, study, and Hebrew and Greek exercises with Andrew Bonar, Horatius Bonar, and a handful of other earnest ministers-in-training. They took the Bible so seriously in their living and preaching that when the eminent Thomas Chalmers, then Professor of Divinity, heard of the way they approached the Bible, he is reported to have said, “I like these literalities.” In line with his desire to foster serious Bible reading, M’Cheyne prepared a scheme for daily reading that would take readers through the New Testament and Psalms twice each year, and through the rest of the Bible once. It is reproduced, in slightly modified form, at the end of this Introduction.[1] Some explanation of the chart may be helpful.

The first column is self-explanatory: it lists the date for every day of the year. The following points explain the other features of this chart and the way this book is laid out.

(1) Originally, M’Cheyne listed two columns labeled “Family,” and two labeled “Secret.” He intended that, with some exceptions, the Scripture listings in the “Family” columns be read in family devotions, and those in the “Secret” columns be read privately, in personal devotions. The choice of the word secret was drawn from Matthew 6:6, and was in common use in M’Cheyne’s day. I have labeled the two pairs of columns “Family” and “Private” respectively.

(2) For those using the chart for purely private devotions, the headings are of little significance. Over the last century and a half, many, many Christians have used this chart in just this way—as a guide and a schedule for their own Bible reading.

(3) That there are two columns for “Family” readings and two columns for “Private” readings reflects M’Cheyne’s view that Christians should read from more than one part of the Bible at a time. Not only will this help you link various passages in your mind, but it will help carry you through some of the parts of the Bible that are on first inspection somewhat leaner than others (e.g., 1 Chronicles 1—12).

(4) If you read through the four passages listed for each date, in the course of a year you will, as I have indicated, read through the New Testament and the Psalms twice, and the rest of the Bible once. But if for any reason you find this too fast a pace, then read the passages listed in the first two columns (headed “Family”) in the first year, and the passages listed in the last two columns (headed “Private”) in the second year. Obviously this halves the rate of progress.

(5) One page of this book is devoted to each day. At the top of the page is the date, followed by the references to the four readings. The first two, corresponding to the entries in the “Family” columns, are in italics; the last two, corresponding to the entries in the “Private” columns, are in Roman type. The “Comment” that occupies the rest of the page is occasionally based on some theme that links all four passages, but more commonly is based on some theme or text found in the italicized passages. In Volume Two, the second pair of passages is italicized (rather than the first), and the “Comment” is based on this second pair. In this first volume, I have not restricted comment to passages in the first column, because, in agreement with M’Cheyne, I suppose that to focus on only one part of Scripture, in this case the historical books of the Old Testament (the first column), will not be as helpful as a broader exposure to Scripture. So I have normally commented on a passage of Scripture in one of the first two columns. The first time I refer to the passage on which I am commenting I put the reference in boldface type.

(6) In no way do these pages pretend to be a commentary as that word is commonly understood. My aim is much more modest: to provide edifying comments and reflections on some part of the designated texts, and thus to encourage readers to reflect further on the biblical passages they are reading. If there is something unusual about these comments, it is that I have tried to devote at least some of them to helping the reader keep the big picture of the Bible’s “story line” in mind, and to see what relevance this has for our thinking and living. In other words, although I want the comments to be edifying, this edification is not always of a private, individualized sort. My aim is to show, in however preliminary a way, that reading the whole Bible must stir up thoughtful Christians to thinking theologically and holistically, as well as reverently and humbly. Volume Two includes an exhaustive index of names, subjects, and Scriptures for both volumes.

Finally, I should venture a few practical suggestions. If you must skip something, skip this book; read the Bible instead. If you fall behind, do not use that fact as an excuse for giving up the effort until next January 1. Either catch up (by an afternoon of diligent reading, perhaps some Sunday), or skip ahead to where you should be and take up there. If your schedule allows it, set a regular time and place for your Bible reading. M’Cheyne himself wrote, “Let our secret reading prevent [i.e., precede] the dawning of the day. Let God’s voice be the first we hear in the morning.” Whether that is the best time of the day for you is of little consequence; regular habits are of more importance. When you read, remember that God himself has declared, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isa. 66:2). Learn to distill what a passage is saying, and pray it back to the Lord—whether in petition, thanksgiving, praise, or frank uncertainty. In time your Bible reading will so be linked with your praying that the two will not always be differentiable.[2]


M’Cheyne Chart of Daily Bible Readings

Date Family Private
Jan 1 Gen 1, Matt 1 Ezra 1, Acts 1
Jan 2 Gen 2, Matt 2 Ezra 2, Acts 2
Jan 3 Gen 3, Matt 3 Ezra 3, Acts 3
Jan 4 Gen 4, Matt 4 Ezra 4, Acts 4
Jan 5 Gen 5, Matt 5 Ezra 5, Acts 5
Jan 6 Gen 6, Matt 6 Ezra 6, Acts 6
Jan 7 Gen 7, Matt 7 Ezra 7, Acts 7
Jan 8 Gen 8, Matt 8 Ezra 8, Acts 8
Jan 9 Gen 9-10, Matt 9 Ezra 9, Acts 9
Jan 10 Gen 11, Matt 10 Ezra 10, Acts 10
Jan 11 Gen 12, Matt 11 Neh 1, Acts 11
Jan 12 Gen 13, Matt 12 Neh 2, Acts 12
Jan 13 Gen 14, Matt 13 Neh 3, Acts 13
Jan 14 Gen 15, Matt 14 Neh 4, Acts 14
Jan 15 Gen 16, Matt 15 Neh 5, Acts 15
Jan 16 Gen 17, Matt 16 Neh 6, Acts 16
Jan 17 Gen 18, Matt 17 Neh 7 Acts 17
Jan 18 Gen 19, Matt 18 Neh 8, Acts 18
Jan 19 Gen 20, Matt 19 Neh 9, Acts 19
Jan 20 Gen 21, Matt 20 Neh 10, Acts 20
Jan 21 Gen 22, Matt 21 Neh 11, Acts 21
Jan 22 Gen 23, Matt 22 Neh 12, Acts 22
Jan 23 Gen 24, Matt 23 Neh 13, Acts 23
Jan 24 Gen 25, Matt 24 Est 1, Acts 24
Jan 25 Gen 26, Matt 25 Est 2, Acts 25
Jan 26 Gen 27, Matt 26 Est 3, Acts 26
Jan 27 Gen 28, Matt 27 Est 4, Acts 27
Jan 28 Gen 29, Matt 28 Est 5, Acts 28
Jan 29 Gen 30, Mark 1 Est 6, Rom 1
Jan 30 Gen 31, Mark 2 Est 7, Rom 2
Jan 31 Gen 32, Mark 3 Est 8, Rom 3
Feb 1 Gen 33, Mark 4 Est 9-10, Rom 4
Feb 2 Gen 34, Mark 5 Job 1, Rom 5
Feb 3 Gen 35-36, Mark 6 Job 2, Rom 6
Feb 4 Gen 37, Mark 7 Job 3, Rom 7
Feb 5 Gen 38, Mark 8 Job 4, Rom 8
Feb 6 Gen 39, Mark 9 Job 5, Rom 9
Feb 7 Gen 40, Mark 10 Job 6, Rom 10
Feb 8 Gen 41, Mark 11 Job 7, Rom 11
Feb 9 Gen 42, Mark 12 Job 8, Rom 12
Feb 10 Gen 43, Mark 13 Job 9, Rom 13
Feb 11 Gen 44, Mark 14 Job 10, Rom 14
Feb 12 Gen 45, Mark 15 Job 11, Rom 15
Feb 13 Gen 46, Mark 16 Job 12, Rom 16
Feb 14 Gen 47, Lu 1:1-38 Job 13, 1 Cor 1
Feb 15 Gen 48, Lu 1:39-80 Job 14, 1 Cor 2
Feb 16 Gen 49, Lu 2 Job 15, 1 Cor 3
Feb 17 Gen 50, Lu 3 Job 16-17, 1 Cor 4
Feb 18 Ex 1, Lu 4 Job 18, 1 Cor 5
Feb 19 Ex 2, Lu 5 Job 19, 1 Cor 6
Feb 20 Ex 3, Lu 6 Job 20, 1 Cor 7
Feb 21 Ex 4, Lu 7 Job 21, 1 Cor 8
Feb 22 Ex 5, Lu 8 Job 22, 1 Cor 9
Feb 23 Ex 6, Lu 9 Job 23, 1 Cor 10
Feb 24 Ex 7, Lu 10 Job 24, 1 Cor 11
Feb 25 Ex 8, Lu 11 Job 25-26, 1 Cor 12
Feb 26 Ex 9, Lu 12 Job 27, 1 Cor 13
Feb 27 Ex 10, Lu 13 Job 28, 1 Cor 14
Feb 28 Ex 11:1-12:20, Lu 14 Job 29, 1 Cor 15
Mar 1 Ex 12:21-51, Lu 15 Job 30, 1 Cor 16
Mar 2 Ex 13, Lu 16 Job 31, 2 Cor 1
Mar 3 Ex 14, Lu 17 Job 32, 2 Cor 2
Mar 4 Ex 15, Lu 18 Job 33, 2 Cor 3
Mar 5 Ex 16, Lu 19 Job 34 2 Cor 4
Mar 6 Ex 17, Lu 20 Job 35, 2 Cor 5
Mar 7 Ex 18, Lu 21 Job 36, 2 Cor 6
Mar 8 Ex 19, Lu 22 Job 37, 2 Cor 7
Mar 9 Ex 20, Lu 23 Job 38, 2 Cor 8
Mar 10 Ex 21, Lu 24 Job 39, 2 Cor 9
Mar 11 Ex 22, John 1 Job 40, 2 Cor 10
Mar 12 Ex 23, John 2 Job 41, 2 Cor 11
Mar 13 Ex 24, John 3 Job 42, 2 Cor 12
Mar 14 Ex 25, John 4 Prov 1, 2 Cor 13
Mar 15 Ex 26, John 5 Prov 2, Gal 1
Mar 16 Ex 27, John 6 Prov 3, Gal 2
Mar 17 Ex 28, John 7 Prov 4, Gal 3
Mar 18 Ex 29, John 8 Prov 5, Gal 4
Mar 19 Ex 30, John 9 Prov 6, Gal 5
Mar 20 Ex 31, John 10 Prov 7, Gal 6
Mar 21 Ex 32, John 11 Prov 8, Eph 1
Mar 22 Ex 33, John 12 Prov 9, Eph 2
Mar 23 Ex 34, John 13 Prov 10, Eph 3
Mar 24 Ex 35, John 14 Prov 11, Eph 4
Mar 25 Ex 36, John 15 Prov 12, Eph 5
Mar 26 Ex 37, John 16 Prov 13, Eph 6
Mar 27 Ex 38, John 17 Prov 14, Phil 1
Mar 28 Ex 39, John 18 Prov 15, Phil 2
Mar 29 Ex 40, John 19 Prov 16, Phil 3
Mar 30 Lev 1, John 20 Prov 17, Phil 4
Mar 31 Lev 2-3, John 21 Prov 18, Col 1
Apr 1 Lev 4, Ps 1-2 Prov 19, Col 2
Apr 2 Lev 5, Ps 3-4 Prov 20, Col 3
Apr 3 Lev 6, Ps 5-6 Prov 21, Col 4
Apr 4 Lev 7, Ps 7-8 Prov 22, 1 Thess 1
Apr 5 Lev 8, Ps 9 Prov 23, 1 Thess 2
Apr 6 Lev 9, Ps 10 Prov 24, 1 Thess 3
Apr 7 Lev 10, Ps 11-12 Prov 25, 1 Thess 4
Apr 8 Lev 11-12, Ps 13-14 Prov 26, 1 Thess 5
Apr 9 Lev 13, Ps 15-16 Prov 27, 2 Thess 1
Apr 10 Lev 14, Ps 17 Prov 28, 2 Thess 2
Apr 11 Lev 15, Ps 18 Prov 29, 2 Thess 3
Apr 12 Lev 16, Ps 19 Prov 30, 1 Tim 1
Apr 13 Lev 17, Ps 20-21 Prov 31, 1 Tim 2
Apr 14 Lev 18, Ps 22 Eccles 1, 1 Tim 3
Apr 15 Lev 19, Ps 23-24 Eccles 2, 1 Tim 4
Apr 16 Lev 20, Ps 25 Eccles 3, 1 Tim 5
Apr 17 Lev 21, Ps 26-27 Eccles 4, 1 Tim 6
Apr 18 Lev 22, Ps 28-29 Eccles 5, 2 Tim 1
Apr 19 Lev 23, Ps 30 Eccles 6, 2 Tim 2
Apr 20 Lev 24, Ps 31 Eccles 7, 2 Tim 3
Apr 21 Lev 25, Ps 32 Eccles 8, 2 Tim 4
Apr 22 Lev 26, Ps 33 Eccles 9, Titus 1
Apr 23 Lev 27, Ps 34 Eccles 10, Titus 2
Apr 24 Num 1, Ps 35 Eccles 11, Titus 3
Apr 25 Num 2, Ps 36 Eccles 12, Philem
Apr 26 Num 3, Ps 37 Song 1, Heb 1
Apr 27 Num 4, Ps 38 Song 2, Heb 2
Apr 28 Num 5, Ps 39 Song 3, Heb 3
Apr 29 Num 6, Ps 40-41 Song 4, Heb 4
Apr 30 Num 7, Ps 42-43 Song 5, Heb 5
May 1 Num 8, Ps 44 Song 6, Heb 6
May 2 Num 9, Ps 45 Song 7, Heb 7
May 3 Num 10, Ps 46-47 Song 8, Heb 8
May 4 Num 11, Ps 48 Isa 1, Heb 9
May 5 Num 12-13, Ps 49 Isa 2, Heb 10
May 6 Num 14, Ps 50 Isa 3-4, Heb 11
May 7 Num 15, Ps 51 Isa 5, Heb 12
May 8 Num 16, Ps 52-54 Isa 6, Heb 13
May 9 Num 17-18, Ps 55 Isa 7, James 1
May 10 Num 19, Ps 56-57 Isa 8:1-9:7, James 2
May 11 Num 20, Ps 58-59 Isa 9:8-10:4, James 3
May 12 Num 21, Ps 60-61 Isa 10:5-34, James 4
May 13 Num 22, Ps 62-63 Isa 11-12, James 5
May 14 Num 23, Ps 64-65 Isa 13, 1 Peter 1
May 15 Num 24, Ps 66-67 Isa 14, 1 Peter 2
May 16 Num 25, Ps 68 Isa 15, 1 Peter 3
May 17 Num 26, Ps 69 Isa 16, 1 Peter 4
May 18 Num 27, Ps 70-71 Isa 17-18, 1 Peter 5
May 19 Num 28, Ps 72 Isa 19-20, 2 Peter 1
May 20 Num 29, Ps 73 Isa 21, 2 Peter 2
May 21 Num 30, Ps 74 Isa 22, 2 Peter 3
May 22 Num 31, Ps 75-76 Isa 23, 1 John 1
May 23 Num 32, Ps 77 Isa 24, 1 John 2
May 24 Num 33, Ps 78:1-39 Isa 25, 1 John 3
May 25 Num 34, Ps 78:40-72 Isa 26, 1 John 4
May 26 Num 35, Ps 79 Isa 27, 1 John 5
May 27 Num 36, Ps 80 Isa 28, 2 John
May 28 Deut 1, Ps 81-82 Isa 29, 3 John
May 29 Deut 2, Ps 83-84 Isa 30, Jude
May 30 Deut 3, Ps 85 Isa 31, Rev 1
May 31 Deut 4, Ps 86-87 Isa 32, Rev 2
Jun 1 Deut 5, Ps 88 Isa 33, Rev 3
Jun 2 Deut 6, Ps 89 Isa 34, Rev 4
Jun 3 Deut 7, Ps 90 Isa 35, Rev 5
Jun 4 Deut 8, Ps 91 Isa 36, Rev 6
Jun 5 Deut 9, Ps 92-93 Isa 37, Rev 7
Jun 6 Deut 10, Ps 94 Isa 38, Rev 8
Jun 7 Deut 11, Ps 95-96 Isa 39, Rev 9
Jun 8 Deut 12, Ps 97-98 Isa 40, Rev 10
Jun 9 Deut 13-14, Ps 99-101 Isa 41, Rev 11
Jun 10 Deut 15, Ps 102 Isa 42, Rev 12
Jun 11 Deut 16, Ps 103 Isa 43, Rev 13
Jun 12 Deut 17, Ps 104 Isa 44, Rev 14
Jun 13 Deut 18, Ps 105 Isa 45, Rev 15
Jun 14 Deut 19, Ps 106 Isa 46, Rev 16
Jun 15 Deut 20, Ps 107 Isa 47, Rev 17
Jun 16 Deut 21, Ps 108-109 Isa 48, Rev 18
Jun 17 Deut 22, Ps 110-111 Isa 49, Rev 19
Jun 18 Deut 23, Ps 112-113 Isa 50, Rev 20
Jun 19 Deut 24, Ps 114-115 Isa 51, Rev 21
Jun 20 Deut 25, Ps 116 Isa 52, Rev 22
Jun 21 Deut 26, Ps 117-118 Isa 53, Matt 1
Jun 22 Deut 27:1-28:19, Ps 119:1-24 Isa 54, Matt 2
Jun 23 Deut 28:20-68, Ps 119:25-48 Isa 55, Matt 3
Jun 24 Deut 29, Ps 119:49-72 Isa 56, Matt 4
Jun 25 Deut 30, Ps 119:73-96 Isa 57, Matt 5
Jun 26 Deut 31, Ps 119:97-120 Isa 58, Matt 6
Jun 27 Deut 32, Ps 119:121-144 Isa 59, Matt 7
Jun 28 Deut 33-34, Ps 119:145-176 Isa 60, Matt 8
Jun 29 Josh 1, Ps 120-122 Isa 61, Matt 9
Jun 30 Josh 2, Ps 123-125 Isa 62, Matt 10
Jul 1 Josh 3, Ps 126-128 Isa 63, Matt 11
Jul 2 Josh 4, Ps 129-131 Isa 64, Matt 12
Jul 3 Josh 5, Ps 132-134 Isa 65, Matt 13
Jul 4 Josh 6, Ps 135-136 Isa 66, Matt 14
Jul 5 Josh 7, Ps 137-138 Jer 1, Matt 15
Jul 6 Josh 8, Ps 139 Jer 2, Matt 16
Jul 7 Josh 9, Ps 140-141 Jer 3, Matt 17
Jul 8 Josh 10, Ps 142-143 Jer 4, Matt 18
Jul 9 Josh 11, Ps 144 Jer 5, Matt 19
Jul 10 Josh 12-13, Ps 145 Jer 6, Matt 20
Jul 11 Josh 14-15, Ps 146-147 Jer 7, Matt 21
Jul 12 Josh 16-17, Ps 148 Jer 8, Matt 22
Jul 13 Josh 18-19, Ps 149-150 Jer 9, Matt 23
Jul 14 Josh 20-21, Acts 1 Jer 10, Matt 24
Jul 15 Josh 22, Acts 2 Jer 11, Matt 25
Jul 16 Josh 23, Acts 3 Jer 12, Matt 26
Jul 17 Josh 24, Acts 4 Jer 13, Matt 27
Jul 18 Judg 1, Acts 5 Jer 14, Matt 28
Jul 19 Judg 2, Acts 6 Jer 15, Mark 1
Jul 20 Judg 3, Acts 7 Jer 16, Mark 2
Jul 21 Judg 4, Acts 8 Jer 17, Mark 3
Jul 22 Judg 5, Acts 9 Jer 18, Mark 4
Jul 23 Judg 6, Acts 10 Jer 19, Mark 5
Jul 24 Judg 7, Acts 11 Jer 20, Mark 6
Jul 25 Judg 8, Acts 12 Jer 21, Mark 7
Jul 26 Judg 9, Acts 13 Jer 22, Mark 8
Jul 27 Judg 10, Acts 14 Jer 23, Mark 9
Jul 28 Judg 11, Acts 15 Jer 24, Mark 10
Jul 29 Judg 12, Acts 16 Jer 25, Mark 11
Jul 30 Judg 13, Acts 17 Jer 26, Mark 12
Jul 31 Judg 14, Acts 18 Jer 27, Mark 13
Aug 1 Judg 15, Acts 19 Jer 28, Mark 14
Aug 2 Judg 16, Acts 20 Jer 29, Mark 15
Aug 3 Judg 17, Acts 21 Jer 30-31, Mark 16
Aug 4 Judg 18, Acts 22 Jer 32, Ps 1-2
Aug 5 Judg 19, Acts 23 Jer 33, Ps 3-4
Aug 6 Judg 20, Acts 24 Jer 34, Ps 5-6
Aug 7 Judg 21, Acts 25 Jer 35, Ps 7-8
Aug 8 Ruth 1, Acts 26 Jer 36, 45 Ps 9
Aug 9 Ruth 2, Acts 27 Jer 37, Ps 10
Aug 10 Ruth 3-4, Acts 28 Jer 38, Ps 11-12
Aug 11 1 Sam 1, Rom 1 Jer 39, Ps 13-14
Aug 12 1 Sam 2, Rom 2 Jer 40, Ps 15-16
Aug 13 1 Sam 3, Rom 3 Jer 41, Ps 17
Aug 14 1 Sam 4, Rom 4 Jer 42, Ps 18
Aug 15 1 Sam 5-6, Rom 5 Jer 43, Ps 19
Aug 16 1 Sam 7-8, Rom 6 Jer 44, Ps 20-21
Aug 17 1 Sam 9, Rom 7 Jer 46, Ps 22
Aug 18 1 Sam 10, Rom 8 Jer 47, Ps 23-24
Aug 19 1 Sam 11, Rom 9 Jer 48, Ps 25
Aug 20 1 Sam 12, Rom 10 Jer 49, Ps 26-27
Aug 21 1 Sam 13, Rom 11 Jer 50, Ps 28-29
Aug 22 1 Sam 14, Rom 12 Jer 51, Ps 30
Aug 23 1 Sam 15, Rom 13 Jer 52, Ps 31
Aug 24 1 Sam 16, Rom 14 Lam 1, Ps 32
Aug 25 1 Sam 17, Rom 15 Lam 2, Ps 33
Aug 26 1 Sam 18, Rom 16 Lam 3, Ps 34
Aug 27 1 Sam 19, 1 Cor 1 Lam 4, Ps 35
Aug 28 1 Sam 20, 1 Cor 2 Lam 5, Ps 36
Aug 29 1 Sam 21-22, 1 Cor 3 Ezek 1, Ps 37
Aug 30 1 Sam 23, 1 Cor 4 Ezek 2, Ps 38
Aug 31 1 Sam 24, 1 Cor 5 Ezek 3, Ps 39
Sep 1 1 Sam 25, 1 Cor 6 Ezek 4, Ps 40-41
Sep 2 1 Sam 26, 1 Cor 7 Ezek 5, Ps 42-43
Sep 3 1 Sam 27, 1 Cor 8 Ezek 6, Ps 44
Sep 4 1 Sam 28, 1 Cor 9 Ezek 7, Ps 45
Sep 5 1 Sam 29-30, 1 Cor 10 Ezek 8, Ps 46-47
Sep 6 1 Sam 31, 1 Cor 11 Ezek 9, Ps 48
Sep 7 2 Sam 1, 1 Cor 12 Ezek 10, Ps 49
Sep 8 2 Sam 2, 1 Cor 13 Ezek 11, Ps 50
Sep 9 2 Sam 3, 1 Cor 14 Ezek 12, Ps 51
Sep 10 2 Sam 4-5, 1 Cor 15 Ezek 13, Ps 52-54
Sep 11 2 Sam 6, 1 Cor 16 Ezek 14, Ps 55
Sep 12 2 Sam 7, 2 Cor 1 Ezek 15, Ps 56-57
Sep 13 2 Sam 8-9, 2 Cor 2 Ezek 16, Ps 58-59
Sep 14 2 Sam 10, 2 Cor 3 Ezek 17, Ps 60-61
Sep 15 2 Sam 11, 2 Cor 4 Ezek 18, Ps 62-63
Sep 16 2 Sam 12, 2 Cor 5 Ezek 19, Ps 64-65
Sep 17 2 Sam 13, 2 Cor 6 Ezek 20, Ps 66-67
Sep 18 2 Sam 14, 2 Cor 7 Ezek 21, Ps 68
Sep 19 2 Sam 15, 2 Cor 8 Ezek 22, Ps 69
Sep 20 2 Sam 16, 2 Cor 9 Ezek 23, Ps 70-71
Sep 21 2 Sam 17, 2 Cor 10 Ezek 24, Ps 72
Sep 22 2 Sam 18, 2 Cor 11 Ezek 25, Ps 73
Sep 23 2 Sam 19, 2 Cor 12 Ezek 26, Ps 74
Sep 24 2 Sam 20, 2 Cor 13 Ezek 27, Ps 75-76
Sep 25 2 Sam 21, Gal 1 Ezek 28, Ps 77
Sep 26 2 Sam 22, Gal 2 Ezek 29, Ps 78:1-39
Sep 27 2 Sam 23, Gal 3 Ezek 30, Ps 78:40-72
Sep 28 2 Sam 24, Gal 4 Ezek 31, Ps 79
Sep 29 1 Ki 1, Gal 5 Ezek 32, Ps 80
Sep 30 1 Ki 2, Gal 6 Ezek 33, Ps 81-82
Oct 1 1 Ki 3, Eph 1 Ezek 34, Ps 83-84
Oct 2 1 Ki 4-5, Eph 2 Ezek 35, Ps 85
Oct 3 1 Ki 6, Eph 3 Ezek 36, Ps 86
Oct 4 1 Ki 7, Eph 4 Ezek 37, Ps 87-88
Oct 5 1 Ki 8, Eph 5 Ezek 38, Ps 89
Oct 6 1 Ki 9, Eph 6 Ezek 39, Ps 90
Oct 7 1 Ki 10, Phil 1 Ezek 40, Ps 91
Oct 8 1 Ki 11, Phil 2 Ezek 41, Ps 92-93
Oct 9 1 Ki 12, Phil 3 Ezek 42, Ps 94
Oct 10 1 Ki 13, Phil 4 Ezek 43, Ps 95-96
Oct 11 1 Ki 14, Col 1 Ezek 44, Ps 97-98
Oct 12 1 Ki 15, Col 2 Ezek 45, Ps 99-101
Oct 13 1 Ki 16, Col 3 Ezek 46, Ps 102
Oct 14 1 Ki 17, Col 4 Ezek 47, Ps 103
Oct 15 1 Ki 18, 1 Thess 1 Ezek 48, Ps 104
Oct 16 1 Ki 19, 1 Thess 2 Dan 1 Ps, 105
'Oct 17 1 Ki 20, 1 Thess 3 Dan 2, Ps 106
Oct 18 1 Ki 21, 1 Thess 4 Dan 3, Ps 107
Oct 19 1 Ki 22, 1 Thess 5 Dan 4, Ps 108-109
Oct 20 2 Ki 1, 2 Thess 1 Dan 5, Ps 110-111
Oct 21 2 Ki 2, 2 Thess 2 Dan 6, Ps 112-113
Oct 22 2 Ki 3, 2 Thess 3 Dan 7, Ps 114-115
Oct 23 2 Ki 4, 1 Tim 1 Dan 8, Ps 116
Oct 24 2 Ki 5, 1 Tim 2 Dan 9, Ps 117-118
Oct 25 2 Ki 6, 1 Tim 3 Dan 10, Ps 119:1-24
Oct 26 2 Ki 7, 1 Tim 4 Dan 11, Ps 119:25-48
Oct 27 2 Ki 8, 1 Tim 5 Dan 12, Ps 119:49-72
Oct 28 2 Ki 9, 1 Tim 6 Hosea 1, Ps 119:73-96
Oct 29 2 Ki 10-11, 2 Tim 1 Hosea 2, Ps 119:97-120
Oct 30 2 Ki 12, 2 Tim 2 Hosea 3-4, Ps 119:121-144
Oct 31 2 Ki 13, 2 Tim 3 Hosea 5-6, Ps 119:145-176
Nov 1 2 Ki 14, 2 Tim 4 Hosea 7, Ps 120-122
Nov 2 2 Ki 15, Titus 1 Hosea 8, Ps 123-125
Nov 3 2 Ki 16, Titus 2 Hosea 9, Ps 126-128
Nov 4 2 Ki 17, Titus 3 Hosea 10, Ps 129-131
Nov 5 2 Ki 18, Philem Hosea 11, Ps 132-134
Nov 6 2 Ki 19, Heb 1 Hosea 12, Ps 135-136
Nov 7 2 Ki 20, Heb 2 Hosea 13, Ps 137-138
Nov 8 2 Ki 21, Heb 3 Hosea 14, Ps 139
Nov 9 2 Ki 22, Heb 4 Joel 1, Ps 140-141
Nov 10 2 Ki 23, Heb 5 Joel 2, Ps 142
Nov 11 2 Ki 24, Heb 6 Joel 3, Ps 143
Nov 12 2 Ki 25, Heb 7 Amos 1, Ps 144
Nov 13 1 Chr 1-2, Heb 8 Amos 2 Ps 145
Nov 14 1 Chr 3-4, Heb 9 Amos 3 Ps, 146-147
Nov 15 1 Chr 5-6, Heb 10 Amos 4, Ps 148-150
Nov 16 1 Chr 7-8, Heb 11 Amos 5, Lu 1:1-38
Nov 17 1 Chr 9-10, Heb 12 Amos 6, Lu 1:39-80
Nov 18 1 Chr 11-12, Heb 13 Amos 7, Lu 2
Nov 19 1 Chr 13-14, James 1 Amos 8, Lu 3
Nov 20 1 Chr 15, James 2 Amos 9, Lu 4
Nov 21 1 Chr 16, James 3 Obadiah, Lu 5
Nov 22 1 Chr 17, James 4 Jonah 1, Lu 6
Nov 23 1 Chr 18, James 5 Jonah 2, Lu 7
Nov 24 1 Chr 19-20, 1 Peter 1 Jonah 3, Lu 8
Nov 25 1 Chr 21, 1 Peter 2 Jonah 4, Lu 9
Nov 26 1 Chr 22, 1 Peter 3 Micah 1, Lu 10
Nov 27 1 Chr 23, 1 Peter 4 Micah 2, Lu 11
Nov 28 1 Chr 24-25, 1 Peter 5 Micah 3, Lu 12
Nov 29 1 Chr 26-27, 2 Peter 1 Micah 4, Lu 13
Nov 30 1 Chr 28 2 Peter 2 Micah 5 Lu 14
Dec 1 1 Chr 29, 2 Peter 3 Micah 6, Lu 15
Dec 2 2 Chr 1, 1 John 1 Micah 7 Lu 16
Dec 3 2 Chr 2, 1 John 2 Nahum 1, Lu 17
Dec 4 2 Chr 3-4, 1 John 3 Nahum 2, Lu 18
Dec 5 2 Chr 5:1-6:11, 1 John 4 Nahum 3, Lu 19
Dec 6 2 Chr 6:12-42, 1 John 5 Hab 1, Lu 20
Dec 7 2 Chr 7, 2 John Hab 2, Lu 21
Dec 8 2 Chr 8, 3 John Hab 3, Lu 22
Dec 9 2 Chr 9, Jude Zeph 1, Lu 23
Dec 10 2 Chr 10, Rev 1 Zeph 2, Lu 24
Dec 11 2 Chr 11-12, Rev 2 Zeph 3, John 1
Dec 12 2 Chr 13, Rev 3 Hag 1, John 2
Dec 13 2 Chr 14-15, Rev 4 Hag 2, John 3
Dec 14 2 Chr 16, Rev 5 Zech 1, John 4
Dec 15 2 Chr 17, Rev 6 Zech 2, John 5
Dec 16 2 Chr 18, Rev 7 Zech 3, John 6
Dec 17 2 Chr 19-20, Rev 8 Zech 4, John 7
Dec 18 2 Chr 21, Rev 9 Zech 5, John 8
Dec 19 2 Chr 22-23, Rev 10 Zech 6, John 9
Dec 20 2 Chr 24, Rev 11 Zech 7, John 10
Dec 21 2 Chr 25, Rev 12 Zech 8, John 11
Dec 22 2 Chr 26, Rev 13 Zech 9, John 12
Dec 23 2 Chr 27-28, Rev 14 Zech 10, John 13
Dec 24 2 Chr 29, Rev 15 Zech 11, John 14
Dec 25 2 Chr 30, Rev 16 Zech 12:1-13:1, John 15
Dec 26 2 Chr 31, Rev 17 Zech 13:2-9, John 16
Dec 27 2 Chr 32, Rev 18 Zech 14, John 17
Dec 28 2 Chr 33, Rev 19 Mal 1, John 18
Dec 29 2 Chr 34, Rev 20 Mal 2, John 19
Dec 30 2 Chr 35, Rev 21 Mal 3, John 20
Dec 31 2 Chr 36, Rev 22 Mal 4, John 21


References

  1. The original can be found in many editions of the book already referred to, viz. Andrew A. Bonar, ed., Robert Murray M’Cheyne: Memoir and Remains. My copy is from the 1966 reprint, published by Banner of Truth, taken from the 1892 edition, pp. 623-628. Some popular editions, such as the two-volume paperback edition published by Moody Press (n.d.), omit the chart. The principal changes in substance I have introduced are four places where I have changed the break in the passage by two or three verses.
  2. I have tried to offer some practical pointers in this respect in A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992).
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