For the Love of God, Volume 1/Introduction

From Gospel Translations

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

• Note that the first two passages listed are for “Family” readings and second two passages are for “Private” 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	} ↑ 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. ↑ 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).