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).