The M'Cheyne 1 Year Bible Reading Plan, D.A. Carson, and The Love Of God volume 1 & 2

[JimmyH]

I decided to begin the M'Cheyne plan in 2015. I wanted a more organized system of Bible reading and study. I had read that Rev D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones followed the M'Cheyne plan for 53 years, and that was an added encouragement to me. Googling the plan I came upon an article that said D.A. Carson had an alternative plan based on Reverend M'Cheyne's and I scanned the article.

Two volumes were required. The Love Of God, 1 & 2. So I kept it simple and just followed the original plan. At the same time I was curious as to the alternative D.A. Carson offering and this year I looked into it more closely.

I came upon the 2 volumes on ebay in new condition at an attractive price. So I ordered them and began using them a few weeks ago. I just started where I am in this years plan.

Reverend M'Cheyne's plan specifies reading, usually a chapter in two books of the Bible, in the morning, called 'personal' reading, and two more in the evening, family reading.

Using this method you'll go through the whole BIble in one year, and through the Psalms and the NT twice in the year. D.A. Carson's alternative, for those who simply don't have the time to follow the original plan, is to do half the reading and spread it over 2 years.

The two books, volumes one and two, are a homily for each days reading. He chooses one of the two chapters and elucidates on them. Volume one encompasses the morning reading, volume two the evening.

I am so glad to have gotten these two volumes, and incorporated them into my daily reading. Dr. Carson is to my mind one of the most gifted teachers and preachers I've ever heard or read, and the exegesis in these two volumes while brief, display his usual brilliance.

Each page displays the date and the books/chapters to be read at the top for morning and evening. This being very convenient since you needn't have a separate menu to go through. So if you're into the M'Cheyne plan now, or considering it in the future I highly recommend these volumes as an adjunct to your Bible reading.

The title of the book is actually For the Love of God

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I've gone through M'Cheyne's plan a few times over the years. I started going through the Bible-in-a-year in 2003 and it's been very profitable.

For several years I just went from Genesis to Revelation in order and found myself disappointed that I didn't get to the NT until around September.

I've also tried Chronological but those tend to jump around a little bit too much for me.

The interesting thing about Lloyd-Jones habit is that he would use his devotions as a way to "spark" his preaching series. In other words, if something jumped out at him during ahis reading he sort of took that as the Spirit prompting him to prepare sermons on the texts. He would sort of "store up" sermons when he was in an oasis and would dip into those sermons when he didn't really have a sense of what he should be preaching about. It's an interesting read in Preaching and Preachers describing how he did it.

 

[TylerRay]

The Trinitarian Bible Society likewise split M'Cheyne's plan into a two-year plan. See the end of the document below:

Bible Word List and Reading Plan

 

[bookslover]

I tried M'Cheyne's plan a few years ago, but found it frustrating to be reading in four places at once. That's just me, though.