RO BE RT M URRAY

M C CH EY N E

D L X N D . D R SM LL . A E A E E IE ,

“ AUTH OR O F IN TH E HO UR O F SILE NCE

! “ ME N O O V N AN l’ C F TH E C E T, E .

But a t my back 1 a lways lzear

’ ' ' ’ ‘ ’ ‘ Tzme s wangea c/za r zot lmr rying m ar Aml yon der a ll bqfore m lie

D eser ts (f vast E tern ity . ANDREW MARV ELL

LONDON NATIONAL CO UNCI L OF EV ANG ELICAL FREE CH URCHES

F. B. M Y M M L LL E . E E O . R , E RIA HA , C

THE G O OF GOD L RY ,

A N D I N M E M O R Y O F

R OBE RT MURRAY MCCH E YNE

PREFACE

T H I S little b o o k may be said to have a double o f parentage . The first suggestion it came from

s Dr . F . B . Meyer and tho e associated with him i f in the Co u n c l . o the E nglish Free Churches .

s Of They desired to include , in their serie

L ea der s o Reviva l f , a volume which should

o f M c Che n e m o f treat y and Willia Burns , and that work o f grace in Scotland with which these shining name s are u nbreakably linked ; and they were good enough to ask me to write the volume . s But then , some months afterward , in a curious

was t o and quite unexpected way , there sent me

W . . o f . s S from Mr J ame Macdonald , , E dinburgh , an altogether priceles s box of Mc Ch e yn e manu

— his scripts letters to and from family and friends ,

s notebooks , sermons , and document of different kind I f s . o Mr . Macdonald knew nothing Dr .

1 Th t i n n n e ts t e ts . se s box , wi h co , Mr Macdo ald propo t o give t o th e J e wi sh Com m itte e of th e Un it e d Fre e t n t o b e e s e e in th e L o f Church of Sco la d , pr rv d ibrary th e Ne w e e E n It was t h im Coll g , di burgh . bough by m n f th e f w . m tt n o e o e fro Mr Willia Sco , of Thor hill , s n urvivi g re lative s o f th e Mc Ch e yn e s . A youn ge r broth e r 1X Prefac e

’ Meyer s previous invitation ; a nd it seemed strange that I should have this twofold call t o

M h n write about Robert Murray c C e y e . But now I had t o expand somewhat the scope f o the book . I f I were to take advantage o f the treasure - trove Of manuscripts put at my t o disposal , it became evident that I must try portray McCh e yn e n o t only as a leader o f revival but in more personal aspects o f his

— s o n character as a , a brother , a friend , and

o f o f a minister the Gospel Christ . I fear that this alteration o f plan may have been disappointing

o ffice - to the bearers of the Free Church Council , although they have shown themselves exceedingly

magnanimous and patient throughout . Yet surely it wo uld have been a pity not to utilize the new

material to which I had been given access .

o f s I am the debtor also Mis Marjory Bonar ,

who has helped me very kindly and effectively , allowing me to avail myself of her father ’s

memoranda and marginalia , and herself clearing

away more than o ne difficulty . o f The illustrations will , I think , be found

o f special interest . Some them the reader

’ o f m Mc Ch e n e R e t s t e was m Ada y , ob r fa h r , Willia , who

t t o m e an d e t e e . H e s o n e migra e d A rica di d h r had a , ’ n d m e s s te was e n Mc Ch e n e Jam e s ; a Ja daugh r J a y , who

Sh t o o e few e s . m e tt . e arri d Mr . Sco , , di d a y ar ago X Prefac e

t wh o fo r f o . o owes Mr Macdonald , , the sake ’ M cChe ne s y memory , has taken endless pains n and spared himself o trouble . Others have — t o been drawn with , as it seems me , a beau —b tiful care and skill y Mrs . Struthers , the artist o f W e M ai/ ma that incomparable magazine , g

Walea.

o f I t is , course , impossible , even with such u t o conspicuo s assistance as I have had , add ’ ’ much t o what is recorded in the M emoze a n a

Rem n . ai s . Once for all , Dr Andrew Bonar has limned the features o f his friend ; and he wh o comes after Dr Bonar can only be , like ’ the Arab physician; a picker - up Of learning s crumbs . But I shall be glad if I succeed in sending some new readers t o a biography w hich is , and will always be , a possession o f fo r the heart ; and , the rest , if, in the f o ne o r t wo pages that ollow , I have caught human and homely glimpses o f a white - robed s ai nt . I t has been a wonderful and sacred e t o t c privileg be permit ed , in his entenary year, t o lay a s tone o f re membrance o n Robert ’ Mc h n s c n C e y e ai r .

A. S . Felm ae 1 y, 19 3 .

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

WINTER PASSETH AFTER THE LONG DELAY

CHAPTER II

THE TRAININ G O F A G OOD HUS BANDMAN

CHAPTER III

A SOWER WENT FORTH TO SOVV

CHAPTER IV

IN LABOURS MORE A BUNDANT

CHAPTER V

THOSE HOLY FIELDS

CHAPTER V I

TH E N DROP S FROM HEAV EN FE LL ! ! iii Contents

CHAPTER V II

A P LENTIFUL RAIN AND THE P LENTEOUS HARV EST

CHAPTE R V III

TO THE E ND 0 ’ THE DAY AND THE LAST LOAD HOME

CHAPTER IX AFTERMATH

INDEX

x iv ILLUSTRATIONS

ROBERT MURRAY M c CH E YNE Fr on tzspzeee D ra wn b him s l a n d ou n d in a little ocket Note ook belou m to th e y e f, f p b g g r T r 1 r r a yea 1843 . he Autog aph 3 of a n ea lie d te

TO FACE P AG E D AV ID THOMAS M cCH E YNE 16 Fr om a m im a ture

ROBERT M c CH E YNE ’s MOTHER Fr om an old photogra ph

A ! UARTETTE OF FAMI LY P ORTRAITS Dra wn b Rober t McCh e n e m a n Al um belou m to the ea rs — y y , b g g y tr u rs 2 C b L. S 18 0 18 . o zed A t e 3 3 p y . h

’ P E TE R s H CH D ST. C UR , UNDEE L t rut ers D r a wn by A. . S h

A D EP UTY AFTER A LONG D AY’S RIDE D W B N R (AN RE A . O A ! D ra wn by Robert McCheyn e in one of h zs Travel Noteb ooks

ROBERT M c CH E YNE ’s V ESTRY r L S m h rs D awn by A. . t t e

CLARENCEFIELD COTTAG E AT RUTHWELL Dra n A L Str ut/le i s w by . .

S OME FACES OF FRIENDS D ra wn b Ro ert McCh e ne i1z a n Al um belou m to th e ea rs — y b y , b g g y d b A L. trut er 1 18 2 . C z S 83 0 3 op e y . h s

V T IN P T ’ H H TH E G RA ES ONE ST. E ER S C URC YARD D r A r u r L. St t s a w n by . he XV

ROBERT MURRAY MG CHEYNE

C H APT E R I

W INTE R PASS ETH AFTE R TH E LO NG D E LAY

BETWEEN the Scotland o f the seventeenth century and its succe s s or o f the eighteenth the contrasts are many and notable . M ountains divide them , ”

o f . o f and the waste seas Outwardly , the changes the new e ra were entirely fo r the better . Political stability and rest were substituted fo r turmoil and war . Social progress went forward by leaps and bounds . The prosperity and the wealth of the country were vastly increased . B ut religion did not gain ground ; it waned and receded . There was a note of cult ure and elegance in it s expression which had not been there formerly it had become careful of the proprieties it dressed itself in velvets and satins instead of in the home spun with which the fathers had been content .

But the fire and the fervour had left its heart . I B Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

I t was icily regular . A frost had fallen upon it and it was no longer the burning and blazing passion which went singing into the fight at

- Drumclog , or up the scaffold steps at the Mercat

- Cro s s and the Gallow Lee . Perhaps we may acquaint ourselves best with

s f thi dif erence of atmosphere , if we peep into o n e o r two books which are famous in Scottish literature .

’ W o dro w s This , for example , is Robert

A lec n a ta . I t describes the decadence in its beginnings . I t is the voluminous and garrulous and always interesting diary in which the o f minister Eastwood has set down , from March , “ I O I I I 7 , to December , 7 3 , what he happened

- to hear from good hands and well attested .

W o dro w is himself evangelical , and does not “ o f o f lose sight the great red light Calvary . But he is far from being an extremist in his

Fo r evangelism . instance , when the Assembly o f 17 2 0 has condemned Tae M a r r ow of M ode r n

D ivin i ty, the little English treatise which H og of Ca rn o ck and Boston of Ettrick had intro

duce d o f to readers north the Tweed , whose chapters ring forth in its fullness and its freeness o f the music the Gospel , and when the Assembly of 17 2 2 has rebuked the twelve Marro wm e n at

Wo dro w s u its bar , , because he is a tanch p W inter Passeth

holder of the conclu s ions and decision s o f the

o f authorities the Church , is in perfect sympathy

with the Assembly . The man o f order and prudence is generally a trifle suspicious o f the

s man who corns the consequence , and follows his

s oul wherever it may lead . Yet this quiet and s ober Churchman was filled with concern as he f surveyed the religious conditions o his time .

o f n o t The young men Glasgow , he writes , did have the training in Christian faith and conduct to which their predecessors had been accustomed ; o f and , going abroad in the pursuit trade , they

o f came back with the laxer habits other lands .

s At the U niversity the students , and tho e in the

s s n o t s s Divinity cla es least , were di clo ing a tendency to freedom o f thought ; and the s tate

, ment by the Professors o f Trinitarian doctrine excited appearances o f dissent and even o f

s . deri ion I n the city where , a few winters pre v io usl - y, there had been seventy two regular

W o dro w o f meetings for prayer , knew now only fi v e ; while clubs fo r debating o n miscellaneous and often irreverent questions were coming into

v ogue . When the watchful minister marked

s s such ominous symptom , the fear tole into his breas t that a desolating stroke must be impend

ing over the West Country, once the peculiar o f home the saints , but now ensnared , assaulted , Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

overcome , led bound With the teaching of numbers of his fellow - clergymen he was as pro

fo undly dissatisfied . I n these early decades o f the eighteenth century Scotland witnes s ed the

de s i birth of what , somewhat later , was to be g s mated Moderati m . The younger preachers n o o f longer spoke , in the dialect their forebears ,

s in about and salvation , atonement and con

version , faith and repentance ; the words , and

the truths behind the words , were regarded as

s u s hopeles ly antiq ated , if not as quite Ob olete .

wa s The pulpit giving itself, instead , to the dis

c us s io n of the moralities of daily conduct , the

s s o f b e ethic of Scripture , the decencie good

W o dro w s haviour . But to these prelection were

s s pithless , nerveles , toothle s and he did not love

s them . On a Sacramental Monday , in Gla gow ,

he hearkened to a discourse from Mr . Wallace of

F itb wité ut r k o n a o wo s is dea d. Moffat , the text ,

“ was h a ran in I t in the new g g method , and it pleased s ome of the young volage s parks who

r i s e t up now mightily for c it cks . For a full half hour the s peaker insi s ted on the necessity of

s o o inquiry in religion , and left only a quarter f an hour in which to give a cold account of faith a s an as sent and crediting of the truth ; and then he clos ed with a fling at all imposed forms o f

f I . o 0 orthodoxy Again , in the Assembly 7 3 , the

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

their earlier manifestations . To ascertain how rapidly and ho w ruinou s ly they progressed we may leave Robert W o dro w for Alexander

Carlyle , whose imposing presence won for him “ “ ” o f : the sobriquet J upiter Carlyle he was ,

“ says Sir Walter Scott , the grandest demigod I

w fif - s a . t ever For y seven summers and winters , from his ordination in 17 4 8 until his death in

18 w s f 0 a o o f . 5 , he minister the parish l nveresk S ide by s ide with Principal William Robertson he led the Moderate s in the Church of Scotland

his A ut obio r a d and g p y, which J ohn H ill Burton

18 6 0 l s o f published in , te l us what sort leader he

s i wa s . Though he did not t down to write it till

his s - the day he entered eventy ninth year , few

s o s o books are forceful and racy , alert and keen eyed but it s vitality is that of a capable man o f

o f s it s the world , and no breath spirituality stir in

a s p ges . We are introduced to Dukes and Lord

s as his of Se sion and great ladies ; for ,

s s a s s pari hioner hinted , and he was him elf

“ s s wa s ready to confe , Alexander Carlyle partial

i s s m to the company of h s uperior . We eet and talk with prominent men o f letters J ohn H ome o f D ougla s fame and Tobias

m um . Smollett , Ada Smith and David H e

s e e We are taken to Garrick , both in his resi dence a t Ham pton a nd o n the s tage in Drury 6 W inter Passeth

“ Lane ; o f the many exertions I and my friends have made fo r the credit and interest o fthe clergy ” o f o f o ur the Church Scotland , annalist boasts “ in a characteristic passage , there was none more meritorious and Of better effects than this , o f that , in spite protests and libels from his Pres b t e r Of y y, he set the fashion ministerial play

o s going . We gain admission t the various ocial clubs which the parson o f I nveresk patronised o r — helped to found the Select Society , the Poker

Div e rs o rium Club , the Tuesday Club , the like

- re the market place of Yarmouth , they were m arkab ly well - provided with every kind o f vivres

” “ o t for the p and the spit , and the wine is excel ” : lent and flows freely first and last , J upiter “ Carlyle plumed him s elf no t only o n his Par “ nassian correspondence but o n his Olympian him conviviality . Or , again , we find initiating

Principal Robertson and Dr . H ugh Blair into the

s o f mysterie backgammon and whist , though both of his pupils have passed their sixtieth birthday ;

wa s s he an accompli hed tutor , for , in the manses “ s e t of the neighbourhood , he had the first ex ample o f playing at cards at home with unlocked

s s o door , and had relieved the clergy from ridicule o n that side Robertson did very well , Blair never s hone but no w at least they need not “ ’ any more be very u nhappy when in friend s Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

houses in the country in rainy weather . I t is all clever and engrossing after its o wn manner and in its own accent ; but the accent is not that o f the “ ” country afar beyond the stars , nor the manner “ that in which true Aarons are drest . The truth is that the A ut obiog r apby is frankly and u m

is . ashamedly secular , when it not altogether pagan And we are not surprised that Carlyle ’s theology wa s broad and latitudinarian . At the D ivinity

1 1— 2 H all in Edinburgh , in the winter of 74 4 , he

s D e had prescribed to him as a theme for discour e ,

Fide a le hi S ea . s ifi H e wrote thesis , and delivered

“ it ; but it was a very improper subject for s o young a student . One fears that to the end

D r . Carlyle kept far away in his preaching from m the doctrine o f Saving Faith . Some ti e in

1 At h e ls t a n e fo rd 7 5 3 , David H ume heard him in

wa s Church , on a Sabbath when he doing duty f r w o . J ohn H ome After ards , when they met

“ before dinner , What did you mean , the philo

“ ’ s Sopher queried , by treating J ohn congregation ’ ? t o - day with one o f Cicero s academics I did

” “ not think , he added , that such heathen morality

s . would have pa sed in East Lothian Carlyle ,

his s in fact , makes no attempt to hide di taste for all that is mystical and supernatural in re

“ ligio n . There arose much murmuring in the

s o ne parish again t me , he acknowledges in Of 8 W inter Passeth

“ his outspoken paragraphs , together with many — doubts about my having the grace of God an occult quality which the people cannot define and we detect the sting and sneer in thos e las t

o f s words . For the men the oppo ite party in the Church he had little patience and abundant con

“ tempt . H e nicknamed them the H ighflyers , and made fun o f them whenever he could . Prim “ o f was f rose Crichton a shallow pedant , puf ed up by the flattery o f h is brethren to think himself

“ an eminent s cholar : he had a fluent elocution

s in the dialect of Moray hire , embellished with English o f his o wn invention ; but with all thi s

o f s he had no common s ens e . Smith Cran ton “ s l o f was a y northern Watson N ewbattle , “ s s a dark inqui itor , all the more dangerou “ ” because he was o f some parts ; Walker of m “ Te ple , a rank enthusiast , with nothing but ” heat without light . I t was the light that Carlyle

’ A u klar u n s himself prized , the f g , the I llumini m ; fo r the enthu s iasm and the heat he never pre tended to cheri s h any affection . Probably the A u t obiog r apny s hows us Modera t is m in it s most arid and unprofitable phase ; there were men o n the s ame side in the General

s As embly who had felt the touch o f the H ighes t .

And , confronting them , fighting a long and dour

s campaign again t them , stood the Evangelicals , 9 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

o n s who , as the century ran toward its close , gained gradually and surely in influence . More

s over , Scotland had sons and daughter outside

o f s the bounds the E tablished Church , who lived

- fi re : near Christ , and therefore near the hearth

Cameronians , who had never accepted the Revo lut io n o f Settlement ; Seceders , of the family

o r Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine , of the other

o f wo r family Thomas Gillespie ; later still , the shippers in those I ndependent chapels which Robert and James H aldane founded in many f parts of the country . The leaven o grace was

wa s working , and the hour at hand when the issues i of t s proces s es would be revealed more plainly . G o d and H is s aints held fellowship when things

s e n looked drie s t and deadest . I n the opening t e n ce s a M em or ia ls of nother delectable book , the o b is Tim e r f , H en y Cockburn , who was born in

1 s s . October , 7 7 9 , describe one of these saint

“ s was My mother , he write , the best woman

s v I have ever known . I f I were to ur ive her for

s s a thou and years , I Should till have a deep and

o f grateful recollection her kindness , her piety , her devotion to her family , and her earnest ,

s s gentle , and Christian anxiety for their happine in this life and in the life to come . Lord Cock

is t o o was u burn certain , , that there much tr e religion in that older generation which he recalls I O W inter Passeth

“ with such vividness and charm ; though my “ 18 0 Opinion is , he avowed in 3 , that the balance his is in favour o f the present time . I n final pages he introduces us to the man who , in the m shaping and refining hand of God , did ore than any other t o usher in the better era . Thomas

is Chalmers , he says , awkward , and has a low husky voice , a guttural articulation , a whitish eye , ” and a large dingy countenance . I n point o f mere feature , indeed , it would not be difficult to

. was think him ugly But he saved from this , and made interesting and lovable , by singular modesty

Of s o f and simplicity manner , a trong expression calm thought and benevolence , a forehead so broad that it seemed to proclaim itself the s eat of a great intellect , and a love of humour and

s drollery . And such a con ummate orator he was ,

o f his s in spite bad figure , voice , ge ture , and

s look , and the uncouthne s of his Doric accent . “ Often Cockburn had hung upon his word s with a beating heart and a tearful eye . The magic lay in the concentrated inten s ity which agitated

o f his a s every fibre the man , and kindled speech

“ if with living fire . H e no sooner approaches

his his m the edge of high region , than ani ation converts h is external defects into pos it ive a dv an tages by showing the intellectual power that

s overcome them ; and , when he has got us at 1 1 Robe rt Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ fl o f his last within the ames enthusiasm , J effrey s

‘ des cription that he buried his adversaries under

’ the fragments of burning mountains is the only image that suggests an idea of his eloquent ”

imagination and terrible energy . Best of all , he appeared to H enry Cockburn t o be utterly

s un poiled by applau s e .

M em oir s o T/z omas Cda lmer s his The f , which

- - s o n in . ha s is law , Dr William H anna , written , the last o f these books with which we ought to

s s e e hold conver e , if we wish to how , a hundred

s was year back , the life of God faring in the soul

I is . of S cotland . t a big undertaking to read Dr ’ — Hanna s four mas s ive volumes too big for him whos e mental food is the sevenpenny novel and the magazine article and the evening news paper ; but the lovers of that literature which educates

s s and in pire can never get too much of it , and

we have it here at it s be s t . I t accelerates our

s s s sluggi hness , it in til a medicinal euphrasy and

s s rue into our dull vi ion , it sweeten our petulant a n d s s s us di tru tful temper , and it build into finer

r s and more Ch i tlike men and women , to walk and

s s s talk with Dr . Chalmer in the lei urely fa hion which thi s s a ti s fying biography permit s us to do ; a n d a it s us when we h ve arrived at concl ion , we

would not ha ve it abridged by a s ingle page . It h as m a ny a tim e been s aid that the German 12

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e canted the words and confessed his error amid “ o f the deathlike stillness the H ouse . I have n o reserve in saying that the sentiment was

t h e o f wrong , and that , in utterance it , I penned

was what most outrageously wrong . Strangely

! o f blinded that I was What , sir , is the object ? mathematical science Magnitude , and the pro portions of magnitude . But then , sir , I had o f forgotten two magnitudes . I thought not the littleness o f time ; I recklessly thought not o f the greatness of eternity ” What awakened him to the greatness of eternity was his perusal o f ’ P r c ic l V r n t Wilberforce s a t a iew of Cb ist ia i y. I t o n D o tnis a nd taught him that , the principle Of live , no peace , and no true and worthy Obedience , could ever be attained . I t turned him right o f round , to an unquestioning adoption the

Believe in tb e L or d esns contrary principle , j

l e v CAr is t a n d léon sna t b sa ed. , I sicken at all my own imperfect preparations , he confessed ;

I take one decisive and immediate step , and f resign my all to the sufficiency o my Saviour . “ H e boasted , he said more than once , in the ” plenitude o f the great Atonement . From that

- birth hour momentous consequences flowed .

Kilmany first felt the thrill . Chalmers had another message in the pulpit now , and another

in c l success among his parishioners . H e had u I 4 W inter Passeth cat e d o f the need moral improvement , with that eager and fervid eloquence which was natural to

o n him . H e had expatiated the meanness of

s s o n o f s o n di hone ty , the villainy fal ehood , the despicable arts o f calumny . I t had not occurred to him that , although he had effected the ethical o f revival which he desired , the hearts his auditors would have continued as destitute o f the

ess ence o f religion as ever . But even the

honour, the truth , and the integrity , for which he

had pleaded with such perseverance , were not “ was n o t secured . I t till reconciliation to God became the di s tinct and the prominent obj ect o f my exertions ; it was not till the free offer o f forgiveness by the blood o f Christ was urged

upon their acceptance , and the H oly Spirit was set before them as the unceasing object of their dependence and their prayers ; that I ever heard o f any o f those subordinate reforms which I made

the earnest and the zealous , but , I am afraid ,

O f the ultimate , object my ministrations . S o the

Fifeshire village was changed into a garden , full

o f shelter and of fountains . And that was but

the commencement . I n Glasgow , in Edin

burgh , throughout all Scotland , Chalmers was soon to be the harbinger o f an acceptable f year o the Lord . The time o f famine was

o f giving place at last to the time fruit . The 15 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

Illuminism was being t rans figu re d into heat

and glow . o f Now , it was into this new stir spiritual life that Robert M c Ch e yn e was born ; and in the

h is vital air he found proper climate and home .

H e was , in truth , to make the air yet more quickening and ethereal . For, if he had not the

s O f s largenes and the splendour Chalmer , he u t s burned o for God with a still inten er flame .

16 D AV ID T H OM AS MCC ( Fr om a Mi ni a ture

’ OBERT M c CH E Y NE s M OTH ER .

Fr om a n old P oto ra h g ph . !

C H APT E R I I

TH E T RAIN IN G O F A GOO D H US BAN DMAN

\ THREE agencies shaped Robert Murray

Mc Ch e yn e into the manner of man he became . There were the wholesome influences o f his o f early home . There was the education school

was and college . Most decisive of all , there the

grace o f God . 1 H e was born at 4 , Dublin Street , Edinburgh ,

o n z l s t o f 18 1 . the May , 3 , the youngest child

f f is o . o h in a family five One brothers , David

his Thomas , was between eight and nine years

s . enior Next came the sister, Eliza Mary , who ’ s o entered largely into Robert s biography , living under his roof and caring fo r him during the swift and strenuous days o f the ministry in

. H o w . Dundee art thou thyself, my own Deaconess and helpmeet o f thy poor brother ? he asked her in a letter s ent from the wilds o f

Galicia and had he known them , he might have ’ used about her Christina Rossetti s words , that 17 c Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

There is no friend like a sister in calm or

Mc h stormy weather . Eliza Mary C e yn e lived

- o f - to be a white haired woman eighty two , carry ing in her heart through all her later history a f great store o gracious and touching memories .

Another brother followed , William Oswald

H unter . H is life , also , though it was shadowed

by frequent illnesses and depressions , was a very long o ne ; fo r he survived his sister by four h is years and a half, and died in native city in 2 the October o f 18 9 . Then there was a little

o f 18 1 1 girl , I sabella , born in the autumn , whom Robert never s aw in this lower world ; s he passed from the earthly home when s h e was nine months ” o ld : Li ht m ake r like pretty J ohnny g , Arch ’ “ s h e bishop Leighton s nephew , was gone an t wo us e hour or sooner to bed , as children to do and we are undressing to follow . These were

o f the young people , and we shall meet some them again . But first we must look into the f faces o the parents , and try to estimate their characters . Fathers and mothers mean so much to t h e children , and dower them with such r inheritances of good o ill . Adam M cCh e yn e had come as a boy from the o f t o Dumfries s hire village Thornhill Edinburgh . H e was a lawyer—not an advocate practising at the Bar in the Parliament H ouse , but a Writer 18

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ f s probationer and the minister o St . Peter are

s f addre sed . One gathers an impression o Adam

McCh e ne s y as a capable , hrewd , trusted , and

o f s trustworthy man bu iness , in whose advice his

: clients would confide with implicit faith a man ,

o n moreover , whose opinions politics and public

s - s affair were clear cut and trong . H e was frankly Tory ; there would have been no Reform Act if he had had his way Sir Robert Peel was the statesman to whom he gave loyal allegiance .

“ Have you any vermin called Whigs and ? Radicals o r Radical - Whigs in H industan he “ s o n o u writes to his William ; if y have , I pray you to keep clear Of them ; they are very

his venomous creatures . H e was master in own

“ s was hou e and it no part of my character , he acknowledges , to spare the rod the children here were expected to reverence their parents . a s But he was as approachable as he w firm .

s his t o We read the letter which boys wrote him , and they are absolutely unconstrained and free ; they acquaint him with every secret they laugh and joke and have no fear ; he is more than — father h e is intimate and friend . H is birthday fell o n the 2 7 th o f January ; and first it was

David , and then it was Robert , who , with filial

his piety , composed in honour year by year a

Birthday Ode . 20 Training o f a good Husb andman

Tim e with us h as le ft n o trace s Of h is powe r t o dam p o ur mirth Still w e have th e sam e gay face s Smilin g rou n d o ur happy h e arth

David sang o n o n e o f these January mornings ; “ ” a nd s fi rs t - nine year later, when the born was

“ fi rs t— the dead too , Robert , away in Torwood , took up the strain :

’ Wh e re th e Carron s flood e d wat e r s e s o n it s n t Da h wi ry way , Th e re th y younge st so n an d daught e r s o n th n t Ble s th e e y a al day .

H e was a good man , as well as a righteous , who

could call forth such verses as these . 18 0 2 Before her marriage in , Robert Mc ’ Cheyne s mother had been Lockhart Murray

D ickson , the youngest daughter of David o f Lo charwo o d Dickson , proprietor N ether , in the parish Of Ruthwell and the county o f o f Dumfries . The lines her portrait are less

i o f dist nct than those her lawyer husband . But we feel ourselves in the presence o f a nature

m - more buoyant , ore light hearted , at times more

o f s t o gay than that the vigorou Writer the Signet .

s Robert was from infancy blessed with a weet . his w docile , and affectionate temper , father rote 2 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e of him a month after he had gone ; and the enviable adjectives were the mother ’s legacy to

was the child . She womanly in this , that it was t o her joy to communicate the young people , when they were absent from her side , all the items o f intelligence in which they would be interested ; and her s o n commends her letters as better than any newspaper . Many floods could not drown the love that pulsed within her

. sh e for her children O , write , write pleads ,

s s o n in a hungry post cript , with the who was far off in I ndia ; and o n the back o f a sheet penned by the s aint who quitted her s o soon fo r the sight — of the face of Christ in the Ne w J erusalem a s heet which h as been lent for a little to a friend “ — i Y u there s a request full of pathos . o will l pleas e return thi s to me . I like to keep a l my ’ dear Robert s letters . Father and mother were accustomed to think on those things which are true and honourable and just and pure and lovely ; and both by speech and by example they encouraged their

s children to do the same . But one imagine that

o f the religion the home became profounder ,

- - a s more Christ centred and Christ controlled ,

n M c Ch e n e time ran o . We know that Adam y

s o f o ne and his wife were , for year , members or another of the Edinburgh Churche s in which 2 2 Training o f a good Husbandman

Moderatism was in the ascendant ; and the s o n often begs them to do what he had himself done

before he left home , when he forsook Dr . Muir — o ut for J ohn Bruce , in the N ew N orth seek a ministry whose tone was definitely and con

s is n l t e t y evangelical . Then we cannot but

s w remark that con uming earnestness with hich ,

in almost every letter he writes , he entreats both parents to dig deep and to lay well the fo u n da

s wa s tions Of their faith ; though thi , of course , ’ Robert Mc Ch e yn e s habitual dialect after he had ’ v disco ered that there are , in Rutherfurd s phrase ,

a hoard , a hidden treasure , and a gold mine w in Christ you never yet s a . Probably stress need not be laid on the measured and sober enjoyments O f the household ; for H enry Cock burn tells us that these were commoner among Christian people in the teens and twenties o f the

century than they were in the thirties . But , is altogether , the feeling hardly to be avoided o f that , in the revolution the seasons , parents no les s than children were drawn much nearer to o f s H im Who is the Centre re t . Trial and bereavement yielded their peaceable fruits . And by and by the passion o f their youngest s o n for J esus and eternity affected those dearest to him

s . 18 as well as the multitude out ide When , in 3 5 , Adam M c Ch e yn e wrote to that boy Of his who 2 3 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

was a doctor in Nasirabad , this was his chief anxiety for the lad exposed to the temptations “ o f : the foreign land Above all , may H e lead and guide you to H imself, and then you will never want a Friend that sticketh closer than a ” brother . Mayhap , these mighty transports had moved and thrilled him before but they had not

I always been s o frankly e xpre s s e d. M c Ch e n e Robert y did not , like J ohn Stuart

M ill , begin to learn Greek at three ; but at four , when he wa s recovering from measles o r scarlet fever, his father taught him the Greek alphabet , and he was able to form the letters on his slate .

his A year later , he was sent to first school , that o f M r . George Knight . I n it he made good progress ; and when , a few sessions afterwards ,

s he left the highe t class , he carried away the second prize . H e was distinguished , in those

his s early days , for kill in recitation ; he had a quick and correct ear and a melodious voice . H is parents attended the Tron Church at the

time ; and , because the distance from their house in the New Town was t o o great for the younger

children , Eliza , William , and Robert used to

I ’ Mc Ch e yn e s fath e r an d moth e r lie buri e d in St . Cuth ’ h h f e t s E n . H e e on t e 2 t o b r churchyard , di burgh di d 4 e 18 e se e nt - e s sh e e F bruary , 54 , ag d v y four y ar ; follow d h 1 h f h im in e ss t n t e e m n t s n o n t e t o . l ha hr o h , dyi g 5 May 24 Training o f a good Husbandman

s o f remain , in company with other their own

-s o f age , in the pew the church during the interval that divided the morning and afternoon

. s services I n accordance with alutary custom , the boys and girls were catechi s ed by their elders ; and there were those who in subs equent ’ years recollected Robert s clear and pleas ant

h is s o r articulation , as he repeated Psalm the ’ answers o f the Westminster A s sembly s Cate “ ’

s . s e o f chi m The child voice , to quot a word ’ “ Robert Barbour s , was like a sound from a s o better life and a better land , simple and ” pure .

From Mr . Knight the boy went , in October, 18 2 1 — , to the H igh School not , indeed , to that beautiful Athenian temple which nestles under the Calton H ill , but to the older building in

I nfirmary Street ; and there , through the four

s junior classe , Mr . George I rvine was his teacher . ’ I n his thirteenth year he reached the Rector s

s . A li . o nb classes , the fifth and the ixth Dr g y 18 2 0 18 Was o n e Ross Carson , rector from to 4 5 , o f the famous headmasters of a famou s school ; his Mc Ch e n e and , under guidance , y found a new world of enchantment di s clos ed to him in the literature o f Greece and Rome . A s crapbook s urvives into which he has copied , in boyish o f handwriting , some the exercises done for the 2 5 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

headmaster . H ere is his first attempt at poetical composition , read at one of the public exhibitions

— - o f the school a blank verse translation of part of the Second Georgic . H ere , too , is his first

: original poem a lyric , in true Byronic vein , “ commi s erating the degenerate sons of those who won the bloody field o f Marathon ; a dju r’ ing Greece to “ dare to be free—These fetters ’ ” ne er were forged for thee ; and promising her the succour in her distresses o f valorous Scots men

’ e m e e m s st n t n B hold , fro Fr do di a la d n A Cochra ne co me s with aidful bra d .

his H ere are earliest Latin verses , hexameters — and pentameters and alcaics expansions o f some

Virgilian or H oratian or H omeric sentiment ,

! n a em A d E dina m youthful odes or , o r o f the description a skirmish of cavalry , in d or a rendering o f Tée Ba ttle of L en . And o n here are the lines recited the closing day , “ 6 18 2 August , 7 , when school was left for the

s rugged paths of life . They recall the book which his comrades and he have read to gether and the j oys they have shared in common . They celebrate the learning and the goodness o f their Rector 26

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

i nature had room to reveal itself and grow . H s

e s s earliest lett r home , written in the ummer and ’ 18 2 s autumn of 7 , are full of the boy delight in f farmyard and harves t field . On the last day o “ his August , he tells mother , we have much need of David and William , as Auntie is very bu s y cu tting and taking in . Nearly two months later he is s till at Clare n ce fi e ld Cottage ; there wa s no call to hurry back to Edinburgh in this

s particular year , for chool was ended now , and he

s was waiting for the U niversity ession to begin .

2o t h o f So , on October , there is a whole batch

: his letters one for father and mother , bubbling

“ over with playful gaiety ; one for Eliza, fairest

“ and deare s t All the inhabitants of Clarence

fi e ld complain , They have not heard a word from Mi s s M c Ch e yn e and one for each o f his brothers . That to William concludes with an “ f s exhaustive inventory o the farm . Auntie h a

2 2 s got 7 stacks and barns full ; 3 swine , ows ,

s 8 8 s 2 7 pig ; hens , no cock ; duck , drakes ;

1 I I 1 - goose , gander ; mare , blood mare (famous ’ 1 1 s s 2 s I rider!, filly ; bee kep ; cat ; canary ;

s s s 2 s - o f 4 cow , 3 tirk dog 3 7 cart load potatoes

s D . M C. M r s . c s . D . M is , , M is M , J oseph , J enny ,

David , May , and your affectionate brother , Bob

Mc h . s . C e n e M y During a previou vacation , in another part of Scotland , he had had something 2 8 Training o f a good Husbandman

of an adventure . H e and the inseparable friend

o f his Ma cG re o r boyhood , Malcolm g , were walk ing through the wild and picturesque country

round Dunkeld . Crossing the hills to Strath Ardle , they were caught in a dense fog , and lost

their way . N ight came on , and they were forced

to make their bed o ut on the bare ground . At first the absolute stillness o f the place frightened

them , but the cold and the fear compelled them to lie close to o n e another ; and s oon they were

sleeping soundly , to be roused at dawn by the sunshine streaming into their faces and by the

s crie of moorcock and grou s e . Four o r five

Ma c G re o r years afterwards , when Malcolm g , as was o ut a young Army officer , setting for the

s o f his m other ide the world , co rade recalled their experience

t t e e e t th e t s e s e s e n e Wil hou v r forg how hick had d c d d , An d wrappe d th e wild m oun tai n s o f Atholl in n ight ; H o w an d t e an d n e e e e n e horror rror wo d r w r bl d d , Wh e n gloomy Loch Osh n e y I i n vade d our sight ?

I Th e e G e n m e o f t s s e e t o f te prop r a lic a hi h wa r, which is e e t e - s e n in an d v ry b au iful , p ar hap d , lyi g a hollow, s n e t e e s is L n Oisinn e ach b ut urrou d d by r , ocha Mohr ; it is n n as L Oo sh nie o r Osh n i It is locally k ow och e . foun d midway am o n g t h e hills b e twe e n Dun ke ld an d K irkmichae l . 29 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ An d 0 e n we e m n th e n , wh couch d o g dark wavi g e t e h a h r, t m sts o f th e m n t n to t n e Wi h i ou ai cur ai our h ad , t s m t o s m we s m e e t e t e How wi h bo o bo o lu b r d og h r , Till n igh t with its darkne ss an d dan ge rs had fl e d ?

s At the U niver ity , first in the classes of the

Arts faculty and then in those of Divinity ,

M c Ch e ne s y pent nearly eight years , entering in the winter o f 18 2 7 and leaving in the s pring o f

18 . wa s s 3 5 H e a good tudent , though not a “ brilliant one . H is proficiency wa s above ” his mediocrity , father writes with modest praise “ s and he gained everal prizes , though I cannot

o f o ne now condescend upon any them , except from Professor Wil s on for the best poem o n the i Covenanters . There s something piquant in the thought of Robert M c Ch e yn e as a favourite

O f pupil Christopher North , the gentle and delicate lad conquering the es teem and affection o f the bluff and leonine and boi s terous author o f N eeles A mbr os ia n m o f the , who in the irony things was then Professor of Moral Philosophy

- in Edinburgh . The blank verse eulogy of the

s s Covenanter scarcely rise , it must be confessed , above the pedes trian level s of most Univers ity h poem s . I t as it s background in the abortive in s urrection of 166 6 and the pathos and tragedy o f is Rullion Green , though there no attempt to 30 Training o f a good Husbandman

abide by the historical facts . I t depicts a con

v e n t icle o f in a hollow the Pentland H ills , and o f the coming the dragoons , and the capture and imprisonment and subsequent martyrdom o f the ’ is preacher . H e sent , in Lauderdale s mocking

G ras s marke t language , to glorify God in the ; “ and see with how bold a s tep he mounts the ” “ f - his direful scaf old see lofty mien , his stately

s o . form , his eyes calm and resolute With ’ Mackails A ve H ugh Farewell and Welcome ,

a l a e V a le o n co n g , his lips , he soars from the t um e lie s and oppressions o f the earth to the city which makes melody for Simple joy o f

heart .

But n ow e e te t n s , all y cr a d hi g , e e ! s sun e e ! s Far w ll Thou gloriou , far w ll Thy ray

t o n m e n o m e n o r an e t . Shall ligh or , y h a e e t e sse ! st t e Far w ll , hou bl d Book Thou wa hrough lif Mi n e o n ly comfort ; thou art all my stre n gth In e t e e e n s an d e t s ! d a h . Far w ll , all fri d ar hly joy e e n e n n e e ! B li vi g , pr achi g , prayi g , all far w ll e m e m e t e e m e e n e ss s s W lco , gri d a h Thric w lco , dl bli e m e e e n n n e s e n e s W lco , y b cko i g a g l , b ari g rob Pure r an d white r than th e drifte d s n ow ! e me t e s n ! e m e t W lco , hou pr ciou crow W lco , hou harp Of te st s e s s n s s t e brigh gold , who chord I oo hall rik In h e ave n ly m e as ure s t o th e prai se o f Him e fo r m e ! e m e L m o f G o d Who di d W lco , Thou a b , an d t n of m e s Thou joy por io y w ary oul , Which shall e n dure through all e te rn ity ! 3 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

But before he passed into the Divinity classes o f o f the U niversity , to sit at the feet men like

Dr . Chalmers and Dr . David Welsh , the greatest change of all had come to Robert M c Ch e yn e .

o f o f H e was born water and the Spirit . H is soul received the regeneration of God , and his life left the natural region for the supernatural . “ H e was always a boy of the most amiable , I

s a — it is may even y noble , disposition the

- verdict o f the sober spoken and reticent father . “ o r I never found him guilty of a lie , of any mean o r unworthy action ; and he had a great contempt for such things in others . I hardly recollect an instance o f my having to inflict

s s . per onal cha tisement upon him Yet , blame

s le s and beautiful as his demeanour was , he was not religious in the quick and penetrative and s s upreme ense of the word after the light broke , “ he acknowledged that he had been a s tranger to grace and to God . One turns back to the scrap

h a s book to which allusion been made , and which photograph s for us the undergraduate as well as fo r the schoolboy . I t contains the essays done his Latin and Greek professors ; the s peeches which he addres s ed to his fellows in the Academic

o n o f s Society , the virtue early ri ing , or on the rectitude and bravery of refusing rather than o f

s accepting a challenge and the valedictory verse , 32 Training o f a good Husbandman

read at the closing meetings in two o r three

s s succes ive session , before the same kindly o n o f audience f young m e . Some these verses moralize in graceful and pensive rhythm— and

his E b en u aces H orace can do as much , with f g — a n n i la bn n t n r ! over the remorseless flight o f for time , and the need diligence and labour “ before the black night falls and says To o late

m e ! th e st -fle e tin e s s Ah how fa g y ar lip away, Like th e s ad sil e nt flow o f a rive r ! E ve n virtu e th e ir re solute course cann ot s tay ; For s n e an d se e s fair brow grow wri kl d , wi h ad e gr y, An d th e G e is as e e as e e rav gr dy v r .

Twe lve m oons have gon e by si n ce we last said Adie u How m uch do e s th e ir circuit e mbrace ! m n s e e t s e e en se e e in two How a y w harp hav b v r d , An d we ll- b e love d voice s an d forms that we knew Have gon e t o th e ir cold re sti ng - place !

’ ’ U t e n an d b e st in ! Le t s e tis p h , irr g work whil day , s n s m e n e ss an d s For oo hall co dark orrow . U ! Le t us n e th e e we m a p , up ha dl plough whil y, Un s e n n n te s n o ur w rvi g, u dau d , pur ui g way

W e n e e m a se e - m v r y a To orrow .

n o But that is all . There is deeper o r diviner

fl - note . On the y leaf at the commencement o f 33 D Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

t f ’ o . in his book , the minister St Peter s has scribed the stern sentence : D nm r eleg o scr ips isse “ udet— s p When I read again its content , I am

ashamed that ever I wrote them Well , they

are innocent enough . But they have not been cleansed o r kindled by the glowing stone from t o the heavenly altar ; and the man who , day in o ut and day , was led in triumph behind the

- o f chariot wheels Christ , they seemed pitifully “ — inadequate . H e was of a lively turn let us consult his father again ; nobody has a better “ t o — o r right speak and , during the first two o f three years his attendance at the U niversity , he turned his attention to elocution and poetry and the pleasures o f society rather more perhaps

than was altogether consistent with prudence . H is powers o f singing and reciting were at that

o n time very great , and his company was courted that account more than was favourable to graver ” pursuits . The spiritual awakening was still in

the future . The vision tarried . o f But , when he was eighteen years age , the wind blew o n him o ut o f that quarter where we s a Christ is . Shall y that it was a wind from the biting and arctic North rather than the soft South which breathes upon a bank o f violets ? AS s in many another instance , the sharp di cipline o f affliction was instrumental in working the 34

Robert Murray M cCh e yn e

supervised his education ; and , comparing him afterwards with his brothers , he declared that he “ was by far the best cl assical scholar o f the

three . Like the older man , he had chosen the o f profession law ; and , after serving for five

years in the ! ueen Street office as an apprentice ,

co n he was admitted a Writer to the Signet , and t inue d to assist his father in his business . H e was Robert ’s willing and capable tutor during the ’ boy s H igh School days , and when he was attending the Arts classes in college ; and the o n t o lad leaned him , and looked up him with

implicit t rust . They were alike in vivaciousness “ ” o f temperament . Two Epistles to Bob can ’ f o f be read , which af ord proof at once David s cheerful good humour and o f the strength o f the

tie which knit him with his younger brother . “ d t h o f One is heade , Edinburgh , the 7 J une , at ’ ” nearly 10 o clock forenoon ; and this is it s exordium

th e e o u e t o m e Bob , for lov y b ar , m st e t m m e t e You u g up i dia ly , An d s e e k th e Po s t Office in haste — m melius st You kn ow th e road ta e .

Arrived at his destination , the messenger must have n o scruple about making his wants distinctly

known . 36 Training o f a good Husbandman

en as in l n s n Th roar if High a d fa hio , A nythin g for Mc Ch e yn e an d MacGlash an Or o n s e e t s t e n , a w ly of voic fixi g, “ ” - Thrice ! ue en Stre e t Numb er Fifty Six sin g .

o f t But , in the concluding years his shor life , David Mc Ch e yn e drank o f the gladnesses which “ are highest and holiest . H e became deeply no impressed with eternal realities . There was mistaking the miracle o f grace ; it was demon s t ra t e d in everything which he said and did . Robert especially was conscious o f the new ’ quality in his brother s character ; their friend ship was so perfect that whatever moved the o ne n reacted inevitably o the other . And David and yearned over him , strove by his speech , his

his t o example , and prayers to pilot him home the peaceable habitation in which he had gained

s a afe anchorage for himself.

How oft that e ye ’ t n o n m e t t s t e n e e st l Would ur wi h pi y d r ook ,

An d n - n m e fle e , o ly half upbraidi g , bid From th e vain idol s of my boyi sh h e art !

But although there were inward convictions and

o f penitences , voices the uneasy conscience and s o f re olutions the will which is almost persuaded , there was no committal o f the soul just yet t o its

Good Physician . Not until David was called up 37 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

s and away to be with Chri t, did Robert enter the __ to sure road the same Circle , Centre , and Abyss ’ o f f blessings . The last hours o his brother s life were marked by conflicting experiences . There was a brief spell o f darkness and fear

o n when the disciple , like the Master the cross ,

o u went t into the wilderness of dereliction . But f i that passed . The clear shining o the Sun d s

e lle d o f p the gloom , and the open gate the City o f stood forth to view , and the pilgrim was aware the trumpets sounding for him o n the other side .

s a Again his faith , as H enry Vaughan would y, “ ”

. s aw was pure and steady H e his goal , and he was glad to reach it . I t was by means o f this

- o f G o d death bed that the Spirit preached J esus , in the victorious fashion that prevails over all

s was s o f ob tacles , to the young man who witnes it s grief and it s glory . H is Diary bears evidence ’ that each returning anniversary o f David s home going was the memorial of the great crisis in his

o wn . history And in a letter to a friend , dated “ o n 8 o f 18 2 : the th J uly , 4 , he wrote This day eleven years ago I lost my loved and loving brother, and began to seek a Brother Who cannot s die . S eeking , he found . H e left the hadows

s for the Truth . H e knew , beyond que tion and

. debate , H im Whom he had believed

Alike by human training and endowment , and 38 Training o f a good Husbandman

M c Ch e n e by superhuman grace , Robert y was prepared now to run his errand and t o finish his work . I n moulding and inspiring that better Scotland which is escaping from the shades o f

- the prison house , he will do his share , and in a short time will fulfil a long time . C H APT E R I I I

A SOW E R W E NT FO RTH TO S OW

R ECE NTLY a congregation o f Christian men and women in Korea experienced a new springtime f o the H oly Ghost . But o n e of its members was

absent from home when the benediction came .

Returning , he found his kinsfolk in Christ dowered with a richer spirituality than they had “ known before or than he knew now . Tell me , “ a is s he begged friend , what it , and how I hall ” “ get it . And the friend answered , I t is what d Li in u dol b an s . Paul writes to Timothy , ft g p y

I lift up both my hands to God . And the left

is . hand full I t contains all that I possess , and all that I myself am : this I yield and surrender to H im . But the right hand is empty . I t holds nothing that is mine it is always receiving what ” H e keeps for me and communicates to me . The exegesi s may not be that o f an approved

is . scholarship , but it that of the best Christianity 40 A ! UARTETTE OF FAM ILY P ORTRA ITS . n to the ears t McCh e n e m a n Alb um elon i y ( D ra wn by Rober y , b g g — ru thers . A L. t 1830 183 2 Copi ed by S !

!To fac e p age 40 .

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ textbook it was the child s craving fo r the bread ’ “ - from the Father s table . Humble purpose like “ reading , he held , was essential . What plant can be unwatered and not wither ? ” There was no doubt about the empty hand , panting after the ’ o f wealth the King s storehouses . But , side by “ side with it, he lifted the hand that is full . O ,

o n for activity , activity , activity the Diary cries a March day in 18 3 3 from the outset he realized that zeal is the only temper appropriate t o the “ business o f religion . Write Robert a good

advice , to pay some attention to his health , the

s o n mother besought her doctor for, once Christ

captured him , he gave himself and all his

faculties unconditionally away . Almost imme diat e ly he s e t about H ome Mission work in the

s o f Lawnma rke t stair and closes the , the H igh

Ca no n a t e Street , and the g ; and he u pbraided

s himself that he had not done it ooner . I have o f admired the huge black piles building , with ’ their lofty chimneys breaking the sun s rays why have I never ventured within ? What im bedded masses o f human beings are huddled

o r ! together , unvisited by friend minister Awake , ” my soul ! 1 H e was dominated by the longing to

“ I m s in 18 o n Th e III t s e . e a Trac , publi h d by Dr Chal r 35 , se E e ns n an d th e e st n s t st te Cau of Church xt io , ! u io hor ly a d b etwe e n Churchm e n and Di ssen te rs in re gard to i an 4 2 A Sower went forth to Sow

be o f use . H is letters disclose it in arresting N o ne o f . o t fashion them , it can safely be co m affirmed , but contains some sentence in m e ndat io n o f o r the Lord Whose thrall he was , some eager entreaty to his correspondent t o seek the healing which Christ bestows . From the hour o f his convers ion he lived sub sfiecie aet er n i

a is t t . Time hastens forward ; and this world , ” s : like this heet , will soon be done it was the h admonition which he crowded , in t at minute

s o f and exqui ite handwriting his , into the bottom o f t o a foolscap page , addressed his brother in

I ndia . I t was the admonition which constrained him t o devote his o wn feet and hands and brain

“ e n e n t th e Re s ts t t st e s App dix , d ali g wi h ul of S a i ical Surv y t en in s s t ts e s e o f t n s fo r th e ak variou di ric , p cially ow , pur ” s e o i s e t n n th e E e s st t te o f th e e e po a c r ai i g ccl ia ical S a P opl , pe rm its us to s ee Mc Ch e yn e an d s om e o f h is frien d s at th e ir m s n e e are two e nt e s t en m Ho e Mis io work . H r ri ak fro thi s “ e n t e e n e th e e n E n App dix ; ; h y app ar u d r h adi g , di burgh ” —“ Withi n t h e Royalty A Di st rict in th e sam e Pari sh th e t m th e st e t o No 2 t . e e t ( Tolboo h!, fro Ca l 5 9 High S r , o n th e N t e o f th e st e : t n 18 or h Sid Ca l Hill Popula io , 4 ; tt n s t n e ss t n I in t t Re v Si i g , 5 9 Propor io , l ha 7 Au hori y , . m ” “ n s n an d . n n Joh Tho o Mr A drew Bo ar . A Di strict ’ e t e n n m e t n s se No . 2 6 to Co m x di g fro S a o Clo , 5 , Mid ’ m on se n n R e s se e n t in e Clo , i cludi g iddl Clo , b i g par ly N w Stre et Parish an d partly in Le ith Wyn d Pari sh : Fopu t n 6 tt n s t n e ss t n 1 in la io , 34 ; Si i g , 47 ; Propor io , l ha 7 ;

t t . e n e N. me le and R Au hori y, Mr Al xa d r So rvil Mr . . M . ” Mc Ch e n t e e nts n t . y , S ud of Divi i y 4 3 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

and heart to a consecration , a labour, and a

r sacrifice which never were intermitted o relaxed . Yet do n o t let us suppose that these ardours “ bred an aloofness from the familiar matters o f ” - t o o r o f . day , a Pharisaism spirit The letters are indubitable witnesses to the contrary . The o ld playfulness persists in gleaming up through

is them . There still an interest taken in what o f transpires in the world politics ; Robert , like

Mc Che n e s a Adam y , is Con ervative in his le n ings , though his views are unfolded with a sweeter reasonableness than his father some

: in o f 18 times shows when , the spring 3 5 , the H ouse o f Commons votes against the Cabinet “ that the surplus revenue o f the I rish Church shall be converted into general ed ucation money we have just been signing an address to the K ing to make him keep in his Tory ministers spite of the squall , and o ne to Sir Robert Peel telling him to keep up his heart . The charm , too , which natural scenery always had for him , especially when its loveliness is of the soft and gentle sort, was reiterated more spontaneous ly than ever ; he “ had a kind and quiet eye , a friend said , which found o ut the living and beautiful in ” nature rather than the majestic and sublime . And he was as fond as before o f turning to 44 A Sower went forth to Sow

t account his skill in drawing, and many a let er is illustrated by a sketch which renders vivid what ’ he describes . Mc Ch e yn e s religion was the soul o f his soul ; but it was as far removed from asceticism and sourness as J une with its green

- felicity is from drear nighted December . The years o f student - life drew t o an end at

last . Their second half had been characterized by a more assiduous diligence than their begin ’ n ings ; fo r the Spirit s unction clarified and

o f sharpened every energy his being , and the intellect shared in the quickening as well as the

o f s 18 heart . At the close the ses ion in 3 5 he o f o f passed , before a committee the Presbytery

Edinburgh , the private trials exacted from those t o seeking license preach , and soon afterwards , o f before the same Presbytery , a portion the

more public trials . Of this examination , in N ew

Testament Greek , in Church H istory , and in t o Systematic Theology , he wrote humorously “ Fo r his brother , a good hour Gordon , Bruce ,

Paul , Clason , H unter, and Somerville all heckled o n me , like so many terriers a rat it is the m “ other who adds , as mothers will , We have

a . he rd that Dr Chalmers was highly pleased , and

all the other ministers . But the metropolitan “ Presbytery was lost , like Augustine in his “ ” - o f pre Christian days , in a multiplicity things 4 5 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ and it looked as if M c Ch e yne s actual license

might be delayed . So , in conformity with a

custom occasionally followed , he asked that he might be trans ferred to an ecclesiastical court n ot quite s o hard - driven ; and before the Pres b t e r o f y y Annan , in the South Country where his

- relatives lived and he was well known , he was e examin d in H ebrew , and delivered the five d I iscourses which had been prescribed to him .

o n I s t o f 18 wa s I t was here that , the J uly , 3 5 , he m “ licensed , and beca e , as he expressed it , a o f preacher the Gospel , an honour to which I ” cannot name an equal .

o f Four months later, in the opening week

N ovember, his real ministry had its commence

— - ment that brief ministry o f seven and - a - half

o n years , which stamped an indelible impress

. o f Scotland I n response to the invitation Mr . J ohn

s Bonar , he went to be his assistant in the pari hes

o f no t Larbert and Dunipace , far from Stirling

- 1 and its lion rock . I t was a great diocese of 7 0

families , where there was abundant work waiting

o . t be done Larbert was noisy , grimy , industrial , with villages clustering round where the coal

- miners and iron moulders lived Dunipace , three miles distant, was rural and secluded , the home

’ is th e t e s n m er e e . n Five fa h r u b h r ; Dr Bo ar, “ e s m e e t s s t r e e . p rhap or corr c ly , ay h 46 A Sower went forth to Sow

f o shepherds and small farmers , and the young t assistant , when he visited it firs , was delighted to breathe the fresh air o f upland scenery once ” o f more . The field labour was thus a curiously o ne varied , and the labourer was prepared to spend himself wi thout stint . On the Monday t o morning after his first Sabbath , he sat down tell his father the occupations o f the previous “ ” “ r t o day . I preached here , in La bert , a n s i o . o n large congregation , I aiah , and , again ,

10 I I . Ezekiel xxxiii . , I was very thankful when

I got finished , for my preparation had been but

slight . But this was merely the prelude . After

. o f the sermons , Mr Campbell , some place near ” t o t o Torwood , asked him come up next day , o ne o f who see his cottars was dying . But there f was plenty o time before Mr . Bonar could return “ from Dunipace , and I thought I would just go

with him then , which I did . On the way the talk was o f Popery and the res toration o f the

J ews . When they reached the cottage at Car

t o o ld brook , it was learn that Archibald , in whose heart had been some good thing towards “ G o d . , was newly dead The evening was de licio usl no t s k y fine , a cloud over the whole y. The wind was hushed ; the t rees all quite em browned with autumn leaves ; Ben Ledi and

o f the distant hills covered with sprinklings snow . 4 7 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

t The sun had jus set , and spread a mellow watery t inge over the scene . The little cottage was

before us , and everything seemed congenial with

f s the death o a Chri tian . The sun had entered

its rest . The birds were going to their rest .

The dead leaves were gone to their rest . I t was

the Sabbath day , when Christ entered into his ’ M c rest . And it was Archibald a le ay s dying

hour, when he entered into the rest remaining fo f r the people o God . We went into the cot

tage , where I joined in prayer with the mother , ” u da ghter , two sons , and several neighbours .

An hour subsequently , he was back in the manse at Larbert . Then he walked down to Carron t o with M r . Bonar, hear him preach in the “ e school , which he did with great ffect and plain common - sense power fo r an hour and a ” “ half. At night , we went to bed heartily tired .

Such was the beginning , and all the sequel was Mc Che n e as wakeful and unsparing . y had no o indolent fibre either in his body r in his soul . s o n The two , the older man and his in the faith , were well matched in determination to redeem the time . I am more and more pleased ” Mc Ch e ne with Mr . Bonar for a B ishop , Robert y w records in the letter we have quoted . A eek “ later he writes , H is fault is secrecy , but he is Two f opening up every day . months a terwards 48

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e had attempted to grope through it and to grapple

n o t . with it, he could have conceived it possible ” s o 18 6 She is deaf, he wrote in J une , 3 , about

s h e s s a woman he had j ust seen , that ay hardly

s anybody can make her hear . She is o blind that s o s h e cannot read . She is cold and careless that

h s h l s e does not want to know . And e is s o o d that s h e will very soon die . She knew that J e s us

s had shed H is blood . But when I a ked her why , s h e said that really her memory was s o bad sh e

‘ could not tell , but that her husband used to be ’ a grand man at the Buiks . M c Che yn e had wished to be a Foreign Missionary ; but among “ ” s his sweet colliers , as he designate them with

s s quaint affection , there was a pagani m as den e as that o f Central Africa ; and early and late he strove to dissipate and vanquish it . o f H is sermons , and often there were three a

Sabbath , dealt with the primary evangelic facts . ’ ’ s s in H e expounded man s need and God supply, in its guilt and contamination , judgment in its certainty and its awfulness , Christ in H is power and H is love . H e could be very practical and pointed , leaving , as Pericles did , troublesome ke n tr a to rankle in the minds o f his auditors . So it happened with Major Dundas o f Carron H all “ who always speaks o ut what comes uppermost . — After the lecture o ne morning it had treated o f 50 A Sower went forth to Sow — the Parable o f the Sower this was his verdict “ M cCh e ne o n I congratulate you , M r . y , being the only minister I have heard tell the people

their faults . The preacher confessed that the

s n o t compliment plea ed him ; in itself, because

the speaker abounded in eulogistic words , but because it gave him some hope that the hammer had struck the nail o n the head : was it n o t u ndeniable that , now and then , the Major had

been in his thoughts , while he published that day the truth with which God had entrusted him ? But the chief reason why his messages went home was that each had been delivered t o himself before it was carried to the people . Like Bunyan , “ he spoke what he felt, what he smartingly did ’ feel and his preaching , in his biographer s “ o f suggestive language , was the development ’ his soul s experience and the giv ing o ut o f the ” inward life . I n manner, it must have been

fluent and untrammelled almost from the outset . H is discourses were written with care from intro

o r fo r no t duction to application , if time this was

o f forthcoming , the course their thoughts and arguments was detailed with conscientious par t icularit o ne e t o y, as might travel from tre tree

o r t o in an avenue , from headland headland along the coastline portrayed o n a map . But in public the sermons and addresses were never read from 5 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

. t manuscript After a few mon hs , he gave over trying even to commit their sentences and para

s graph to memory . H e was content to familiarize himself with the ideas and the ill ustrations ; the ’ expression was left to God s guidance and the impulses o f the soul at the moment he confronted “ the congregation . When he saw the folk and “ wa s the Word on him to deliver , then with a ru sh the intolerable craving shivered throughout him . H ow he found the outgate into this ease and readiness o f utterance he explains in o n e o f

“ - is 1 2 18 6 . his home letters its date J uly , 3 On e my way to Dunipac last Sabbath , I happened to be going rather fast o n Tully ; and my ser mons both slipt o ut . I never missed them till o f I got to the church . One them I had scarcely

read over . H owever , there was nothing for it

but going straight o n . I got over the forenoon

with some exertion ; but, fearing for the after

noon , I sent back a messenger to Larbert , think

y ing I had left the manuscript o n m table . I n ! vain So I had to preach away , and did much ’ ’ better than usual . Man s extremity is God s

Opportunity . I t was a happy providence , in spite o f its frowning face ; and perhaps it was n o t the least o f the services which his good pony “ o n Tullia state occasions , but Tully more colloquially and habitually—who canters 5 2 A Sower went forth to Sow

wh o delightfully through the correspondence , and “ ” is not a majestic creature but a useful beast, was able to render her master . The week was as brimful as the Sabbath with duties undertaken and done . All through his mini s try it was patent that Mc Che yne attached no less importance to the visitation o f his people from house to hou s e than to their instruction from the pulpit . Nothing can be more systematic — o r painstaking nothing has spoken more po ig — nant ly t o o ne mini s terial reader o f them than those notebooks which reveal his tireless and methodical diligence in visiting . H e has made it an exact science there are such precision and o f o f perfection knowledge , such discrimination l character, such watchfu ness over individual souls . n o Yes , an exact science ; yet with coldness and no hardness in its mathematical accuracy . Behind each o f these significant entries we catch sight o f a man o f God adjuring a brother immortal t o pause and consider those things

o r which pertain to his peace , wrestling in prayer

s for him with strong crying and tears . Let us o u t copy a few of the entries , premising that what is printed here in italics appears in the notebook in crimson ink and refers t o the Scrip ture which the visitor read and expounded . We may accompany him from door t o door o f the 53 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ f R miners village o Red o w. There are about fifty o f houses in it , and in the course a day he makes

o r o f acquaintance with twelve fifteen these .

n nt No 2 2 H n m Sh e . . e ot at e st . e t Joh Hu r , , ho , ou m n t s e n s e e e o f h e r wo a wi h ibl fac . Spok four bairn s h e r e s e . s t 1 8 6 e t e e 1 . I sta nd a t d ad hr b id Vi i , 4 July , 3

d a nd knock. t e t e e e n t m n s n oor Al og h r a d c wo a . Hu ba d ” “ m e s m e e t n . n n H t o b at R No 2 . e . e at . i g Ja a ki , 3 work

- e se s e n tte n t e n e st n n . H e Wif hoar p aki g , a iv , u d r a di g body , D n van wo C s on e tt e o . en t e e e . s t of B y T hildr hr d ad Vi i , r hi 18 6 . Sto o sick c ld 1 . e t s m 4 July, 3 y f Spok wi h o e ” “ M L - nne ss e n e aC uckie No . 2 Re d plai . Al xa d r , 4 . haire d

m an n e st n n e . e C e e ; ho , i quiri g fac Wif , l v r body . Four 8 6 s h s . s t 1 1 . e t e tt e s e s girl Vi i , 4 July , 3 A k d li l girl qu

t n s e te t o t e m . Sa er the children to come io , dir c d all h f ; ” n t ti to e nts . e n e nte wi h applica o par Al xa d r Hu r , ’ N n e n t m an Me . t o te . t e in R . 39 I llig wi h wif ob e rt s No e e n t- e m and e ( . D c lik fa ily ; boy girl ; hav lo st ’ o f s m . s t 2 1 T t e e e . reasur hr . Spok Davy la p Vi i , July e hid H e e mm en e e s th e e s n . r co d d pray r for work r u d e r ” “ n te N n . o . 0 . e e b ut grou d Widow Hu r , 4 Wick d fac , m t l h as e . e o d t m e . s t body had uch roubl Daugh r la Vi i ,

2 1 Lost shee . e n . Sh e s e July . p Spok plai pok grate ful

t n s b ut e t t e m n ot . n te m e n o t t o ss th hi g , f l h I vi d pa e ” “ Ra No - n m an . Pete e . . . door r , 44 Ill looki g Hard , m n e m m n sse s . . s t hard wo a A larg fa ily of ocki g la Vi i , h n e d l n an d n e 1 . One t in e u w e 2 t . July g f , pardo h ar Trie d n t o bre ak thi s n orth e rn iro .

Thus the pregnant memoranda run o n ; for

’ wa s S ee le n ich r er o f he a f , a seeker weary souls , who never abated his eagerness o r abandoned 54 A Sower went forth to Sow

his quest . Only sometimes , when there was

sickness in a house , the page delineates an

s s urgency even more insistent . Many vi it have

o f s to be chronicled then , and the result each mu t

s be estimated and weighed . The spiritual progres o r decline o f the s ufferer is diagnosed with a ’ physician s sense o f responsibility ; there is an o f unfeigned gladness over any hint healing , a weeping pain over the development o f the mortal

s Mc he ne o o di ease . C y feared to let slip an pp r t un it o n y. Once , an August evening , walking

to Torwood schoolhouse , he came upon a band

o f s o f gipsie , sitting round their fire wood and he preached to them about the lost sheep

But o n e was o ut o n th e i s h ll away , Far Off from th e gate s o f gold

C o ld the hildren were very attentive , and the

s people a little touched . I f he had pa sed by, he might n o t have encountered the homeless wan

de re rs again . Through every hour and in every

Beh old company the recollection haunted him , , ’ n ow is the a cce able ime behola n ow is th e da pt t , y “ o sa lv i f a t on . There is a tide in the affairs o f ” “ o ne o f grace , he wrote in his letters , which , o n taken at the flood , leads to safety ; omitted , all the voyage o f o ur souls is cast in shallows and 5 5 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

in miseries . As much as in him lay , he per s uade d t o o f men take advantage that blessed tide . And all the while that he refused t o spare him self, his health was delicate and fragile . From an early period he carried in him the tendency

t o . consumption When things were favourable , the trouble was quiescent but the least provoca tion induced it t o assert itself in annoying and hampering ways . H e was enrolled among the volunteers and athletes o f Christ who have prayed “ “ fo r a short life in the saddle rather than long ” t o life by the fire , and whom their Lord has granted their request . Once at least , during his

ten months in Larbert, he had a serious break fo r t o down , and some weeks was forced abandon “ his work what a joy he felt when , well wrapped o ut up in his great coat , he could venture again “ “ G o d I hope , he said , is going to change severities into mercies The mother in E din burgh had a n anxious mind about her son She kept sending him comforts he was not always “ t o flan n e ls willing accept ; the shirts and , he “ o f told her , are works supererogation , and ” therefore by no means orthodox . The differ ence was complete between the o ld ! ueen Street o r H ill Street home and the solitary room that was his lodging in what Eliza called m is chie v ” l “ ’ o us y the celebrat ed Mrs . Graham s ; but in 56

C H APT E R I V

IN LABOURS M O R E ABUN DANT

WRITING to his father and mother o n the 3o th o f 18 6 Mc Ch e ne J une , 3 , Robert y makes reference for the first time to the possibility of his being “ called to Dundee . As for concern about the “ C result , he says , I have none . The hoosing

is all in H is higher hand , Who turns the hearts o f o f men like the rivers waters . I t is curious

my two greatest intimates being made my rivals . I have no doubt we will contend with all

humility , in honour preferring one another . I f

the people have any sense , they will choose

Andrew Bonar , who , for learning , experimental

o f knowledge , and all the valuable qualities a

minister , outstrips all the students I ever ” knew . I t is a happy enfranchisement which true friends enjoy from the vexing miseries o f suspicion and envy . When Christ is Chiefest in their loyalty , they had rather have a com 58 In Labours More Abundant

panion crowned than win the garland and diadem

themselves . A book might be dedicated t o the subject o f ’ Mc h n e s C e y friendships . H e was the central o f figure in a group young preachers , whose ministries had a profound influence in evan gelizing o f the Church and the land . Most them spoke and laboured for long years after he had gone to G o d o r ; but they never forgot him , parted with that note o f heavenliness and o f urgency which t he helped t o give their dialect and their charac er . o f There was James Grierson Errol , in whose manse he stayed o n the night before his ordina

tion in Dundee . There was James Hamilton o f Ab e rn t e o f y , and soon Regent Square in “ ” London ; when I compare myself with him ,

James Hamilton said , I see what sinful trifling much o f my ministry has been . There was I Alexander Moody - S t uart o f Edinburgh ; how glad he was when his father and mother forsook f ’ the Moderatism o St . Stephen s for the clearer ’ o f Gospel and the warmer Christianity St . Luke s , and when , ere long , the father became an elder ’ in Moody - Stuart s congregation ! There was “ Robert Macdonald o f Blairgowrie let me hear

’ I In M Ch n e s e s n e n e - t is c ey corr po d c Dr . Moody S uart “ “ spoke n o f simply as Moody th e Stuart was adde d h ss t nn t s se e nt e n e m e t . ub qu ly, wh arri d Mi S uar of A a 59 Robert Murray M cCh e yne

18 from you soon , he pleaded in October, 37 , “ fo r M CC a letter from R . . is peculiarly refresh ”

. o f ing A little later , there was J ohn M ilne “ Perth , gentle , saintly, apostolic ; they both m walked ni bly and erectly , Horatius Bonar “ o f writes , moving with an agility that spoke inward joy . There was H oratius Bonar him

o f self, then and for years afterwards minister

Kelso , to whom Scotland and the Christian world are debtors for his psalms and hymns and spiritual songs . There were others who are not so well known , but who turned many to righteousness and will shine as the stars fo r

. o f D umb arne ever , like Mr Cumming y, and Mr .

Cormick of Kirriemuir . And then there were

“ ” wh o his two greatest intimates , were his rivals ’ f f r when the people o St . Peter s looked o a teacher and shepherd .

One was Alexander Neil Somerville , with whom he had been at school and college in Edinburgh , and who followed him as assistant in Larbert “ t o and Dunipace ; perhaps , this friend wrote him once perhaps we may get a lodging near each other in the golden streets o f the N ew ” Fo r o f J erusalem . most his life Somerville was

o f Ande rs t o n minister Church in Glasgow , where ’ For ! ion s sahe will n ot his earliest text was , ’ hold m eace a n d or er usalem s sahe I will n ot y p , f j 60 In Labours More Abundant r es un il the r h eousness her eo o or h as t, t ig t t f g f t br h ness a n d the sa lva ion her eo as a la m ig t , t t f ; — ha bur ne h a - fo r t t t self revealing text, , as it was o f bur n in truly said , there was something the g lam o f fift - p in all his ministry y two years , and it never lost the radiant and ruddy heat in which

C it began . The fact is that its losing period was its most ardent . Then , like J ohn Wesley , Alexander Somerville took the whole world for his parish , and went everywhere publishing the

d o f . glad ti ings God I n Spain , in I ndia , in

s Au tralasia , in France and I taly and Germany and Russia, in South Africa, in Greece and

Western Asia , through the Scottish H ighlands o f and I slands , among the J ews Eastern Europe , the o ld man eloquent carried the blazing torch o f ’ Christ s truth and love . The final scene was in

keeping with all that preceded . When he lay dead he was dres s ed in what may be called his

working clothes , the suit he had last preached

. o ut in H is hair was brushed , and the velvet

cap he wore in the house was put o n . H e looked as if he might be taking a short sleep before

o n o f in going a new errand grace . I t was an junction he had laid o n his children t o bury him

in his ordinary dress ; and he wanted , he added , t o n have a little mud o his boots . The other

intimate was Andrew Alexander Bonar, brother 6 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ o f Horatius and cou s in of M c Ch e yn e s bi s hop ’ o f in Larbert , biographer in a few years time

Robert M c Ch e yn e himself. Andrew Bonar was

o f dearer than any the rest ; and , although each had his own spiritual aroma and distinctive

- appeal , the pre eminence was his by right . H is s cholars hip was fuller and more accurate than hi ’ “ s s . H is wa s friend religion as supreme , the ” - f as fountain light o all his day . And he was

a s was - human he godly , genial and brother like , with a refreshing humour that played beautifully

and reverently even about sacred things , and

with a lovableness which captivated every o n e . H is very dreams were o f that invisible kingdom from which he never wandered in his waking “ I ’ hours . Once it S I thought in my sleep I

tried to indite a new Greek word , something like ’ K fi t o c r a t éc p and p , to express the Lord s seasonable

” “ : mercies . Or it is Dreamed last night that I was dying , and , at the moment I seemed about

s aw to depart , I presented to me words that ’ t spoke o f Christ s complete salvation . P o ent issi m us o ne , I remember, was , and it made me think upon H im able to s ave to the uttermost . There wa s H is another that spoke of work for sinners , was a but I forget the word . I t a ple sant

“ dream . Or again : Last night I dreamed I ’ got such a V iew of God s kindness and benefits 6 2 In Labours More Abundant

to me , that for some time my throat felt choked . I could find no way o f giving utterance to my ” overwhelming feeling of wonder . And yet once

o f more , twenty years after the comrade his youth had winged his flight to the hills o f “ frankincense : Last night I had been dreaming

o f Mc Che n e a great deal being with y , Alexander

Thain , and some others . I s the Lord wishing by this to excite in me more intense conviction ? more prayer ? more faith ? more zeal ? more ” ? 18 6 s love I n 3 , Andrew Bonar was assi tant

in J edburgh . Two years thereafter, he came ’ from helping Mr . Candlish in St . George s ,

Edinburgh , to be ordained over the quiet country s o f pari h Collace in Perthshire . There he was near enough to Robert M c Ch e yn e for the friends s e e o ne to each other often , and to strengthen ’ s another s hand in God . ’ St . Peter s in Dundee , which claimed the probatio ner whom Larbert would fain have

was kept , a new church . The town had been ra pidly increasing ; in 18 3 5 its population num

s . s bered ouls But in its church building ,

- o f- Kirk Scotland and Dissenting , there was accommodation fo r no more than and t h e discrepancy had begun to weigh heavily o n those who had the welfare o f the community at

- heart . Among these were the o ffi ce bearers o f 63 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’

. s f o . St J ohn Church , which Mr Roxburgh was minister . Impelled by a wish to remedy what “ s o was grievously amiss , they resolved to erect a chapel in the north - west end of the H awkb ill selecting this quarter because it seemed the most necessitous , because it was farthest from the

o f existing places worship , and because it was inhabited entirely by members o f the working “ f 1 b class . By May o 8 36 the plain a nd s u — s ta n t ial house of G o d the epithets are those o f the circ ular that invited subscriptions for its — building was finished ; all except the spire , whose construction had to tarry for three years ’ - . f s e t more Then the kirk session o St . J ohn s itself to discover a spiritual overseer for the new

charge , determining , however, as wise men would , that the congregation must have the conclus ive

word in the matter . The advice of Dr . Chalmers ,

Dr . Welsh , and M r . Candlish was asked ; and the trusted leaders of E vangelicali s m re com mended the three preachers whom we know

Alexander Somerville , Andrew Bonar, and — Robert Mc Ch e yne together with three others f f o . o kindred temper , Mr White E dinburgh , f . o f . o Mr Dymock Liberton , and Mr Gibson co n Glasgow . When the time arrived for the ’ re a t io n s Mc Che ne g g choice , y was preferred by o n 2 t h o f a large majority and the 4 N ovember , 64

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e other parts o f the town and from the country round ; till usually the building was crowded by about eleven hundred people . They sat o n the s teps o f the pulpit ; they stood often in the

s s pa ages and corners of the edifice . And no

s t o word , as J ames Hamilton wrote Andrew

Bonar, could preserve the atmosphere which permeated the place and surrounded the speaker , the B ethel - like sacrednes s o f Sabbaths and ” o f o d Communions , the peculiar impression G is I t was not the magnetism o f mere oratory which drew those crowds . M cChe yne o f his had much the poet in nature , and his preaching could never be commonplace . There was pathos in it ; there was winningness ; there was fire . From everything frigid and formal it wa s far withdrawn . Life quivered in its utter u a ces , and passed through them to the men and

r women who heard . But it could easily be c it i c iz e d n o t , and his warmest friends were unaware t o of its faults . When James Hamilton listened it first , he did not like the voice ; he thought ” that the “ slow and almost singing cadence ’ t o o was affectation . The preacher s father, , lamented the change in that voice , once so

“ melodious . I t soon became cracked and ” “ broken , he says ; long discourses , sometimes o f three in a day , during the delivery which he 66 In Labours More Abundant

us was naturally much excited , wrought mischievo ’ f f . o ef ects Thus , from the rhetorician s point n o t s o f t o view, there were blemishes di ficult discern . Yet , considered solely from this side , u it was sing larly effective preaching . The style had always the charm o f perfect l ucidity ; it was

o f transparent , like the crystal waters a lake into which the observer gazes and sees the pebbles and grasses at the bottom . As invariably , it had the merit o f definite purposefulness long as the

s discourses were , there were no uperfluous garni no ture and deliberate gilding ; the illustrations , a

no t fo r listener testifies , were flowers the fancy ” fo r but arrows the conscience . But the potent ’ f s s and manifest attraction o St . Peter lay el e where than in any externalities . I t lay in the s fi o f implicity , freeness , and suf ciency the Gospel which was proclaimed from its pulpit ; in the unearthly airs and powers o f the Spirit o f God that breathed and blew through the prayers and the sermons ; and in the perso nality o f the preacher . H is outward presence satisfied the f . o eye H e was tall , slender, fair complexion ,

t o regular and handsome in feature , pleasant look upon a s young David coming from the

t o . sheepfold be anointed king And , behind

the face and the words , the soul was more

constraining and more compelling . H ere , every 67 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

o n e o f felt , was a true ambassador Christ and a

s o f man filled unto all the fullne s God . I n the herald and servant the people saw and heard the ” Lord . Certainly H e was there with them . Two thick notebooks in quarto remain from D those introductory years in undee . Their pages are occupied with the preliminary sketches o f o f M c Ch e ne discourses , many which y wrote t o u afterwards more amply and exactly . I f in h is o public speech he could let himself g , in the thinking and the writing which led up to the

n Fo r speech he was discipli ed and diligent . the Thursday night prayer - meeting as well as fo r the preaching o f the Sabbath he go t himself ready by patient study ; from point t o point t h e outline is traced o f what he meant t o say even at this more familiar gathering . And when it is ’ the high s olemnity o f the Lord s Supper that is N t . o in view , he is busier still only is the Action Sermon delineated in its main and ho w subordinate divisions , but we learn he “ intends to fence the tables , and the scope and tenor o f the addresses before and after Co m

n munion . H is liberty of prophesying was o t an unchartered freedom . I t had been prefaced , and it was limited and controlled , by quiet meditation , by illuminating prayer , and by stead

is fast toil . I t hard to summarize the contents o f 68 In Labours More Abund ant

the t wo quartos ; they hold infinite riches . There are the s chemes and charts o f lecture s o n tho s e Chapters o f Chronicle s which narrate the story ’ o f the building and consecration o f Solomon s Temple ; o n different Psalms and Parables ; o n the first Epistle o f Peter ; o n the Epistles to the

Seven Churches . There are sermons in minia u ture , whose texts and s bjects are drawn from almost every section o f the Old Testament and

the N ew . There are quotations from the books ’ he has been reading : Cotton Mather s Life o f ’ ’ Fla v els J ohn Eliot , J ohn meditations , Young s ’ N i h Th ou h s E dwa rds s g t g t , J onathan resolutions

u The Ga la ia n s and tracts and treatises , L ther on t , ’ s er usa lem in n er e Bunya n f S S a v d. There is his o f Division the Bible , so as the whole may be

t wo r read over every months o every month . o n There are careful Biblical studies , J udas the

o n o f s betrayer , the dress the H igh Prie t and

o n o n o f its significance , prayer, the doctrine

the H oly Spirit . As we travel through the

volumes , lovingly and lingeringly , the preacher

himself lives again before us . We see how unalloyed and absolute is his satisfaction with t o Christ ; that Pole his thought and his heart , like the needle in the compass , are always quivering back . We learn that it is impossible o r G o d o f for him to forget Calvary , the Calvary , 69 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

“ H is s Who , rather than justice should be tained ,

s did stain the Cros , and rather than H is love

should miss its end , refused to spare H is Son . We are rebuked by the writer ’s faithfulness and zeal no Christianity contents himself but o n e which

n o rules him through and through , and poorer

Christianity , he insists , should content his

s o n e people ; so his me sage to them , Sabbath , o f is the message God to I srael through H osea ,

Behold I will h ed e u th wa wi h hor ns a n d , g p y y t t ,

mahe a wa ll ha s he sha ll n ot in d her a hs , t t f p t ,

a n d hen sha ll she sa will o a nd r e u r n to m t y, g t y

r s H usba n d or hen was it be er wi h me fi t , f t tt t

tha n n ow. We are moved and awed by his

importunities with the careless and sinful . H e can use the surgeon ’s scalpel to probe the ugly

wounds of the s oul . H e does not shrink from f unveiling the severities o the Word . H is text

I a n man love n ot the Lor d esus may be , f y j Ch r is let him be a na hema t, t ; or it is that ” o f A swor d a s wor d is dolorous blast Ezekiel , ,

sha r en ed a n d a lso ur bished. p f But , generally , he prefers the note which is wooing and per ’ Come s uasive . I t is Christ s which he sounds in the hearing o f the heavy - laden ; and oftenest his voice is not that o f wind o r earthquake o r — fi re it is the voice o f gentle stillness . The Lord hath anointed him to preach good tidings ; 7 o In Labours More Abundant

H e hath sent him to proclaim the Opening of t the prison o them that are bound . The Thursday prayer - meeting was a new

wa s s o thing in the religion of the town . I t large that it was held in the church itself ; we o f read eight hundred as sometimes attending . A special benediction rested o n it ; the wings o f the Spirit lay close and warm then about

s speaker and hearers . The Thur day meetings ” “ are dear to me , he said ; they will be remem ” bered in Eternity with songs o f praise . I n those informal gatherings he was frank and um “ fettered . H e laid aside that new silk gown , “ o f his s o which he wrote to mother, I t is large and handsome that you would take me for a

B ishop at the very least , and arrayed in which , “ as he told his father , he ascended the pulpit u o f with a r stling like the leaves Vallombrosa . With the gown other stiffnesses and state lin e s s e s M c Che ne , though y never was much cumbered by these , were gone . H e dealt with subjects more varied in their range than he dis o n cussed Sabbaths in the congregation . H e unbarred the floodgates and let the river o f his affections stream forth ; he drew very near him t o . to the people , and they And there was Wh o Wh One came nearer still , the Lord o

s confirms and comfort , teaches and saves . 7 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

Other agencies rendered the congregation ’s

s life yet more intelligent and piritual . There was the Bible Class ; six months after his ordination he speaks o f its members as number

ing 17 0 girls and 7 0 young men . To his n o w brother, home from I ndia and somewhat o f 18 8 an invalid , he describes , in February , 3 , “ one o f his courses o f instruction . I t is what

I call the Geographical Method . I give them o ut o f some place , such as the Sea Galilee , and bid them look up the passages that refer to it f in the Bible . Then I draw a map o it in do chalks upon a board , as we used to at the

H igh School . Then I teach them where all the places are ; and read descriptions o f it from J osephus , the J ewish historian , and from modern travellers , like Burckhardt and Buck ingham . Then I go over the parts o f the u B ible which relate to it , and ill strate them by the geographical positions and by the de

r s c ipt io ns read . I find this very interesting t o myself, and they are quite delighted with it . H e appends a sketch o f the Sea o f Galilee “ with its towns and villages , and adds , You

- must not smile at my fine map making . But more intimate and sacred were his classes for young communicants , and his personal inter views with the young communicants them 7 2

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

and done . H is visiting book is as wedded to accuracy and thoroughness as before ; but it has its pictorial supplements now . When he has gone over sixteen o r eighteen homes lying t o o ne in near proximity another , and has noted the names o f their inmates and his o wn im

o f o f pressions them , he inserts a kind topo o r graphical architectural plan , in which each family has its residence properly indicated and placed ; so that the minister will not confound ’ ’ o r James Martin s door with Robert Moodie s , ’ cross David E dwards s threshold when he is really ’ s P n i in que t of Margaret e cuik s . One class o f his parishioners could always be certain o f an attention which recognized no limit and rose — above all fatigue those whom illnes s had

laid aside , or who were soon to die . Speaking f s o . to student medicine , Dr Stephen Paget reminds them that they practise their science

o n and art life itself, and that , with such

s s . pricele material , an error may be irreparable ” “ Medicine , he says , works in lives , and o r cannot correct its proofs , begin with a sketch ,

o r o r f o r waste its fabrics , rehearse its ef ects , use a model ; and by a mistake it injures not ” “ ” o f . an image life , but life That , he goes

“ o n , is why Medicine is not a fine art ; it is

not the art but the stuff which is so fine . The 7 4 In Labours More Abundant doctor must interfere with that o n e substance

s o ne which is above all el e in nature , the texture , fi man , infinitely complex , in nitely precious . We touch heaven when we lay o ur hands o n the ” ’ I M c n s human b o dy. These were Che y e con

v ict io ns . H e was working in lives , in the stuff and substance whose complexity and precious ness are incalculable . H e must beware o f mistake , for mistake might be fatal . H e touched heaven when he laid his hands o n a the human spirit . And if the spirit was p proa ching the verge and term o f its earthly probation , if it was passing within the veil , his anxiety over it was multiplied sevenfold ; he

no t do fo r could enough its healing and help . I n Dundee he has a book which is devoted

exclusively to this department o f his ministry . On the page at the beginning he has written the inscription

J e sus

I wa s sick a nd e visited Me . , y B e li e ve rs When sa w we Thee sick or in pr ison a nd ca me unto Thee ? J e sus Ver il I sa unto ou Ina smuch a s e ha ve done it unto y, y y , y th e t o e M brethren e h n Me one o e l as thes a ve do e it un to . f f y , y

I C n essio Medici 8 o . 8 f , pp 4 , 5 . 7 5 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

Shall we extract a single page from the

us s itself, to Show how a good phy ician about his most delicate and critical work ? is o ne o f the earliest

‘ ’ R e st n 111 o n m s e te . c Tho a Tyri , S p ow , low la d of e s O m s m t n fi v s . u p io for e ye ar . Tak piu V s t 12 D c 18 6 — e te t e and annihi e e . . i i d , , 3 D ba abou h ll I t H h is t n Lost shee . H e t e n e as e t . e la io . p a iv r ad Bibl , t e to at it Ne s in ra h r cavil . ighbour .

D - n s n t n m e L s te 1 e c H as e e e . ost Vi i d , 9 . b a ki g Of for i c H n e nt s t th e e e e st tt ent e and s o e t t . p . ill a iv , co whol ru h s t 2 0 —Pr v I Turn ou a t M re roo De o . : e e . Vi i d , y y p f ‘ ’ e t n te as h e s e e s e t . Sl pi r ha u ual ; y corrobora d all , aid ’ t 2 2 — ned L dia s hea rt s D L rd o e . e e e c . The o Vi i d , p y Mor

tte n t e . t t e t C n e t e n e an d a iv Said ha gr a ha g had ak plac , s e h is n n t e se two e e s t pok of p e ace withi duri g h w k . S ill

s e s t m b ut n e s ens e . p ak hrough opiu , wo d rfully ibl — h s te 2 8 De e Christ a Substitute . E ne t e Vi i d , xplai d G s n it n h im t n s n s e e a d e sse o . e e e whol o p l , pr d S ra g ly ibl ns e n s b ut t e e m a b e s m e o f th e a w rs . Who k ow h r y o work Spirit h e re ? H e says that h is vi e ws of h is o wn h e art an d st ar n of Chri e both cha ge d . s te 1 De e — n h is e m ns e Vi i d , 3 Fou d cold r ai wrapp d m n n an d e t n . e o n up ; Margar cryi g Di d Friday or i g , D h im di s 0 w e . e n s ec . e e t n o o n e sa 3 , b for ligh ; Thu d t s s t e e was e n hi hor b ut i n te re sti ng hi story . Th r c rtai ly H t t h i n e n e in th e m an . e o s e wo d rful cha g ook Bibl , be fore un read spoke with i nte re st o f his s oul and o f th e

’ I e e as e e th e t s e in McCh e n e s H r , b for , i alic app ar, y n t n in m s n ink an d n te th e t ha dwri i g , cri o , i dica Scrip ural h passage s or truth s which h e expou nde d to t e sick m an . 7 6 In Labours More Abundant

was m s ts and s ue e e m n Saviour ; glad Of y vi i , q z d y ha d s t f t n But e t e t e e was alway wi h a fe c io . wh h r h r a work ” o f G h s race t e Day hall de clare .

I t is proof that at length the Church o f Scotland was shaking itself free from the stifling o f incubus Moderatism , that , within the first

o f twelve months his residence in Dundee , Mc Che n e f y was of ered , three times over and

s from three different parishes , a new phere of who work . There were many felt that he ought t o have more restfulness and comfort than he could hope to find in a freshly formed congre gat io n which had yet t o be shaped into stability

o r and strength , amongst the unceasing whirl

f s s and noise o factory wheel . H is yearly tipend ’ 200 r in St . Peter s was only ; there we e places , t o eager gain him , which could give him far o f more . Moreover , that sensitive body his , easily conquered by illness , might be built into robuster health in more favourable surroundings , away from the chimney smoke and from those overcrowded rooms and garrets where the mill 18 workers lived . I n January , 3 7 , it was Skirling in Peebles - shire which tempted him ; ’ in March , it was St . Leonard s in Edin ’ burgh ; and , in June , it was St . Martin s near

Perth . Each had its attractions , but each was To decisively refused . Lady Carmichael o f 7 7 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

fo r Castle Craig, who had written him her t o husband , asking him accept Of Skirling , he

replied in a long and very noble letter . H e saw all the allurements o f the country ; but for

o f him the path duty was manifest , and he must go o n walking under the dingy skies and along “ f advan the hard pavements o the town . The tages o f the parish yo u Offer me are indeed very

great , in my case peculiarly so . The pecuniary

emolument is remarkably handsome , and , all

things considered , is nearly double the income

I expect to receive in this place . The smallness o f the parish , quite a parochial family , where I might exert my energies to the utmost without o f fear injuring myself, would make the situation

s f uitable to my somewhat delicate frame o body . The quietness and leisure that would be afforded

me are most precious in my eyes , as they would enable me to prosecute the studies which here

I can only sigh after in vain . The agricultural population would have answered my tastes exactly ; for I know not a greater privilege than to carry the words o f faith and love to the

- t o farm and the cottage hamlet , deal with plain

‘ s unvarnished minds , to allure to brighter world ’ and lead the way . Still , dear Madam , I am

. n o t here I did no t bring myself here . I did

ask to be made a candidate for this place . I 7 8 In Labours More Abundant

was hardly willing t o be a candidate . I did no t n o r expect success , was I in the least anxious fo r it ; I was as happy at Larbert as the day G od o f was long . And yet turned the hearts

’ o f this whole people toward me , like the heart o ne man . I do n o t know that there was an individual among them discontented with my h s . t o ettlement I s it presumptuous , t en , think

no t o f that this call was man , neither by man ,

s s but from the Great Ma ter H im elf, just as

‘ t o plainly as if H e had said me , This is your ’ o f ? no corner the vineyard O , I dare not

leave this people . Some Of my friends have s aid that the call which your co nfiding kindness has given me is another call o f Providence ;

and , if the sphere were as wide as that which no w o r I occupy , as wide as to demand the

whole energies Of an ordinary mind , perhaps

I would agree with them . But then , when I remember that I would be exchanging thousands

for hundreds , that I would be leaving a Sabbath o f 1 100 fo r 1 0 do no t l audience 5 , I fee that I ’ o n could ask God s blessing the change . H is favour is life ; H is loving - kindness is better than

. t o life To be where H e would have us , and have the sunlight o f H is countenance shed o ur upon all paths , that is heaven upon earth , o ur wherever home may be , in a cottage o r in 7 9 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

o r a a castle , with J ohn , in dungeon . I must rest in hope that H e will bless me in t he

fo r place which H e has chosen me , among the bustling artisans and the political manufacturers

Who Of Dundee . H e paid H is Own and H is ’ ’ disciple s tribute o ut o f the fish s mouth will

supply all my need . H e will make my strength

to be as my day is . H e will make me a i pract cal divine , which , after all , is better than

a learned divine . And perhaps H e will make thi s wildernes s o f chimney - tops t o be green

o f and beautiful as the garden the Lord , a field which the Lord hath blessed . The outcome

t wo was the same in the other cases , though they offered him a larger usefulness and a more exacting labour than Skirling could do .

ns in n n Mr . Nairne of D u a tried in vain to coax ’ him t o grant the people o f St Martin s a chance o f listening to him ; no minister

a s should preach a candidate , he asserted cate go rically and immovably . There were friendly foes o f his o wn household whom he found it more difficult t o resist and convince . H is r os er a nd be mother , longing that he should p p in hea l h as his soul r os er ed t g p , would have had him accept Sir Thomas and Lady Car ’ “ w michael s proposal . Dear Mamma , he rote , “ you must just make up your mind t o let me 8 0

In Labours More Abundant

o f be murdered among the lanes Dundee , instead o f seeing me fattening o n the green

glebe o f Skirling . Perhaps it would have

fo r been very good my frail body ; but then ,

I fear , my soul would have turned sickly , and

the most precious part would have withered .

I would have felt myself a renegade , seeking

o wn n o t my , the things which are J esus

’ ” Christ s . The saints sometimes have a face t like a flint and a hear like an adamant stone , “ ” even when their best beloved o f all are be s eeching them t o modify their fix it y o f S O o f purpose . it was with Perpetua Carthage in the early days ; and s o it was with Robert

M c Ch e ne . y H e had his recompense soon .

“ ” There is an awakened look about my people ,

s o f he record in the middle J une , immediately “ ” NO after he has said his definitive to Mr . ’ Nairne and St . Martin s . Among the Radical

weavers and the jute manufacturers , whose “ dinner - tables were marked by a great want o f sentiment Bare facts go down best , the ” o f failing Of a mill , the quantity debt the gales were stirring that have their birth high “ and far in the invisible wo rld . My sweet

parish is a little paradise , its minister said . I n the midst o f the throng and accumulation

Of his activities , he kept his human sympathies 8 1 G Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

awake . H e could conduct with his father a s pirited debate over the ethics of Life I nsurance : is it Christian ? is it in the line Of the teach ing of the N ew Testament ? is it according ? to the mind and will o f J esus The Writer t o the Signet was stout in his support o f the s o n affirmative ; his argued for the negative , and held to his belief in spite o f everything that could be adduced o n the opposite side ; ’ before he will abandon his opinion , Christ s

L a n ot u r easur es on ea r h word , y p t t , must be

L a u r easu r es in th e amended into , y p t ‘ ur n ce I ns a ce O/ji . A few months later he was as keenly interested as his s ister in the equip o f ment their house , in Strawberry Bank , on the Perth Road : the chairs his mother would have selected at twenty - seven shillings apiece

- are pronounced over costly , and there is to be n o t no French bed , which to all certainty will f correspond with the size o his small rooms . Or he would throw much lively enjoyment into his recital of his experiences , as this nar “ ” rat iv e o f a visitation day will witness . “ H aving warned thirteen families the night before , I girded myself for the combat and commenced . I met great kindness in every o r house , though there were only three four that belonged to my church . Most were Old 8 2

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

s all due olemnity . There were some tears

- shed according to form , and then after con

gratulations and wine . I wa s pre s ented by the

bridesmaid with a pair of long silk stockings ,

s as large and massy as would erve a Bishop .

I soon made my escape , and , after preparing — and refreshing , met my people at seven the

s — in s families I had vi ited one hou e . There

o f were three rooms full , and most my audience

o ut o f s : were therefore ight however , we are ’ something like the H ighlandman s gun that

fired round the corner . The people come well

o ut o . , and seem to enj y it One Roman

‘ Y o n Catholic , who heard me before , says , ’ mini s ter beats a ; he maun be a Catholic .

s There were wider issue too , which began to enli s t his affection and to occupy part of his time There was the cause o f Church Exten

s . ion , for example H e became secretary in Forfarshire of the as s ociation which s ought the creation o f new parishes and the erection

o f o f . additional places worship I n October ,

18 was o n e o f s - 3 7 , he a hou e party at Killer

s o f . . . mont , the re idence Mr J C Colquhoun , who wa s protagonist o f the movement in

Parliament . Dr . Chalmers was there also , and

“ the conversation , interesting and animating , was continued on two successive evenings t o 84 In Labours More Abundant

“

. e a late hour Th re was something holy , the “ younger man felt , about the very atmosphere . Chalmers was sitting opposite t o me at this

table , writing , his venerable countenance ex f pfe s s ing peace and goodwill to men . Out o this meeting with the captain o f whatever was worthiest and best in the Scotland of the day “ O good grey head which all men knew ! O voice from which their omens all men — ’ drew ! came M c Che yne s active participation o f in the battle Church Extension . S O he grew in personal character and in rich

and fruitful diligence . Behind it all , its source

s and its ecret , was the life which is hid with

“

G o d. Christ in I have little courage , little ”

. o f D uns in na n anything , he wrote to Mr Nairne ; “ but I just give my hand t o H im as a little

child does , and H e leads me , and I am happy ; what do I desire more ? ” H e would have been at

home in the Convention tent at Keswick , and he could have s ung the Kes wick hymn

t e n e S ay d upo J hovah , e ts are e st H ar fully bl , n n as H e m se Fi di g , pro i d , n t Pe rfe ct p e ac e a d re s .

H e lived in the attitude o f trust and in the atmosphere o f communion . But he took care 8 5 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e to maintain the trust and to practise the com munion . H is first concern was the nurture o f his own soul . Every morning he saw to it before he turned t o anything else . H e rose early that he might have time to spend with

God . Probably he had gone to bed at a late o f hour the night , jaded in body and in mind “ o f s o f s after a day duty ; but a oldier the Cros , “ ” s he said , mu t endure hardness , and he was up betimes . H e would sing a Psalm , to tune his s pirit into harmony with heavenly things .

Then he sat down to read , mark , learn , and

o f inwardly digest the living Word his Lord ,

s Often tudying three chapters in succession . f Then he gave himself to prayer , the ef ectual prayer which avails much . And he was more refreshed than if he had prolonged the hours o f sleep ; he was furnished and prepared for every good work . That his ideals o f the good work were only heightened by his meditation in the secret — place over the Open Book , a quotation very — s - simple , very inci ive , and very far reaching from one o f those manuscript quartos into which we have glanced will bear tes timony . I t is headed

ss 11. What should a ministe r b e Answe re d from 1 Th e .

And this is how the answer runs : 8 6

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

t wo - and sharper than a edged sword , in those deliberately numbered particulars . 18 8 One afternoon in 3 , when he was absent o n Church Extension business in the company

Of Thomas Guthrie , then newly translated from

Arbirlot to Edinburgh , the sister at home was startled by the contents o f a letter he sent “ ” “ t o . her My dear Eliza , it said , you will be surprised that I do not come in with Mr .

Guthrie . But I have had a tumble , and it is

t o - thought better that I remain here till morrow , when I propose to be in Dundee . Mr . G . o u will tell y how I got it . Tell J ames that there will be no class to - night he must do his

n best to warn them o t to come . I still hope

o n o f to be at Blairgowrie Wednesday ; but ,

M rs . course , I cannot be sure . Mr . and Grierson

NO s are all kindness . bone are broken ; and

I am only a little bruised , which pains my chest . On the back Of the letter the woman who

- - received it , true hearted and tender hearted , has “ h s : . H e hee et inscribed thi Robert , from E rrol p ” a ll his bones n ot one of the m is br ohen . What had happened ? I n the manse—garden at E rrol s tood some gymnas tic pole s which M c Ch e yne himself had planned fo r the amusement o f a

- so n o f . s boy friend , the Mr Grier on , minister o f the beautiful village in the Carse o f Gowrie . 8 8 In Labours More Abundant

Ch . Boyish and sprightly himself, he allenged Mr

t o o f was Guthrie a trial skill ; but , when he hanging by his heels and hands some s ix fee o ne o f from the earth , the poles suddenly ’ t o snapped , and , the onlooker s horror, he came “ down o n his back t o the ground with a t re m e n u ‘ do s thud . H e sickened , and was carried into the manse . But God was keeping watch , and the results Of the accident were less disastrous

t o al than they might have been ; soon , I s s as s e d. appearance at least , its evil i sue had p

’ I G s Autobio ra h th ns n s In Dr . uthri e g p y e co e qu e ce of n t r e s m n e e m It is s o t hi s accid e a e p rhap ag ifi d ov r uch . aid t “ ” b e gi n th e illne ss t hat t e rm in ate d in h is de ath ; an d “ i h was n e e th e s m m n n it s adde d that e v r a e a agai . But t th e n n e ss o f ss n e e e , hrough ki d Mi Bo ar, I hav b for m e e tte tte n t o h e r t e in st 18 a l r wri fa h r , Augu , 74 , by f E t e n an m an wh o n te e . G e s n o e Dr ri r o rrol , h old had r d o n h is t - t H e e s e n th e e e . igh y four h y ar r call , vividly ough , ’ “ - s n n It incid e nt of th e lon g past s umm e r fore oo . M Ch e n e e n e o n th e 2 8th st 18 8 . R e t c happ d of Augu , 3 ob r y had be e n assisti ng at our Commun ion four we e ks be fore an d n m s n m e e t e n e n te e , ki dly a u i g y ld r boy , who had h r d h is te n t e s n and t e n h im s m e t et h y ar, by howi g achi g o a hl ic e e ses h e s e ste to m e th e e e t n o f s m e x rci , ugg d r c io a i pl s s was m s e apparatu for thi s purpo se . Thi acco pli h d by th e e e t n two t sts t e e t s n e r c io of uprigh po , abou four f a u d r , o n e t e m n e t o t e e and e o f t em e t e of h ail d a r , ach h p rfora d by a n umbe r Of circular hole s for re ce ivi ng th e e n d s o f a nt te e st R e t e te t o fi n d horizo al bar . Af r br akfa ob r , d ligh d h is e m m e n t n tte n e t o e e e to m e use r co da io a d d , proc d d ak 8 9 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

Yet the flesh was weak . Again and again he was reminded o f its frailty during those intro duct o r y years in Dundee . H e would not a o knowledge defeat s o long a s it was possible

s to fight on ; there was a soldierly train in him . “ My cough is turned into a loos e kind o f

o f grumble , like the falling down of a shower

s s s his stones in a quarry , he a ure mother “ and I am well and lively in all other respects . She would have prescribed for him “ a gruel

with white wine in it , but he knew a more

o f th e t s fo r m s e an d s e it e e st n appara u hi lf , a k d if w r ro g

e n . n n e o f e t e ss e s ough Thi ki g chi fly v r ical pr ur , I aid that a m uch h e avi e r m an than h e had hun g upo n th e n t t l h e se h is n t o b e e e t horizo al bar , i l rai d chi l v l wi h it M h e n t e n nst n t s n n it an d . . c C e Mr y h i a ly pra g upo , s at th e re at an e le vatio n of n e arly six fe e t from th e t e t e s m e s t n . s en e o grou d By a udd la ral j rk , produc a o r aul in e s e n n th e e e e o f h is e t e t o b e d c di g , l v rag w igh prov d t o o m o n e o f th e ts e uch for uprigh , which gav way by spli tti n g at o n e o f th e lowe r hol e s : thus causing th e m n t n la e abl e fall which Dr . Guthri e h as m e tio n e d . M e di c al assi s tan ce was imm e diate ly Obtain e d ; b ut n o s e rious ’ n t two s e st h e e t n e i jury had b e e n re ce ive d . Af e r day r r ur d o n h is n t o n ee e e in h is o wn po y Du d , pr ach d church th e n t an d n e t e n t o n s t followi g Sabba h , x day w a vi i Th t o his en n e . e . at fri d , Mr Macdo ald Blairgowri tm st t t c an b e s as t o th e is t t it w as u o ha aid fall , ha justly re garde d as an additional re ason fo r his Obtai n in g e st m st t and t e e ss n r fro hard udy , pulpi , o h r prof io al ” labour . 90

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e o f his fall , or through the Old trouble in the lungs , as with a beating and palpitating heart which betokened general weaknes s and nerves unstrung . H e was forced to leave Dundee for a time , and to return to the Edinburgh home .

wa s . Week after week went by , and he still there 18 Then , in the early spring of 39 , a totally unexpected prospect Opened in front o f him ; and many months elapsed before his congregation s w a him again . What a grief took possession o f the people ! Letter in s uccession to letter h was sent to Edinburgh . One poor woman e

“ o u r C wailed the loss Of golden andlestick , and bright star . Three members signed their names to a pleading request for information about his ! s a health when the heart is full , they y,

Offi ce - the lip s must s peak . An bearer s uggested that the absent minister should write a weekly pastoral letter to be read at the Thurs day meeting ; and this he often managed to do .

A little private gathering of the elders , to which

o n a few others joined themselves , was begun the Monday evenings , with the express purpose o f interceding for h is recovery a nd o f entreating ’ God s ble s s ing o n the pas torle s s flock . Andrew ’ Bonar visited St . Peter s , and reported after

Y o u wards , have left your sheep in the hand

O f the Good Shepherd . I heard the bleating 9 2 In Labours More Abundant

Of some Of them , but the Lord will feed them . ’ t o o McCh e n e s H e was sure , , that y retirement ’ o f was part God s plan , and that its harvest would be as b e ne fi ce nt as that o f his tasking “ and toiling had been . I have been thinking that in our day there is such need o f the Spirit that it would n o t be su rprising if G o d were t o lead those o f H is servants wh o will pray

a deser lace a a r into t fi p t, taking Elijah from o f t o the thousands I srael , whom he might

o n have testified , in order to watch solitary Carmel and pray seven times fo r the coming ” rain . I t was a word spoken in season , and a true forecast o f the Day o f the Lord at hand . C H APT E R V

TH OS E H O LY FIE LDS

’ O NE o f Mc Ch e n e s y sermons , preserved in the

M em oir a n d Rema in s o n , is the Pauline text ,

To the ew r s f fi t . I t dates from the November o f 18 t wo 39 . But it had a predecessor , nearly

s years Older, whose argument and illustrations may be read in one Of the manuscript volumes that hold in condensed and attenuated form s o hi s . many of discourses Why , he asks , should the Gospel be preached in the first instance to the ? sons and daughters o f I srael Four reasons are

ass igned . There is the commandment o f G o d ; and Old Testament and N ew are quoted to prove how distinct and deci s ive is the divine will in the

matter . There are H is promises to the friends

Of H is ancient people , H is threatenings against

is o f their foes . There H is love them even in their captivity , an undying love which earnestly

s remember them still . And , once again , there is their importance to the life and health o f 94

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e he was great - grandson o f the penman o f the

A n a lecta . Surely it was a thousand pities that

O f W dr w in the end the day Mr. o o found himself prevented from sharing in the enter prise ; fo r the idea o f it had really originated

fo r with him , and had been years a fondly

. n o w cherished dream But it was proposed ,

fo r D r . Candlish being chiefly responsible the M c Che n e suggestion , that Robert y and Andrew f Bonar should form part o the deputation . See the kindness o f your H eavenly Physician ! the 8 th latter writes to the former on the of March , — “ 18 3 9 H is cure for yo u is the fr ag r an ce of

L eba non Th la nd 0 and the balmy air of y , l ” Im ma n ue . . For a while , however , Mr Bonar “ was uncertain as to his o wn duty . Your way

“ s is clear , he ays in the same letter . I rejoice

o u for the consolation it must give y , under o f your sore trial silence , to see that your feet may carry the message o f peace in another ? way than formerly . But is my way s o Clear I do not feel that I can yet sing the song which I have put into your lips

G o d is th e Lord Who unto us

Hath made light to ari se .

I ffi : . My di culties are Since you have Dr . Black o u o f with y , you have little need me in regard 95 Th ose Holy Fields

2 to languages . . Your argument, drawn from o f the importance the subject , is in this manner turned aside from its reference to me ; fo r all the Obj ect o f the tour may be attained by the three worthy and gifted men that form the

deputation , even though the fourth remain in

the fields o f Ephratah . 3 . I have got no light whatsoever as to supply for my pari s h ; o n the

contrary , I cannot ascertain , though I have

o r n o made inquiry , whether the appointment

would be left to me . N ow , to leave my people

s t o s in thi state seems me like a hepherd , whose o wn voice his sheep know , calling the flock into

a field , and then all at once leaving them to

f s the danger o grievou wolves . The very circum s tance that as yet I do not know o f conversions among them seems t o me a reason for no t going ; they being j ust now in s ome ’ t o E dwa rds s degree , human appearance , like

o f people the year before the work began , full attention , and outwardly improved , and the ” young uncommonly willing to take advice .

Andrew Bonar, like the apostle who wrote

in a s r a i be wix t wo to the Philippians , was t t t t ; but at last all the hindrances obstructing his “ path were removed . The great cause o f ” “ ” s aw I srael , he , would perhaps be benefited if he shared in the M ission . And as for his 97 H Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

C o n parishioners in ollace , the eve apparently — “ o f a year o f the grace o f G o d I will not fear t o trust the Lord with the souls Of my people ;

when J ohn the Baptist was removed , Christ

H imself came . I t was certainly a happy arrangement for M c Ch e yn e that this friend o f t w his heart was to be beside him . The o o ut t o Older men , as it turned , were compelled abandon the heats and toils of Syria in advance o f their associates and then David and J onathan t could s ay behind , to prosecute to its termination the sacred work which had led them s o far from

s s their Scotti h home , and in which they both

had s o unalloyed a delight . ’

M c he n e . St . Peter s sent C y its benediction ” I n agreeing to the proposal , the elders “ o n l 1t h o f wrote the March , we know well that you have been actuated by a sense

o f duty ; and , even if it had not been urged upon yo u by considerations affecting your o wn

health , in which your people feel an anxious

concern , we would have been reluctant to raise any obstacle in the way of a plan fraught with consequences s o deeply interesting n o t merely to the house of I srael but to the Church of “ Christ . Though separated from o n e another ” “ fo r s a season , they continue , we hall have

the privilege of meeting at a Throne of Grace , 9 8

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

“ was a rare and singular achievement . We are ” no t o f N aware , say the authors the ar r a tive

“ o a M iss ion o I n uir to the ews f f q y f , that any clergyman o f the Church o f Scotland was ever privileged to visit the H oly City before ; and n o w that four of us had been brought thu s far

o f o ur G o d us by the good hand upon , we fo r trusted that it might be a token good , and perhaps the dawn Of a brighter day o n o ur — beloved church a day o f generous self- denied exertion in behalf o f scattered I srael and a ” perishing world . The story is told in full in

N a r r a ive this t , which Andrew Bonar and Robert M cCh e yn e put together after their return ; o f o n e o f “ which Dr . Chalmers wrote to them , I ” have the greatest value for it ; and which

makes a book well worth reading to this hour , because o f the light which it throws o n

o f Scripture , and because Of that fervour love which palpitates through its chapters for the ’ o f seed Abraham , God s children who are

“ long lost but longer dear .

But here are the letters , minute , careful , vivid ,

c he n e s —fift e e n a ll which M C y ent home letters in .

o n They trace his itinerary from H ampstead , the

2 th o f 18 9 March , 39 , through France and I taly ,

Valetta , Alexandria, the quarantine camp at the

o f Be ro ut foot Carmel , y and Smyrna, Galatz and 100 Th ose Holy Fields

t o o n Tarnopol and Breslau , back the Thames

the 6t h o f November . We may glance through

s o f their clo ely packed pages , in search what illuminates the man himself rather than fo r the information they give o f the scenes he s aw and “ the people he met . H ow instinctively , as the ” sunflower ever turning to the mighty sun , his thought and heart were accustomed t o lift them t o selves God and the better world , the very

first o f them makes evident . On the voyage

between Edinburgh and London , he noticed the

- sea gulls following the boat , not straight , but flying hither and thither “ so my soul follows n o t fo r Christ , as I would desire , then I

should never wander from H im , but hither

and thither, faint yet pursuing . H e heard the

o n e captain say , when some asked if the wind “ were fair , ! uite fair, but not enough to make “ s ail and many Christians , he reflected , “ ’ s eem to have God s Spirit fair enough , but not sufficiently strong t o make sail ; they do ” not go forward . Off Cromer Point he s aw the regularly recurring flash o f the lighthouse : “ ’ so may God s ministers be a beacon o n the

who s e a waters , guiding those sail in a calm wh o and those are near shipwreck ; like this , t o o o n , may they revolve , shedding benediction ” o f r all within the range thei influence . The 10 1 Robert Murray M cCh e yn e

“ wildernes s O f London appalled him : this city s wear away all my thoughts and feelings .

s But we are pleased to di cover that the bow , n o w and then , could be unbent ; with his hostess “ t o he visited the Coliseum , witness a truly “ wonderful panorama o f the metropolis ; my

t o head felt quite giddy , and I feared look over ’ ”

f s . lest I should fall from the top o St . Paul

Landed in France , he found a hundred novelties t o kindle attention and interest . There was a dinner, more astonishing than satisfying , in the “ inn at Abbeville ; there were so many things that I was like to be starved , and harpers enter taining us all the while : this is something like ’ “ Solomon s experience in Ecclesiastes . Poor ” “ ”

n o . Paris , he mourned , knows Sabbath Driving away in the diligence from Bar - s ur

his Aube , he and friends busied themselves all day long in scattering leaflets from the windows o f the vehicle among the passers - b y and in the “ village streets ; firs t it began with the youthful

o f members the Deputation , but soon the con t a io n g spread , till we had the delightful sight o f a Professor o f Theology handing o ut tracts o r flinging them o n the wings o f the wind to ‘ a! Um those in the fields , crying , Voil petit livre pour votre I t was a relief when the lumbering and wearisome prison o f 10 2

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

“ Leghorn to Malta ; and I felt it sweet , “ M c Ch e ne s e e s e a y says , to lie and the round

and round , a complete circle to the horizon on all sides ; it made m e feel so little and

God s o great . Between Valetta and Alexandria “ ’ he began to think o f Major Donald s story o f the H ighland sergeant in the West I ndies ,

‘ saluting his Officer every morning with Anither

r ! — it is het day , your H onou too true in these latitudes but among the isles o f Greece Andrew Bonar and he forgot such trivial

inconveniences , and quoted H omer to each “ other, and gazed and gazed between I caria and Naxos to s e e if the eye could reach

s o Patmos , where J ohn was highly favoured o f God . And the commotion o f the landing in Alexandria yo u cannot imagine ! I t baffles a ll : s description boy with donkeys , men with

- camels , wild looking porters , Greeks and Turks , all roaring in sonorous Arabic , all eager to be

o ur . at ourselves and luggage By help of Mr . ’ Wa h o rn s g agent , who laid about him with his stick , we got our luggage on human backs and ourselves on donkeys ; and away we went full gallop through the narrow streets . Women with their faces covered all but the eyes , women carry ing their little children astride on the shoulders , o ut o f fakirs , soldiers , children , all had to rush 104 Th ose Holy Fields

o ur way ; and many a contemplative Turk took his

s e e hookah from his mouth , to what strange figures ” McCh e ne hurried by . Robert y was drinking

his firs t draught o f the fas cination o f the Eas t . Preparation s followed for the march through

— o f the Desert the purchase carpets and quilts , “ nice pillows al s o which J acob had not when ” o f he slept at B ethel ; the hire donkeys , tents , and drivers ; the s ecuring o f the t wo servants

“ s - I brahim , a hand ome small made Egyptian , “ Achm e t - and the cook , a dark good natured

fellow with a white turban and bare black legs . “ So the pilgrims s e t forward ; and yo u will be

o u anxious , my dear Mamma, but y must just be d G o . still , and know that God is They had

their fatigues , their hardships , their dangers , the most s erious and alarming o f the mishaps being

f h s the fall o Dr . Black from i camel ; but they

were brought safely through , and in the end were “ in fully better condition than when they “ f r . o began As the writer himself, you must not imagine that I have altogether lost the palpi t at io n o f my heart , for it often visits me to humble and prove me ; and still its visits are not nearly ” so frequent . Among the mounds of ! oan they

o wn o f v it ri made their discoveries , pottery and fi e d o f t wo stones , sphinxes and many Obelisks .

o f Mc Ch e n e Entering the country the Philistines , y 10 5 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e was impre s sed by it s likenes s and yet its unlike “ ness to what it had been once . This is the way o ut o f up Egypt , little changed from the day that J oseph and Mary carried down the Babe from f ? o . the anger H erod Little changed , did I say C ! o f I t is all hanged The River Egypt , Wady

Gaza , Eshcol , Sorek , every brook we crossed was o f dried up , not a drop water . The land is changed ; it is rich no more ; the sand struggles with the grass for mastery . The Cities are changed ; where are they ? The people are Changed no more the bold Philis o f n o tines , no more the children Simeon , more I saac and his herdmen , no more David and his horsemen ; but miserable Arab shepherds , simple people without ideas , poor, degraded , “ th o f o n e o f fearful On the 7 J une , the

o f most privileged days our life , he had his “ V first iew Of J erusalem . I left my camel and went before , hurrying over the burning rocks .

I n about half an hour J erusalem came in sight .

s it o f H ow doth the city solitary , that was full ? people ! Is this the perfection o f beauty H o w hath the Lord covered the daughter o f ! ion with a cloud in H is anger ! I t is indeed very desolate . Read the two first chapters o f Lamen t at io ns V o f , and you have a ivid picture what we H t f t saw . I n and o u o the marvellous town hey 106

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

“ a s a s s s o German , well with Engli h ; that ,

“ M c Ch e n e s as y said , we hall be better Off than ” ever in regard to making inquiries . They went

s s outh again , and other goodbye were spoken

Ach m e t s to I brahim and , with tear on both ” sides ; they had two Roman Catholic s ervants

o n e now , and two muleteers , the a Maronite and the other a Druse many s hades of religious

belief were represented in the little cavalcade .

v s Ha ing een Sidon and the ruins of Tyre , they

s wheeled round to the ea t , to make acquaintance with Safed and the Sea of Galilee and Mount

Tabor and Nazareth . By and by , they were

Be ro ut back in y , waiting for the steamer which should carry them to Smyrna .

a But , at this point in their wanderings , it p pe are d as if Robert Mc Ch e yn e were to s tart o n a s upremer journey , to the Throne Of God , to which we are led by her whom the Old Earl o f Manchester named Death the mother Of ” “ Life , and not Marah but Naomi O sweet ! word , Life , the best monosyllable in the world What the origin of his illness was he could scarcely tell , unless perhaps it might be that he u had ca ght fever from a young Glasgow lad , whom he visited in the hospital , and on whose i hot brow he had laid h s own hand . The doctor who was called in to s e e him had him sent a 108 Th ose Holy Fields

- o ut o f thousand feet up the mountain side , the s o f Be ro ut tifling air y ; and here , in a few days , he mended s o much that it seemed the wisest

s e t plan to sail for Smyrna without further delay .

s s ea - s At fir t , the cool breeze had a reviving

s was effect and by unset , though he very weak ,

s s he found him elf talking with ome J ews , whom he encountered now for the fourth time , and who were grieved indeed to s e e him laid h low . But the nig t was sleepless , and in the

fo r s morning , when they anchored ome hours “ s Off Cypru , he was in high fever . They helped me o n deck under the awning ; but I felt as I never felt before . I knew I had a Father in heaven Who had forgiven and redeemed me , and therefore I resolved to fear no evil . My voice became very low , almost inaudible . I thought my head would burst in two . At last , my faculties o n e by one began to give way . I could

m . not reme ber where we were going Still , I o f thought you all , and , though I could not expect

s e e ever to you again , I prayed that my death might be more bless ed to yo u than all m y life had been . But , when leeches had been got

t o from Cyprus , which the steward applied the ’ o f im back the sick man s head , there was some s o provement ; and things continued , now a little better and then unmistakably worse , until at 109 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ s length , to the sufferer thankfulness , Smyrna was reached . There , however , the inn was dismal , the walls so thin that the place would be like an oven when the sun was up , the rooms o f small , the noise the sailors and pedestrians and traffickers in the streets dreadful . Happily ,

Salvo , the innkeeper , had a kindly heart ; he ’ n owned a other hostelry , he said , an hour s ride into the country, at a village called Bouja could the stranger venture so far ? To all concerned

a c it seemed the best course , and Salvo himself ’ M cChe ne s - companied them , and y donkey driver lent him a helping hand at the steep parts o f the o f 1s t road , and the promise the g Psalm was ful

H e sha ll ive H is a n els cha r e over hee. filled , g g g t At Bouja it was more than ever manifest that

F r . o God had been keeping guard , first , the Officers o f a man - o f- war lying in Smyrna roads had ridden o ut t o the village that day o n a little

o n e o f excursion , the doctor being their number and he understood immediately the gravity Of the case , and busied himself in ministering to the patient . And , next , there were the Anglican

s chaplain and his wife , M r and Mrs . Lewi , “ wh o both delightful Christians , had a house o ne in Bouja ; and , after night had been spent o n in the inn , he had the invalid carried a his sofa to the shelter Of own roof, and for three 1 10

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ n o f sometimes thi ks the gladiator s rude hut , and sees plenty o f Dacian mothers and young barbarians all at play . At Galatz , to his intense

s o ut t o o ld joy , the English con ul turns be an

“ H igh School boy , Charles Cunningham ; we took great delight in recalling past scenes in which we shared we felt like birds escaped from o ur cage , when , after being examined by the

Doctor, we were let go . I n Bucharest he buys “ o f fo x - a cloak skin , which keeps me quite warm ” s night and day , while his friend and he are being hurried from stage to stage over rough roads that seem to have no ending . One night , at Jassy ,

is he present at a J ewish wedding, and , knowing that Eliza will ask him what manner o f dress the “ “ o n o u bride had , he subjoins a facsimile y s e e what a lesson o f modesty the covered faces teach o u r Scottish brides . Austria looks to him the most bigoted and s uspicious of all lands ; at “ s the Cu tom H ouse in Brody , my desk afforded ffi the o cials matter for deep inquiry , there being sketches and plans and a handwriting not a little mysterious the map Of my parish arrested their attention , and I thought we should all have been o ne imprisoned for it , for maintained that it was something Russian , and they are very jealous ” o f that . Outside a Galician village he has a narrow escape from injury at the hands o f two 1 12 ’ ROBERT M CCH E YNE s V ESTRY .

Dr aw n b A L S r ( y . t uthers!

“ Ab o e is a en cilled sket c h b Mc Ch e n e A D e ut after a Lo n v p y y , p y g ’ D Rid A dre w A B a s e n . o n ar y ( ! .

To face a e 112 ! p g .

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

journey , when they are in Hamburg , he preaches “ for the first time since leaving

n s . E ngland , and feels nothi g the wor e for it ’ I s it not a pledge that it may be the Father s will t o res tore him to usefulness again among his beloved flock ? ’ M c Che yn e s soul was more than ever revealed to him s elf and to others by the experiences of this memorable year . One thing which they rendered evident was the wideness o f his sympathy and aspiration . I t has been hinted already that in his student days he had coveted the life o f a

. no t Foreign M issionary That was to be , his ’ o wn uncertain health and God s wiser guidance o f his footsteps alike forbidding it . But the mission to the J ews disclosed and deepened the o ld longing it showed that his Christianity was as far removed as it could be from everything parochial o r sectional o r partial ; it drew o ut his affections and his prayers in fuller measure to

his other lands and peoples than o wn . E spe ci

o f o f his ally , course , it was the illustration f o f his sen s e o indebtedness to I srael , and

- hunger t o repay the heavy and age long debt . There was nothing perfunctory o r professional in his manner o f fulfilling the trust which the

General Assembly had confided to him . All

was - through , it a love darg ; and the love was 1 14 Th ose Holy Fields

o f that sovereign s ort which many waters could

o f u not quench , and the coals which b rned with a o n most vehement flame . Thus he began , board the boat between Granton pier and London c r locks , in earnest talk with a young ecreant “ J ew , a M r . Tobias , gentlemanly , showy, and ” Te hillo th luxurious , who kept his p and Torah — — his Prayer Book and Book o f the Law at the bottom o f his portmanteau ; t o whom he read in H ebrew the first Psalm , and whom he ’ implored to meditate in God s law day and night .

n o or Thus he continued , owhere missing an pp t un it y o f visiting a synagogue o r o f discussion with a Rabbi , staying in a J ewish khan wherever

was that practicable , and as Often as he could engaging a J ewish driver t o carry him across o f the great spaces Eastern and Central Europe . “ co n And thus he ended , in much interesting verse in H amburg with Mr . Moritz , the Chris tian missionary to the children o f Abraham . Every page o f every letter he sent home demon s t rat e d his quenchless desire for the salvation o f ’ God s ancient people and , once he was in Scot

in o ut o f land again , he strove , season and season , t o bring the Church into agreement with his o wn

s . 18 pas ion and enthusiasm That , since 39 , she has done something fo r the ingathering o f the lost sheep of the house o f I srael is due in large 1 15 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

degree to the Wa n de rja h r o f Robert Murray Mc Ch e yn e I But if the circumference o f his s ympathies

wa s s s s s wide , his thought and interce ion had a centre to which they gravitated continually m ’ back . Absence from Dundee and fro St . Peter s only tightened those bonds which God H imself “ had bound . On the Rhone he writes , My

heart is much with my dear people . I n Be yro ut these are his hopes and his co n fe s “ sions , Perhaps my Great Master will fully

recover me , and I shall preach among them

I R v n e In 184 1 th e e . Da i l E dward was ordai n e d as th e s s n o f th e o f t n h s firs t mi io ary Church Sco la d to t e J e w . H is m n st was e e se in ss Le m e an d es i i ry x rci d Ja y , b rg , Br lau —a m n st o f s t e n e t i i ry rich piri ual pow r , prolo g d hrough

- L n a n d n te e n e s s e fi ft e s . st tte y four y ar o g i r i g l r urviv , Th n E t Mc h e n e . e which w e re writte by Mr . dward o C y t e m h 2 e st ss n s t e n e 18 . Budap Mi io da fro followi g y ar , 4 t an d m e m e t n K e . Dr . i h Dr Black had co ho hrough Hu gary In s f r t m e e st n e e s t . Ke t wa o from Pal i . Budap Dr i h a i n e s an d w as n s e M t e th e da g rou ly ill , ur d by aria Doro h a , n e ss t n e of n was Pri c Pala i Hu gary , a lady who a Ou o f h r n te e st in th e tt s Prote stan t an d a s ain t . t e i r Sco i h e f n e t n h as s n mi n i st e r s a gr at work O e va g liza io pru g . “ ” Rabbi Dun can w as o n e of th e first mi s sion ari e s t o n d E e a . e Budap e st ; an d Dr . Adolph Saphir Dr Alfr d d r

s h eim we re am on g th e e arly co n ve rt s o f th e Missio n . Ove r its s chools an d pre achi n g - halls an d m an y age n ci e s n e e s e t e s an d fo r good Dr . A dr w Moody pr id d for for y y ar ; m e s e ste is s e ss t t se Mr . Ja W b r a ucc or wor hy of ho who e h im Th e m st e e nt an d o n e th e e n e e . hav go b for o r c , of 1 16

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

Scotland haunts memory and spirit though

Palestine is before the eyes .

H ow e s nt t o m e th e e e e pl a a y d p blu wav , 0 Se a o f G alil e e ! Fo r th e gloriou s On e Who cam e t o save t t e n st t Ha h Of ood by h e e .

Fair are th e lake s in th e lan d I love Wh e re pin e an d h e ath e r grow ; But thou hast love lin e ss far above n t can st What a ure b e ow . Capernaum speaks its solemn message to the

o f . town , thousands miles distant , beside the Tay

e m e e m e n m ent s t e T ll , y ould ri g frag , ll , ’ W as Chri st s Own city h e re ? L t e t o e e n h as it s n to e if d h av , u k h ll , With n o n e to sh e d a t e ar ?

t t m m t e e m t e n Ah , would ha y flock fro h igh l ar How day s o f grace will fl e e H ow all from an offe re d Chri st that turn Shall m ourn at last like th e e

o n And Galilee sounds a summons in his w ears .

An d was it b esid e thi s ve ry S e a Th e Saviour thre e tim e s said m n n e st t Me ? Si o Barjo a , lov hou t n e My lamb s an d Sh e e p h e fe d .

’ s e n e t o G s t n Saviour, a c d d od righ ha d , Y e t th e s m e st a Saviour ill , Grave d o n my h e art is this lovely stra n d nt An d e ve ry fragra hill . 118 Th ose Holy Fields

0 e m e L t s s e e giv , ord , by hi acr d wav , e n e Thre e fold Thy lov divi , t m a e e t fi nd m e Tha I y f d , ill I y grav , t ne an d min e ! I Thy flock , bo h Thi

With such wishes , such prayers , and such loves mastering him , his heart leaped up when , s at H amburg, the news came that the power o f Pentecost were being manifested once more “ in his native land . We have heard something o f a reviving work at K ilsyth , he writes to Lad his father and mother, as he sailed in the y

L onsda le up the Thames . We saw it noticed in o n e o f the newspapers . I al s o s aw the name o f Dundee associated with it ; s o that I earnestly

o ur hope good has been doing in Church , and

o n o ur the dew from high watering parishes , and that the flocks whose pas tors have been wandering may have shared in the blessing . o f We are quite ignorant the facts , and you may believe are very anxious to hear ” I n a few days the anxiety was to be exchanged for an amazement and a joy , which filled his mouth

s with laughter and his tongue with inging .

1 Wh e re th e wordi n g of th e s e lin e s diff e rs from th e ’ st m e s n M c Ch e n e s e n e in h is cu o ary v r io , y p cill d copy t - n t e h rave l o book as b e en followe d .

1 19 C H APT E R V I

TH EN D RO P S F ROM H EAV EN FE LL

’ O NE burden had lain o n M cChe yne s heart as he looked forward t o his journeying . I t was the thought o f the congregation he m ust leave b e

in H li s s . e av e n e wa hind U p the , he confident , the Chief Shepherd would be mindful o f its necessity ; but there must be a human shepherd

s close at hand to care for the flock . Where wa this true man to be found ? Alexander Somerville helped the anxiou s minister to the solution o f the

. o n I 18 question Writing the st of March , 3 9 , “ ” “ : to his dear Robert , he reported I delivered

your message to Burns , who liked the idea very

much of taking your place for a season , but of course could not s ay whether it would be in his o f power to do so o r not . H e is in the hands

the Co lo n ial' Co mmit t e e ; and it is probable he

r will go either t o America o to Ceylon . H e

will know immediately, however, what is to be 120

Rob e rt Murray M cCh e yn e

simple and indomitable faith , but when the

' sheaves did not appear . Yet the man was woven

o ne s Of piece throughout . Always his earnestnes was his incandescent . Always courage was de void o f fear and ignorant o f the meaning of the

word . Always the s ight o f the multitudes moved him to compassion . Always he was unworldly , and what most o f us would reckon an impos s ible sacrifice was no sacrifice at all in his estimate f o . things Always he distrusted himself, and had no honour and no friend but Christ , and lived only to blazon abroad the sufficiency Of

o f the Lamb God and the Saviour of souls . “ “ The longing of my heart , he said , would be to go once all round the world before I die , and preach one Gospel invitation in the ear o f every

s creature . The last word which an early friend

o n e ever heard from him , standing night under ’ cold November skies at his father s door in “ ! Kilsyth , were , We must run and to the end his feet were shod with the s andals o f “ - alacrity and self crucifying love . We must ” t he not study comfort , he told mate of a trading vessel whom he met in Nie wch a ng a month o r

“ two before death came ; they that go to the front o f the battle get the bles s ing the s kulkers get no blessing . There was never a thought

h s o f skulking in i mind . H is mother likened him to a knife that would be worn out by cut 12 2 Th en Drop s from Heaven Fell

“ ting , not by rusting ; and he wished it might ” s be so . And , wherever he went , the apo tolic

s A s h avin n o hin antithesi held good of him , g t g

a n d et i ll i y p ossess ng a th ng s . H ow vividly do

I remember the moment , a little more than a ” his year ago , writes brother and biographer , when the trunk which had come home from o f China , containing nearly all property that he

left behind him in the world , was opened amid a group o f youn g and wondering faces ! There

o f were a few sheets Chinese printed matter , a

o ld Chinese and an English B ible , an writing

o n e o r case , two small books , a Chinese lantern ,

s o f a ingle Chinese dress , and the blue flag

‘ ’ ‘ ’ . s the Gospel Boat Surely , whi pered a little

‘ o n e - h e amid the awe struck silence , Surely mu s t have been very poor ! It ‘ wa s absolutely

s . s true , and as ab olutely false Since Chri t was

t o us e his , and Since Christ deigned him , he counted himself rich beyond the dreams o f “ To H im avarice . be in union with Who is

” “ the Shepherd of I srael , he maintained , and t o walk very near t o H im Who is a Sun and — Shield that comprehend s all that a poor s inner requires to make him happy between this and ” s heaven . H is delight in Chri t could not be — i hidden . I t revealed itself in everything n the

f his s o . s ignature letters , for example Sometime “ ” was it , Yours in the Beloved ; or sometimes , 12 3 Robert Murray M cCh e yn e

t o S on o f G o d Wishing you conformity the , ” “ o r yours always ; sometimes , Yours in haste , with the affectionate desires o f a cold heart and “ s again , Your in E mmanuel and yet again ,

“ Yours ever in J esus Our H ope . The Pres b t e r o f d y y Aber een , wise and prudent , took him fo r s to task the e exuberant signatures but , while he admitted that there was a risk o f the pen

outrunning the soul , he protested too that no language more conventional and less tremblingly

awake could ever satisfy him . Nor could it . H e belonged to his Lord and Saviour J esus Christ “ ? ” without any reserves . Know him , sir ex “ claimed a brother - missionary ; all China knows ” him ; he is the holiest man alive . ’ n Such was Mc Ch e y e s substitute in Dundee . ’ H e came to St . Peter s a you ng licentiate o f

- twenty four . Between him and the preacher

wa s whose place he taking , the resemblances and

the contrasts were both conspicuous . They were l alike in education and culture , in the enduement of a Christianity which possess ed and ruled the

s whole man , in an ab orbing desire to win their

hearers for their Master , in the baptism and

unction Of the Spirit o f God . But in tempera o f ment , in speech , and in methods work they I In th e e at K s t m n s r vival il y h , Willia Bur would re li e ve th e tension of h is mi n d by readi ng th e G re e k

classics . 24

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

a close , and I told Mr . Campbell that I could ” n o t speak at that time for the whole world ; and yet , after the benediction had been pro n o unce d o n e , and no had gone away , and prayer “ had been offered up , throwing down the

o f fo r gauntlet to the enemies J esus , I spoke a long time with s uch assistance that I felt as if

I could have shaken the globe to pieces , through the views I go t Of the glory o f the divine per son o f Chri s t and o f H is atoning sacrifice to rescue sinners from eternal death ; the people were bent down beneath the Word like corn

s under the breeze , and many a tout sinner wept f d bitterly . From Mc Che yne the river o G o

flowed forth , healing, cooling , refreshing , usually quiet and tranquil in its progre s s ; from Burns the mighty rushing wind Of the Lord n o ut emanated and pealed , drivi g death before it s tempestuous onset , and by its extraordinary energy creating an immediate and victorious life to him o ne may apply the words which a singer o f t o - day has used o f William Booth

H is voice

W as e th e s e a - n e n it e lik wi d ; wh bl w abroad , ’ e n s s s in th e s t e n e ss st M oul , al wild r a ray , e e n e an d n t t e o wn s n an d s D af d bli d wi h h ir ou d pray , n in t G o d I Cam e multitudin ous rolli g o . I m e s R e s in th e Westminster Gaz ette. Mr . Ja hoad , 126 Th en Drop s from Heaven Fell

s s o f s There are diver itie gift ; but , where the

is s o s o con s ecration humble and complete , there M c Ch e ne fo r is the s ame Spirit . Both for y and Burns that significant story is appos ite which is

o f : narrated the latter how , in Blair Atholl an o ld H ighland woman returned day after day o n to listen to his preaching , sitting the pulpit s tair and drinking in every syllable , though E nglish was an unknown and foreign tongue “ t o f o her. What was the use her hearing ” “ ? s he him was asked , and O , she replied , ’ ” I can understand the H oly Ghost s E nglish f ’ The two spokesmen in St . Peter s Church were ’ familiar with the H oly Ghost s English ; they t o employed no other dialect ; and , _ their undy

ing health and joy, thousands understood them . When he assumed the care o f the congre

a t io n 18 g in April , 3 9 , William Burns found

himself in a field sown and watered , where the l w green blade was a ready springing up . This as no fallow ground that required to be broken and ’ s f prepared . The i sues o Robert McChe yn e s unremitting work and perpetual prayer were no w to become manifest ; the proof was to be furnished that his labours and intercess ions had no t been

in vain . We think it strange that another should s tep in t o reap the sheaves ; although o ur Lord has admonished us that frequently t his is the 127 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ celestial Husbandman s ordinance and law ; and

M c Ch e n e a we have heard y himself, far way in

Be ro ut h is y , confess feeling that perhaps he had

s s been sent to the di tant land , for the expres purpose o f learning how G o d could save and

his re bless people without him . But let us member all the planning and toiling , the pleading

the be in n in and the weeping , which had preceded g g

ba r le h a r ves o ur s of y t in Scotti h Bethlehem , H ouse o f the Bread o f Life ; and we s hall s e e

M c Ch e n e s s that y , no le than his successor , had

part and lot in the happy ingathering . Burns was quick t o recognize and to honour the service which had been s o faithfully and s o “ fruitfully performed . When I came among ” “ your people , he wrote , I found such ’ o f evidences the Lord s work , in convincing

was and converting sinners , as truly refreshing

s to my soul , after having pent more than seven was years from the time when , if ever , I brought ! s o to know the Lord , without alas seeing much as a single case of open and visible transition from darkness to light and from the power o f

Satan unto God . H ere I found not a few who seemed to have passed from death to life under your ministry , and who , in addition , had go t beyond that ice - cold region o f formal pro fe s s io n , in which even those who are alive unto 12 8

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

a l st two Sabbaths , and that she now found her ’ s M h as . c C e n e s elf under M r y ministry . I told her not to cast sparks from hell into my in flam

t o t o mable heart , to give thanks God , and ” beware o f commending man . H e dealt more rigorously with him s elf than with any o ne else ; he was fierce and determined in his antagonism to his o wn mood s ; he trembled daily lest he should be tempted to abandon the Valley o f

H umiliation , where the Lord once had H is

- s country hou e , and where H is servants are most

sure of meeting H im still . Yet the first four months o f his residence in Dundee were merely a preface to the better things which later months o f were to bring . Towards the end J uly he left ’ St . Peter s , to assist his father in Kilsyth at the ’ s Of s di pensation the Lord Supper ; and , before

his o n 8 th o f return the August , he had passed through o n e o f the supreme experiences of his l ife .

The usual Sacramental services were finished .

H e had preached on the Sabbath evening , with

o ut remarkable assistance o r remarkable effects . un But , as he closed , there came over him an controllable anxiety for the salvation o f these neighbours and friends among whom he had m spent his own early years . H e inti ated that

- he would address them again in the market place , 130 Th en Drop s from Heaven Fell

’ o n Tuesday forenoon at ten o clock , intending to s e t o ut later in the same day o n his journey

t o . back Dundee Tuesday morning dawned , a morning fixed from all eternity in J ehovah ’s

s f counsel as an era in the history o redemption . During the previous night godly people in

s s Kil yth had forgotten to leep , so busy they were in prayer ; fo r many weeks William Burns him s s elf had taken no rest and given his Lord no re t , ’ becaus e the requirements o f St . Peter s taught him his need o f m ore o f the s upernal s trength and o f wisdom and compassionateness the H oly Spirit .

was The day threatened rain , and it thought better to gather the crowd that had assembled in the

s . s s market into the capaciou church Seat , stair , passages , and porches were thronged by men , women , and children , all in their ordinary clothes , and among them some o f the wickedest and most

r fli at e f - p o g o the whole country Side . They sang the 10 2nd Ps alm ; and when the s peaker read the lines ,

H e r t m e was s e t i for favour which , e is n o w m e t o an e n d B hold , co ,

N ow his o wn the word touched heart , and e n ’ co urage d the hope that God s s e t time was actually at hand . The text was chosen from 13 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

1 10 t h—Th eo le shall be another Psalm , the y p p willin in the chi o Th ewer g y f y f . I t was a sermon

orderly in arrangement , expository , Calvinistic in

it s s teaching , to which the auditors li tened with

riveted attention and with silent tears . As it

it s s o f drew to conclusion , Burn described some

those visitations of the Spirit that , again and

s s a again , have made a un hine in the shady pl ces ’ o f m the Church s pilgri age ; and , among them , 1 6 0 the revival at the Kirk of Shotts in 3 , when

u yo ng J ohn Livingston preached , and when five hundred s ouls left their Charnel - cave for the ’ s marvellous liberty of Christ freemen . Going on u with the relation , he felt himself captured , p o f lifted , and multiplied by the powers the H oly

was v Ghost . H e led , like Li ingston , to entreat the unconverted before him instantly to close with ’ God s offer o f mercy ; and he continued doing

this , till the emotions of the people became too

strong for restraint , and they broke forth in weep

ing and wailing , cries and groans . I t was three o ’clock in the afternoon before the meeting could

C wa s fo r be dismissed , and the hurch empty and Burns himself there could be no thought o f re

turning to Dundee that evening , nor for some ’ time afterwards ; here was God s work allotted

s a him which he mu t not desert . That w s the inauguration in Kil s yth o f many days o f 13 2

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e o f God seemed to descend , and all were bathed in tears . Friday night brought a still more memorable unveiling o f the divine maj esty and

mercy . There was an evangelistic s ervice in the

church , and , after it , an adjournment to the vestry . But it was too small for the numbers — who pressed in tempestuous souls taking the

Kingdom of H eaven by force . Not o ne among them but was in deep distress ; and with some

o f the anguish spirit was so masterful , that they

s it could neither stand nor nor kneel , but threw n themselves prostrate o the floor . Evening after

fo r evening these scenes were repeated , , through

s many week , the meetings were held every night . I n a Short time they became so large that they had

s s to assemble in the open air , fir t in the Meadow , and then , when the magistrates forbade , in the ’ churchyard of St . Peter s , where the field of the dead was transformed into a birthplace of sinning

s and repenting and orrowing and rejoicing men . Burns had numerous helpers in those exacting

- — M . and heart melting days r. Roxburgh and Mr

Baxter and M r . Macalister, Alexander Somer ville and James H amilton and Robert Macdonald and H oratius Bonar and Patrick Miller . But , as the J ournal demonstrates , he stood himself in the glowing centre o f the flame . I ran up to renew ’ o n the charge Satan s hosts , it says and again , 134 Th en Drop s from Heaven Fell

I was led to speak in very plain terms o f many ” “ prevailing sins and , There were many crying

o ne was bitterly , fell down , and , when I near the

s at end , I stopped and down in silent prayer for five

s minute , that all might be brought to the point of

s embracing J e us . Twenty , thirty , forty would

t o s o ld come him in a single day , a king the

o f Wh a m us we question the Philippian jailer, t t do t o be s aved ? They gathered in little groups in an outer chamber and poured o ut their hearts

o r in united prayer , in silent and solitary breath

s ing , as they waited each their turn for a solitary ” s — interview . Sometimes the e Seekers who are

a s the next best sect to the Finders , the Lieu tenant - General o f the Parliament wrote to his

re t o n— o ccu beloved daughter, Bridget I kept him pied till far o n in the night . Sometimes they

t o followed him from a meeting , and he had stop

o n hi hwa s ide and pray with them the g y , under

s s the tarlight faintly hining through the dark ,

s windy clouds . Was he poiled by such excite

s ? fo r ments , opportunitie , and privileges NO , he

s a cribed all the praise to Christ , and he had an ever- increas ing conviction o f his o wn u nwo rthi

s . 2 0 1 2 nes At minutes to , on a Saturday even “ o f ing in September , after what a week mercy

! - and grace and love thi s was his s elf accu s ing “ s s s o f un prayer, O catter the clouds and mi t 135 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e belief which exhale afresh from the stagnant

o f marshes in my natural heart , the habitation

s s dragons and thi was his adoring ong , Glory

o f ! to Thee , O Lamb God and to Thee , O ! Father and to Thee , O H oly Ghost , eternal and undivided ! William Burns knew and was persuaded that he had nothing which he had not received . “ I t was the rumour Of these dews from o n M cCh e ne high which reached y in Hamburg , and which filled with thankfulness the last hours f hi o s . wanderings Back in Dundee , he soon had ample evidence o f the reality o f the awaken

. o r ing S ix seven reports remain to us , which were furnished to him at his own request , in

o f o f the D ecember this year grace , by members of the congregation . They give an account of the various private prayer - meetings which had f been begun under the impulse o the revival . The penmanship of most o f them is poor ; the spelling Of o n e o r two is lamentably faulty ; but ’ they bring a mist over the reader s eyes , and they beget the longing in his soul fo r just such apocalypses and theophanies and triumphs as they

M r s . commemorate . Likely speaks Of a little meeting for women which gathers in her sick “ room ; and rejoices over many brought to f o . Christ whom Mr Burns never knew , and a 136

C H A PT E R V I I

A P L E N TIFUL RA IN A ND TH E P L E N T E OUS H A R V EST

“ R B N h Mc h n D . O AR tells us t at C e y e was natu rally ambitious and perhaps— who knows ? — Some inward regrets assailed him , and some conflicts had to be fought on the hidden E s drae lo n o f his heart , before he was able to express and to feel nothing but pure and u n mingled jo y in the fact that G o d was saving

s his people by another agent than him elf. But

s s the regret , if ever they presented themselve ,

s were dismissed immediately ; and the conflict , thank s to the mightiness within him o f the

o f Leader and Perfecter his faith , ended almost t h before they began . Back once more in e o f Old place duty , he wrote to his father and

o n 2 6t h o f 18 mother , the November , 3 9 , a letter

- s acrifi ce instinct with charity, with self , and with “ o f gratitude . The first sight Dundee was 138 A Plentiful Rain

t o animating and refreshing me , and I felt wonder and thankfulness at the way by which

God had led me s ince I bade it farewell . Mr .

N ielson , Mr . Thoms , Alexander Thain , and Robert Macdonald o f Blairgowrie were waiting to receive me ; many also of my dear people .

I preached the same evening . I never saw such an assembly in a church before . M r .

Roxburgh , Mr . Arnot , Mr . Low , Mr . Hamilton , and other ministers , came to support me . There was not a spot in the church left unoccupied ;

s w every passage and tair as filled . I was almost overpowered by the sight , but felt great liberty

1- in preaching from I Cor . ii . 4 . I never s o preached to such an audience , many weep

o f ing , so many waiting for the words Eternal

Life . I never heard such sweet singing any

5 0 f where , tender and af ecting , as if the people felt that they were praising a present God .

o ut When I came , the whole of the Church o ld Road was filled with and young , and I

s had to hake hands twenty at a time . A multi S O tude followed to my door , that I had to speak t o them again and pray before sendi n g

s them away . There i evidently a great change

t o upon the people here ; and , though it is be expected that many are merely naturally awakened and excited , yet I see a great many I 39 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

C . who , I feel confident , are savingly hanged On Sabbath I made Burns preach in the morning and evening , and I preached in the

. 2 . afternoon I t was a very solemn day . Chron 1 1 v . 3 , 4 , was my text ; and Burns preached

n The Th r n e G r ce o o o a . . f , H eb iv H e is certainly a very remarkable preacher . The

o f his plainness and force statements , and his urgency , I never saw equalled . H e has a very

V o f clear iew divine things , and an amazing

. G o d power of voice and body But , above all , seems really to accompany his preaching with demonstration of the Spirit . I found him in private much more humble and single - hearted than I could have believed from the reports circulated . We have not yet fixed anything as to what he is to do ; I pray that we may

o n be guided from high . I have no desire but the salvation o f my people by whatever o ut instrument . I have found many saved under my own ministry that I did not know f o ut o before . They are not afraid to come now ; it has beco me s o common a thing to be concerned about the soul I n tho s e grey and

- o f M c Ch e n e wind driven days November , y knew

s s a n d the gladne of glorious summer , gave thanks for the victories G o d had been winning through William Burns , and had no desire but 140

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

years . They are a s ort o f revelation o f his

u O f s soul , fiery in the fervo r its atisfaction with “ - a full and running over Christ , panting and

s s o f thir ting for the conver ion men , trampling it s o wn pridefulness down and willing that it

s s should be cru hed to du t and powder , crying at times out o f the depth s o f conscious poverty “ f and impotence . I am indeed a cumberer o ” s s the ground , he confes e ; and again and again , with those self- accus ation s which inflict a sorer ’ fla e lla n t s s wound than any g whip , he courges “ M c h n s his stupid heart . But C e y e is alway “ ” “ his dear brother in J esus . H e loves him ” “ ”

. s in the Lord Your precious note , he declare , “ was a cordial sent by the Lord t o my fainting s u T s s wn . O O o o l long , he prote t when his

h as silence been more protracted than usual ,

“ I have been a stranger to o n e than whom n f is . o e o none nearer my heart Or , with

s o f tho e rapturous autographs his , he signs

“ Y o urs in himself, eternal bonds (Glory be to the Lamb H e would not have his friend speak only smooth things , and encouraging

s t o message , to him ; his longing have his

s his s danger and fault made clearer to himself, by o ne in whos e spiritual in s ight and skill he

s is could tru t implicitly , very touching and

“ o f very noble . Do not think that I tire 14 2 A Plentiful Rain

rebukes , he wrote from Perth in January , “ 18 0 o u 4 ; if y want my love in Christ , O be t o faithful me , that I may not fall into the ” s o f nare the devil . From Aberfeldy , in the o f f s end August , he prof ered again the ame “ request : O remember me at the Throne o f

Mercy , and send me faithful counsel . I f

Mc Ch e n e y was naturally ambitious , Burns , with that flaming energy which had taken fare well o f s s lei ure , and which ha tened from campaign to campaign , was probably tempted to imperious

s nes and ass ertion . But he craved any regimen which would melt him into the humility and patience o f H im Who emptied H im self a n d

ech the or m o a bon dser va n M c Ch e n e t f f t and y , rich where he was poor and qualified by that

t o unlikeness supply his want , must help him f to learn better the secret o J esus Christ . H ow the fire kindled at Kilsyth and Dundee s o f pread throughout Scotland , these letters William Burns to Robert McCh e yne recount ’ in their author s nervous and impetuous English . ’ H e who reads them recalls Lord Macaulay s picture o f the beacon - lights which dispelled the ’ s o n f s darknes the night o the Armada arrival . “ s s They hone , tho e lights , from Eddystone to

Berwick bounds , from Lynn to Milford Bay , ’ o n high St . Michael s Mount and high o n 14 3 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

“ Beachy H ead . Along each southern shire

the Spaniard saw , cape beyond cape , the f . o twinkling points Then , from the hills ’ s Surrey and from Hampstead swarthy moor,

they flew and bounded towards the north , until , “ o n at last , the red glare Skiddaw roused the burghers of Carlisle and a nation was awake “ to shatter the great fleet invincible . Like

18 0 o f 18 1 that , through 4 and a segment 4 , the

o f gleam and glow the Evangel , as Burns

preached it , sped over Scotland . And every

where men were startled from their sleep , and

began to live .

was First , it was Perth that mysteriously

and irresistibly stirred . H e had gone to St . ’ Leonard s Church there , to help John Milne ,

recently ordained over t h e parish . An absence

’ from Dundee o f a few days duration was all

that he had planned for himself ; in reality ,

“ the appearance o f the Presence o f the Lord Emmanuel in H is ordinances here detained him in Perth for more than three months .

Mc Ch e n e o n o t h Last night , he told y the 3

“ o f 18 s o December, 39 , the work was glorious that hardly o n e o ut o f about a hundred and fifty seemed free from deep impressions of the

o o f W rd and Spirit J esus , and many were

s evidently pricked in their heart , while some 14 4

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e o f the Golden Prince were well - de fine d and co n “ s icuo us . p The Six weeks j ust concluded , his “ s Captain Credence declare , have been among the most remarkable that I have ever enjoyed in a public capacity . I have been at Lawers

o n - and Ardeonaig Loch Tay side , at Fortin gall , Aberfeldy , Grandtully , Logierait , Moulin ,

Te nan dr y, and Kirkmichael and in hardly any o f these places have we been left without f ’ tokens o the Lord s gracious presence . I t o f t o seemed , as Mr . Campbell Lawers said ,

o f be like a resurrection , the work the Spirit

s o o f was extended , powerful , and independent the means employed . I never saw God moving more evidently in a sovereign manner . I n many cases I have found it eminently necessary ,

s and much blessed , to ask tho e anxious to wait

C o f at the lose a public meeting , in order to

s get nearer their conscience , and bring them to a stand as to the offer o f a free salvation .

But , here , this was not needed . The Lord carried o n H is work mightily during the ordi nary services ; and I always found it most desirable to leave the people instantly , after the blessing was pronounced , and send them to a secret meeting with the Lord . I t was t o o G o d wonderful , , how had inclined the

Moderate ministers , in these parts Of Perthshire , 146 A Plentiful Rain to welcome t o their parishes and pulpits such a Son o f Thunder and o f Cons olation . Nothing could have been more graciou s than the f f o . s o . courte y Mr Macdonald Fortingall , Mr

o f . Campbell Moulin , and Mr Buchanan Of “ Logierait ; the last o f the trio was very “ friendly and very serious , even though we were at the Tent without interruption during

five hours , and the power Of the Word in the hand o f the Spirit was so great that hundreds were in tears and many cried aloud . Burns “ ent reated Mc Ch e yn e to join himself in wrestling with the Lord that H e may pour o ut H is full

o n ness these kindly outsiders , who might so soon have the Veil lifted to them and the way

o f . opened into the H oliest all But , once

his o wn n e ce s again , he remembered constant “ i Y u s t . o y have drawn me to a sweet duty , o ne s t o but that compel me be egotistical . M aythe Lord save me from the accompanying

do o u danger to my poor soul , and y pardon

me , and pray for me more and more that I

as o f may lie clay in the hands the Potter , at

the feet of Emmanuel . I n Aberdeen , from

s which the next dispatche are sent , the fight “ is more uphill . I can say but little that is — good this was written o n the 1 7 th o f October “ though still there is room for prayerful 147 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

f - hope . The mass o church going professors

seem to be almost stereotyped . And , after

s continuing during those ten day past to preach ,

. s s a o n as Dr Chalmer would y, the principle

‘ ’ o f s attraction to such as chose to come , I la t night adopted the plan o f assembling the poor

- s and abandoned in a school hou e . We seemed to have more Of the Lord ’s presence there than

at the meetings in church ; and , when I was

I will move hem t o leaving , the passage , t

ea lous wi h hem which a r e n ot a eo le j y t t p p ,

struck me very forcibly , and also the Parable

of the Marriage Feast . — N early a year later fo r it is impossible to

- fi re s enumerate all the beacon , and the narra — tive must hurry o n Burns had turned south

ward , and was across the Border in Newcastle , a heavenlier raider than the D o uglas e s and “ Armstrongs of the older time . O stir up the ! ” people to plead for us here he begged .

is There progress making , though as yet

slow . We are coming to the crisis ; and I have hope that something great may yet be

done by H im Who only doth wondrous things .

To his friend , that through him it might “ be conveyed t o the children o f God in ” t o Dundee , he entrusted a call united prayer,

it s which , in Rembrandtesque gloom , its sen 148

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

struggle . H old up o ur hands ; give the Lord no rest ; and look for news of victory in due ” time To listen to William Burns is t o be

o f o ur o ur ashamed otiose prayers , sinewless

o ur o u r faith , contracted sacrifices , and easy and bloodless zeal . I t would indeed brace us stupendously t o commit those fusile letters to memory , and to ’

o u r . carry them in souls On N ew Year s Day , 18 2 — “ in 4 , he was in Leith three and a half

” “ hours in the Open air , and the impression was s o great that we could have continued much

n . fo r lo ger The following Sabbath , nearly

- three hours , he preached at the pier head to a “ vast crowd o f no n - churchgoers ; it is affecting to s e e so many young men drawn to hear the Lord in such Circum s tances and I hope it is n o t in vain . Two months later , in Edinburgh , he was the head and front o f an unrelenting war against the Railway Company , which had started

f wa s the running o a Sabbath train . I t advertised ’ to leave the station at seven o clock in the morning ;

“ but if the Lord enable me , I am to be there in good time , to give tracts to all comers , and to preach at their very gates after the train is Off and this I intend to continue as long as I remain here . H e wi s hed that he could have had

M c Che ne fo r y by his side , , in opposing this 150 A Plentiful Rain

’ V o f his was a s iolation God s law , friend ardent “ — as he wa s himself ; but let them come o n One thousand shall flee at the rebuke o f o n e ; t wo shall put ten thousand to flight ! The pe nult i — mate letter o f the series the final one Of all — must be reserved fo r a subsequent page wa s

o n 16 18 2 . sent from Largo December , 4 It is as memorable as any o f it s predeces s ors . The writer has in view the impending Disruption o f

the Church , and is much concerned that he and his fellow - worker in Dundee should make the most o f the breathing - space before the storm “ u breaks . What are yo thinking in regard to a general diffusion o f the Gospel over the land ? do by evangelistic labour I s the Lord , you

o u fo r think , preparing y this either in outward ? circumstances o r in inward bias Whatever is

t o no t — be done , must it be done speedily for , when ministers leave their churches empty in the

s country part , we cannot hope that liberty will long be given to any o f us to interfere with — - o f the peace accursed peace their successors . ” I n the meantime every day is precious . S O he

o n h o w goes to narrate , though it is midwinter , n o t he could keep from itinerating , and had been n o w for an exact month in Fife with his hands

is o f more than full . There a touch mischief in

“ ! o f the next sentences The pulpit even Mr . 15 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

Milligan at Elie has been twice Open t o me o n

o n o f a s o o r weeknights , the latter which , the pp

t un it fo r ! y was rare , I did not vacate it five hours

H appily he was from home , and could not inter ”

. . o n fere At Largo , where Mr B rown was the

o f right side , though the presence the Lord the Spirit was not s o incontestably mighty as William

“ Burns had seen elsewhere , the meetings are

deeply solemn as well as crowded , and I hear o f not a few who are under some anxiety about

their state . As for himself, if the parish kirk was not granted him , he rejoiced that other doors

“ s o f stood wide . I preach in all kind churches

— s I ndependent , Sece sion , Relief ; and the union ’ o f hearts among God s true people is sweet indeed . The scattered brood must gather under ’ the mother s wing when the night is coming on , and s h e summons them with a peculiar note which they understand The long letter draws

it s h as s to close ; but , when it been igned and

e is seal d , it opened again , and a postscript

M c h n equally long is added . Will C e y e not come and stand beside him ? And will he not ? “ do it at once O , that you and a few more of o u r brethren were s ent forth by the Lord to the field in which I a m fa vo u red to be ! The

m - people are waiting in the arket place , until s ome o n e call them in the name of J esus . Why 15 2

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

“ t o o G o d conviction , , that would soon return a in greater power than ever . Eternity , he s id ,

. S O . seemed very near , beyond question , it was

Two 18 1 years later , in December , 4 , when once again there was a proposal to remove him from Dundee—this time to Kettle in Fifeshire he refused to entertain the notion , and he gave “ the absolutely convincing reason : I do not think I can speak a month in thi s parish without

s winning some soul . Happy minister and happy people , to whom , as to the Lazarus

K arshis h was with whom talked , there always the spiritual life around the natural life , and from whose Sabbaths and weekdays God was never ! ’ far removed I n St . Peter s , in that desirable

o f day the H oly Ghost , the unseen and ever

- lasting world kept breaking into the time world , as the capes and promontories of a continent jut o ut s aw fo r into the ocean . Men themselves it s towers and spires , and heard the ravishment o f s its melodie , and tasted its mystic fruits , and walked and talked with the Son o f God and Son o f Man Who is its Lord and King . That the life went o n advancing and ripening we have good evidence in the brief chara ct e riz a tions he gives of his young communicants du r ing — . the period brief, yet revealing and sacred

us s e t s But, first , let down the question he 154 A Plentiful Rain

t o t o dictated them , be answered in secret to God ”

i to se t e an d m t e an o n e . I t e 1 s pl a your fa h r o h r , or y ’ o n e t t t m e t o th e L s e ? ar h , ha you co ord Tabl I s e n s an d m n ns are 2 . s it b e cau e your fri d co pa io comi n g ? an d be cause it is cus tom ary ? Is it e se e m e to e t n t m e 3 . b cau you hav co a c r ai i of lif e ’ t n s m e t o th e L s 4 . Who , do you hi k , hould co ord Tabl e ? an d who s tay away ? D O t n an s m e b ut t se are 5 . you hi k y hould co ho who truly con ve rte d ? an d what is that ? m e n e se t o b e un 6 . Would you co if you k w your lf con ve rt e d m n t . t se m e e s e e 7 Should ho co who hav had o a xi y , b ut are n o t brought t o Chri st ? D t 8 . O you thin k you have b e en awake n e d ? brough t o Chri st ? born again ?

9 . What make s you thin k s o ? 10 t is h e m n n n h . Wha t e a i g o f taki g t e bre ad an d n e nt th e n P e as t e te s t wi i o ha d Hav you ruly acc p d Chri .

1 1 . What is th e m e ani n g of fe e di n g upo n th e m ? Do o u t n o u are as t e e n n st an d y hi k y ruly f di g upo Chri , de rivi n g your stre n gth from H im alo n e ? 12 t . Wha is th e m e an i n g of givi n g th e m t o t hose b e s id e you at th e s am e Tabl e ? Do you thus love th e bre thre n

I t is a searching scrutiny , a piercing light , a s pear Of It hurie l to lay bare the very thoughts s f and intent o the heart . H aving in retirement

s t o ubjected themselves the scrutiny , and come I SS Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

’ to the light s penetration and blaze , and felt the spear ’s touch Of celestial temper “ which no false hood can endure , the catechumens went to see 18 0 18 1 their minister ; and , for the years 4 , 4 ,

18 2 t o his and 4 , we are permitted read comments o n o f them , and his account what he found in f o . them . There were differences , course There were disappointments . Some were unready, still feeling their way towards the Wicket Gate and the Man Whose name is Goodwill . Some even “ s were hard and in ensible though , when the minister had to employ such sorrowful adjectives , “ ”

t o . he was ready add , perhaps from ignorance But the proofs were numerous and clear that Christ had been working H is signs o f power and love , and that H e had not yet ceased from li the superhuman work . The ages of the app

s cant varied a few were fourteen , a larger number

fifteen , even more sixteen and seventeen , while others were considerably older . And what had ? M c Che yne to record about them The names need not be written here it is his verdict o n the heart and the life in which we are interested . 18 0 I n October , 4 , these are among the entries s Anxious to come under William Burns . Seem ” o f is really a child God , though it hard to know

“ Evidently anxious Seem s really in earnes t I trust has really come to Christ ’ Has come 156

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

” J esus ; Seems to have been really brought to

’ “ s s s Chri t within thi year in St . Peter Seems ’ s to have been really aved in St . Peter s within “ s the past year ; taid , simple , peaceful Awak ened lately under the Parable o f the Ten Virgins

t o seems really in earnest , but thinks it better ” ’ keep back this time ; I m a great sinner, but ’ I believe o n Christ ; awakened at ! uarterly ” “ Sacrament nine months ago ; Very attentive o r and anxious , knowledge not full yet clear , ” D udh o awakened under W . Burns in pe ; “ Lately awakened very deeply , and since Mr . ” Bonar spoke to her seems t o have found rest ; “ ’ Awakened under my ministry in St . Peter s , since he came a twelvemonth ago from Kil s pindie ; fine clear knowledge and seemingly

- heart grasp o f the truth . Or let us travel for

s ix ward , across months more , to the Communion “ o f 18 2 : sh e October, 4 Thinks came to Christ

s The cu which M Fa her ha h over the e words , p y t t “ iven M e sha ll I n ot dr inh g , Awakened s he e deeply , thinks has come to Christ , an inter st

“ ing case H as been deeply concerned fo r a

” “ year ; Awakened two years ago under my ” o f ministry , seems honestly in search Christ ;

“ Wants further instruction , seems truly a child f d o G o . Are those rapid , unfinished , broken

o f sentences little value , bare and unimpressive 158 A Plentiful Rain

and dry ? On the contrary they are possess ed o f

o f is another quality altogether . Each them a door Opened into a human heart ; each is a m agic glas s through which we gain illuminating glim p s es ’ ’

o r . of a man s a woman s soul The soul , we

s e e is o r , thirsting after the living water , is newly arrived at the place somewhat ascending where

s o r m anum is stand a Cross , has lately tasted the sion and enlargement wherewith Christ makes the

is o r captive free . I t weeping , it is rejoicing ; and it s grief and it s gladnes s are over the supreme

s in s o wn things , and alvation , its bankruptcy and

o f its the unsearchable riches Friend and Lord .

s s Compared with the e , all other biographie are

s s poor all secular hi tories , even the most ab orb

o f ing , are trifling and tame . I n the Dundee the tim e the loss and gain which George H erbert com memorates were well understood ; and what ? lo s s is so des perate o r what gain s o rare and perfect

as s e n e t e e For , Thy ab c do h xc ll st n e n n All di a c k ow , t n e arn e s se e th e e So do h Thy b ar b ll ,

Makin g two o n e .

McChe yne himself seemed refined in those

. H is years into a new holiness and zeal sermons , written still with comparative fullness , and bear o f ing evidence always thought and care , had in I S9 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

them more yearning, more eagerness , and more o f a divine haste to magnify Christ and to move

s s the heart and will of men . Very arresting are the short ejaculation s which he got into the habit o f appending to them , once the writing was N s finished . o w thi was the winged arrow o f “ t o t o prayer , Lord , incline their hearts run “ o r O f s Thyself it was , Out weakne s make me ” o f o r strong ; send showers the Spirit ; again , “ “ o r Awake , O North Wind , awake , Own Thine Own truth to the conversion o f sinners “ o f o r o f and comfort saints , O Life the ” “ o r world , help me ; , once more , Lord J esus , ” ! o f help One recalls the story Robert Bruce , the Covenanter , the man whose prayers were “ short , but each of them a strong bolt shot up t o o ne heaven how , Sabbath afternoon , in his — church at Larbert the parish which McChe yne — knew s o well the people were surprised that he did not appear to begin the service , and sent the officer to look for him in the little room which s f was his oratory between ermons , and the o ficer halted o n the threshold of the room because he overheard an interview proceeding within , and then returned to the congregation to report that there was Some One with the minister, and that Master Bruce was protesting earnestly and many times over that he could not and would no t go alone into the church , but that This Other must 160

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

n o t s e m e t n n n t e st e em n e e t did uff r or ha i fi i ju ic d a d d , y H e could n ot suffe r at all without layin g down an i n finite ” n s ra om . “ t t o st st as an nt e e ss am o n I ough udy Chri I rc or . I H t t e e st n is bre as pla . If I could h ar Chri prayi g for m e in th e n e t m n ot e m n e n m Y t e e s . e x roo , I would f ar a illio of i ” f n H th e s t n e m e s n o e e e . e is n for m di a c ak di f r c prayi g e . “ t to st th e m te m e—His G e I ough udy Co for r or odh ad , ” t n s is e His m e s . H lov , al igh i “ ‘ sa It is n e e t o m ffi e t t sten t o t s I y, dful y o c ha I li hi , ’ t s S of t s t s or nt o r e . is t e look i o hi , p ak hi So far, hi ru ; e t am s e t n h as h is t in t s m ent y I ur Sa a par hi argu . I s s e e ine e t n t o s e tt e h o w it b e hould k div dir c io , l far will ” for m m n st an d e m s good y i i ry how far vil for y oul . “ — I ought n o t t o omit any o f th e parts of praye r co n fe ssio n t n t n s n e t t n an d n te e ss n , adora io , ha k givi g , p i io , i rc io . P e rhap s e ve ry pray e r n e e d n o t have all th ese b ut surely a day should n ot pass without som e space b e i n g d evote d ” t o e ach . “ t t o e e s e e n an o n e . O te n en I ough pray b for i g y f , wh s e e n or m e et t t e s e an d t en e I l p lo g, wi h o h r arly , h hav m e an d e st an d e n n e s it is fa ily pray r br akfa for oo call r , ’ e e en o r t e e O e e e n s e e t l v w lv clock b for I b gi cr praye r . ” s s s m Thi is a wre tch e d y t e . “ It would stir m e up to pray with th e m ap b efore

These are words which no one can read with o ut realizing that thi s man was at home and in tune with God , or without discovering why the o f o n his s trumpet the Lord lip , now the iron

s o n e trumpet and then the ilver , compelled the wanderers back from the far country to the ’ o f Father s house . H e speaks , in his Act Ex 162 A Plentiful Rain

o f . amination , his intercessions They became t more and more systema ic , and more and more intense . We find his scheme for them detailed and unfolded in o n e o f his notebooks . H e has four circles which he fills with prayer . The

s is o f s smalle t that his kinsfolk ; out ide this , there is that o f intimate friend s ; then that o f

s o f his congregation ; then , large t all , the great o f circle the ministry , which stretches and ex pand s from Dundee and Larbert and Edinburgh and Blairgowrie and Collace and An de rs t o n and — Kelso to the very ends o f the earth to the missionaries in I ndia , in China , in Africa , in

Roman Catholic lands , and among the J ews .

Let us examine , for it concerns us particularly , o f C the third the ircles , that which encloses and embraces his congregation . There are no fewer than eleven separate Classes into which the people ? “ are divided . What are the first four The

s s —h e fo r carele will beg and cry their arousal , and will refus e to let God go till the bles s ing is “ — bestowed . The anxious and thirteen names are s e t down o f men and women as king the road ! to ion , whom he will aid to reach the City by soliciting and supplicating the King o f the way o n “ — their behalf. Those brought t o peace and o n now there are nineteen names , and his knees he t o halts and pauses over each , isolate it from its 163 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

t o neighbours and give thanks . The Christians , about whose Christianity there is no manner o f

- s doubt , who are his fellow oldiers in the H oly — re War and ten names succeed , and , as he

o n e o ne s members them by , his prayers fir t climb into praises , and then return to requests that these ’ friends o f his o wn heart and o f Chri s t s heart may know more adequately still wha t is the exceeding ’ r ea ness o God s ower t o uswa r d who believe g t f p . A “ y, it is not a surprise that eyes rekindling ’ M cChe n e s followed y steps , that he was daily “ used o f his God to recall the stragglers and “ f t o re resh the outworn , and that him

it was give n Ma ny t o s ave with him se lf ; An d at th e e n d th e , of day , t s e e t o m e A fai hful h ph rd , co , i Bri ngi n g h s sh e e p in h is hand .

18 0 I n December , 4 , the Presbytery of Aber deen appointed a committee to inves tigate the movements o f revival which were stirring the o ur country . This chapter of history may close ’ with a quotation from M c Ch e yn e s reply to the ’ Presbytery s queries . By far the most remark able season O f the working o f the Spirit o f God ” in 18 this place , he says , was in 3 9 , when I was wh o abroad . Those were privileged to be present at these times will , I believe , never forget them . 164

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e have seen persons so overcome that they could

n o t o r s walk stand alone . I have known case in which believers have been similarly affected f through the fullness o their joy . I have Often known such awakenings to iss ue in what l believe o f to be real conversion . I could name many the

s o n e humblest , meeke t believers , who at time

cried o ut in the church under deep agony . I have also met with cas es where the Sight o f soul s thus pierced has been blessed by God to awaken

careless sinners who had come to mock . I am far from believing that thes e signs o f deep alarm

o r o f always issue in conversion , that the Spirit

God does not often work in a more quiet manner . Sometimes H e comes like the pouring rain s u ometimes like the gentle dew . Still I wo ld humbly state my conviction that it is the duty Of

s o f s s a n d s all who seek the alvation oul , e pecially

o f s s s the duty mini ter , to long and pray for uch

o u r s solemn times , when lumbering congregations

o ut M en a n d br e h r en wha shall be made to cry , t , t

sha ll we do ?

Y e s ! , yes Come from the four winds , O Breath o f God

e e e s b ut t t t e e was n o e s n t s e t s e b li v r , ha h r r a o why ho ou id S n ot e m se s s th e s an d t hould hav a gli p , acro wall hrough

t h e s o f th e t e o f th e e ts th e e . An d bar ga , d ligh of plac t s nt o f t e m e s m e n t an d e e st e m e hi hi , h ir i pov ri h xil , irr d or “ than o n e to s e e k and fi nd admi ssio n t o th e Garde n ” ” enclo se d and th e Foun tai n s e al e d . 166 C H APT E R V I I I

TO TH E E ND O’ TH E DAY AND TH E LAST LOAD H OM E

I

’ TH E field o f M cChe yne s usefulness widened as the years went forward . After his return from the

H oly Land , he counted no time lost which was spent in advocating the cause o fChristian missions among the J ews , and he was ready to go any where to address men and women o n the s ubject

o f . their duty to I srael And then , when the dews and rains o f revival fell in connection with his congregation , many were eager to hear from his ’ lips the story o f God s gracious remembrance o f H is people , hoping that in their corner, too , o f H is great vineyard there might be granted the April o f blossom and the autumn of fruit . More than once he travelled to I reland to publish

n o t his double message , which perhaps is double

- so much as single , because in a home church that 167 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e has been quickened from above a new enthusiasm is inevitably born fo r the ingathering o f J ew and Gentile t o the fold o f the One Shepherd o f the sheep . H e was still busy , moreover , with his endeavours o n behalf o f Church Extension ; so t wo that these words , as William Burns informs us , were given as name and title to his pony

o f o ld o r s and was it the Tullia the days , ome ’ o n s successor , that trotted her master errands with the same untiring fidelity and plodding perseverance But another clarion - summons sounded now in

v o f his ears , and mo ed him to the depths his being . Those were the eventful years when the

D isruption o f the Scottish Kirk was impending . ’ I n the Assembly the majority was at length evangelical , determined that Christ alone should be a r rule in H is Own realm and society Of believing souls . Throughout the country quiet

- and G o d fearing men held a similar conviction .

- t They were Non I n rusionists , and the doctrine o f Spiritual I ndependence was dearer to them than life itself. But , alike in the Assembly and

o f in the country , numbers remained the Opposite Opinion and the debate between the parties had come to the critical stage . For , in case after o n case , ministers had been forced by patrons o f o f congregations , against the wishes most the 168

Robert Murray M cCh e yn e

s o f lofty wall the N ew J erusalem but , if he had lived , he would have ranged himself in the great ’ company which marched from St . Andrew s

Ta nfi e ld o n 18 o f Church to H all the th May ,

18 . 4 3 When , a few days before his death , Mr . Fo x Maule brought the question before the H ouse

“ o f : Commons , he wrote to a friend E ventful night this in the British Parliament ! Once more

n s Ki g J esus stand at an earthly tribunal , and ”

. 18 2 they know H im not But , in November , 4 , o f he was a member the historic Convocation , which met in Roxburgh Chapel in the Old Town

f - v o Edinburgh . Four hundred and sixty fi e ministers , whose sympathies were evangelical , and whose desire was to preserve the in depe n “ o f : dence the Church , came to it the whole

o f chivalry the Kirk , Lord Cockburn said , though there were good men amongst those n whose policy was diametrically differe t . Robert M cChe yn e had drawn up the proposal fo r united prayer , which was disseminated from Caithness to Wigtownshire in prospec t o f the Convocation ; and at its earliest session he was one o f tho s e “ who led the devotion s o f the gathering . We had usually three prayers at every diet , D r .

“ Guthrie writes , and I never heard such and ” so many remarkable prayers . I n a little pocket notebook , in pencil , and in a handwriting even 17 0 ’ TO t h e End 0 t h e Day

more diminutive and microscopic than usual ,

Mc Che n e - y has delineated , through seven and twenty engrossing pages , the speakers and the incidents of the memorable week . On Thurs “ 1 day, November 7 th , we read , Dr . Chalmers ’ s preached in St . George to an immense multi

o ld . tude , and M r Macdonald prayed . I t is a

o f a r n obile r a significant grouping names , a f f

r t um . One was the greatest Scotsman o f his — “ w a . ho time man , Dr James Hamilton declared ,

s o might easily have been the Adam Smith , the

s wh o Leibnitz , and the Bos uet Of the day , but , having Obtained a better part , laid economics and philosophy and eloquence o n the altar which sanctified himself. The other, Dr . J ohn Mac “ o f o f donald Ferintosh , was the Apostle the — — North orator , evangelist , and saint who held the H ighlands In the hollow o f his hand ; who felt that the supreme thing in preaching is the o f presentation Christ ; who , freed from entang carfie d ling fears about himself, a sustaining

‘ joyousness Of spirit with him into all his work : “ . t from St Kilda to Tarba N ess , from Kin ”

lo chb e rv ie . to Ardeonaig , says Dr William Mac “ n o t gregor , there was not a parish which had ” r I known his po we . After this Opening ceremonial the first evening

1 Chu ch in the H i h n s Our r a d . l . g , p 7 17 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

o ur was preliminary ; and , looking through ’ annalist s eyes , we are spectators Of the scene

s in Roxburgh Chapel . Chalmer presides , and Thomas Pitcairn o f Co ckpe n has been appointed clerk ; and Dr . Duncan of Ruthwell , the founder o f M c Che ne Savings Banks , and then y himself, have poured forth the confessions and thanks givings and supplications o f the assembly . Afterwards the chairman counsels his listeners

fo r to give free utterance to their sentiments , their o n e Object in coming together is frank deliberation , and the mind of the Church must be thoroughly ascertained ; therefore let there be a

a s a ro x i colloquial style in speech , and near an — pp mation as possible to table talk . I mmediately the table - talk begins ; and what giants they — f are who participa te in it Dr . Macfarlan o

Greenock , who when the wrench comes , will ’ leave for consc ience sake the wealthies t bene

fi ce . o f in the Church ; Dr Paterson , who wrote the Manse Garden ; Old Dr . Burns of Kilsyth , the father O f our evangelist with the burning and bleeding heart ; and Alexander Keith , and James

Buchanan , and H enry Moncrieff, and Robert

is Candlish . The last specially good to hear . H e in s i s ts o n the need o f prayer to Almighty “ o f o n e God . We may be mind , and yet

there will be much diversity of opinion . We 17 2

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

grows apparent that o ne result o f the Convoca tion will be a set o f resolutions which unfold t o o f Government and the H ouses Parliament , o f as well as to the people the land , what mea sure and degree o f liberty the Church demands

as consistent with its truth and honour . That

15 t Friday night , when they have sung the g 1 o f Psalm and read the 4 th chapter Exodus ,

c s omforting and kindling Scripture both , Mr . Begg makes a motion which will have the effect o fmodi fying somewhat these resolutions ; and here and there are some who coincide with his view . But “ D r . Candlish replies that he dare not stand o n the abolition o f Patronage as being all that is required we must be s e t right in o ur jurisdic ” S O o n M h e n . cC e tion , Saturday , y has this to “ record , that , after an amazing speech from

Dr . Chalmers , which brought tears into many ” 2 eyes , 4 7 agreed to the resolutions . H aving travelled thus far , the ministers , in the beginning o f the new week , can consider what they ought to do if the Legi s lature s hould refu s e them that relief from I ntrusion which they have defined and asked . There is substantial agreement . They must forsake the Establishment without more delay . M r . Begg , indeed , is not certain about the wisdom o f crossing the Rubicon so quickly

! “ and irremediably I f it is duty , then no matter 174 ’ TO t h e End 0 t h e Day

what consequences ensue ; but suppose yo u can ? no t prove it to be duty I must exhaust all the

means for bringing about the opposite result . “ But Charles Brown answers , I f the State declares its mind that we hold our temporalities ” o n certain conditions which are unlawful , there is nothing fo r it but that the temporalities must

be laid down and left behind . And Thomas G “ uthrie protests that , as an honest man , he cannot take the pay o f the State without doing ” “ all its bidding , and is persuaded that a dinner ” o f herbs where love is has incalculably more satisfaction in it than the comfort and plenty which are bought by the smallest sacrifice o f T o n f t o o . o e o principle the closing sessions , , ’ Dr . Chalmers , with statesman s prescience and o f o f mastery detail , expounds his scheme a

Sustentation Fund , by which in a free Church

the ministry may be adequately supported . H e “ ” “ will , he says , demonstrate the grounds on

s which , should the wor t come to the worst , the Christianity o f thes e land s m a y be maintained and he fulfils his promise . I t can be done , he is

o n s o f convinced , not the trength great sums , but ” o f little ones ; for A will be produced ” f mil I by a penny a week from each a y. Morning

1 “ I i ” t s st n s n s . me s in th e e e a o i hi g , aid Dr Chal r Fr “ s se m of 18 th e e o f infi n ite sim als : Church A bly 44, pow r I 7 S Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

n 2 rd and ight , till Wednesday , the 3 , when the sacred and yet heartsome gathering is co ns um M c Ch e n e s mated , y follow and recounts its procedure with loving particularity . H e knew that it was good to be there . H e said his cordial Amen to the dictum o f a leader in the “ - table talk , that it were worth while sealing ’ with one s blood the verdicts o f the Convocation .

I I I s the reader wearied o f thi s long trespass through ecclesiastical woods and pastures ? But it will be of value if it helps us to an understand ’ o n M c h n s ing o f e phase in C e y e character . H is name was M r . Valiant for Truth , and there was a militant quality in his religion . H e could not brook that harm should be done to Christ ’s pre rogative . H e would not suffer any questioning o f o f s the authority con cience , once it has been

o r enlightened by the Word and the Spirit , any

o f s o r dulling its su ceptivity , any temporizing

. t o o o f with its queenly imperative H e , , was the stuff o f which H ugh Mackail and James

Renwick were made . But now we may go th e m as s o f th e plan e t Jupit e r is mad e up o f infi ni

sim als an d s e te t t is in th e e t e ; ur ly , af r ha , it pow r of infi n ite sim als t o make up a stip e n d fo r th e ministe r o f Ballachuli sh 176

’ TO t h e End 0 t h e Day

back , through a few months from that vital

t o N ovember week , something which is very beautiful and holy . 18 2 I n August , 4 , he paid a visit to Ruthwell o f in Dumfriesshire , the Old haunt his boyhood ; and from this visit three o f his cousins dated their entrance into the life that is life indeed . With his hand pointing the way and beckoning m them on , they seem to have crossed almost si ul t an e o us ly the bo undary - line from the world o f f nature to the world o grace . Perhaps nothing

s in all his experience gladdened him o much .

“ Y o u do not know , he wrote afterwards to his “ father, what deep anxieties I have for you all , o u n that it may be well with y in Eter ity . The three you ng ladies at the Cottage are the first o f my kindred to whom I have been savingly useful . Their change is , indeed , very wonder ful ; and , if they endure to the end , is enough to convince an infidel o f the reality o f the H oly ’ ” Spirit s work . The story may only be outlined it is too intimate and t o o s urpas s ing to be narrated

. a in full Mari , Charlotte , and Georgiana Dickson s tood apparently in some awe o f their cousin when he crossed their threshold ; they scarcely knew what t o expect from o n e who was distin uishe d fo r g , above all else , the absoluteness o f to his devotion the things which are unseen . 17 7 N Robert Murray M c Ch e yne

But his Christianity , while it was manifestly

s thorough , was soon discovered to be a tonish in l g y human , brotherly , and attractive . I t drew f them . I t spoke o desirable secrets which they o f had never learned , and pleasures which the comforts and happinesses o f their life had no t N t o . o been able impart doubt , also , Robert M c Ch e yn e talked now and then about the Master t o Whose enchantments he was himself a thrall , and Who had bound o n him the vows which it is a shame a man s hould not be bound by : his heart was t o o Christ - enslaved for his lips ever to keep silence The result was what we

have seen . Early in September, after he had

— o f gone , Maria sent him a letter the forerunner many letters penned by the three sisters during

the seven months , which were all that were left them to hold intercourse with the kinsman so s o no w near them in blood , and much nearer in the unity Of the faith and the knowledge o f the “ Y u o f . o Son God say , it seems like a dream ,

. in the precious week you spent here I feel ,

deed , awakened from a long dark dream , and I earnestly pray I may be still more awakened

s and enlightened . The morning was weet , but ? would n o t the noonday be better yet

Later , there was a proposal that the Ruthwell cousins should visit Eliza and Robert , and with 17 8

Robert Murray M cCh e yn e

ridicule seem to convey a hint that the heart behind

“ wa s it s s the voice not quite at ea e . Charlotte is ’

. h a s still very zealous , but is rational I believe it been a great struggle to her to try to cool down

fo r a s s h e s h e her affection me , had been taught

‘ ’ should only feel a sort of compass ionate love fo r the unconverted and keep her true affection

‘ for her Christian friends . Or let us take the account given Of the youngest sister “ I Often

think , if you were a Roman Catholic , and had

enforced stripes and penance , poor Georgy would t have whipped and mortified herself o death .

s O f s it s The aggressivene s fir t love , and contempt

s o f a rt icu for the di tinctions social rank , were p ’ la rly di s tas teful to the obj ector s soul . I cannot make my sisters understand that they are far too young to be encouraged prowling about the

s a nd Pari h , talking to all the ploughmen women

o f o n religion and conversion . The sort feeling o f equality there is too much o f in Scotland is

s hateful t o me . The lower order are very well

in their way , but should be kept in their proper

‘ Y o u s a ! place . will y, What pride We are all ’

o f G o d. So alike in the eyes we are ; but , as

as is o ur long we are in this world , it duty to

o f . n o t keep up the distinctions rank I f , I should fear having some brothers - in - law in the

o f s - o r o r shape piou tallow chandlers , tinkers , 180 ’ To t h e End 0 t h e Day

ploughmen , presented to me , and then told they were Chri s tians and therefore far better than my ” m n o t unconverted self. Yes , it is i possible to

s be intere ted in this candid , clever, acidulous , uncompromising , aristocratic adversary . She tell s Robert M cCh e yn e that he must n o t think

“ ‘ her like the woman at the well - throwing up em bankments yet it does appear as if co n science and the H oly Ghost were robbing her o f

s s re t , in order to lead her, no les than her sisters ,

h - s e . by a way that knew not , to the Rest giver

Palpably , however , the freshly enrolled disciples had s ome difficult les sons s e t them from the com m e n ce m e n t o f s their chooling ; but , so long as we

t o it s are permitted follow course , their education

s went steadfa tly forward . They encountered a ’ poignant bereavement ere lo ng l ; and by God s grace they came unharmed and enriched through the trial . There is pathos in the last glimpse we

o f . 2 have the trio On Monday morning , March 7 , 18 —it 4 3 , they were up at an early hour is half

s ix o f — s past , one them notes to write and di patch

s s s s me age in which we catch a obbing anxiety . They had just heard that their cousin wa s dan

e ro usl s s g y ill , and they ent their inquirie and s u prayer . The tr th was that his Spirit had passed from the world two days before

1 A broth e r had be e n kille d at Madras by his horse falling u n h im po . 18 1 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

I I I

H e was often absent from his home and parish f during the last months o his life . The visit to

Ruthwell , from which such golden harvests f o n e o . sprang , had followed these absences

r ue ohe e llows — o f With four t y f Purves J edburgh ,

Of Ande rs t o n o f Alexander Somerville , Cumming D umb arn e o f —h e y, and H oratius Bonar Kelso

crossed the Border into Northumberland . N e w

castle , where William Burns had been before

s o f them , was the headquarter the evangelists .

In many instances they preached in the open air . So it was with the final meeting at which h n o f M c C e y e himself was present . To a crowd

s s a thou and people , gathered in the broad pace between the Cloth Market and the cathedral

“ s s o f church of St . N ichola , he poke the great

was s White Throne . I t a tarry night , and the ’ o n service went until ten o clock , an impressive

o ne stillness holding the multitude , and no

moving away . We shall never all meet again , the preacher said as he drew his appeal t o its

“ termination , till we meet at the Judgment Seat .

s B ut these glorious heaven over our heads , and

o n u s the bright moon that shines , and this

s venerable church behind , are my witnes es that ” I have set before you life and death . The 18 2

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e kindly reception might be expected ; in Deer there were five such cases , in Ellon there was but o ne . Significant little memoranda are added in pencil o fthe days and hours when the meetings t o were be held , Of schoolrooms where the people might gather when the churches were not avail Of able , homes within which the missioners would

. C find a welcome if the manse doors were losed .

I t was toilsome work , and frequently the weather “ was o f the wintriest . I am truly happy to be ” o n home after all my wanderings , he wrote t h o f the 7 March from Dundee to his sister , “ sojourning for the moment in Edinburgh ; I preached and spoke twenty - seven times in

- ff s twenty four di erent places , and the e the darkest ” “ spots in rugged S cotland . As far as runs the fallow , as late as holds the light , he scattered with liberal hand the fine wheat o f the king dom ; and , although the soil looked backward o f and unpropitious , there were portions the

field where the seed died , and rooted , and grew ,

and brought forth much fruit . But might it not be his duty to dedicate himself wholly to this peripatetic and unfettered husbandry ? to sunder even the dear and sacred ’ ? tie which chained him to St . Peter s and to go

forth over the country , north and south , east ” “ “ and west , hunting after poor Sinners , gospel 184 ’ To t h e End 0 t h e Day

” “ ” “ o ut co m ising, weeping every argument , ! pelling men to cry , Behold how he loveth us — as George Whitefield had done , in E ngland ,

- u in America, and in Scotland too , three q arters o f a century before ? I t was an hour in the

o f s life the nation , with the Di ruption impending , with Old landmarks shaking , when men and women were Specially su s ceptible to spiritual u infl ences , when the truth as it is in J esus required t o be explained in its gracious s ign i fi ca n ce and enforced in its heavenly power, and when there were not many who could do this M h n f as c C e y e could . One o his friends at least was convinced that God meant him now t o to cut the Old bonds at whatever cost , and consecrate himself to a wider ministry . From

o n 1 o f Kirriemuir , the 3 th March , William Burns wrote him a remarkable letter . I t must be quoted almost in its entirety . o u o r H ave y got , are you really seeking , light o n ? s o your path Set apart a day for doing , with fasting and humiliation . I know not how it is ,

s o u but it eems more than clear to me , that y must without delay give up your charge , and enter o n that tempting field in which I am

s wh . honoured to be . The field here are ite Calls all around are coming t o me ; and I am deceived if there be n o t the tokens o f an 18 5 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

approaching , if not a begun , harvest . Decided good is doing , I hear, in this neighbourhood , at Lintrathen ; and Kirriemuir is ready to move . o u I f y do not give up your charge , you will

n o a n d n o hin please party , do t g in the best way ; and your giving up your place o n such a

o f ground , instead weakening your connection odl with the g y among your people , will mightily

NO . ro strengthen it doubt , they will make p o sals o f a ccommoda ion p an t , by allowing you to o g from home more frequently . I would not hearken to these . I know from experience that ,

r ee the until you are f , you will not do aright war /I: o a n eva n elis ull o f f g t, nor make f proof your ministry . I n many cases I might , per

o f haps , be use to you as a rough pioneer ; and

s e e o f certainly nothing do I greater need , in o f ou all places that I go to , than y to enter in and carry on the work , to which at the best the way is a little smoothed . I would have you o f visit the coast Fife , to which I can easily

o u make your way plain as far as y need this , and then come t o this quarter . We must fa ll u on the sh oulder s o the P hilis in es a n d s oil p f t , p

he r t hem of the E ast tog et . Do not wait for a ’

u r Ch r is s . Ch ch call . t call is better Souls are ! perishing let us to the rescue , and leave others

s u t o abide by the t /f. You understand me ; I 186

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

o f wish I had even the experience former days . o f The work God would flourish by us , if it ” s flouri hed more richly in us . Both in speech and in writing William ’ Burns had urged his V iew . Was it Mc Ch e yn e s ? view also There is not unequivocal certainty ; but the probabilities are that his Opinion coin ’ cided with his friend s . When he wrote o n t h March 7 to Eliza in Edinburgh , these were “ sentences in the letter : I think the Church should give me a roving commission at once .

s a s I can almost y, as Wesley did to the Bi hop o f — Y o u London when he had said , would be far better with a parish , Mr . Wesley The world ’

m . is y parish , my Lord So said a greater than h ld The eld is t e wor . he , fi And soon we shall be ” am e s I is cast upon it , if S ir J gets his will . I t b e e ns o f among the might have , which there are Of scores in the regions history and biography ,

1 m e s G m th e m e e et se an Sir Ja raha , Ho S cr ary , who tago n ism t o th e claim s o f th e No n - I n trusionist s was ve ry A st m e s s o f h im m e . t . e . ark d fir , Dr Chal r had good hop “ ’ te an n te e in 18 h e t e : R e t s Af r i rvi w 39 , wro Sir ob r e xtre m e caution an d cold n e ss Op e rate as a damp er o n a ’ m n s s ts e e s m e s is fi n e e t n e st a piri wh r a Sir Ja a , h ar y , ho O s e n E n s m n o f e t e e n an d e ut p aki g gli h a , gr a good f li g pra ” ’ s t But as th e Te n e s n t n e e tical se n e wi hal . Y ar Co flic ar d ’ its e n n th e m e e et s O s t n to th e E n di g , Ho S cr ary ppo i io va n d nt ss H e was s t s gelicals was u n di sgui se d a re l e l e . a i ” fi e d h e s in th e se o f mm n s o n , aid Hou Co o , March 7 , 18 8 ’ To t h e End 0 t h e Day

’ M c Che ne s that , had y life been spared through a few weeks longer , he would have resigned his pas ’ t o rat e . o ut in St Peter s , and gone over broad Scotland to publish and commend the love o f

G o d in Christ J esus Our Lord .

I V

h n McC e e . Robert y was never married But , more than once , his sensitive nature was stirred by the heat and tenderness Of man ’s love for woman . o f fo r When he was a boy eighteen , he was a period under its spell . On a former page , some

Mac G re o r reference was made to Malcolm g , the

Close ally o f his schooldays . Malcolm had a wh o sister, Older than himself, bore the unusual name of Mondego Mary . They belonged t o a

Scottish family , that had settled far from the

- o f home country, in the South American town

Bogota . But the b oy was sent t o school in o f Edinburgh , and , for part the time at least , his

t o t o sister resided with him , watch over him and

t o f . . McCh e ne h o w see his com ort Good M rs y , o f ever, was guardian them both , mothering the

“ 18 t t an s e e t t n as t t o f th e m t 43 , ha y uch xp c a io ha ajori y “ in th e Church n e ve r could b e re aliz e d in any country in or e t o r e o r mm n sense which law, qui y , ord r, co o pre vaile d . 189 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

strangers with the same assiduous care which she bestowed o n the young lives in her o wn ! ueen ’ s o f Street nest there are letter Malcolm s , written

o ut somewhat later, in which he pours his grati

tude in frank and generous words . Thus the young people saw much o f each other ; and in the heart o f Robert M cCheyn e a feeling grew up fo r Mary M a cG rego r which was warmer than o ne o f friendliness and good comradeship . That

o n was she , her part , drawn towards him is proved

by an album , which first was hers , and then , by

her gift , became his . I n its pages she has copied o ut o wn many Of his verses , in her beautiful handwriting , the sloping and delicate and fairy f f like script o a lady o eighty years ago . o n Whether , indeed , the affection her side was as strongly felt as o n his may be questioned . She must have been his senior by a number o f

o n e no t years , and , may surmise , did so readily let herself go ; by and by s h e had a husband f r o f o wn . o in London , and a home her But some months he lived , as a young lad will , in his Fo r palace o f dreams ; and she was its queen . 18 1 o f her birthday in 3 he wrote a set stanzas , which are tinged with the pensiveness and melancholy that s o often assert themselves in o f his verse , but which make plain the fact his emotion 190

Robert Murray - M c Ch e yn e

“ to his harp , though long upbound , and dis “ covered that the strings yet knew their ”

s . accustomed ound But now , because Christ s h e controlled him , while as yet remained

To n t e n ot e n h is e e n e ha g a hi f h ari g d f c , I pray yo u liste n t o th e lin e s I sen d ; An d th e s fi t to o m en if cap hould you , y fri d , n o t let it ss Ah , do pa you idly by , t it o n and it n s e s tr But u . p , how a w r , y e n th e m o f e st e n Wh wild arch lif I fir b ga , ’ ( Tis n o t s o lon g ago! my e arli e st plan W as just pre ci se ly what you n ow advise e at n s ee e an d t s To , dri k , laugh , l p , wak , hu grow

wis e . m m n t l e ve m e ve t m e m n Fro or i l , fro ill rry or , th e se n o r t t t th t n sse e . I ki d ro , hough abou hor e e m e ar m t ste e to e se My y , y , y a , I liv d pl a In n n e n n o f e e se o e u brok rou d idl a . e e was m s e e e n e t th e m s e D p y l p b a h agic p ll,

An d life w e nt m e rry as a marriage b e ll . On t e e ts s n m e e s e e t n e o h r Obj c oo y y w r ur d , ’ n m An d Youth s romance withi y bo som burn e d . ’ To n le t s s e da g ligh ly by a lady id , ’ An d win fav rin was n o w m e . a g look , y prid t t e e s e s an d sm e s I cul iva d grac , b ck , il , t s s s e s An d sought pre fe rme n by uch lavi h wil . m th e m s o f th e t t e ss A id ga bol hough l crowd , u t o f t e My s ong an d laugh we re lo des h loud . ’ Th e s tiff quadrill e an d waltz e r s smili ng joy

Fill e d up t h e pl e asure s o f th e happy boy . But s en t l e m e th e s e e e orrow g ly pu l d by l v , li s e An d bade me wake an d all my fol e le av . Sh e t l me t th e l l n was s e o d tha wor d i g a lav , 19 2 SOM E FACES OF R E S F I ND .

D r ( awn by Ro ber t McChe n e i n a n Alb um l i y . be ong ng to th e yea rs 18 0- 18 2 3 . Co i ed b A L S r 3 p y . t uthers !

To face a e 1 2 ! p g 9 .

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

had been , and would always be , singularly dear .

’ e n e e e n m n e e in e Wh r I b d y k pray r , An d e t e e n t o s e e an d s e pl ad wi h H av k par , On e n am e is all b ut fore m ost th e re ’ Tis Mary .

’ That was the boy s fancy , which was denied

s . the boon it had ought Seven years later , when he was making preparations in London for his s is o f journey to Pale tine , there this echo the past Rattled a long way to Manchester Street .

D ined , and spent the evening with the Wettens . m a n I i i H e a nice kind of , very deaf ; nqu r ng about divine things . Mary very little changed ;

That th e y wh o ge t th e ir good thi ngs h e re b e low n th e e e e st o f t e n w e Shall dri k d p e r al o . Sh e t t m e t o o h o w Old m e s m e s augh , , Ti ca p r s e e p dily , An d how to us e h is flyi ng gifts m os t gre e dily ; Sh e e m e th e e b th e e e s bad hold f llow y h l , An d s que ez e a bl e ssi n g from e ach hour h e s te als ; Sh e e m e e e th e m s o f e e n s m e bad l av ar l ad lu b r , A h n m n d b e afraid le st I t e e arth e cu b e r . ! S t e n e s se th e e e n s n Ah hall I h d pi h av ly vi io , An d tre at th e se rious warn ing with de risio n ? e s s e th e L e t sh e e Shall I d pi ib r y gav , An d s e ll m ys e lf to e arth agai n a slave ? No m n o ! You n o t e it so ! , Malcol , would hav ’

E e n le t m e n e o n t e n as . jour y h , I go 194 ’ To t h e End 0 t h e Day

is not seemingly quite happy . I t the last that

o f s o f we hear her ; but , in the li t those for whom he interceded with God , the first place ,

o wn after his immediate kinsfolk , is assigned “ ” Ma r to the cG rego s . There can be no harm in setting down the

s ix o f fact that , in the last five or years his M h n c C e e . life , y was twice engaged to be married The details cannot be unravelled with lucidity and explicitness , for those who could have ex s plained them unerringly are no longer with u .

But the fact appears to be indi s putable . About o ne o f the engagements little can be recorded . Mi s s Maxwell was the daughter “ o f a Dundee physician ; and none named her h but to praise . At a later time s e made a happy marriage with Colonel Bethune Of Blebo ; but it wa s the peculiar glory o f her youth

s h e that loved , and was loved by , this prince among the saints whose life- story we have been “ s s o tudying , one like to Christ luminously . The union between the two was not to be

s consummated . H er relative , as some of their descendants believe , interposed to prevent it . o f They feared for that frail body his , and judged it wiser that there should not be any wedding N bond . O precise dates can be fixed for these

18 r 18 8 events ; but the time may have been 3 7 o 3 . I 9 S Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

18 I n 39 , however, in a letter from Alexander

m s s : So erville , some uggestive entences occur I beg yo u will rem ember me with much affe c tion both to your father and mother . I would s a o f o f y the same , if I dared , a friend yours —and the word friend is doubly underlined

o u but I suppose y would not allow me . I s Y o u am dumb ; but I sometime hear of (plural!.

The allusion now , in all probability , is to Miss

f Bla ir wri I o o e . Thain , H eath Park , near g The M em oir a n d Rema ins gives us three o r four letters which M c Che yne sent to the mother

s Of this young lady , one which was addres ed o to a br ther who died when he was a child , and one written to an Older brother , then a

o f o f student divinity , and afterwards minister the Free Church in N ew Machar . The Thain s lived for part of the year in Dundee , where f ’ o . they were adherents St Peter s congregation .

it s They were greatly attached to minister . I t is

o f proof it that before he started for the East , the — mother told h im o f her double solicitude the

s h e anxiety felt for him , and the other anxiety , as

I n was an e e e e th e s t n in Mr . Thai ld r, b for Di rup io , th s e an d in h is s ne ss e pari h church of Blairgowri , bu i

n e en . n was a shipown e r in Du de . Wh Mr Macdo ald an d h is e e m e e t o th e e e in 18 p opl ca ov r Fr Church 43 , as n e t em s - t to e it w Mr . Thai who gav h ail clo h cov r

th e t e nt in t me t e s e . which , for a i , h y wor hipp d I 96

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

m uch l very ; and , now that it has come to

s is . s h e thi crisis , she cast down May find that J esus is ever near , though her Pastor is far away , who has so Often gladdened her heart , when proclaiming redeeming love . She has been anxious to have a class in your Sabbath

s . . chool , which Mr Caird superintends She feels

s h e that is able to do very little , but should like

sh e o f us e much if could be any in this way ,

fo r while we are in town , which will be some time ’

. s yet . I n D r Bonar s page we are permitted t o read the answer to this letter . I shall be quite delighted if J essie is able to take a small part in the Sabbath school . She knows it is what — I always told her not to be a hearer o f the

is Word only , but a doer . I t but a little time ,

: and we shall work no more here for H im O , that we might glorify H im on the earth !

Tell J e s sie to Stay hers elf upon God . J e s us continueth ever ; H e hath an unchangeable

s s f o pries thood . Other are not uf ered to c ntinue

by reason o f death .

n o t s s s A certain gravity , if ombrenes , hang ’ o n over the correspondence alike Mrs . Thain s n 5 s ide and o n M cChe y e . They were a deli

It will b e rem emb e re d that Mc Ch eyn e was for som e n s in E n e e sett n o ut o n th e m ss n mo th di burgh , b for i g i io

to th e J e ws . 198 ’ To t h e End 0 t h e Day

cate family , these Thains , walking much in the o f solemn shadows the other world , although by the tender mercy of Our G o d they were freed from all disquieting dread o f the Shadows . 18 2 l I n January , 4 , litt e J ohn Thain wrote , in a round and boyish hand , to his friend , staying then in the manse at Collace , that

“ he might tell him , The Lord has thought f it necessary to a flict me , to try and bring me to H imself that he might breathe out his “ ardent wish , O , may H e make me one of H is lambs and that he m ight ask the counsel and aid o f o ne whom he fondly loved I t would

o u m e make me very happy , if y would write ” a letter , which I hope may do me good . H e had the letter for which he pleaded , and the richer comforts also o f the Shepherd Who gathers the lambs in H is arm and carries them in H is bosom ; and then he went away to

H is . s be with Christ brother Alexander , who e very penmanship is modelled uncon s ciously but M cCh e ne palpably upon that of y , and who would s ubscribe his letters from his s tudent

Ran ke illo r r u lodging in St eet in Edinb rgh ,

u s s as Ever yo r with all affection , urvived , we

have seen , to enter the ministry ; but he also

his s s s ran course with pathetic wiftne , and left the o u t - courts of the Tem ple soon for it s H oly 199 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e o f H olies in the skies . I t may be , then , that the n sister was o t physically robust . The letters which passed between her and Robert McCh e yn e were des troyed by the friend into whose posses sion they came ; perhaps it was best that curious eyes should have n o chance of prying into such attachments and sanctities . There are no refer e n ce s s , in anything written by relative , to throw light o n the problem why the engagement was protracted so long , and , when all was past and f o . over , was deprived its crown of marriage

Was it that her health , fragile and precarious

his ? like own , forbade the union Or , when

s his life closed omewhat suddenly at last , were they looking forward still to that wedlock which ? was not t o be theirs We only know that the ties which bound him to her and to the members o f her family continued unbroken . After his

r death M s . Thain wrote to his mother a letter

s overflowing with womanly ympathy , in which s h e wept the fullnes s from her own mind . My poor Alexander , he will be feeling deeply , having lost the bes t friend he had o n earth . This is a house Of weeping . J essie is quite over powered . She will write her dear friend Eliza ’ s as soon as She is able . But more ignificant still is the one letter that s urvives from

n s s M i s s Thai her elf. I t belong to the April ! OO

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

? ” the old o ha la nd is so And yet , and yet , g f t t

ood her e is bdellium a nd the on x s on e g ; t y t ; and ,

M emoir O , I trust that the may be widely ! Of blessed Clearly , there was no slackening the affection ; and these two were husband and wife in spirit if not in actual experience .

s But God , it would seem , wi hed him to remain a maiden knight , dedicated to Christ and eternity . H e could not drink his fill at the s prings o f any human soul ; he touched the earthly love close ,

Fo r was o n then stood away . H eaven looking him from it s towers .

V f hi o s . I ndeed , the end battle had come From his evangelistic tour in the North he returned to Dundee in the opening week of

“ March . I am quite well , he told Eliza . “ E very o n e declares I have turned fat on the

. was expedition , and it is true My heart a

little overworked , and beat too hard ; but no

was s . thing el e was wrong I t , however , too h s . t roseate a diagnosi On Sabbath , the 5 , he

s preached three times . All through the ucceed ing week he allowed himself no break in the

crowd of his occupations . On the following

Sabbath he spoke in the forenoon , and

t o his again in the afternoon , own people ; the 202 ’ To t h e End 0 t h e Day afternoon text being found in that momentous o f s Wha i question the Epistle to the Roman , t f

G od willin t o shew H is wr a h an d t o m ahe , g t ,

H is ower huawu en du r ed wi h m uch lon p , t g sufi er ing the vessels of wr a th fi tted t o des tr uction and th a t H e might m ahe huawu the r iches of H is lor on the vessels o mer c which H e h a d g y f y, afor e p r ep a r ed un to g lory I n the evening he rode to Broughty Ferry , taking with him a message which was gladsomer in it s tone and

s s n o w les mysteriou and awful , for he preached

s from the heartening imperatives Of I aiah ,

A r ise shin e or th li h is come . , ; f y g t These were his last texts ; and they were symbolic o f his entire ministry , in its consistent endeavour to do justice to all the varying aspects o f revealed

as truth , the sovereignty well as the grace , the

terror no less than the consolation and the love ,

the winter and the s ummer both . To the very clo s e G o d employed him to convey H is Own

benedictions to hungry human hearts . When

death had called him away , a note was opened which the post had brought to the door during

wa s his illnes s . I t written by o ne who was

a for o f total stranger, to thank him the hour “ worship at B roughty Ferry . I heard yo u

s preach la t Sabbath evening , and it pleased G o d t o bless that sermon to my soul . I t was 203 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

o u not so much what y said , as your manner

of speaking , that struck me . I saw in you a

beauty in holiness that I never saw before . E verything about Mc Ch e yn e drew men Christ

. s ward More than most , he was the living epi tle , signed with the King ’s autograph and sealed by was H is Spirit . I t with him as with young Sir

Pelleas ; they who met him wondered after him ,

b e cause h is face Sho n e like th e cou nte n an ce of a pri e st o f old Agai n st th e flam e about a s acrifice K n e fi r m n i dl d by e fro h e av e . On the Monday night there was a meeting ’ in St . Peter s in connection with the ecclesias

s s u tical cri is . The Di ruption had become n avoidable ; and the O ffi ce - bearers and members

assembled to pledge themselves that , when the

s time came , they hould cast in their lot with

. M k ill the Church o f Scotland Free Mr . a g

s Crichton poke to them , and then their minister addressed them with an earn estness which lingered long in their recollection ; they were not again to hear the voice which had meant s o much to them in the pas t . When the

meeting was over , he was tired and unwell ;

o ut but next day he was once more , joining

o f his m two people in arriage , Georgina Ander

s o n and Willia m Stewart . There is a story 204

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

was almost inevitable that , worn as he , he should catch the infection . At first the watchers round his bed clung to the expectation that he

. is r would recover H ere , for example , a e

o n 16 assuring letter dispatched , Thursday , the th

o f . March , by Dr Gibson , the beloved physician , to the parents waiting anxiously fo r tidings o f the “ s s ufferer . I have no he itation in writing yo u s t o a few line this evening , rejoiced as I am say that he is , as I hoped he would be , greatly — better already S O much so that I have no w little doubts Of his being all right again in a

s very few days . But soon thing changed fo r the worse ; and first the father and afterwards the mother crossed from Edinburgh to be with him . Ere long he became unconscious ; and , o n 2 2 nd Wednesday , the , there is a touching little note to Andrew Bonar from the sister s o who had served him loyally and well .

“ - If Dear friend , in your power , do come . I t h as pleased God to lay my beloved Brother o n a s ickbed from which there is little probability

his G o d of rising for many a day , should spare him to us . The doctor says it is typhus fever , and this is the ninth day . H e was perfectly s ensible till this time yesterday , but had a bad t o night . Some hours he seemed spend in

lo w - o b e prayer , in a half audible v ice Then 206 ’ To t h e End 0 t h e Day began to addres s his people so urgently that

n o t we could bear to hear his dear voice , it was

- f s s o . o r moving TO day , hour , he has talked

o u o u about y , always thinking y were in the

‘ - t o ! dining room . O , send him up me send him up ! Why will you keep him below ? ’ o f Then he talked Smyrna , and , indeed , is still

o u . at this moment speaking about y O , come ” if you can ! Even in the delirium o f illness he remained faithful to the human friend and — the divine Master faithful , also , to the souls who had been entrusted t o his care . I t was

“

s . the ame to the last Once he prayed , This ” ! e O le ! ! parish , Lord this p p this whole place At another time he took up Christ ’s petition “ his o wn and made it , H oly Father, keep through Thine Own name those whom Thou o n hast given me . Early the morning o f 2 th Saturday , March s , while Dr . Gibson stood

t o ro beside him , he raised his hands as if p

nounce the benediction , and then let them fall . f I t was his way o going home . Again we think d t c t o f his . A n i a me o ass wh ile H e Lord p ,

blessed he m H e a r ed r om he m a n d t , p t f t , was ca r r ied up in to heaven . Robert McCh e yne was no t yet thirty years o ld , when he finished his course , and went t o receive the crown Of righteousness from the 207 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

an d . J udge , Who was his Advocate his Friend There are s ome s earching and incisive sentences

s h as that Profes or Denney written , which are in ’ is o n s keeping here . H e commenting St . Paul “ Your la bour o love s : phrase , f , and he say We

o ur o n e s have all been tired in time , may pre ume ;

s o r we have toiled in bu iness , in some ambitious o f course , or in the perfecting some accomplish

o r o f o r ment , even in the mastery some game

o f the pursuit some amusement , till we were utterly wearied : how many of us have s o toiled in love ? H ow many of us have been wearied and worn with s ome labour to which we s e t ’ ? ourselves for God s sake This is what the

s h as apo tle in view ; and , strange as it may

is o ne o f appear , it the things for which he

s is ? gives God thank . But he not right I s it not a thing to evoke gratitude and joy , that God counts us worthy to be fellow - labourers with H im in the manifold works which love ” ? I impo s e s M c Ch e yn e toiled in loving. This

xéwo his wa s his c, sedulous and continual travail ,

s his labour . H e tired him elf, spent and exhausted

s himself, gave him elf and all his powers away

o f most willingly , for the glory God and the good of men . And he had his task completed , when most o f us are dreaming o f commencing ours .

1 h E istles to the Thessa lonia ns . 2 . T e p , p 9 20 8

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e packed such saintliness and such service into ’ s o brief a s pan con s tituted Robert Mc Che yne s

o wn peculiar appeal to his generation , and will always invest his example with an allurement and an impulse which are given to very few .

- o f Three quarters a century after it happened , we can feel still the throb and pang o f sorrow which his death occasioned . All Dundee was moved ; and the day o f his funeral wa s o n e o f the greatest and most subduing in the annals f o f the city . Yielding to the importunities o the congregation , the father and mother con sented that his body s hould be laid in the graveyard attached to the ch urch whos e name has been rendered famous and fragrant by his

s o wn mini try , rather than in their family burying ’ ground under the shadow Of St . Cuthbert s spire in Edinburgh I ; and the concourse in the s treets I This was n o t don e without som e oppositio n o n th e part b ut m M c Ch e n e s fi t m o f frien d s Ada y di playe d a n e e p e r . ’ n e s t e t s Th e E lde rs an d Ma ag r of S . P e r had se nt t o him e s t n s ss e at m e et n e o n n four r olu io , pa d a i g h ld Mo day , “ Th e t was in t e s t m s it March 2 7th . hird h e e r : That b e m st t n to th e e e n s t s m e et n would o gra ifyi g f li g of hi i g , a n d in accordan ce with th e wi sh e s of th e pari shio ne rs and n e t n t t th e e m n s t e e e m n st e co gr ga io , ha r ai Of h ir b lov d i i r ’ i th e f t —th e s hould b e i n t e rre d n churchyard o St . Pe e r s s t t o in h is s se s h e so te n nte an d th e po which di cour of poi d , place which will e ve r re main associat e d with his n am e an d ” ’ labours as a mi ni ste r o f Chri st . An d thi s was th e fath e r s 2 10 Aftermath

d s s was so en e , and the tillness that prevailed was s o o n impressive , and the grief written a thou s and faces o f Old and young and rich and

was s o s s poor spontaneou and unre trained , that Adam Mc Che yn e s aid he u nderstood why God ’ had cut s hort s o s oon his son s life on earth it was to prevent the townsfolk from making

was w s him their idol . I t not other i e through

it s s i n out Scotland , and beyond boundarie ,

I reland to which he had gone more than once , f and in different parts o England . The mourn ing was almost like that o f H adadrim m on in the valley of Megiddo , when all J udah and J erusalem m ’ fo r s . s mourned King J o iah A states an death , o r o f that a prince of the realm , would hardly have been more profoundly felt .

s I t had , in not a few in tances , the issue which

he wo uld himself have most des ired . I t brought

s . wayward heart to God The hushed voice , the torch which the eager runner had had to drop

s o m quickly , affected the more than anything in

re ply I had de te rmi n e d t o carry h is poor re m ai n s with me t o E n to b e nt e e t t s e o f h is m di burgh , i rr d wi h ho fa ily t e e e h im t H is b ut at your re que s I r adily l av wi h you . n am e b e in g in som e de gre e ass ociate d with th e town o f n e e an d m e e s e t th e an d s Du d , or p cially wi h church pari h ’ f S e t s se e th e e t s an d o t . e P r , I propri y of your propo al , ackn owle dge that for a s oldie r th e m ost ho n ourabl e grave ” tt e is th e fie ld of ba l . 2 11 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e his preaching o r in his life . Some of the Old ’ people in St . Peter s would tell , years after “ o f s he was gone , a aying of his , When the o ff s boat has put from the hore , you need not u ? run . When should yo run When the bell ” is r ing ing . There were many to whom the o f news what had befallen , that Saturday

n morning of his departure , was like the ringi g o f the bell before the boat puts off from her moorings ; at length they realized the need of o f running , if the favouring hour and the day their salvation were not to be lost outright . f One story o this kind has a particular interest . I n an early page o f the M em oir s ome lines are preserved which he wrote to a young girl ,

o r - related , to him in a cousinly half cousinly “ s h e way , who had said that was determined to keep by the world they are lines the o f colours which are dark , ominous , and alarm

“ ing , as when some painter dips his pencil in ” the gloom o f earthquake and eclip s e :

Sh e h as se n th e cho world , An d it s paltry crowd Sh e h as C s e n th e ho world , An d an e n dle ss s hroud ! ’ But B ethl e h e m s star Is n o t in h e r V i e w ; And h e r aim is far t From th e harbour ru e . 2 12

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

is th e of th e e n t n Though loud laugh flick ri g hro g , An d th e sm e m e t e is e m n il fro ach brigh fac b a i g , h e te s t n n t e e n e re n T ir laugh r hall ur i o w pi g lo g , An d th e sm e b e th e s m e b ut o f se e m n il il i g .

ist t en m n st n e th e e - m e ni n st n Ah , l h , y Co a c , w ll a g rai , No r bid th e i ntrude r b e gone ! f e n o s fo r m e e n I O f r vow , y labour w r vai i s wn An d Truth s th e godde s I o .

Away from th e halls o f th e false - h e arte d crew Dwe lls p e ace ful con t entm e n t of mi n d H e r t e n s ste h e r n is t e ap r bur ady , lovi g ru , No t h e r s fi n d flatte ry wi h hall you .

But for eleven years , although the admonitory

words pursued her , and broke in upon the quiet o f s h e conscience every little while , persisted in preferring the Shows to the s ubstance and the

tinsel above the fine gold . Then came the un

s o f his expected hock and summons death . And

s he at last he won his victory , and surrendered

to his Lord . Long afterwards , at a Mildmay

6 s he 18 . Conference , in J une , 7 , drew Dr Bonar

s aside and told him the hi tory , adding that she ’ had a s o n in the army who was Christ s follower

s M t o o . Race unto race rise up to call c Ch e yne blessed . N 0 o n e in the communion o f all s aints owes a M larger debt to his biographer . The em oir a nd Rem a in s is an undying spiritual classic ; and it 2 14 Aftermath

has travelled round the circuit of the world . When the centenary o f its author wa s celebrated

1 10 . in the summer of 9 , Dr James Wells wrote “ to the newspapers that about t wo hundred

C o u r u thousand opies had been sold in co ntry ,

“ and that some twenty years ago more than that number had already been sold in America .

I ncluding translations into other languages , he estimated that not less than half a million copies were in circulation at the moment when his letter t o was penned . Yet Andrew Bonar used tell how wonderfully glad he was when he found a

s publi her for the book , and how his biggest hopes for it at the outset of its career had been that an edition O f two thousand copies might

n f find purchasers and readers . I t is o e o those elect books through which G o d has wrought

H is conquering miracles o f grace . Power h as emanated from it to revers e the trend and current of human lives . The love o f Christ has leaped from its chapters and pages , to capture men and women , and to bind them to their H ealer and their King in the bondage which is liberty and delight . Over in I reland , some

18 . time after the awakening of 5 9 , Mr Lyon o f Broughty Ferry overheard , in the streets o f s t o Carrickfergu , a mother calling her boy , “ ” Robert ! Robert Mc Che yne ! H e discovered 2 15 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

that , when she feared and quaked exceedingly under the thunders and lightnings of the Mount

o f o f M em oir the Law , it was the reading the

which had brought her peace ; and , in grateful remembrance of her burden los t and her ’ s h e Mc Ch e n e s emancipation won , gave y name ’

. . o f to her child One Lord s Day , M r Wilson ’ Ab e rn t e was y preaching in St . Peter s ; and an American gen t leman came to speak t o him “ ”

. was when the service closed I converted ,

“ s M em oir o f M c Che n e he aid , through the y , and I res olved that my first Sabbath in Europe

should be spent in his church . I n the H igh

O f - lands Scotland a farm servant , a slave to the

s o f lust for trong drink , and the terror the

wa s his neighbourhood , running unchecked evil

d a s a s . G o way But , Whose rod comforts well

H is staff, had compassion on him , and laid him

o do wn under s erious illness . Reaching over t

- the window sill , where some books were lying , ’ f M h n M m r he took up a copy o c C e y e s e oi .

Before he had read far, the H oly Spirit convicted him o f his great Sinfulness and then his distress was sore and deep . But he persevered with his reading ; and soon the book which had smitten taught him the secret of abiding health in the re demption o f J esus Christ : it resembled the sword of the Cid which wounded in order to recover 2 16

Robert Murray M c Ch e yne enjoyed them ! H o w delighted he would have been with the proceedings of las t Thursday !

I recollect , in writing from the Convocation

V ‘ with such a prospect in iew , he said H ow happy it is to live at such a time ! The ’ McChe n e s was darkness , to y thinking , shot through and through with lambent flame s o f h O e was o f s p ; if it was night , it a night tars ; and

was a noble sunrise at hand . The Di s ruption ’ was more than the assertion o f the Church s independence from the interference and control o f the State ; it was a s ignal and enriching

Spiritual movement . The years of preparation which led up to it had witnessed the resurgence throughout Scotland o f evangelical religion ; — and it was in the atmosphere o f thi s new born personal religion that the Free Church started M h n o n its course . cC e y e and William B urn s had been among God ’s chief instruments in producing the quickening regeneration . While Chalmers and Cunningham and Candlish were fighting in the high places of the field fo r the

o f s freedom the Kirk , they ought to awaken the

s individual oul from slumber into concern , to teach

o f it the meaning repentance and faith , and to pers uade it to embrace without delay the sufficie nt

Sav iour Who is offered to it in the Go s pel . By the pre s ence and help of H im Whose they were 2 18 Aftermath

s v m a v s and Whom they er ed , they were r ellou ly

o f 18 successful . The Church 4 3 , and the years

wa s a nd that followed , rooted grounded not merely

o f s s in an inveterate distrust Era tiani m , but in an

fo r s intense love the Lord J esus Chri t ; and , if

is s both soils are good , the latter , beyond que

o f . tion , the better the two That this best love o f all had s uch regnancy and compelling force ’ was G o d due , under from Whom all blessings

flo w Mc Ch e n e , to Robert y as much as to any ’ o f the Church s s pokes men and sons . “ I t was another world from that o f Jupiter

Carlyle , and we find it difficult to believe that the redoubtable mini s ter o f I nveresk was no t yet forty years in his grave ; must it no t be an alto gether measureles s virtue which resides in the s o f imple and urgent proclamation the Gospel , and in the holy life that is the best commentary o n ’ t h e Gospel s truth and power ? For many reasons Mc Ch e ne s y tran cends Alexander Carlyle , as high

is a T . o as heaven bove the earth begin with ,

o f his there was the substance message . H ere

s o f were no discussion rudimentary moralities , no adventures in political economy and es says in

o f ho w t o criticism , no hints behave in polite

s ociety . Here was the direct vision Of the eternal r ealities ; the s ense that nothing can be s o s in momentous as , and salvation , and the atoning 2 19 Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e

o f o f Cross Christ , and the trust the helpless heart in H im Who died a n d ro s e again ; the definite transacting with guilt - laden men o n behalf of

G od s s is a Whose righteou ne s unbending , yet

s Whose name is Love , and Who will not that o n e o f them s hould perish ; the refu s al t o be s atisfied until every argument and persuasion and solicitation have been tried which will humble the

s proud will , and startle the leeping conscience , and heal the wounded spirit , and lead the wan

r r was de e s home . Then there the manner of

s . o ut o f the mes enger I n the pulpit , as it , the

Moderates were men of the world , careful to

s sa voir a ir e di play their f , guiding language and gesture and demeanour by regard for the con v e n t io ns and proprieties , compact of decorum and dignity . They were not bowed into reverence . They did not tremble beneath the awful responsibility and the sacred privilege of bearing the burden o f the Lord . I t was not a con s tant pers onal amazement to them that they should have been chosen to publi s h the word o f Mc Ch n reconciliation . But to e y e it was always

“ ” an amazement . Andrew Bonar , Dr . J . H . “ has J owett recently written , has told us with what full and delicate wonder Robert McCh e yn e In carried his ministry in the Lord . their con vers ation he would frequently break o ut into deep 220

Robert Murray M c Ch e yn e imagine nothing more beautiful o r more adequate “ Mc h than his letter to Adam C e yn e . This is the most solemn event which has happened s ince I

h as became a minister . I t made the last two days o f days darkness and gloominess . Fo r besides ’ s s your loss and his people , and the lo s to us who

as is a loved him a brother, it heavy stroke to the Church and land . The removal o f s o bright

is a light at such a time , a righteous but terrible

n judgment . I do o t wish to lose the personal in the public warning ; for I feel that I greatly needed it . I ndolence a nd levity and unfaithful ness are sin s that beset me ; and his living

wa s s presence a rebuke to all the e , for I never

o ne s o s s o ut s knew in tant in sea on and of eason ,

s s o so impres ed with the invisible realities , and faithful in reproving s in and witnessing for Chri s t . H is feeble frame made his labours the more

u s s s wonderf l , and his en itive pirit made fidelity m o re difficult to him than it would have been t o a mind less tender . Love to Christ was the great secret o f all his devotion and consi s tency ; I and , since the days of Samuel Rutherfurd , ques tion if the Church of Scotland has contained

s wa s a more eraphic mind , one that in such a constant flame o f love and adoration toward d H is H im tha t liveth a nd was dea . continual communion with God gave wonderful sacredness 2 22 Aftermath

to his character ; and , during the week that he spent with us last N ovember, it seemed as if there were a sanctity diffused through o ur dwell ing . That vi s it was u s eful t o many ; and his Sabbath evening sermon o n Following the Lord ’ fully made a deep impression then , which the tidings o f last Monday have revived in new solemnity . We feel now what a kind Providence

was t o it , which led us ask that visit and induced him to comply . On the Friday evening I ae com a n i d wa s p e him t o the railway s tation . H e

s s anxiou to get a eat in an empty carriage , that he might have undisturbed leisure fo r meditation

s and prayer ; but in thi he was disappointed , for another passenger cam e in . Since Monday

o ne morning , he has been the thought present to no w my mind ; and , that I am writing to you , I find a mournful pleasure in recalling those solemn ’ days in St . Peter s , and those hallowed evenings

o wn as in his house , which can never return ; I tru s t the beauties o f holiness which I then s aw in him may be profitable lessons and motives all my

. no t life henceforward I doubt , my dear Sir , that

s t o the H oly Spirit , the Comforter, will anctify

o u s y and your this heavy trial . S eldom has a weeping family s o many prayers Offered in their

. o u behalf May y yet , in the immeasurably

o f H is ex edien larger supply presence , find it p t 223 Robert Murray M cCh e yn e for you that the desire o f your eyes has g on e

a wa . n o t his y My tongue is learned like , else I would try to s peak a word in season in this hour o f o u n sorrow . But y have o need o f earthly

i h c . o wn n ome h the comfort Our g t t , and then

m or n in come h g t , and , when H e H imself is come , “ sorrow Shall flee away . Since the days o f Samuel Rutherfurd the Church o f Scotland has not contained a more seraphic mind ” —that is I the right estimate and the fitting word .

I ’ To Jam e s Hamilton s p en - portrait it is worth while ’ n R e t n s t en o f e t e addi g ob r Macdo ald , h Blairgowri , af r

s of N t Le t . e m em e on e of th e e e st ward or h i h I r b r , arli ’ t n s N s t s o L n wa n t o . s et s vi i I paid o do , I goi g up Mr i b sh O s h an d n t e n t e m n m n ut a e e e e o . p , a o h r g l a w r co i g Mr . ‘ N s e t s to th e t e s is e n o f . i b aid o h r , Thi a fri d Mr ’ ’ Th m n t Mc Ch e n e s . e e nt e a n e t o f m e y g l a o c ook hold , ‘ ‘ ’ an d s n t t e m e m an Y e s aid , Did you k ow ha r arkabl , ‘ ’ ‘ s h e was an nt m te en m n e . t I aid , i i a fri d Of i Wha do ’ ‘ ’ o u t n h e e nt o n was th e se e t t t m n s y hi k, w , cr of ha a ’ ne ss ? and t t t n h e n s e e h is own holi , wi hou wai i g , a w r d ’ que stion Don t yo u thi n k it was wa tchfulness ? I thi n k h h n s it O t n h e was t e was t t e m e e . e righ , or I co id r f wi h m e at th e m n se at e and h e s e t e n e a Blairgowri , alway l f a b

t . H e was s o n h is dic ion b e hi n d him alway guard . My m e e en m st to se e s Old Ada would hav b al o glad a lip , I m se s was h is te st t s o m n t n s . forgo a y hi g y lf Thi charac ri ic , l b s nt h nour If a ma n purge himself he sha l e a ves el u o o .

W e ofte n lo se golde n opport unitie s by n o t be i ng usable . ’ Mc n e s ne ss was n t e e e e n e e h e Mr . Ch ey holi o ic abl v b for s s e n e s e fo r h im e e was poke a word hi app ara c pok . Th r a mi ni ste r in th e n orth of Scotlan d with whom h e sp en t a n H e as so m e s st t s t h im ight . w arv llou ly ruck by hi abou 224

Aftermath

We have reached the close o f the hi s tory that

h a s s o s o m s little in it and uch , who e wealth and

s fruit are known t o Chri s t alone . We have een how Robert M c Ch e yn e did his part in break ing up the long frost and in bringing in the spring o f the year ; and not the promise o f

o f spring Simply , but the warmth summer and the

o f L the win er is as . o abundance harvest , t p t,

the r a in is over a nd one the ower s a ea r on g , fl pp

the ea r h the ime o the s in in o bir ds is come t , t f g g f , nd th d a e voice of t he tu r tle is hea r d in ou r la n . But t o - day we have journeyed far since that o f 18 March 4 3 , when he laid down his ministry .

as Scottish religion , we know it , has not the

o f o f s o f same note passion , tress , and imme diacy which rang through the words he spoke f in . o s and the life he lived The evil , and the o f certainty and the anguish its wage , do not oppress us as much as they oppressed him ; n o r are we so captivated by the redemption prepared and finished for guilty men o n the Cross o f

Our Lord and Saviour J esus Christ . I t is t t e n M . c Ch e n e e t th e m h e st n t t e s ha , wh Mr y l f roo , bur i o ar , ‘ ’ an d s 0 t t is th e m s s - s st e e m an e e aw . aid , , ha o J u lik I v r R e t Mc Ch e n e s m e t m e s sa b ut o n e o r ob r y would o i y word, te t e t b ut it was e sse n ot en n t e quo a x bl d . I e ve r g e v a o m h im t t w s s s m e fro ha I could burn . Th e re a alway o t n i hi g n it worth ke e pi n g ; G o d s e e m e d t o bless all h e ” te wro . 22 5 Robert M urray M c Ch e yn e

not that we deny these central truths ; it is rather that they have ceas ed to dominate u s a s imperiously a s they dominated the preachers o f

a the older gener tion , till they were weary with ’ n s s s forbeari g , and be ought men in Chri t stead to

o ut be reconciled to God , and went to the high ways and hedge s to compel their brothers to ’ u r come in to the s ppe of the King s Son . The B iblical scholars hip of our time is in advance o f theirs ; we have access to enviable stores of learning of which they knew little . The mind does it s full s hare in o u r presentation of the Go s pel ; but perhaps there is less of

a s s o he rt than there u ed to be , that we do not

o ur a s baptize work our fathers did theirs , in

s s . s interces ion and in tear A few month back , a

C u itizen of D ndee , walking along a quiet street , “ s a w chalked on a pillar the two words , Alas , M c Ch e yn e They were not only the desider ium — t a m ca r i capitis ; they were s o at least the — onlooker read them the lamentation o f a regretful and orphaned s oul over a new age s ep a rated from it s predecessor in thought and

is temper , in aim and Spirit . Yet there no

fo r s m s need pe simis , and de pondency would o f be u npardonable . The Moderatism the

is eighteenth century hopelessly discredited and ,

o f under the surface , the religion Scotland still 2 26

INDEX

Ab een : th e e in 1 th e th e Memoir an d Rema i e rd r vival , 47 ; what n s e b e and th e e ne 2 1 Pr s yt ry of, r vival , has do , 4

16 n . H u e e 4 Bo ar , Dr orati s , of K lso (aft r A e e The th e o f d n r 60 e cad mic Soci ty , , of wards E i bu gh! ; h lps Un e o f n 2 u n in n e e 1 iv rsity Edi burgh 3 William B r s Du d , 34 A M cCh e ne 226 McCh e ne in e e las , y with y N wcastl , 18 2 A e n e M r . n r l xa d r , Joh , of Ki kcaldy

M cCh e ne in ee and n . n o f be and with y D r Bo ar , Dr Joh , Lar rt o n 18 n e : M cCh e ne n Ell , 3 Du ipac y assista t

An a lect a The f e Wo drow t o 6 ff. e , , o Rob rt him , 4 his charact ristics , 2— 8 5 4 , 49 ’ Au tobio r a h The D 1. A e u n e n : M cCh e n e s g p y , , of l x Bo ja , ar Smyr a y n e e 6— ne and e e 110 a d r Carlyl 9 ill ss r cov ry at , e ne : th e e in 1 - 1 Br adalba r vival , 45 47 ’ e e 2 u Fe : Mc Ch e ne s Barbour , Rob rt q uot d , 5 Bro ghty rry y last h e n o e . e : t e n an d 20 B gg , Dr Jam s at Co voca s rm at , what it did , 3 1 w n in n , 1 , 4 n . e . th e tio Edi burgh 7 3 7 Bro , Dr Charl s J at Be n n e e n : n o n 1 ll , Ca o , of Ch lt ham his Co v catio , 75 ’ a Bo h ood in t he u Remin iscen ces o e . o n McChe ne s f y Br c , Dr J h y E a r l P a r t o t he Cen t u r 2 n e In nb 2 y f y , 7 mi ist r Edi urgh , 3 n e : o ne th e u e M e I Dr . A e e : Black , l xa d r of Br c , ast r Rob rt aird of e e th e n t o th e nn n e e a nd m mb rs of missio Ki aird , ar Larb rt ,

e ; e , n e . e , n J ws , 9 5 falls from his cam l mi ist r of St Gil s Edi burgh 10 e n u H n 1 160 5 ; r tur s thro gh u gary , ( 5 54 107 Budape st th e Mission of th e Un ite d : F e e th e e . H in Blair , Dr ugh 7 r Church to J ws , ’

Mc he ne s 116 n . An e A. C n . Bo ar , Dr dr w y 8 e u en n n e 2 12- 2 1 praise of him , 5 ; his dr ams , B ll , Co sta c , 4 62 n e o e 6 n e ; mi ist r of C llac , 3 ; Bur s , William Chalm rs his ’ ’ M 12 . e e in cCh e ne s e 1 visits St P t r s y charact r , ; his autographs , b en e 2 o n t he 12 h e fe e in e e a s c , 9 ; with him 4 how dif r d t mp ra n th e e 6 et se en f M cCh e ne 12 in mi s sio to J ws , 9 a ; m t rom y , 5 ’ M cCh e ne e in . e e 12 ff. t Eliz a y writ s him St P t r s , 7 ; at Kilsy h , ’ h er e ne 206 1 0 th e e in n ee 1 broth r s last ill ss , ; 3 r vival Du d , 33 228 Index

e e to Mc Ch e ne 1 1 . Con ess io M edici . te e n his l tt rs y , 4 ff f , Dr S ph ’ pl e ad s with M cCh eyne t o give up Page t s : 74 t e and e e an o n o at o n Th e o f e e his pas orat b com C v c i , , Nov mb r , e n e t 18 18 2 : 1 0—1 6 va g lis , 5 4 7 7 n H u M r n e . n e o f e Burto , Joh ill p blish s Cormick , Da i l , Kirri muir “ ’ Jupite r Carlyl e s A utobio 60

€5 n M r. Dumb arne 60 eraekr. Cummi g , , of y M cCh e ne in e e 182 with y N wcastl , ’ n u : M cCh e ne S Calma , Erasm s y ’ t n 10 e e : M . e in e e cChe ne s V ISIt th guid Pal s i , 7 D r y to e e n n Th e : 10 e e o f 18 Cam ro ia s , Pr sbyt ry , 3 m n . o h e i S . : re c o e nn e . e 208 Ca dlish , Dr R t D y , Dr Jam s ’

n . e e en M cCh e e S , n M , e an d m ds y for t P t r s Dickso , aria Charlott , 64 sugge sts him as a m embe r o f G e o rgian a : th e ir spiritual his th e n th e e 6 a t o 1 missio to J ws , 9 ; t ry , 77 th e o n n 1 2 1 ; u n Th e : 1 1 168 18 C vocatio , 7 , 74 his Disr ptio , 5 , , 5 , e M cChe n e 2 2 1 20 2 1 tribut to y , 4 , 7 A n e n e e : e r . I e e ue ro e 116 n . Carlyl , Dr l xa d r , of v r sk Doum g , P f ssor Emil A utobio r a h 6- ; un e e : M c Ch e n e e it his g p y , 9 how D d y call d to , M cCh e ne n en 2 1 8 6 th e e in 11 y tra sc ds him , 9 5 , 4 ; r vival , 9 e L e un e : 6 Carmicha l , ady, of Castl Craig D ipac 4 ’ M cCh e ne s e e 8 y l tt r to , 7

n A . R. e o th e . o n n 6 Carso , Dr , r ct r of Edwards , J atha 9 , 9 7 ’ H n u 2 o n M c Ch e ne s t h e igh School of Edi b rgh , 5 , Ell y visit to 26 e er 18 Pr sbyt y of, 3

e . T o : I I r ne enez e an d 10 Chalm rs , Dr h mas ; his E ski , Eb r Ralph — l e e en ce 1 16 ; e e e Th e 1 spiritua xp ri , 3 Ex g tical Soci ty , 4 “ ” e e M cCh e n e highly pl as d with y , en o n e o f F e : th e e in 1 1 2 4 5 ; lists him b half if r vival , 4 5 , 5 en n 8 Church Ext sio , 5 his

e n th e Na r r a tive o e e Mr . A e n e : in t e m appr ciatio of f Gath r r , l xa d r ’ a M ission o In uir to t he ews o r r a e . e e f q y j , p y charg of St P t r s 100 th e n n 1 1 2 1 ; at Co vocatio , 7 , Church , 7 ’ I I n . M cChe n 74 , 7S Gibso , Dr William y e s ’ e n o n : M cCh e ne s n in n e e 20 Church Ext si y physicia Du d , 7 z e 8 168 e e T 10 al for , 4 , Gill spi , homas Clarence fi e ld e u e a Sir a e I 88 Cottag , R thw ll Grah m , J m s ’ r M rs . : M c Ch e ne s n G aham , y la d o u n H e n o : M emor ia ls in e t 6 C ckb r , ry , L rd lady Larb r , 5 o s Tim e 10 —12 e n . es o f i , Gri rso , Dr Jam , Errol ’ u n M r . . C . e M cCh e ne s e n in Colq hou , J , of Kill r 5 9 ; y accid t his m n : 8 en 88 o t 4 gard , Index

T : e : h e 0 e . t e 1 Guthri , Dr homas associat d Kilsyth r vival at , 3 ’ M h n in n M c e n s c C e e n Mr . e e : Ch e with y advocati g K ight , G org y t en n 88 un t fi e e 2 Church Ex sio , ; hisacco rst t ach r , 4 h t e en in 8 n . of accid t Errol , 9

th e n o n 1 0 . e : 6 at Co v catio , 7 ff Larb rt 4 e t \V illiam u n in 1 0 L i h B r s , 5 H ne a 1 M M r : n n e t nd e 0 e r . and s t e e alda , Rob r Jam s L wis , h ir ki d ss M a u 1 10 H n D r . e e en c Ch e ne t a amilto , Jam s , of R g t to y Bo j , e u n n n t n n : an d se r Sq uar Ch rch , Lo do 59 his Livi gs o , Joh his ’ n M cCh e n e S e n m o n th e r t accou t of y pr achi g at Ki k of Sho ts , in n e e 66 e l 1 2 Du d , ; h lps Wi liam 3 ’ n 1 e e th e e t urn o r e Th e en Bur s , 34 ; d scrib s r L d s Supp r , Sacram t of ’ ’ M cCh e ne St . e e 1 1 th e in St . e e u of y to P t r s , 4 , P t r s Ch rch , 7 3 , — o n . e rs 1 1 his I 4 Dr Chalm , 7 SS 59 ’ d e lineation of M cCh eyn e s char

e 2 2 1 M n D r. oh n Fe n act r , acdo ald , J , of ri tosh

H nn . : f th e 1 1 a a , Dr William author o 7 o f ! Memoir s o Thom as Ch a lm er s M n l . e t , f , acdo a d , Dr Rob r Blair 12 gowrie (afterwards of North H Th e n e : e i n igh School , , of Edi burgh L ith! 59 ; h lps W lliam Bur s 2 in un ee 1 en - 5 D d , 34 his p portrait

Th . H i h fl ers e . A e n e M cCh e n e 2 2 n g y , Dr l xa d r of y , 4 ’ i een e n n e th e n Macfarlan Dr. Carlyl s ick am for Eva , Patr ck , ofGr ock elicals th e n n 1 2 1 g , 9 at Co vocatio , 7 , 73 H e : e n t Mac G re o r M th e f en f um , David his fri dship wi h g , alcolm ri d o “ ” ’ e e 6 8 M cCh e n e s 2 18 , Jupit r Carlyl , , y boyhood , 9 , 9

19 1 n .

I n e en e n Th e : 10 1 2 MacG re o r M n e M r d p d ts , , 5 g , o d go a y ’ ’ M e s b en I ne Mr . e e : cCh e ne s M cCh e n rvi , G org y y oyish attachm t e e in th e H 2 h e r 18 t ach r igh School , 5 for , 9 Mackail H th e en n e , ugh , Cov a t r e e M cCh e ne in 106 1 J rusal m y , 3 ’ e Th M h n r w o Moder n D ivin i t e c C e e s n e e t in .Ma r o , J ws , y i t r s , f y

n ee e . . H . 220 M e l Mi Jow tt , Dr J axw l , ss , of Du d n e 1 M cCh eyne e gag d to , 95 M c h e ne A e of e . A e n e : e e C K ith , Dr l xa d r a m mb r y , dam fath r — f th e s n t h e e e 18 2 1 e i n , 23 o mi sio to J ws , 95 Rob rt , his r l gio his illn e ss in Budap est an d its d ebat es with his son th e e thics of I 8 2 e e e 116 n . e n n e issu s , Lif sura c , d cid s that

e e in Fife e : th e e b e b e in n ee , K ttl , shir proposal Rob rt shall uri d Du d

McCh e n e 1 2 10 n . to call y to , 54

Index

e Th e : in 1 0 in n 6 M cCh e n e it s fi R vival , Kilsyth , 3 ; buildi g , 4 ; y rst un ee 1 in e 1 in n e r 6 th e e e th e D d , 33 ; P rth , 44 mi ist , 4 ; l tt r of F e 1 in e e 1 6 e e en h e e e e if , 4 5 P rthshir , 4 ; ld rs wh l av s for Pal s in A e e e n 1 ne 8 e th e b rd , 4 7 ti , 9 his lov for church , e t n n 6 th e n Rob r so , Pri cipal William 11 mi istry of William e e th e M er e in n 12 th e e 1 th e l ad r of od at party Bur s , 7 r vival , 33 th e u t n 6 S , , 7 e t u n n e 1 8 th e Ch rch of co la d r r of its mi ist r , 3 ; ’ ur . o n o f . n n re n e e n th e Roxb gh , Dr J h , St Joh s co g gatio r solv s to joi n e e : 6 1 F e e 20 th e e t Church , Du d 4 , 34 r Church , 4 ; d a h of

ur e in n th e n t e 2 10 n . Roxb gh Chap l , Edi burgh mi is r , th e n t o n e e in 1 0 Co voca i m ts , 7 ut e u u e S e Te e M r. , H R h rf rd , am l his s raphic lf r , of awick how n e e in McCh e n e e Wo drow e mi d r produc d y , Rob rt dislik d his 22 2 2 2 e n , 4 pr achi g , 5 e in e e 2 1 2 T n M e e : M cCh e ne e m Ruthw ll , Dumfri sshir , 7 , hai , iss J ssi y I e 1 6 h er e e z 77 gag d to , 9 l tt r to Eli a M h e ne 20 1 cC y ,

S e e e , Th e : 10 8 1 2 T n in u e e 18 2 c d rs , 3 , 5 hor hill D mfri sshir , 7 ’ M ’ S M cCh e ne S t n t he , T Tu cCh e ne s ick y visi atio of ullia , or lly y n 2 55 ; 7 5 po y, 5 Skirlin in e e e e McCh e ne g, P bl sshir y M nee o e e th e C u and e M r . ff r d h rch parish of, 7 7 Wallac , , of offat a pio r

e e . A e n e N. o f M e Som rvill , Dr l xa d r , of od ratism , 4

An de rst o n : h is e . : e o f Church , Glasgow W lsh , Dr David Prof ssor en M cCh e ne 60 u H o in n fri dship with y , ; Ch rch ist ry Edi burgh u ne 6 1 t e Un e 2 his apostolic jo r ys , iv rsity, 3 en n e e a P ract i ca l comm ds William Bur s to Wilb rforc , Willi m his M cCh e ne 120 t M cCh e n e V iew o Ch r ist ia n it 1 y , wi h y f y , 4 n in e e 18 2 e l n e , N wcastl , writ s Wi so , Prof ssor Joh Christo M cCh e ne ut en e ent e 0 y abo his gag m , ph r North 3 1 6 Wodro w e : n in 9 , Rob rt his accou t , ’ lect a th e r de St . e n n th e A n a o ard hurch , d bur h , of spi itual L s C E i g — e e t o M cCh e ne ne o f n 2 off r d y , 7 7 cli Scotla d , 5 ’ M t n e f e Wo dro w e e - n n . O e St ar i s Church , P rth f r d , Rob rt , gr at gra dso of M cCh e n e th e e n th e M n o f to y , 7 7 abov pla s issio ’ I h e e 6 St . e e u n ee its n t P t r s Ch rch , Du d q uiry to J ws , 9

N N TH E G RE S HAM PRESS W’ O KlNG AND LON DON U W I BROTH E RS , LIMITED , ,