Reading and Knowing [2 versions]

Upon the brief life of Robert Murray M’Cheyne are the markings of one of the great champions of the faith. His ministry of little more than seven years set its indelible imprints upon Scotland; his teaching has wrought an impression throughout the world. It is impossible to read any of his writings without walking away with sentiments of urgency. “Live for eternity,” he cried on his deathbed, “A few days more and our journey is done.” And this was the cry of every sermon he ever preached. For behold, Christ stands at the door and knocks. When will you answer?

There was an intensity about the way M’Cheyne lived out his life, an authenticity of faith that is woefully uncommon today. Writing to a friend in seminary, he once advised, “Do get on with your studies. Remember you are now forming the character of your future ministry…. If you acquire slovenly or sleepy habits of study now, you will never get the better of it. Do everything in earnest. Above all, keep much in the presence of God. Never see the face of man till you have seen His face who is our life, our all.”

So often it seems the great heroes of the faith remind us of the significance of study, of reading widely, of earnestly seeking to increase in faith and in knowledge. “When you come,” wrote the Apostle Paul in a letter to Timothy, “bring… my scrolls, especially the parchments” (2 Tim. 4:13). One can only guess the writings with which Paul is longing to be reunited. Scholars argue that they were most likely copies and explanations of the Law and the Prophets, works of Jewish history, and copies of his own letters. Regardless, among the books and writings he used and loved, Paul wanted to spend time in study. “Reading maketh a man full,” said Francis Bacon. As long as we live, we must be still learning.

Moreover, it is within another letter to Timothy that the Apostle Paul exhorts his young student, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim 4:13). There is no reading that can replace our reading of God’s Word; there is no study that is as living and active, as sharp as a double-edged sword. For God’s word and God’s character are intertwined. As John Piper has written, “The more of God’s Word you know and love, the more of God’s Spirit you will experience.”[1] In his Word we tremble, because it reveals the majesty of God. In his Word we are challenged and convicted, encouraged and inspired, because we find the God who is present. “As for God,” declared King David, “his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 18:30).

Among the wonderful gifts Robert Murray M’Cheyne left the Church is the Scripture Reading Guide he devised to help his own congregation in their daily reading of the Bible. Burdened by the tendency of believers to read Scripture unevenly or incompletely, M’Cheyne saw the need for a reading guide that would take Christians through the whole of Scripture in a meaningful order every year.[2] Though he died while only in his twenty-ninth year, God used the prayerful burden of a young man’s heart, and the careful diligence of a mind that sought after his Word, to birth one of the greatest revivals history has ever known. As M’Cheyne once reported, the most blissful moment in his life was the day when he saw his congregation in worship and saw that “they were praising a present God.”

The more of God’s Word we know and love, the more of God’s Spirit we will experience. In our studies and in our reading of Scripture may we find and know and praise the God who is present.

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1. Desiring God, (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2003), 127.

2. For more inforomation on M’Cheyne’s Scripture Reading guide see
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/d.haslam/mccheyne/FAQ4rmm.htm#Q1
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Version from January 7, 2005:

Upon the brief life of Robert Murray M’Cheyne are the markings of one of the great champions of the faith. His ministry of little more than seven years set its indelible imprints upon Scotland. His teaching has wrought an impression throughout the world. It is impossible to read any of his writings without walking away with sentiments of urgency. “Live for eternity,” he cried on his deathbed, “A few days more and our journey is done.” As many have observed, this was the cry of every sermon he ever preached: Behold, Christ stands at the door and knocks. When will you answer?

There was an intensity about the way M’Cheyne lived out his faith that seems sadly uncommon today. Writing to a friend in seminary, he once advised, “Do get on with your studies. Remember you are now forming the character of your future ministry…. If you acquire slovenly or sleepy habits of study now, you will never get the better of it. Do everything in earnest. Above all, keep much in the presence of God. Never see the face of man till you have seen His face who is our life, our all.”

So often it seems the great heroes of the faith remind us of the significance of study, of reading widely, of earnestly seeking to increase in faith and in knowledge. “When you come,” wrote the Apostle Paul in a letter to Timothy, “bring… my scrolls, especially the parchments” (2 Tim. 4:13). We can only guess which scrolls Paul was longing to be reunited with. Scholars argue that they were most likely copies and explanations of the Law and the Prophets, works of Jewish history, and copies of his own letters. Regardless, among the books he used and loved, Paul wanted to spend time in study. “Reading maketh a man full,” said Francis Bacon. As long as we live, we must be still learning.

Within another letter to young Timothy the apostle Paul exhorts his student to devote himself “to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim 4:13). In these lives we are reminded, there is no reading that can replace our reading of God’s Word; there is no study that is as living and active, as sharp as a double-edged sword. In his Word, we find his presence for his word and his character are intertwined. “As for God,” declared King David, “his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him” (Psalm 18:30). In our studies of the God who moved in history, we find the God who is there.

Among the wonderful gifts Robert Murray M’Cheyne left the Church is the Scripture reading guide he devised to help his own congregation in their daily reading of the Bible. Burdened by the tendency of believers to read Scripture unevenly or incompletely, the young pastor saw the need for a reading guide that would take Christians through the whole of Scripture in a meaningful order every year.(1) Though M’Cheyne died while only in his twenty-ninth year, God used the prayerful burden of a young man’s heart, and the careful diligence of a mind that sought after his Word, to birth one of the greatest revivals history has ever known.

As M’Cheyne himself once reported, the most blissful moment in his life was the day when he saw his congregation in worship and saw that “they were praising a present God.” In your reading and study this year may you find and know the God who is with you.

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1. For more information on M’Cheyne’s Scripture reading guide see: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/d.haslam/mccheyne/FAQ4rmm.htm#Q1
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