He died young but left behind the most important kind of legacy.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is December 27, 2024 and this episode of Scripture for Students is about Robert Murray M’Cheyne and His Bible Reading Plan.
The other day I was scanning my bookshelves, thinking about what I would read in 2025. I noticed my copy of Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton the other day, and I wondered for a moment if I should reread the book in the coming year. Then, it suddenly dawned on me that I am almost exactly the age that Hamilton was when he was struck and killed by Aaron Burr’s bullet.
I’m intrigued by Hamilton. He was not a Christian, not a good guy at all. But by worldly standards, he made phenomenal accomplishments in a relatively short life. By the time he died, he had already served as an army officer during the Revolutionary War and acted as an advisor to the new president, George Washington. He was the first Secretary of the Treasury and created a national banking system for the young country. He was a leader in the movement to abolish slavery.
It is staggering to think that he accomplished so much when he was not yet 50; what if he had lived another 30 years? What else could he have accomplished?
Sometimes we apply this thought experiment to other people who died at a young age: a politician, an athlete, or a musician. We think: this person left such a legacy; what if he or she had time to do even more?
If that is true of someone like Alexander Hamilton, who was not a Christian, how much more do we wonder about a Christian whose life was cut short in his or her prime; a person—unlike Hamilton—who pursues godliness with Christian character and conviction?
You may not know the name Robert Murray M’Cheyne. He is one of those people who died young but had an outsized effect in a short period of time. M’Cheyne wasn’t a politician or an author or an athlete. He was a Christian and a pastor and he died at age 29. In less than 30 years, he was best known among his contemporaries and to history for an incredible legacy of godliness.
Of all the things you could do in life, what if godliness was what you are known for?
Who was Robert Murray M’Cheyne? M’Cheyne was born in May, 1813, so he was just a little bit younger than Abraham Lincoln. But M’Cheyne didn’t live long enough to read about the American Civil War. He died in March 1843. If you’re doing the math, you will recognize that he died about two months before he turned 30.
In his rather short life, he earned a reputation for serious godliness but he didn’t start that way. He was a standout student at the University of Edinburgh but at that time was known for his worldliness. He was shaken from his ungodliness at the age of 18, when his oldest brother, David, died. Robert observed the peace in his brother’s soul as he passed from this life and it awoke in him a hunger to know and follow Jesus. Soon after, he resolved to devote himself to the work of the Lord.
M’Cheyne went to seminary and was only in ministry for 7 years before he died. In life, he was a passionate preacher, an eager evangelist, and a faithful friend.
The best way I can introduce him to you is through a quotation. I first met Robert Murray M’Cheyne through a quotation that I have heard CJ Mahaney share many times. CJ loves to say this, “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.” The idea behind this quotation is that as we focus our attentions and affections on Jesus Christ, our delight in him will grow in ways that make sin become less and less appealing and less and less powerful. In the same letter, M’Cheyne wrote,
Let your soul be filled with a heart-ravishing sense of the sweetness and excellency of Christ and all that is in Him. Let the Holy Spirit fill every chamber of your heart; and so there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh.
Do you follow what M’Cheyne is saying here? He is urging us to learn to recognize the excellency of Jesus Christ and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As we do, there will be no room for folly, or the world, or Satan, or the flesh.
But how does one grow in love for Jesus Christ and in being filled with the Holy Spirit? There were a lot of influences that God used to shape M’Cheyne and if you would like to read more about his life and ministry, I’ll include a link in the episode notes to a talk that John Piper gave on him.
It seems clear that one of the most significant transformational powers in M’Cheyne’s life was the daily reading of God’s word. M’Cheyne loved God’s word. He might be best known today for his Bible reading plan. He developed a simple plan for reading through the Bible in a year. In a letter to a friend, he wrote, “I love the word of God, and find it the sweetest nourishment to my soul.” He also said that he read his Bible, “with the view of giving the eye the habit of looking upward all the day, and drawing down gleams from the reconciled countenance.” That’s a great way to think about morning devotions. We read our Bibles each morning to train ourselves to look up to the Lord, and to bring down from him constant reminders of his smiling face.
John Piper describes M’Cheyne’s daily habit of Bible reading:
…all of McCheyne’s scheduled disciplines aimed at fixing the habit in his heart of living in constant communion with Christ. He had formed the habit of rising early to read the Scriptures and pray, and he tried to maintain this to the end of his life. He loved to meet Jesus early. He journaled, ‘Rose early to seek God and found him whom my soul loveth. Who would not rise early to meet such company?’ He wrote to a student, ‘Never see the face of man till you have seen his face who is our life, our all.’ Or in another place, he said, ‘I cannot begin my work for I have not seen the face of God’.
I think every true Christian wants to feel this kind of desire to know and follow Jesus Christ. But not every Christian is able to trace the line back from passion for Jesus to regular Bible reading. M’Cheyne came to have such a reputation for deep godliness and such a rich desire to know and follow Jesus because he feasted so often on the bread of God’s Word.
Let’s talk about his Bible reading plan and how it will help us to follow in his footsteps to grow in godliness ourselves.
M’Cheyne’s plan is usually listed in four columns. If you read the chapters listed in the first three columns, you will read through the entire Bible once in the year. That’s only three chapters most days and would take most people maybe 10–15 minutes to read. If you add in the fourth column, you will get another pass through Psalms and the New Testament. That’s a great option, too, and if you have the time and the inclination, go for it!
If you are using the ESV Bible app on your phone, it is very easy to find your way to the assigned readings for the day. There are also some great printable bookmarks available so you can mark your spot in a physical Bible. Or, you will find the plan in D. A. Carson’s book, For the Love of God. I will include links to resources like this in the episode notes.
Reading through the Bible in a year is a big undertaking. If you’ve never done it before, I’m really excited for you. And I’m here to help you. I want to help you stay on track with this in 2025, in this Scripture for Students podcast, I’m going to provide daily encouragement and help along the way. I’m going to pick at least one passage from our daily reading to meditate on together. I particularly want to help you think about biblical theology: recognizing how each day’s chapters fit into the big picture storyline of God’s plan of redemption that runs throughout the Scriptures.
We’ve got a wonderful year ahead of us and whether it is your first or your 27th time reading through the Bible, I know the Lord will meet you and help you through his word.
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!