{Book Review} Memoir & Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne

The Banner of Truth has published a book called Memoir & Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne by Andrew Bonar. This book was originally published in 1844, with the Banner of Truth first publishing it in 1960 (with many reprints following that). This book is an absolute gold mine!

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Memoir & Remains of Robert Murray M’Cheyne

As the book mentions, “few books contain such variety and wealth of spiritual matter between their covers. As well as the life covering 174 pages, the work contains a good selection of letters (126 pages), sermons (203 pages), other writings (86 pages) and sacred songs (18 pages).” There is so much variety of excellent material in this book to provide a beautiful glimpse into the life and ministry of M’Cheyne! 

Layout and Content

Memoir & Remains is essentially divided into six parts (as mentioned above).

• The first section is a great memoir written by Andrew Bonar. If you want to read a biography on M’Cheyne, this is a great introduction to his life and ministry. 
• The second section provides 61 letters that M’Cheyne wrote to different people. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these letters, as they are extremely personal and provide a rich glimpse of M’Cheyne’s heart for the Lord and for Christ’s sheep. 
• The third section consists of 28 sermons that M’Cheyne wrote and preached. This was one of my favorite sections because of M’Cheyne’s amazing ability to exegete and preach the Word of God! There is so much to be learned from his preaching today. He is a brilliant exegete and very Christ-centered in his interpretation and application. 
• The fourth section is called “Specimens of his sketches of sermons”, and the fifth section “Published during his lifetime”. This is a smaller section of the book, but a truly wonderful aspect of this work. The sketches provide sermon outlines and written prayers that were prayed during the worship service, and the section on works published during his lifetime is a diverse section on different topics (i.e. reasons why children should fly to Christ; I love the Lord’s Day; Letter on communion with brethren of other denominations; etc.). 
• Lastly, there are 14 songs that M’Cheyne wrote, and these are included in the final section of the book. These songs are sure to stir the reader’s heart to worship the Lord! They are beautiful songs that ought to be sung much more often in the church today. 

M’Cheyne was perhaps one of the most gifted and passionate pastors/preachers to serve the Bride of Christ! As you read the memoir, you are sure to arrive at that conclusion. It is sad for the church that he died at such a young age (29), for he was truly a blessing to the church. His understanding of Holy Scripture was amazing, and his level of maturity at such a young age is astounding. This book is perhaps the greatest work produced on M’Cheyne! Again, it is filled with a variety of excellent works from M’Cheyne, and coupled with the memoir by Andrew Bonar, this is one of the neatest and loveliest books that I own. It is very easy to understand, and it will be a wonderful addition to any Christian’s library. I can’t recommend it highly enough! Tolle lege, take up and read! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Banner of Truth for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own. 

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