Robert Murray McCheyne

McCHEYNE, Robert Murray. b. Edinburgh, 21 May 1813; d. Dundee, 25 March 1843. An outstanding but short-lived minister of the Church of Scotland, McCheyne was the son of a Writer to the Signet (a Scottish lawyer). He was educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh, where he enjoyed what his biographer called ‘the refined gaieties of society’, and ‘such pleasures as the song and the dance could yield’ (Bonar, 1892 edition, p. 4). He entered Edinburgh University (1827) and the Divinity Hall (1831), where he studied under the great Thomas Chalmers. The death of his eldest brother in 1831 had a profound effect upon him, encouraging his seriousness and dedication. He was licensed to preach by...