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Robert Murray M'Cheyne
Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813–1843). Born on May 21, 1813, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert Murray M’Cheyne was a Scottish Presbyterian minister known for his fervent piety and preaching. The youngest of five, he excelled at Edinburgh University, studying classics and divinity, and was licensed to preach in 1835. Ordained in 1836, he served St. Peter’s Church in Dundee, where his passionate sermons and pastoral care revived a spiritually dormant congregation. A close friend of Andrew Bonar, he co-authored a report on Jewish missions in Palestine in 1839, fueling missionary zeal. M’Cheyne’s frail health led to breaks, but he spearheaded a revival in Dundee during 1839–1840, preaching alongside William Burns. He emphasized daily Bible reading, creating a plan still used today, and wrote hymns like “Jehovah Tsidkenu.” Unmarried, he died of typhus on March 25, 1843, at age 29, mourned widely for his holiness. He said, “A man is what he is on his knees before God, and nothing more.”
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Robert Murray M'Cheyne emphasizes the profound significance of the name 'Jehovah Tsidkenu,' meaning 'The Lord Our Righteousness.' He reflects on his past ignorance of grace and the weight of sin, illustrating how the realization of Christ's sacrifice transformed his understanding and provided him with refuge and safety. M'Cheyne expresses that through faith in Jehovah Tsidkenu, he finds strength, hope, and assurance, even in the face of death. The sermon serves as a reminder of the importance of recognizing Christ as our righteousness and the source of our salvation.
Jehovah Tsidekenu
"THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (The watchword of the Reformers.) I once was a stranger to grace and to God, I knew not my danger, and felt not my load; Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree, Jehovah Tsidkenu was nothing to me. I oft read with pleasure, to sooth or engage, Isaiah's wild measure and John's simple page; But e'en when they pictured the blood-sprinkled tree Jehovah Tsidkenu seem'd nothing to me. Like tears from the daughters of Zion that roll, I wept when the waters went over His soul; Yet thought not that my sins had nail'd to the tree Jehovah Tsidkenu - 'twas nothing to me. When free grace awoke me, by light from on high, Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die; No refuge, no safety in self could I see, - Jehovah Tsidkenu my Saviour must be. My terrors all vanished before the sweet name; My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came To drink at the fountain, life-giving and free, - Jehovah Tsidkenu is all things to me. Jehovah Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast, Jehovah Tsidkenu! I ne'er can be lost; In thee I shall conquer by flood and by field, My cable, my anchor, my breast-plate and shield! Even treading the valley, the shadow of death, This "watchword" shall rally my faltering breath; For while from life's fever my God sets me free, Jehovah Tsidkenu, my death song shall be. November 18, 1884.
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Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813–1843). Born on May 21, 1813, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert Murray M’Cheyne was a Scottish Presbyterian minister known for his fervent piety and preaching. The youngest of five, he excelled at Edinburgh University, studying classics and divinity, and was licensed to preach in 1835. Ordained in 1836, he served St. Peter’s Church in Dundee, where his passionate sermons and pastoral care revived a spiritually dormant congregation. A close friend of Andrew Bonar, he co-authored a report on Jewish missions in Palestine in 1839, fueling missionary zeal. M’Cheyne’s frail health led to breaks, but he spearheaded a revival in Dundee during 1839–1840, preaching alongside William Burns. He emphasized daily Bible reading, creating a plan still used today, and wrote hymns like “Jehovah Tsidkenu.” Unmarried, he died of typhus on March 25, 1843, at age 29, mourned widely for his holiness. He said, “A man is what he is on his knees before God, and nothing more.”