Welcome to thee in the precious and worthy
name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We rejoice in that name which is above
every other name.
Thou shalt call his name Jesus, the angel
said, for he shall save his people from
their sins.
We thank thee that Christ Jesus came into
the world not to attempt to or to
try to save sinners, but he came into
the world to save sinners.
The Son of Man has come to seek
and to save that which is lost.
And today our God and Father we pray
that as thy word goes forth and as
we consider the life of this man of
God, that thou wilt visit us with thy
presence, that thou wilt speak to our hearts.
Lord, we pray that the people of God
may be challenged and convicted and blessed and
encouraged.
And those that know not the Saviour, that
thou wilt open their hearts.
Even as thou didst open the heart of
Lydia that she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul.
Father, wilt thou open hearts today to receive
with meekness the engrafted word of God which
is able even to save their souls.
So answer prayer, glorify thy name.
O may Christ Jesus be lifted up.
May no man be seen, save Jesus only.
For we ask in his worthy name.
Amen and Amen.
As has been announced for this series of
meetings, it is our purpose to consider some
of the favorite scriptures of faithful saints of
God, famous men of God of a past
day.
As you read the lives of certain of
these men of God and others, you will
discover that sometimes there was a scripture that
God used in their conversion.
Or sometimes there was a scripture which was
a particular encouragement to them in their life
and ministry.
A verse or even a series of verses
that appeared to be special to them and
a great encouragement to them.
There are those whose lives could be summed
up by a text or verse of scripture.
Some of those men, even those that we
will consider this week, some of them would
have had a number of scriptures that were
favorite scriptures for them.
It would be very difficult in some instances
to say this one only text was the
text that marked this man's life.
And such would be true, I think, of
the man that we are going to consider
today.
The Reverend Robert Murray McShane, the famous preacher
of St. Peter's Church, Dundee, Scotland.
McShane did not actually state at any time
that I am aware of that one scripture
was his favorite above all other scriptures.
As you read his sermons, as you study
his writings, you will find that there were
a number of scriptures that seem to reoccur
and seem to be special to him.
But there is one verse that I think,
above all, might be taken as a favorite
text for the Reverend Robert Murray McShane.
A text that was not only a favorite
for him, but which marked his life in
ministry.
And that is John chapter 9, verse 4.
Of course, these are the words of the
Savior Himself.
When He said, I must work the works
of Him that sent me while it is
day, the night cometh when no man can
work.
Robert Murray McShane seemed always in his life
to be thinking about his death.
It seemed to be the case, when you
read his sermons, you get a flavor of
this and you get evidence of this, that
McShane was looking toward that day when he
would stand before the throne.
When he would stand before God, even as
his own poem rightly points out, dressed in
beauty not my own.
He wrote there in that hymn concerning eternity.
This was a mark of McShane's preaching.
It was a mark of his poetry.
And as we shall see, this text, therefore,
is most appropriate as a favorite scripture of
this famous Saint of God.
The 24th of March 1843 witnessed the passing
of this, one of Scotland's finest preachers, the
Reverend Robert Murray McShane.
The godly minister of St. Peter's in the
town of Dundee, often referred to as the
Sainted or Saintly McShane, was called home to
be with Christ before reaching his 30th birthday.
Having preached as an ordained minister for only
seven and a half years in the Church
of Scotland, he nevertheless left a tremendous imprint
upon his own and also successive generations.
I think it's a powerful tribute to the
life and ministry of this man of God
that even today, more than 160 years after
his death, his sermons are still being read
and his memory is still revered, not only
in his native land, but beyond.
Now it is true that no man, however
greatly used of God, should be put on
a pedestal.
We are not worshipers of men.
We do not worship either a man or
his memory.
But it is good for us to consider
the lives of godly men of past generations
because in doing so, we may discover what
it was that made them great in a
spiritual sense and we can apply the lessons
to our own lives.
If you look at Psalm 112, verse 6,
the Scripture records that the righteous shall be
in everlasting remembrance.
We know that that is certainly in its
first application true of the Lord's remembrance of
His people.
The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance because
the Lord will always think upon His people.
But nevertheless, I think there's an application to
us that we should remember and we should
think about the righteous of past generations.
We should be challenged and motivated by their
lives and their ministries.
We also read in Proverbs 10, verse 7,
the memory of the just is blessed.
The memory of the just is blessed.
And there's much blessing, I believe, and profit
in the consideration of a life like that
of the saintly McShane.
Robert McShane was born in a place that's
often called Old Reekie and that's the city
of Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city.
He was the youngest child of the family.
He arrived on the 21st of May, 1813.
Later on in that famous city of Edinburgh,
he experienced his second birth and became a
decided and earnest Christian.
He had a very outstanding career at high
school and at university.
From earliest days, Robert McShane showed a peculiar
aptitude for learning.
For instance, at the tender age of 4,
not 14, 4, while recovering from an illness,
his chosen form of recreation was the learning
of the Greek alphabet.
His powers of intellect shone through also in
his later studies in the Divinity School of
the Church of Scotland.
At the age of 22, Robert was licensed
to preach the gospel, but he did not
receive his own charge until his settlement in
St. Peter's Church, which was a new congregation
in Dundee.
However, he did spend a profitable period of
preparation as an assistant to another famous preacher
in the Scottish Church, the Reverend John Bonner.
And this was in the parish church of
Larbert and Dunnypace, near the town of Stirling
in central Scotland.
Bonner, of course, had two famous sons who
followed him into the ministry.
Andrew, who became a very great friend of
Robert McShane and his brother, Horatius.
Both were contemporaries of McShane.
Andrew, particularly though, became his very dear friend
and after the death of Murray McShane, he
authored a famous biography known as the Memoir
and Remains of Robert Murray McShane.
And I could urge you today, if you
can get a copy of that, to purchase
one and to read it.
It will be a great blessing to your
soul.
After a relatively short period as assistant to
the Reverend John Bonner, a few months in
fact, young Robert was settled in the town
of Dundee in the new parish church of
St. Peter's.
As its first minister, he was to become
also its most famous.
But his first charge was destined to be
his last.
And yet what an indelible mark it was
to leave upon the history of both the
town and the church.
He did work the works of him that
sent him while it was day.
But the night came, the night when no
man can work.
It will come for us all.
And it came for McShane.
After only two years of ministry, his health
began to fail.
Eventually he became so ill that it was
decided to send him at one point for
a working holiday, for a vacation.
He was to accompany two other ministers of
the Church of Scotland, Andrew Bonner being one
of them, on a mission of inquiry to
the Jews of Palestine.
McShane, you see, always entertained a deep interest
in the ancient people of God during his
short ministry.
In the providence of God, a young preacher
by the name of William Chalmers Burns took
the place of the absent pastor in the
town and in the pulpit of St. Peter's
Dundee.
The foundation which McShane had already laid in
his own ministry was instrumental in the bringing
of a great revival to Dundee through the
preaching of that young man, his deputy.
That revival broke out in 1839 and remarkably
at its height there were 39 weekly prayer
meetings held in that one congregation.
Think of that, 39 prayer meetings every week.
Five of those prayer meetings being conducted by
and carried on exclusively by children.
When McShane returned from Palestine it was the
scene of a great awakening.
The revival spirit was largely present right up
until March the 25th 1843 when he was
called home to be with the Lord.
Robert had suffered somewhat from ill health throughout
his life but the immediate cause of his
death in the end was typhus fever.
Having contracted that illness he died within a
very short period of time.
But Robert Murray McShane was a most amazing
man.
He never wrote a book to my knowledge
nor did he preach much beyond the borders
of his native Scotland but his life and
short ministry left a deep imprint not only
upon his own beloved country of Scotland but
upon many other parts of the world.
His was but a brief ministry of some
seven and a half years.
But yet how powerful and how mighty through
God was the life's work of this man.
You know it's interesting to note that just
like other worthies of the Scottish Church who
had died in relative youth so McShane died
as a young man.
Andrew Gray who was the minister of the
High Kirk in Glasgow died at age 22.
Hugh Binning and Hugh McKeel at age 26.
Patrick Hamilton died as a martyr at age
24.
George Gillespie and James Durham at age 36.
So McShane received his call likewise to higher
service at a relatively young and tender age
of 29 just on the threshold of his
30th birthday.
But as Andrew Bonner has remarked in his
memoir and I've enjoyed reading it we may
notice how often the Lord has done much
work by a few years of holy labour.
McShane lived short but in another sense he
lived long because in that short time he
worked the works of him that sent him.
At the death of McShane the whole town
of Dundee and not just the town but
the whole of Scotland mourned because a veritable
prince in Israel had been taken from their
midst.
It is said that everywhere that his passing
was relayed it caused every Christian countenance to
be darkened with grief.
Perhaps never was the death of any man
felt so keenly by the saints of God
anywhere.
One whose sole occupation had been the preaching
of the gospel.
That young minister had often urged his hearers
to live in such a way as to
be missed at their departure.
That which he recommended to others was practiced
by himself.
McShane was most certainly missed when he was
gone.
His death was a great blow to the
hearts of many of the Lord's people.
On the day of his burial it is
said that the whole of Dundee came to
a standstill.
Business was suspended completely in the town such
was the esteem in which he was held.
Every street was lined with mourners and in
the windows of those homes on the procession
route people thronged to watch that sad spectacle.
It was said that many a formerly careless
person felt an awe creeping over his soul
as he witnessed that funeral cortege wend its
way to the place of burial.
If McShane had spoken by his life then
most certainly his death was a sermon to
the hearts of many.
A lot of true Christians challenged by that
event dedicated their hearts afresh to the cause
of Christ.
Hitherto careless sinners, people who had no desire
for the things of God or the Saviour
or the Gospel which spoke of him now
sought Christ in true repentance and faith.
Like Samson of old, the preacher slew many
in his death.
Speaking many years later, his great and dear
friend Andrew Bonner referred to the aura that
seemed to surround the burial place of McShane.
Bonner often visited the grave there in Dundee
to the side of the church and on
each occasion he said he found it to
be a most solemn and moving thing.
And I can testify personally having visited that
grave on many, many, many occasions that those
who go to that place today will find
it a very touching experience.
And not least because of the words that
are inscribed upon the memorial above McShane's grave.
This is what it says.
Erected by his sorrowing flock in memory of
the Reverend Robert Murray McShane, First Minister of
St. Peter's Church Dundee, who died the 25th
day of March 1843 in the 30th year
of his age and the 7th of his
ministry.
Walking closely with God, an example of believers
in word and conversation, in charity, in spirit,
in faith, in purity, he ceased not day
and night to labor and watch for souls,
and was honored by his Lord to draw
many wanderers out of darkness into the path
of life.
Underneath these words there appears the inscription, the
scripture text, them also which sleep in Jesus
will God bring with him.
I believe of Robert Murray McShane in particular
we may say with the proverb that the
memory of the just is blessed.
There are a number of things that I
could say about Robert Murray McShane.
Things that would illustrate that even this scripture
impacted his life.
McShane was always aware of the approaching night.
In fact, it is part of his history
and part of the story that McShane chose
as his own personal seal on his correspondence,
on his envelopes, on his writing paper, a
little drawing, a painting of a sun setting
behind some mountains with the words underneath the
night cometh.
And so I believe that this text is
most appropriate concerning his life and his ministry.
I must work the works of him that
sent me while it is day, the night
cometh when no man can work.
But I want us to think of a
number of things concerning the life of McShane
that are a challenge and indeed a blessing
to our hearts.
First of all, I want us to think
about the piety of McShane.
He is known as the godly or the
saintly McShane.
And I don't think anyone who considers the
life of McShane could fail to be impressed
by his godliness, by his saintly character.
He was often referred to, as we've said,
as the sainted McShane.
And, of course, true holiness does not make
its possessor any the less human.
Some people have the idea that to be
a holy man you have to have a
long face and have a sad countenance.
You have to dress in a particular way
which is fitting to someone who is in
mourning.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
And certainly there are in every generation those
who seem to think that such an appearance
is synonymous with holiness.
But that idea that you have to wear
a frown all the time and walk with
your face toward the earth and be perpetually
in mourning is both unscriptural and foolish.
It has no relation to the Scripture.
Robert Murray McShane, I tell you, enjoyed life
to the full as a Christian.
He had a number of hobbies and interests,
for example, by engaging in these he proved
that a godly man may enjoy legitimate human
pursuits, all in the right place.
For instance, Robert was a keen and accomplished
musician.
He had a beautiful singing voice.
A special gift of his was poetry.
He penned a number of outstanding pieces, some
of which have been employed, as we have
this morning, as hymns.
Once the young McShane received a prize at
school for the high standard of his poetry.
And despite an apparent physical weakness, he was
a very keen athlete.
Particularly he enjoyed gymnastics.
One of his contemporaries, Dr. Guthrie of Earl,
was one who witnessed his athletic efforts at
first hand, although with unhappy results, because Guthrie
bore testimony later to the effect that Robert's
gymnastic interest had upon him that it may
actually have hastened his death.
Because one day after breakfast at the manse
in Earl, Robert McShane spied some gymnastic poles
in the garden, in the yard outside the
window, and he felt that he really must
have a go on the bars.
So he rushed to the horizontal bar apparently,
resting on the forks of two upright poles,
and went through a strenuous series of athletic
exercises and manoeuvres.
And tauntingly, he challenged the older preacher to
do the same thing.
With reluctance, Guthrie moved toward the bars, but
suddenly just at that moment, the pole in
which McShane himself was hanging by his heels
snapped in two, and the young man fell
rather heavily to the ground.
Guthrie said later of his young friend, he
sickened, was born into the manse, lay there
for several days, and was never the same
man again.
Now that event might indeed have had more
than a little to do with his early
death.
But from his life and character it was
obvious it could be seen that Robert McShane
was a godly man.
He loved holiness, he desired always more and
more to be like Christ.
In one of his letters he said, I
often pray, Lord make me as holy as
a pardoned sinner can be made.
And what a great prayer that is.
Lord make me as holy as a pardoned
sinner can be made.
The testimony of others who knew him was
a witness to his holiness of life.
In a certain part of Dumfriesshire in southern
Scotland there lived three very ungodly young women.
It's recorded that sometime in August 1842 McShane
paid a visit to friends in that area
at which these three ungodly girls were present.
They were boisterous, they were absolutely destitute of
godliness, and evidently they were hostile to true
evangelical religion.
All three of them were really sceptical of
the gospel and they were scornful of those
who preached it.
And so after meeting the young minister from
Dundee, they decided to nickname him Perfection.
And they sought to harden their hearts against
him, but by his behaviour before them McShane
completely surprised and captivated those three girls.
It was obvious that here was a young
man who was happy, he wasn't sour and
melancholy at all.
Far from that, appearing cheery and gentlemanly, he
very quickly convinced these girls that religion was
not the galling and enslaving yoke that they'd
always supposed it to be.
That Christianity did not in reality make a
person unhappy, quite the opposite in fact.
And Robert won their affection very quickly and
they soon became delighted with his company and
they revelled in his conversation.
The three young women went about with the
preacher and they often accompanied him to the
various houses where he prayed with the people.
And on a particular day during prayer, the
one of the three who had been regarded
as the worst of the sisters, began crying
and sobbing out loud.
And after their family worship one evening, the
other two girls simultaneously burst into tears, crying
out in great concern for their souls.
Their hearts were melted because of their sin.
They saw the things of God in a
brand new light and it was said that
all three of them became decided and earnest
believers in Christ.
Won to Christ by the godly conversation of
McShane.
Long after Robert McShane had gone to be
with his Lord, those three sisters from Dumfriesshire
testified that it was his sympathetic spirit and
his pitiful look which had touched their hearts.
Robert was certainly one who shone as a
bright star in the hand of Christ.
Just as that brilliant light that shone over
the place where the Lord lay as a
babe, so McShane was a star who attracted
sinners to the Saviour.
Often as he preached it was said that
there was an almost seraphic appearance about him.
He almost looked like one with the face
of an angel.
But you know, not only was he a
holy man in the pulpit, but just as
importantly outside the pulpit as well.
I think it's an indictment of some ministers
that they're very different men outside the pulpit
to that which they are in the pulpit.
That's not a charge that could be laid
at McShane's door.
It was a living epistle of Christ everywhere
known and read of men and clear testimony
was frequently borne by others to his piety,
to his godliness.
And you know truly godly saints don't speak
about their own gifts and graces.
It always worries me when people start telling
me about their holiness.
McShane didn't sound a trumpet in front of
him and say look at me, I'm a
holy man of God.
No, the genuinely pious man will, like the
saints of Antioch, not say we are Christians,
they will be called Christians.
Others will see it.
They will have a testimony which will lead
others to believe that they have been with
Jesus.
Murray McShane made many memorable statements among these
were some pithy remarks on the subject of
holiness.
Time really is a constraint when you're dealing
with a life like McShane but the preacher
once said a holy minister is an awful
weapon in the hand of God.
And he certainly exemplified the truth of those
words.
He was indeed a saintly man.
Acquaintances saw something in McShane which they did
not see in others and that is evident
in the records of his life that have
been left us by biographers such as Andrew
Bonner.
For example, not long after McShane's passing there
was a letter discovered in his desk.
It was a letter from somebody who had
obviously received great blessing to his soul from
a sermon that he had heard from the
young man in St. Peter's Church.
The writer of that letter had come to
that church as a stranger to hear the
young minister.
But he found that he got more benefit
from the look of the preacher than from
the sermon itself.
And he talked about that in his letter.
Here's what he said.
It was not what you said nor even
how you said it but it was your
look.
It was so Christ-like.
It was the face of one shining from
being in the presence of his Lord.
Another incident would further establish the point that
I'm making.
The story's told of a woman who was
visiting the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
She happened to be staying at one of
the hotels there.
Something had happened that day that greatly irritated
her so much so that she began to
lunge forth in a tirade against all Christians.
You know how people sometimes do that.
These Christians, she said, they're just a load
of hypocrites.
Oh, I couldn't trust one Christian.
These Christians so-called, they will cheat you
whenever and wherever they can.
They're hypocrites.
Well, as she was raging there, there was
a person present who gently intervened.
Well, he inquired, have you never in your
whole life seen just one Christian?
One follower of Jesus that you believed in?
And the woman ceased her raging for a
moment and she paused and all of a
sudden she calmed right down.
And her countenance completely changed.
And in a much quieter tone than before
she replied, yes.
I saw one.
A man.
A minister in this hotel.
A tall spare man from Scotland.
He was a man of God.
I watched him and I felt that he
was a genuine Christian.
His very look did me good.
And that minister was, of course, the Reverend
Robert Murray McShane.
His life told for Jesus Christ.
I must work the works of him that
sent me while it is day.
And that work, my friend, is the good
work of living as a Christian.
As well as talking the talk, walking the
walk.
And believers everywhere, including myself, need to learn
this lesson.
It is not so much what we say
nor how we say it.
And don't get me wrong, we should speak
a word for Jesus.
But it is how we live that opens
our lips that we will be able to
speak of Christ.
Because people will feel that what we say
and what we do match up the one
to the other.
Yes, speak just a word for Jesus, ever
to him be true.
A word spoken in season.
How good is it?
But so often is it not the case
that your life closes your lips?
Your life closes your lips because the things
that you say do not match the things
that you do.
It was the firm conviction of Robert Murray
McShane that holiness of life is linked inextricably
with power in the service of Christ.
A holy minister is an awful weapon in
the hand of God.
McShane used to say, it is not great
talents that God blesses so much as great
likeness to Jesus.
And how he knew that blessing of God
in his own ministry for that very reason.
A Dr. McDonald Dr. Robert McDonald of Blair
Gallery in the North East of Scotland afterwards
of North Leith in Edinburgh affirmed, we often
lose golden opportunities by not being usable.
It sells according to the former lusts in
your ignorance, but as he which hath called
you is holy, so be ye holy in
all manner of conversation because it is written
be ye holy for I am holy.
McShane we've said was a friend of Andrew
Bonner.
Andrew Bonner was married and Mrs. Bonner said
she saw it first hand, the pious conduct
and godly character of McShane when he stayed
in their home.
She said on one occasion it was not
his matter nor his manner either that struck
me it was just the living epistle of
Christ a picture so lovely I felt I
would have given all the world to be
as he was.
The piety of McShane illustrates our text for
he lived and worked in holiness but also
the prayer life of McShane should be noted.
A truly holy man will of course be
a man of prayer always.
Robert McShane was no exception he was both
pious and prayerful.
There was a domestic servant once at the
home of Andrew Bonner in Collison Perthshire who
witnessed the man of God at prayer and
she said of her masters guest, Oh to
hear Mr. McShane at prayers in the morning
it was as if he would never give
over, he had some knuckle to ask, so
much to ask.
She said you would have thought the very
walls would speak again after he prayed.
Such was the abiding impression left upon hearts
by the supplication of this minister.
There were others who talked about it.
A number of years after his death for
instance, a minister came to visit the St.
Peter's church and the caretaker agreed to show
him around that famous kirk and as they
were walking around the church they were discussing
the late beloved pastor of Dundee, McShane and
the visitor was particularly anxious to discover the
reason for the young man's success as a
preacher.
What do you think he said to the
caretaker, is the secret of McShane's great ministry?
What was the secret of his power in
the pulpit?
The caretaker looked at the minister he said
nothing for a moment but he just conducted
the minister into the vestry now he said
kneel down by the chair the somewhat bemused
minister knelt by the chair and then in
a most solemn tone the caretaker said now
then start to weep raise your eyes to
heaven and cry to God Oh God bless
me Oh God use me Oh God I
cannot go up to yonder pulpit until I
know that I have the mighty anointing of
the spirit resting upon me and looking into
the face of that visiting preacher with tear
filled eyes the caretaker said that dear friend
is the secret of the ministry of Robert
Murray McShane he was a man of prayer
and I think what was true of McShane
should be true of all gospel ministers and
it ought to apply to all genuine Christians
we ought to be men and women of
prayer we have not because we ask not
sometimes we look at mighty Christians and eminent
saints of God and we say well they
were mighty men for God they did a
great work for the Lord but do we
ever consider what it was that made them
great of course it was God of course
they got spiritual power from the Lord but
where did they get it they got it
at the place of prayer they got that
power on their knees at the throne of
grace and Robert McShane was a great man
because he believed in the vital necessity of
prayer occasionally he would refer to his own
practice in private devotion but not in any
boastful way for instance he stated to a
friend once I feel that it's far better
to begin the day with God and to
see his face first and get my soul
near to him before it is near another
speaking to a student for the ministry one
day he said 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 and our all and
that was of course his own practice throughout
life he felt a compulsion to serve God
in prayer I must work the works of
him that sent me while it is day
one of those works is the work of
prayer for prayer is work, prayer is labor
you are never so full of effort and
activity as when you are on your knees
before God seeking his power Robert McShane kept
notebooks for his private prayer he had a
systematic method in bringing matters before the Lord
on his knees for instance in one of
those notebooks he drew four circles and he
filled them with matters for prayer, there was
a small circle that contained the name of
his family and kinfolk and then the names
of his friends and then in a wider
circle there came his own congregation and in
that particular circle there were no fewer than
eleven separate classes into which names were divided
for example he would pray for the careless
and then the ones that he felt were
anxious and then those that were recently converted
and he would pause over each one, he
would remember each one personally and pray fervently
to God for them, then in the fourth
circle apparently it had many places listed within
it, first his own beloved parish of Dundee
then moving out to the other towns and
cities of Scotland and then further afield to
the missionaries of the world and the lands
where they were laboring he was diligent in
the place of prayer and I ask myself
this just as I ask it of you
can we only give seconds to the matter
of prayer and expect to know the power
of God on our lives that McShane knew
one of his last recorded prayers in public
was uttered while he was delirious, he had
contracted typhus fever, he was a dying man
at the time and imagining that he was
in his beloved pulpit he would sometimes be
heard on his bed preaching and calling on
sinners to repent, at other times he would
engage in prayer and this particular petition that
was heard concerned the land of Scotland and
the town of Dundee that he especially loved
and he cried out, this place Lord, this
people, this parish even in the throes of
death he was found in prayer we've talked
of his piety, we've talked of his prayer
life I must work the works of him
that sent me while it is day, the
night cometh when no man can work certainly
that applied mostly and particularly to the preaching
of McShane, what a preacher he was the
printed sermons of McShane reveal something of the
heart of the preacher and I love to
read those sermons like the basket of fragments
like the remains, the sermons that were left
behind, he never actually issued a published sermon
himself and he didn't ever write a book
except for one or two small pieces such
as a little message called reasons why the
young should flee to Christ where he shows
a great burden for children and young people
but his sermons were taken down by others
in shorthand and even in perusing those sermons
that have been produced from that, one senses
just how powerful they must have been in
their original preaching because even in their present
form they breathe life and power they're of
such a quality as when you read them
they make you wish that you had the
privilege of hearing McShane in the flesh, what
a preacher he must have been but there's
one feature I think that stands out pre
-eminently in the public ministry of McShane and
that was it was full of Christ the
preaching that sounded forth from Saint Peter's pulpit
was permeated with one subject, Jesus Christ and
him crucified he relished the task of proclaiming
the finished work of Christ that there is
a saviour from all sin just like the
prince of English preacher C.H. Spurgeon it
was said that McShane seemed especially to excel
at the seasons of communion, he was always
at his best at the Lord's table as
he discoursed upon the sufferings of the saviour
and of course his love for that feast
could be seen by his desire to break
away from the normal practice of reformed churches
in Scotland in relation to communion seasons, it
was usual in such churches to hold the
Lord's supper only twice per year but to
keep the feast so infrequently seemed wrong to
McShane and so in his own congregation he
broke with tradition and he changed the times
to once a quarter or four times per
year when they would have an entire season
given over to the Lord's table and as
was normal practice and still is in many
churches in Scotland the congregation spent a week
in preparation for communion, holding services each day
and the services would commence on a Thursday
continuing on Friday and Saturday, the high day
was the Sabbath, the day of the feast
itself and then the communion season would conclude
with a day of thanksgiving and praise on
the Monday McShane took great delight in preaching
the word and a deep spirituality of thought
is evident in his sermons a lot of
his sermons were based incidentally upon the Old
Testament quite rightly he believed that there was
much typical teaching to be found in it,
it was full of Christ and he preached
Christ and he was ready to preach Christ
as well not only to the multitudes he
was not one of these preachers who would
refuse an engagement if he thought there was
going to be less than 100 people there
he was just as happy preaching to the
small rural flocks as he was to the
large crowds in the cities, that's a testimony
to his humility, he never showed any concern
about numbers but was ever prepared to travel
far to visit and to comfort even one
soul he loved to preach the gospel his
sermons apparently were well prepared not for him,
the practice of standing before a congregation just
to say the first thing that came into
his head he prepared for his pope administrations
carefully and part of that preparation involved the
visiting of the dying on Saturdays, that might
seem strange to you, but he felt that
he wanted his heart to be touched by
what he saw in his visitation, so that
he would be in a serious frame for
his sabbath work, and he used to go
to see the sick and dying of a
Saturday so that he could, in his own
words, look over the edge into eternity for
him that was ideal preparation for preaching the
gospel in a serious way his preaching was
not dry or doctrinaire either, it wasn't boring
it was down to earth it was practical,
but it was full of solid meat and
sound doctrine, and he employed simple illustrations and
useful anecdotes, and I believe that's the mark
of a great preacher that his preaching is
at the same time simple and profound.
A lot of the work in St Peter's
church and I'm cutting out a lot of
things that I would like to say but
much of the work that went on in
his congregation was done by members of the
congregation and I think that that is a
challenge to us this was an active church,
it was not as many would accuse our
churches today of being it was not a
church where there was a one man ministry,
I don't think there's such a thing.
It was a beehive of industry but McShane
was the minister and he led his people,
he was not an armchair general he led
from the front and the people followed him
for instance, in addition to his elders, the
minister established a large staff of tract distributors
who met regularly for the reading of God's
word and for prayer as well as for
giving out the word there was a lot
of work done among the young people in
Dundee.
McShane had a high regard for the Sabbath
school and for the youth work he loved
boys and girls and they in turn responded
well to him.
He was a great believer in the principle
that the minister should, like a general with
his troops lead from the front and so
he took a personal interest in all the
work of the church including the children's work
even himself speaking often to the assembled Sabbath
school and every week he held an evening
class for the young people of his congregation.
Oh he was one who believed I must
work the works of him that sent me
while it is day the night cometh when
no man can work that was a thought
that was before him all of the time
that he needed to number his days that
he might apply his heart unto wisdom and
oh what a preacher McShane was for eternity.
On one occasion he said to his congregation,
oh brethren it is a wonder I can
stand here and look upon you sitting there
with dry eyes bethink yourselves in time are
you still content to remain children of wrath
enemies of God and heirs of hell oh
that my head were waters and mine eyes
a fountain of tears that I might weep
day and night for the slain of the
daughters of my people.
Oh McShane was a thorough going Calvinist he
was a man who believed in the doctrines
of grace but he believed in Calvinism on
fire he believed in pleading with men to
come to Christ and sinners were saved in
their multitudes under his faithful and pointed preaching.
He said on one occasion imploring his hearers
to get right with God I sometimes feel
brethren that I would willingly lie down beneath
this sod in this church yard and be
forgotten and trampled on if only you were
friends of Christ it wasn't too long after
that that he was beneath this sod in
that very church yard but he wasn't forgotten
and he wasn't trampled upon and many who
heard him were made friends of Christ it
was interesting the last two sermons that he
preached they were unfamiliar themes for him his
morning message that final sabbath in St. Peter's
was based on Hebrews 9 verses 12 and
13 dealing with the work of Christ the
one whose blood is greater blood than that
of bulls and of goats the sabbath afternoon
sermon being taken up with the words of
Romans chapter 9 and verse 22 and I'll
read that for you just now Romans 9
and verse 22 what if God willing to
show his wrath and to make his power
known endured with much long suffering the vessels
of wrath fitted to destruction oh he was
a man who pleaded with men and that
very day it was said as he had
done on many former occasions he urged his
unregenerate hearers to trust in the Saviour telling
them of their need of Christ you know
McShane's ministry was a very brief one but
it was no less powerful for that because
there's many a minister that's continued preaching for
maybe 40 or 50 years but he's never
experienced the power nor seen the results that
this man did in a relatively short period
of 7 and a half years you see
men and women it's not the quantity of
time that we serve that really counts it's
the quality of that service and that's a
lesson that we do well to learn if
I had time I could talk to you
about the poetry of McShane when we read
this text that sums up his life it
reminds me of one of his poems when
it says there the night cometh when no
man can work he wrote a poem called
the time is short the time is short
the season near when death will us remove
to leave our friends however dear and all
we fondly love the time is short sinners
beware nor trifle time away the word of
great salvation here while it is called today
the time is short ye rebels now to
Christ the Lord submit to mercy's golden scepter
bow and fall at Jesus feet the time
is short ye saints rejoice the Lord will
quickly come soon shall ye hear the bridegroom's
voice to call your spirits home the time
is short it swiftly flies the hour is
just at hand when we shall mount above
the skies and reach Emmanuel's land in all
of his writing you will find that he
entertained the thought that he was not going
to be long for this old world I
think he lived with eternity's values in view
when this passing world is done when is
sunk yon glaring sun when we stand with
Christ in glory looking o'er life's finished
story then Lord shall I fully know not
till then how much I owe there are
actually nine stanzas in that hymn of which
we don't sing but maybe four or five
normally I could talk today about the passion
of McShane oh how he wanted to work
the works of him that had sent him
while it was day I only learned when
I was studying his life afresh that he
actually wanted to be a missionary on the
foreign field it was not the will of
God but he loved missions particularly Jewish missions
at one time he referred to the inclination
to missions when he said I am now
made willing of God shall open the way
to go to India here am I send
me that was not to be the case
however the Lord had other work for his
servant to do but nevertheless he had a
true missionary spirit throughout his entire life realizing
the mission field was not the place he
did say on one occasion I think of
the souls in Burma but are there not
souls around and about me here that need
Christ and that's the spirit that we all
must entertain if you cannot cross the ocean
or the heathen lands explore you can find
the heathen nearer you can reach them at
your door what a preacher McShane was he
was one who thought so much about Christ
and spoke so often about him that the
Christ like image became gradually his that passion
for Jesus was the great secret of all
his devotion speaking of morning prayer on one
occasion he said who would not rise early
to meet such company he loved the Lord
and he loved the souls of men how
he desired to save souls he said on
one occasion remarking on the work of gospel
ministers our object is not to get duty
done but to get souls saved that was
his work I must work the work of
him that sent me while it is called
today I can't close without telling you how
that he was always on the lookout for
opportunities to speak a word for his saviour
and one particular story illustrates that one day
he was out walking in Dundee when he
happened to pass by a blacksmith shop and
the blacksmith was working at the furnace blowing
with the bellows to get the furnace going
and he opened the door of the furnace
to feed it with fresh fuel as well
and McShane stopped and paused for a moment
there in the blacksmith shop and said to
the man in his own mild way does
that blazing fire remind you of anything and
then he just turned said nothing more and
went on his way the blacksmith had hitherto
been a very careless and heedless man about
his soul and his eternal destiny but now
he was compelled strangely to consider these things
and for quite some time thereafter he was
unable to shake off this solemn and searching
question does this fire remind you of anything
and he could obtain no rest nor peace
until he made his way to the St
Peter's Church and there he was converted to
Christ at a subsequent date the blacksmith became
a member of the congregation in Dundee, a
simple word in season had been used to
bring a soul to Christ even after his
death souls were brought to Christ through his
ministry there was a minister of the Church
of England, a canon in the city of
Liverpool who came to know the Saviour through
reading that book, the memoir and remains of
Robert Murray McShane he actually had passed by
a bookstore one day when he spied a
copy of the memoir in the window he
decided he must have it, made the purchase
and as a direct result of reading the
life and work of this departed man of
God he became a follower of Christ, he
being dead yet speaketh we've talked here about
McShane and various things about his life but
I think that I must say before we
finish that when McShane was gone he was
sadly missed and that should be a challenge
to all of us, the night came for
him the night cometh when no man can
work and I say to you this morning
as a Christian the night will come for
you the day will come and this could
be the last day we don't know that
when our service for the Lord on this
earth will be over how are we living?
are we living with eternity's values in view?
again I speak to those that are not
saved and I say to you the night
cometh the night cometh when you will no
longer hear the gospel, when you no longer
will be challenged concerning your need of a
saviour the Bible says now is the accepted
time now, not next week not next month,
not next year, not some other time, now
is the day of salvation, seek ye the
Lord while he may be found call ye
upon him while he is near McShane once
said another pastor one day shall feed this
flock another singer shall lead the psalm, another
flock shall fill this fold and how true
that was and how true it is but
today we ourselves need to take stock we
need to take note of what the Bible
tells us that the night cometh when no
man can work I love McShane I have
to say of all the men that I
will preach about this week he is my
favourite I spent ten years ministering in Scotland
on the other side of Scotland in Glasgow
but everyone that used to come visit me
I didn't need much of an excuse to
drive the eighty miles or so up to
Dundee to go to St. Peter's Church and
I've had the joy a number of times
of standing in that pulpit the very one
where McShane preached which is now in the
basement of that church and thought often times
about that man of God and the messages
that he preached and the souls that were
saved and I pray that the Lord would
make me even to some degree and measure
a McShane for his glory I must work
the works of him that sent me while
it is day the night cometh when no
man can work may this be a challenge
to all of our souls for his name's
sake Amen