Robert Murray M'Cheyne - Bonar - II - Chapter 1 concluded

Required reading 
Robert Murray M'Cheyne by Andrew Bonar (Available from Amazon or free here) -  Conclude Chapter 1 (His youth and preparation for the ministry).

My summary
We continue to read excerpts from M'Cheyne's diary interspersed with Bonar's comments.

Today we observe M'Cheyne's growth in understanding of Christianity and his own sinfulness.  Bonar sums this period up for us with: 'During the four years that followed his awakening, he was oftentimes under the many waters, but was ever raised again by the same divine hand that had drawn him out at the first; till at length, though still often violently tossed, the vessel was able steadily to keep the summit of the wave. It appears that he learned the way of salvation experimentally, ere he knew it accurately by theory and system; and thus no doubt it was that his whole ministry was little else than a giving out of his own inward life.'

What grabbed me
Loved his advice to students: '"Do get on with your studies," he wrote to a young student in 1840. "Remember you are now forming the character of your future ministry in great measure, if God spare you. If you acquire slovenly or sleepy habits of study now, you will never get the better of it. Do everything in its own time. Do everything in earnest; if it is worth doing, then do it with all your might. 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, our all. Pray for others; pray for your teachers, fellow-students," etc. To another he wrote: "Beware of the atmosphere of the classics. It is pernicious indeed; and you need much of the south wind breathing over the Scriptures to counteract it. True, we ought to know them; but only as chemists handle poisons--to discover their qualities, not to infect their blood with them." And again: "Pray that the Holy Spirit would not only make you a believing and holy lad, but make you wise in your studies also. A ray of divine light in the soul sometimes clears up a mathematical problem wonderfully. The smile of God calms the spirit, and the left hand of Jesus holds up the fainting head, and his Holy Spirit quickens the affection, so that even natural studies go on a million times more easily and comfortably."'

Particularly good to heed his warning about the classics - you need to know them, but you also need to remember that they are poison.

Next week's reading
Read Chapter 2 (His labours in the vineyard before ordination).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.