M'Cheyne as described in 'The Preachers of Scotland' by William Garden Blaikie
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Hamilton is a connecting link with another school in which the names of Robert M'Cheyne and William Burns stand pre-eminent. M'Cheyne brought into the pulpit all the reverence for Scripture of the Reformation period ; all the honour for the headship of Christ of the Covenanter period ; all the freeness of the Gospel offer of the Marrow theology ; all the bright imagery of Samuel Rutherfurd, all the delight of the Erskines in the fulness of Christ. In M'Cheyne the effect of a cultured taste was apparent in the chastened beauty and simplicity of his style, if you can call it a style—in a sense he had no style, or rather it was the perfection of style, for it was as transparent as glass. The new element he brought into the pulpit, or rather which he revived and used so much that it appeared new, was winsomeness. It was an almost feminine quality. A pity that turned many of his sermons into elegaic poems, thrilled his heart, and by the power of the Spirit imparted the thrill to many souls. How precious his example and memory have been to Scotland is shown by the continued demand for his Life and Letters. And how invaluable the evangelistic labours begun by him and his brethren, and still continued and often blessed throughout our country, no Scotch audience needs to be told.
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