Pastoral Letters of McCheyne - Publisher's Foreword

To the best of my knowledge this little book is unique in at least two ways. First of all, this is the first time that Mr. McCheyne’s Pastoral Letters have been printed separately from his other works. And secondly, this is the first time that the letters in their original form have been available to the public. The Pastoral Letters which have formed part of the Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray McCheyne since it was first published in 1844 were, according to its author, Andrew A. Bonar, somewhat revised by Mr. McCheyne for publication; whereas the letters in the present volume are reproduced as they were originally written by him and read by his congregation, to whom they were addressed.

This is sample material from the book Pastoral Letters

I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my thanks to the Free Church of Scotland College, Edinburgh, for their kindness in providing me with typed copies of the original letters from their archives.

The letters as printed here are complete and un--abridged. Some minor editing has, of necessity, taken place, but I stress that this has been minimal, and only with the view of bringing the text to be more in keeping with modern punctuation, spelling and usage. As this work is being published in the United States of America, I have endeavored to follow American English spelling throughout, except when the author was either quoting from or paraphrasing the Scriptures—both of which he did frequently. All pronouns and other words obviously referring to Deity have been capitalized, including quotations from the Bible (which are are all from the King James Version).

It is greatly hoped that the publication of this small volume will bring these letters the attention they deserve from the Christian public, and that they will create a revived interest in the saintly McCheyne.

Edward Cook
Kingsley Press
February, 2003