In Heavenly Places

Self Hidden in Christ, August 16

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. Psalm 34:2. HP 235.1

Dr. John Cheyne, while he rose to a high point in his profession, did not forget his obligations to God. He once wrote to a friend, “You may wish to know the condition of my mind. I am humbled in the dust by the thought that there is not one action of my busy life which will bear the eye of a holy God. But when I reflect on the invitation of the Redeemer, ‘Come unto me,’ and that I have accepted this invitation; and, moreover, that my conscience testifies that I earnestly desire to have my will in all things conformed to the will of God, I have peace; I have the promised rest, promised by Him in whom was found no guile.” HP 235.2

Before his death this eminent physician ordered a column to be erected near the spot where his body was to lie, on which were to be inscribed these texts, as voices from eternity: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). HP 235.3

And while Dr. Cheyne thus strove, even from the tomb, to beckon sinners to the Saviour and to glory, he concealed his own name, withholding it from the column entirely. He was not less careful to say, as speaking to the passer-by, “The name and profession and age of him whose body lies beneath are of little consequence, but it may be of great importance to you to know that by the grace of God he was brought to look to the Lord Jesus as the only Saviour of sinners, and that this looking unto Jesus gave peace to his soul.” “Pray to God, pray to God,” it says, “that you may be instructed in the gospel; and be assured that God will give the Holy Spirit, the only teacher of true wisdom, to them that ask Him.” HP 235.4

This memorial was designed to turn the attention of all to God, and cause them to lose sight of the man. This man brought no reproach upon the cause of Christ.^{27Medical Ministry, 51, 52.} HP 235.5