“One look of that pale, suffering face
Will make us feel the deep disgrace
Of weakness.”
“On the 2nd October, 1792, therefore, twelve men met one evening in the house of Mrs. Wallis at Kettering. In that back parlor a resolution was agreed to that must have astonished all who thought upon its importance. The twelve men then present constituted themselves into a Missionary Society, for the purpose of carrying the gospel to the natives of India. A committee of five was appointed. These five were: William Carey, John Sutcliff, John Ryland, Andrew Fuller, secretary, and Reynold Hogg, treasurer. At the meeting a collection was made; the first for that purpose since the days of the apostles. £13 2s. 6d. was then contributed, to which £70 was afterward added from friends in Birmingham. Carey invited the attention of the Society to a Mr. Thomas who, having lived as a surgeon in India, now desired to return thither as a missionary to the Hindoos.
On the 9th of January, 1793, a meeting of the committee was held at Kettering. It was then resolved to unite with Thomas, who should be sent, with some companion, at the expense of the Society.
“I hope you realize the importance of the work we have undertaken,” said Andrew Fuller. “When I think of the swarming millions of India I am astonished at the vastness of the work committed to us, and at the wonderful fruitfulness that will result when India is won for Christ.”
“It will be won for Christ, brother,” said Carey, “and perhaps more speedily than you imagine.”
“There is a deep gold mine in India,” said Fuller. “A wondrous mine! as deep, it seems to me, as the center of the earth. When will it be seen to be Immanuel’s, to whom by right it belongs? A dark, dark shaft! Who will venture down to obtain the gold for Christ? Who will explore the mine?”
“I will venture,” said Carey instantly. “Weak as I am, I will go in His strength. But, Fuller, Ryland, and Sutcliff, if I go down the mine, I hope that you will hold the ropes.”
“Yes, that will I do, with all my heart,” said Fuller. “Trust me to hold with all my strength.”
“That will I also do” said Ryland. “As God shall give me strength, I will never lose hold of the rope.”
“Neither will I,” affirmed Sutcliff.” Carey, we will hold the rope if you will venture down.”
“Yes,” said Fuller,” we will give you each our hands upon it in the sight of God. As long as we shall live we covenant with you to sustain this enterprise with all our ability.”
“I will go then,” said Carey.” I seek not mine own ends. To be devoted as a sacrifice, for holy uses, is my purpose. I give all I have, or may have, to this purpose. In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
As the company still stood in solemn silence, Thomas unexpectedly entered the room. Carey went to him, and fell upon his neck.
“Brother Thomas! welcome a thousand times!” he said. “By God’s grace, I will go with you in this work.”
“Thank God!” exclaimed Thomas. “My dear comrade, I rejoice over you.” And the two men wept together.
But the congregation at Leicester over which Carey w as minister was at first reluctant to relinquish their pastor. At length, by the united entreaties of Carey, Fuller, and Sutcliff they yielded; and, with tears of deep feeling, the assembly stood up and raised their right hands to heaven as they agreed to the resolution, which was proposed by a venerable man, whose voice trembled as he read: “That since our beloved pastor, William Carey, bath been moved by the Holy Ghost to a sincere love to the heathen, and seeing that he hath resolved to leave home and all things to preach among them the unsearchable riches of Christ, we agree to surrender him to this work. We deeply feel his loss, and pray our God to make him abundantly useful to the thousands of India among whom his lot will be cast.”
With tears streaming down his cheeks, Carey stood up and replied: “Beloved friends, it rends my heart to part from you. It is like tearing myself away from a beloved family. But I dare not stay; I am thrust forth of God. Pray for me that I may be privileged to succeed in this work that I have undertaken.”
On the 20th of March the farewell services were held in Leicester. Andrew Fuller addressed the departing missionaries from the Savior’s royal words, “Peace unto you; as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.”
The stern face lit up with seraphic tenderness and burned with ardent affection as he said: “Peace! Yes, peace! in a world at strife. As if He had said, All is well with regard to the past, and all shall be well with regard to the future. Oh, the unutterable peace that flows like a river for all who love God. In the strength of this peace, go, my brethren, to the work of Christ. Go, my brethren; crowns of glory await you and us. You far over the sea, and we in England will each do the work of God in the preaching of the gospel. Each, I trust, will hear the Savior say to us at the great day of the Lord, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared from before the foundation of the world. These My brethren were hungry and ye fed them, these were athirst and ye gave them drink, they were in prison and ye visited them. Enter, O beloved, into the joy of the Lord!” Amen and amen!”
Mrs. Carey was at first very averse to her husband’s going to India. “If you will go, William,” she said, “you must go alone. I will never consent to such a journey. I cannot cross the seas. Why not let unmarried men go?”
“Then I will only take my eldest boy Felix with me,” replied her husband. “It will break my heart to see my family scattered; but I dare not refuse to go where God bids me.”
Accordingly he started alone, but a few days after he returned to his home.
“What! have you given up your foolish ideas?” asked Dorothy.
“No; but after we were on board ship someone sent an anonymous letter to the captain, telling him that there were persons on his ship who had no authority to enter India. The writer threatened that if these persons were allowed to go on, that a complaint would be made to the East India Company, who govern India. So we were landed; but, alas! only part of our passage money has been returned.”
“Now I hope that you will stop at home, and not go wandering away from your family upon such foolish fancies. Convert the heathen indeed! What business is it of yours? What good will it do you, I should like to know?”
“Indeed I cannot relinquish my purpose,” said William. “Thomas and I are going on in a Danish ship. Here is Thomas himself; he hopes to persuade you to go with us.”
“A likely story indeed! I am not fond of such foolish enterprises.”
“But, my dear Mrs. Carey, your husband will go,” said Thomas. “The journey is not a very long one. Only five months’ sea-voyage. Do consider how it will rend your husband’s heart if you stay behind.”
“But why should he go? There was my brother, as good a man as ever trod upon shoe leather, but he never had such fancies in his head. There are lots of people who get along very comfortably together, and never vex themselves about such wild fancies. No; I won’t go. William knows that I won’t.”
“Do, I entreat of you, consider that, if you will go, you will keep your family together. If you stay at home, what would you feel if your husband died in India? Think of him, perhaps, sick among strangers.”
“I don’t want him to go among strangers. Let us go back to Northampton.”
“But, Mrs. Carey”—
“Don’t Mrs. Carey me! I won’t go; no, that won’t! So there, now!”
“Then, Mrs. Carey, you will repent of your resolution as long as you live.”
“If I thought that”—
“Depend upon it, you will.”
“Well, can my sister go with us?”
“Willingly!” said William Carey.
“Then I’ll go. Not that I like it; understand me to say that plainly. But I shouldn’t like to repent; no, I shouldn’t.”
“Thank God,” said Carey. “Come, let us see about starting.”
He sold all his goods, and they left home. Upon their arrival in London, Carey called upon the venerable John Newton.
“What am I to do, Mr. Newton,” he inquired, “if the East India Company refuse to permit me to enter India?”
“If God intends you to go there, a thousand East India Companies could not prevent you doing so. But if you cannot get the door open, you will know who has barred it. Ah, Mrs. Carey,” he said, during Carey’s absence from the room,” what a wonderful man your husband is! I look up to such a man with reverence. He is more to me than bishop or archbishop. HE IS AN APOSTLE! May the Lord make all who undertake missions like-minded with Mr. Carey.”
On the 13th June, 1793, the missionaries left Dover. The vessel in which they sailed was called the Kron Princessa Maria, and flew the Danish flag.
During the voyage, which did not terminate until November 7th (when the ship reached Calcutta), Carey busied himself, under Thomas’s tuition, in acquiring the Bengali tongue.
“Ah, Thomas, we have but made a beginning,” he said. “Why not Africa, as well as India? South America and the islands near are not so very far distant but that they might be reached by missionaries.
China, too, in time might, I think, be attempted. Oh, what a field is open before us, and how few laborers there are willing to go!”
“Alas! that is so,” replied Thomas;” and how unfit we are for the enterprise!”
“If we only prepare the way for other laborers, we shall not work quite in vain,” said Carey.” It takes more than one lifetime to secure success. But let us not be dismayed. We must succeed; we cannot fail. When I look at myself I anticipate nothing but failure; but when I think upon Christ and His promise I feel that defeat is utterly impossible.”
So, in the strength of God, two men went into India to win that vast continent for Jesus Christ. Judged merely by ordinary standards, their enterprise was worse than foolish; judged by the light of Christ’s sacrifice and precepts, it was what might have been expected from the disciples of Him, who said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”