Robert Murray M

The life span of Henry Martyn lasted for just twenty-five years. In that relatively short space of time he accomplished much and is remembered with much honour and respect. What made Henry Martyn the man that he was? The short answer to that question is his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Once converted he was a man on fire for God, indeed, William Canton, the historian of the Bible Society described Henry Martyn as, “The first great missionary of the English Church since Boniface.”

He was born in Truro, Cornwall and converted shortly after the death of his father when he was not quite nineteen years of age. His sister Sally had witnessed him to and he later acknowledged her prayers as playing a large part in his conversion. He believed that he had received a call and certainly the desire to be involved with missionary service. He entered the ministry of the Church of England and shortly after his ordination; he embarked for work in India. The journal of William Carey was very influential in drawing him to India. Henry Martyn has been described as, “The loftiest and most loving spirit of the men whom Carey drew to India.” He arrived in Madras on the 22^nd April 1806. It had not been an easy passage but as he set foot on Indian soil he felt an intense desire to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the lost souls before him. He wrote, “Oh! If I live, let me have come thither to some purpose”.

He ministered in different places in India including Calcutta, Dinapore and Cawnpore. In Cawnpore his health began to fail him and he was released from his duties. He returned to Calcutta and took a ship bound for Bombay. From there he travelled on to Persia and arrived in that country on the 14^th April 1811. He disembarked at Muscat and changed his clothing to that worn by the natives. He travelled into the country and sought to preach and teach the faith that he followed and the Saviour whom he loved. Fever again shook his body and he began to waste away. At a place called Tokat, Henry Martyn entered glory on the 16^th October 1812. He was hastily buried but later his body was re-interred and an obelisk was erected on the spot. The obelisk bore the name Henry Martyn and declared that he was, “One who was known in the East as a man of God.” This inscription was written out in the English, Armenian, Persian and Turkish languages.

What are we to make of this godly young man who gave himself wholeheartedly to the service of Christ? What was it that inspired him to missionary service? What is the legacy of the work and ministry of Henry Martyn today?

Henry Martyn was a man, who after his conversion to Christ gave himself completely to the Christ that had saved him. He had been deeply impressed by a sermon detailing the need for missionaries preached by Charles Simeon and also by reading the life and journal of David Brainerd and his ministry to the Indians in North America. Charles Simeon was the Vicar of Trinity Church, Cambridge and was a committed evangelical believer. From a letter that Henry Martyn wrote to his sister we read, “In order to do his will cheerfully, I want love for the souls of men.” After his ordination in the Church of England he was confronted by an old man who reminded him that he had to preach the gospel. Martyn wrote of this encounter, “From what he said on the last head, it was clear that I had but little experience, so I lifted up my heart afterward to the Lord that I might be fully instructed in righteousness.” He spoke with such men as Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce that led him to apply for and be appointed as a chaplain to the troops and civil servants in India. Once there he would be able to serve among the people of that country. It is of interest to note with his health problems and his lack of experience that Henry Martyn would probably be turned down by most missionary societies today. Once again we are reminded that it is the Lord’s mission field and no one else’s. Many of his contempories considered him a fool or at best misguided but his desire was to please his God rather than men.

As the time drew near for him to leave England for foreign shores, how much he must have been tempted to stay in England? The ties of family, his lack of good health, a secure ministry in a Church of England Parish? But he put temptation, if he had any aside, and wrote his journal, “From many dangerous snares hath the Lord preserved me; in spite of all my inward rebellion, He hath carried on His work in my heart; and, in spite of all my unbelieving fears, He hath given me a hope full of immortality.” His search of peace and the resolve that he had in the steady and certain conviction that God had called him to preach the gospel to the lost so ordered things for this young man. One example was concerning his sister, who he was much concerned for. She was happily married and the responsibility that he had for her was passed to another.

What of the legacy of this devout man? There were some in India who were converted under his ministry. He was able to translate the liturgy of the Church of England and the New Testament into Hindustani and Hindu languages. In Persia, he translated the Psalms and the Gospels into the Persian language. He had such a faith in the power of the inspired word of God that the labours he expended on it were so worthwhile. Martyn had penned these words while in Shiraz, Persia near the end of his life, “The Word of God is more precious to me at this time than I ever remember it to have been, and of all the promises in it none is more sweet to me than this, He shall reign till He hath put all enemies under his feet.” Surely for us today, we may not be able to be involved with the actual translation of the Scriptures but we can support those who are through our prayers and our giving. We must surely seek to have such a high view of Scripture that Henry Martyn had and to seek to study it diligently and to live by its precepts and commands. His translations were read all over India and Persia. Indeed it has been estimated that his translations were in reach of one quarter of the world’s population at that time. His translation of the Persian New Testament was first printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1815 and then a number of times throughout the nineteenth century. His edition of the Persian New Testament was later replaced with the one translated by Robert Bruce.

There was also the legacy of steadfastness. His was a lonely ministry in that he battled against the indifferent attitude of the British, the apathetic attitude of the Indians and the outright hostility of the Muslims. Today for many would be missionaries the prospects are no different. Iran (modern day Persia) has no missionary workers and the believing church there is a persecuted minority. It was the constraining call of the Lord that Henry Martyn going and it is that same call that keeps today’s missionaries going. Of course today missionaries can come home for medical treatment or they can be withdrawn from the field when there is conflict, but nevertheless theirs is still very often a lonely and uphill struggle. He saw little results in his own life time to his work but since those days many have been blessed, encouraged, challenged and inspired by his life, witness and example.

Henry Martyn’s memory is kept alive at the university at which he studied. Over the door of the Martyn Memorial Hall, built in 1887, is an inscription that reads, ‘To the inspiring memory of Henry Martyn, Scholar, Evangelist, Confessor, and Man of God, a later generation of his own Cambridge dedicates this home of Christian converse and counsel.’

Perhaps the last comment on this great missionary should rightly come from one of the men who were so involved with him, Charles Simeon. Over the fireplace in the dining room, Simeon had hung a portrait of Henry Martyn. He would often show this painting to his visitors and say, “There, see that blessed man. What an expression of countenance! No one looks at me as he does; he never takes his eyes off me and seems always to be saying, Be serious; be in earnest; don’t trifle, don’t trifle.” Simeon would then add, “And I won’t trifle; I won’t trifle.”

Maybe the response that each of us who read this article may make would be not to trifle either with the gospel or the God given means of proclaiming it. That we too would be godly men and women seeking to serve Christ in the places where he has positioned us.

Roger Cook