The biography of William Carey
Born in Paulesbury, England 1761
Died Serampur, India 1834 (aged 78 years)
Born in to poverty with very little of this world’s goods to interest him. William took an interest in the modern world and pursued history and science. He collected lots of plants and insects so that he could study them. He loved books and read as many as he could get.
As a young man he went to work as a shoemaker. This was not a business where you could earn a lot of money, but he was glad to do it and did it very well. He read a book called “Worthy of all acceptation” which was about sharing the gospel with everyone. He made a drawing of a map of the world and marked on all the laces where the gospel was never preached. The seeds were sown in his heart for people who were without God.
Carey was self taught because he had no funds to go to university. He learned at home and his bright and restless mind made him seek for learning. He could read the Bible in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Dutch, French and English. It was during this period that Carey learned to love his Lord and became an earnest Christian.
Carey also learned Greek. This language work would bears rich fruit for God in the future.
Carey was interested in spreading the gospel to the whole world. When he shared his ideas at a meeting he was told…
“Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your help or mine!”
Carey recognised that this was contrary to what the Bible says. God says, that people will believe when they hear the gospel. The gospel must be spoken. This comment did not deter Carey. He published a booklet encouraging people to embark on mission work. It became a signpost in Christian missions.
Carey’s motto become…
“Expect great things from God: attempt great things for God.”
Carey preached at a gathering on one occasion…the text was Isaiah 54:2+3
“Enlarge the place of your tent,and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations; don’t spare: lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall spread out on the right hand and on the left; and your seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.”
His call was to go out and go far to spread the good news about salvation and a new life in Christ. We are not supposed to live in our own little lives, but we must spread ourselves about!
Don’t limit your effect. If you reach out for God, he will honour you. You will have many children in the faith, and the places that are ruined by sin, will become full of life and the glory of God.
In our days, these places are our own country…
What a challenge to us in this day….this was called
THE DEATHLESS SERMON
The people who listened to Carey, wept as he spoke these words. They could feel the challenge of God, and the “criminality” of their lack of love for others.
A woman from the church opened her home, and a group started… it became the Missionary society. They raised some money, at first but then realised they would need to send out missionaries and act as well as pray and gather money. Carey volunteered as the first missionary to go out.
Carey was to go to INDIA….
British companies who had business overseas, had no time of missionaries. They wanted to act any way they liked, without the consideration of moral issues. They took advantage of people in other countries to make their millions. This has not changed today either.
Carey finally set out for India with his wife and children, on the long boat voyage far away from England and home. They had very little of anything, but they went out in the knowledge that God was in control and He would provide for their needs. They knew this would not be easy for them.
On reaching India, the money ran out quickly (it lasted only 2 months) and they found themselves penniless. Carey had to find work in an indigo factory. It was backbreaking and dirty work. He liked it because it gave him time to work on the language and he translated the New Testament into Bengali. He wanted to reach as many people as possible.
Carey saw many sights in India, that drove him forward to tell the truth about Christ the Saviour. He saw people bowing to monkeys, and all sorts of other beasts. There were people worshipping wooden gods. Men were hung up on hooks while still alive. Women were being burnt alive with their dead husbands. Carey resolved to tell the story of salvation to as many people as he could.
This work that Carey undertook cannot be spoken about as strongly as one could imagine. It was difficult in every way, and so discouraging. Life was beyond hard. Carey did not know from day to day, how he and the family would survive. His wife became very ill and died in tragic circumstances. He buried his sons in India, and suffered great personal loss.
Christians back in England blamed him for the difficulties of his family. In real terms, all Carey had was God, and God never left him.
It was 10 years before Carey had the joy of reaching the first convert… Krishna Pal… Krishna Pal set up outreach in Calcutta, and was instrumental in bringing his fellow countrymen and women to a living faith. He was baptized in the Ganges. He renounced his caste and ate with the missionaries. His daughter a “Sudra” married a “Brahmin” so the Christians took a stand against the caste system in India.
Carey also took an active part in doing away with the practice of “Suttee” where wives were burned with their dead husbands.
Carey was greatly gifted in languages. He translated the New Testament in Marathi, Sanskrit, also many smaller dialects. Carey had a gift for languages, which has never been paralleled. As there was need, God gave the skills ands gifts that were necessary, but Carey had to work, labour and weep over so much of the work.
He worked incessantly on the Bengali Bible. It was finished at last. He told friends that he had twenty years of translation mapped out for the rest of his life. That night he fell into a fever. It seemed to be all over for Carey. Maybe the Bengali Bible was to be his last endeavour…
In the night Carey had a vision in his delirium. He saw “real” Christians taking over the dead orthodox churches in England. He saw governments abolishing war, which Carey hated. He was told the vision was just an expression of the mind, but Carey could see the hand of God in it. Carey longed for England to do its part in the evangelization of the world.
The translation was a huge operation with many Indian scholars involved in it.
Forty four languages and dialects were worked on, written down and translated.
Arabic, Persian, Nagari, Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Chinese, Oriya, many languages now being opened to the Word of God.
One night the unthinkable happened. The printing works caught fire. It was completely destroyed. All the translation work was lost. The only things that survived was the metal machines. One can only imagine the crushing blow this was to Carey, but Carey trusted God.
“Be still and know that I am God…”
Such was the measure of faith and understanding that Carey had of the sovereignty of God.
Carey wanted India to know about Christ from its own preachers and teachers, so he set about training Indian Christians for the ministry. He did not want the Western culture to impose itself on the Eastern culture.
The weight of the Christian evangelism in India would rest on its own people. This brought him opposition from English “Christians” who wanted a church in India, after their own style. Carey was angry about this attitude, and stayed away from associating with it. Carey prayed that the differences would gradually fade out….
The issue caused Carey great distress, loneliness, and premature aging…
And yet, Carey was a vigorous old man. His home in Serampore was beautiful and peaceful. It had become a haven over the many years of Carey’s labours and the fellow-laborers were many. The road had been long and many tragedies and failures as well. Carey buried three wives in India, and two of his four sons. His family also paid the price in terms of health and social education, or any kind of education…
Yet, his legacy remains.
All for Christ…
- Evangelism and outreach.
- Education of Indian peoples to Christ
- Stopping the practice of infant sacrifice
- Stopping the practice of burning widows.
- Bible translation 44 languages and dialects.
- Bible school for Indian pastors
- Schools for children
- Sunday schools
- Churches in Calcutta etc
Who can tell the extent of what he did for his Lord?
How great is the challenge he leaves with us…
Carey died in peace, no energy for spiritual ecstasy…
Carey rested his sin-stained soul on his everlasting Redeemer. That is the place of peace, and no other.
Carey died and these words were inscribed on his grave..
“A wretched, poor and helpless worm
On Thy kind arms I fall…”
Humility even in such labour and triumphs. Carey never forget what he had been saved from and the cost of his forgiveness.
We are not wretched, poor or helpless, when we lean on those kind arms…
The mission goes on…. those left behind asked God for “a double- portion of the Spirit…”
God always has His people in the right place at the right time…
May every one of us, be those people and be obedient to the call of God, no matter what…
Krishna Pal wrote this hymn…
O thou, my soul, forget no more
The friend who all thy misery bore;
Let every idol be forgot,
But, O my soul, forget Him not.
Jesus for thou a body takes,
Thy guilt assumes, thy fetters breaks,
Discharging all thy dreadful debt;
And canst thou e’er such love forget?
Renounce thy works and ways, with grief,
And fly to this most sure relief;
Nor Him forget, who left His throne,
And for thy life gave up His own.
Infinite truth and mercy shine,
In Him, and He Himself is thine:
And canst thou, then, with sin beset,
Such charms, such matchless charms, forget?
Ah! no—till life itself depart,
His name shall cheer and warm my heart;
And lisping this, from earth I’ll rise;
And join the chorus of the skies.
Ah! no—when all things else expire,
And perish in the general fire,
This name all others shall survive,
And through eternity shall live.
Lettsom Inn 