the life of william carey-第8章

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was　the　first　of　the　true　Anastatosantes　of　the　modern　world；　as　only　an　English…speaking　man　could　beof　the　most　thorough；　permanent；　and　everlasting　of　all　Reformers；　the　men　who　turn　the　world　upside　down；　because　they　make　it　rise　up　and　depart　from　deadly　beliefs　and　practices；　from　the　fear　and　the　fate　of　death；　into　the　life　and　light　of　Christ　and　the　Father。

Who　were　his　predecessors；　reckoning　from　the　Renascence　of　Europe；　the　discovery　of　America；　and　the　opening　up　of　India　and　Africa？　Erasmus　comes　first；　the　bright　scholar　of　compromise　who　in　1516　gave　the　New　Testament　again　to　Europe；　as　three　centuries　after　Carey　gave　it　to　all　Southern　Asia；　and　whose　missionary　treatise；　Ecclesiasties；　in　1535　anticipated；　theoretically　at　least；　Carey's　Enquiry　by　two　centuries　and　a　half。　　The　missionary　dream　of　this　escaped　monk　of　Rotterdam　and　Basel；　who　taught　women　and　weavers　and　cobblers　to　read　the　Scriptures；　and　prayed　that　the　Book　might　be　translated　into　all　languages；　was　realised　in　the　scandalous　iniquities　and　frauds　of　Portuguese　and　Spanish　and　Jesuit　missions　in　West　and　East。　Luther　had　enough　to　do　with　his　papal　antichrist　and　his　German　translation　of　the　Greek　of　the　Testament　of　Erasmus。　The　Lutheran　church　drove　missions　into　the　hands　of　the　Pietists　and　MoraviansWiclif's　offspringwho　nobly　but　ineffectually　strove　to　do　a　work　meant　for　the　whole　Christian　community。　　The　Church　of　England　thrust　forth　the　Puritans　first　to　Holland　and　then　to　New　England；　where　Eliot；　the　Brainerds；　and　the　Mayhews　sought　to　evangelise　tribes　which　did　not　long　survive　themselves。

It　was　from　Courteenhall；　a　Northamptonshire　village　near　Paulerspury；　that　in　1644　there　went　forth　the　appeal　for　the　propagation　of　the　Gospel　which　comes　nearest　to　Carey's　cry　from　the　same　midland　region。　　Cromwell　was　in　power；　and　had　himself　planned　a　Protestant　Propaganda；　so　to　the　Long　Parliament　William　Castell；　〃parson　of　Courteenhall；〃　sent　a　petition　which；　with　the　〃Eliot　Tracts；〃　resulted　in　an　ordinance　creating　the　Corporation　for　the　Promoting　and　Propagating　the　Gospel　of　Jesus　Christ　in　New　England。　　Seventy　English　ministers　had　backed　the　petition；　and　six　of　the　Church　of　Scotland；　first　of　whom　was　Alexander　Henderson。　The　corporation；　which；　in　a　restored　form；　Robert　Boyle　governed　for　thirty　years；　familiarised　the　nation　with　the　duty　of　caring　for　the　dark　races　then　coming　more　and　more　under　our　sway　alike　in　America　and　in　India。　　It　still　exists；　as　well　as　Boyle's　Society　for　advancing　the　Faith　in　the　West　Indies。　　The　Friends　also；　and　then　the　Moravians；　taught　the　Wesleys　and　Whitefield　to　care　for　the　negroes。　　The　English　and　Scottish　Propagation　Societies　sought　also　to　provide　spiritual　aids　for　the　colonists　and　the　highlanders。

The　two　great　thinkers　of　the　eighteenth　century；　who　flourished　as　philosopher　and　moralist　when　Carey　was　a　youth；　taught　the　principles　which　he　of　all　others　was　to　apply　on　their　spiritual　and　most　effective　side。　　Adam　Smith　put　his　finger　on　the　crime　which　had　darkened　and　continued　till　1834　to　shadow　the　brightness　of　geographical　enterprise　in　both　hemispheresthe　treatment　of　the　natives　by　Europeans　whose　superiority　of　force　enabled　them　to　commit　every　sort　of　injustice　in　the　new　lands。　　He　sought　a　remedy　in　establishing　an　equality　of　force　by　the　mutual　communication　of　knowledge　and　of　all　sorts　of　improvements　by　an　extensive　commerce。5　Samuel　Johnson　rose　to　a　higher　level　alike　of　wisdom　and　righteousness；　when　he　expressed　the　indignation　of　a　Christian　mind　that　the　propagation　of　truth　had　never　been　seriously　pursued　by　any　European　nation；　and　the　hope　〃that　the　light　of　the　Gospel　will　at　last　illuminate　the　sands　of　Africa　and　the　deserts　of　America；　though　its　progress　cannot　but　be　slow　when　it　is　so　much　obstructed　by　the　lives　of　Christians。〃

The　early　movement　which　is　connected　most　directly　with　Carey's　and　the　Northamptonshire　Baptists'　began　in　Scotland。　　Its　Kirk；　emasculated　by　the　Revolution　settlement　and　statute　of　Queen　Anne；　had　put　down　the　evangelical　teaching　of　Boston　and　the　〃marrow〃　men；　and　had　cast　out　the　fathers　of　the　Secession　in　1733。　　In　1742　the　quickening　spread　over　the　west　country。　　In　October　1744　several　ministers　in　Scotland　united；　for　the　two　years　next　following；　in　what　they　called；　and　what　has　since　become　familiar　in　America　as；　a　〃Concert　to　promote　more　abundant　application　to　a　duty　that　is　perpetually　bindingprayer　that　our　God's　kingdom　may　come；　joined　with　praises；〃　to　be　offered　weekly　on　Saturday　evening　and　Sunday　morning；　and　more　solemnly　on　the　first　Tuesday　of　every　quarter。　　Such　was　the　result；　and　so　did　the　prayer　concert　spread　in　the　United　Kingdom　that　in　August　1746　a　memorial　was　sent　to　Boston　inviting　all　Christians　in　North　America　to　enter　into　it　for　the　next　seven　years。　　It　was　on　this　that　Jonathan　Edwards　wrote　his　Humble　Attempt　to　promote　Explicit　Agreement　and　Visible　Union　of　God's　People　in　Extraordinary　Prayer　for　the　Revival　of　Religion　and　the　Advancement　of　Christ's　Kingdom　on　Earth。

This　work　of　Edwards；　republished　at　Olney；　came　into　the　hands　of　Carey；　and　powerfully　influenced　the　Northamptonshire　Association　of　Baptist　ministers　and　messengers。　　At　their　meeting　in　Nottingham　in　1784　Sutcliff　of　Olney　suggested　and　Ryland　of　Northampton　drafted　an　invitation　to　the　people　to　join　them；　for　one　hour　on　the　first　Monday　of　every　month；　in　prayer　for　the　effusion　of　the　Holy　Spirit　of　God。　〃Let　the　whole　interest　of　the　Redeemer　be　affectionately　remembered；〃　wrote　these　catholic　men；　and　to　give　emphasis　to　their　渃umenical　missionary　desires　they　added　in　italics〃Let　the　spread　of　the　Gospel　to　the　most　distant　parts　of　the　habitable　globe　be　the　object　of　your　most　fervent　requests。　　We　shall　rejoice　if　any　other　Christian　societies　of　our　own　or　other　denominations　will　join　with　us；　and　we　do　now　invite　them　most　cordially　to　join　heart　and　hand　in　the　attempt。〃　　To　this　Carey　prominently　referred　in　his　Enquiry；　tracing　to　even　the　unimportunate　and　feeble　prayers　of　these　eight　years　the　increase　of　the　churches；　the　clearing　of　controversies；　the　opening　of　lands　to　missions；　the　spread　of　civil　and　religious　liberty；　the　noble　effort　made　to　abolish　the　inhuman　slave…trade；　and　the　establishment　of　the　free　settlement　of　Sierra　Leone。　　And　then　he　hits　the　other　blots　in　the　movement；　besides　the　want　of　importunity　and　earnestness〃We　must　not　be　contented　with　praying　without　exerting　ourselves　in　the　use　of　means。。。Were　the　children　of　light　but　as　wise　in　their　generation　as　the　children　of　this　world；　they　would　stretch　every　nerve　to　gain　so　glorious　a　prize；　nor　ever　imagine　that　it　was　to　be　obtained　in　any　other　way。〃　　A　trading　company　obtain　a　charter　and　go　to　its　utmost　limits。　　The　charter；　the　encouragements　of　Christians　are　exceeding　great；　and　the　returns　promised　infinitely　superior。　〃Suppose　a　company　of　serious　Christians；　ministers　and　private　persons；　were　to　form　themselves　into　a　society。〃

The　man　was　ready　who　had　been　specially　fitted；　by　character　and　training；　to　form　the　home　organisation　of　the　society；　while　Carey　created　its　foreign　mission。　　For　the　next　quarter　of　a　century　William　Carey　and　Andrew　Fuller　worked　lovingly；　fruitfully　together；　with　the　breadth　of　half　the　world　between　them。　　The　one　showed　how；　by　Bible　and　church　and　school；　by　physical　and　spiritual　truth；　India　and　all　Asia　could　be　brought　to　Christ；　the　other　taught　England；　Scotland；　and　America　to　begin　at　last　to　play　their　part　in　an　enterprise　as　old　as　Abraham；　as　divine　in　its　warrant；　its　charge；　its　promise；　as　Christ　Himself。　　Seven　years　older　than　Carey；　his　friend　was　born　a　farmer's　son　and　labourer　in　the　fen　country　of　Cromwell　whom　he　resembled；　was　self…educated　under　conditions　precisely　similar；　and　passed　through　spiritual　experiences　almost　exactly　the　same。　　The　two；　unknown　to　each　other；　found　themselves　when　called　to　preach　at　eighteen　unable　to　reconcile　the　grim　dead　theology　of　their　church　with　the　new　life　and　liberty　which　had　come　to　them　direct　from　the　Spirit　of　Christ　and　from　His　Word。　Carey　had　left　his　ancestral　church　at　a　time　when　the　biographer　of　Romaine　could　declare　with　truth　that　that　preacher　was　the　only　evangelical　in　the　established　churches　of　all　London；　and　that　of　twenty　thousand　clergymen　in　England；　the　number　who　preached　the　truth　as　it　is　in　Jesus　had　risen　from　not　twenty　in　1749　to　three　hundred　in　1789。　　The　methodism　of　the　Wesleys　was　beginning　to　tell；　but　the　Baptists　were　as　lifeless　as　the　Established　Church。　　In　both　the　Church　and　Dissent　there　were　individuals　only；　like　Newton　and　Scott；　the　elder　Robert　Hall　and　Ryland；　whose　spiritual　fervour　made　them　marked　men。

The　Baptists；　who　had　stood　alone　as　the　advocates　of　toleration；　religious　and　civil；　in　an　age　of　intolerance　which　made　them　the　victims；　had　subsided　like　Puritan　and　Covenanter　when　the　Revolution　of　1688　brought　persecution　to　an　end。　　The　section　who　held　the　doctrine　of　〃general〃　redemption；　and　are　now　honourably　known　as　General　Baptists；　preached　ordinary　Arminianism；　and　even　Socinianism。　　The　more　earnest　and　educated　among　them　clung　to　Calvinism；　but；　by　adopting　the　unhappy　term　of　〃particular〃　Baptists；　gradually　fell　under　a　fatalistic　and　antinomian　spell。　This　false　Calvinism；　which　the　French　theologian　of　Geneva　would　have　been　the　first　to　denounce；　proved　all　the　more　hostile　to　the　preaching　of　the　Gospel　of　salvation　to　the　heathen　abroad；　as　well　as　the　sinner　at　home；　that　it　professed　to　be　an　orthodox　evangel　while　either　emasculating　the　Gospel　or　turning　the　grace　of　God　into　licentiousness。　　From　such　〃particular〃　preachers　as　young　Fuller　and　Carey　listened　to；　at　first　with　bewilderment；　then　impatience；　and　then　denunciation；　missions　of　no　kind　could　come。　Fuller　exposed　and　pursued　the　delusion　with　a　native　shrewdness；　a　masculine　sagacity；　and　a　fine　English　style；　which　have　won　for　him　the　apt　name　of　the　Franklin　of　Theology。　　For　more　than　twenty　years　Fullerism；　as　it　was　called；　raised　a　controversy　like　that　of　the　Marrow　of　Divinity　in　Scotland；　and　cleared　the　ground　sufficiently　at　least　to　allow　of　the　foundation　of　foreign　missions　in　both　countries。　　It　now　seems　incredible　that　the　only　class　who　a　century　ago　represented　evangelicalism　should　have　opposed　missions　to　the　heathen　on　the　ground　that　the　Gospel　is　meant　only　for　the　elect；　whether　at　home　or　abroad；　that　nothing　spiritually　good　is　the　duty　of　the　unregenerate；　therefore　〃nothing　must　be　addressed　to　them　in　a　way　of　exhortation　excepting　what　relates　to　external　obedience。〃

The　same　year；　1784；　in　which　the　Baptist　concert　for　prayer　was　begun；　saw　the　publication　of　Fuller's　Gospel　Worthy　of　all　Acceptation。　　Seven　years　later　he　preached　at　Clipstone　a　famous　sermon；　in　which　he　applied　the　dealing　of　the　Lord　of　Hosts　（in　Haggai）　to　the　Jewish　apathy〃The　time　is　not　come　that　the　Lord's　house　should　be　built〃with　a　power　and　directness　which　nevertheless　failed　practically　to　convince　himself。　　The　men　who　listened　to　him　had　been　praying　for　seven　years；　yet　had　oppos