Anglicans worldwide today celebrate the feast day of Henry Martyn, Bible translator and missionary to India and Persia.
The story is told of how he heard Charles Simeon preaching about William Carey’s exploits in India, which sowed a seed of passion in Henry for the gospel overseas. Henry was planning to train for the bar, but he was captivated by the life of this trailblazing missionary, and Bible translator David Brainerd’s biography also caught his interest. He had hoped to be a missionary with the Church Mission Society, but when financial tragedy struck his family, his plans were turned in another direction. Thus he set off to India to be a chaplain instead with the British East India Company. God’s call remained, but the means and ways were different to those Henry first had in mind.
His voyage exposed him to the tragedy of the war-injured, and deeply struck his heart, only serving to intensify his prayer that his homeland, England, would be a propagator of peace and not violence. He believed this peace would be best shared through the good news of the gospel, which he now sought to take to the many in India before him.
He arrived in India in April 1806, and from the outset, facilitated worship services in the mother tongue of the locals, and gave himself to linguistic study and ultimately the translation of the Scriptures in a number of languages.
After a full and prolific life of service in Bible translation and church planting in India, he suffered a fever. On 16 October 1812, this fever was to snuff out his life at the age of only 31.
Henry, well known for saying on his arrival in India, “Let me burn out for God,” also said, “I see no business in life but the work of Christ.”
His light might only have lasted a moment, but the burning light of the Scriptures he translated remained long after his death, and have impacted communities and generations after him. Psalm 119:160 says, “The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.” By God’s grace, Henry Martyn has left a lasting legacy.
As the story of his call to service in India shows, the lives of fearless men and women who make great sacrifices in God-glorifying activity are hugely inspiring. God uses such lives and burning lights to guide us in our own decisions and life choices. Let’s not waste our lives, but let Henry Martyn’s life, and those like him, inspire us to serve God with all our hearts wherever He may place us. There’s a place in the Bible translation team too. See how you could give the Story.
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