"Attempt great things-Expect great things." CAREY. The heavenly shaster will be received by all India, and the A HINDOQ. BOSTON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY LINCOLN & EDMANDS, No. 53, Cornhill. ADVERTISEMENT. AS the history of the Baptist Mission in India is interspersed [London Ed. Contents. Page 3 SECT. I. The formation of the Society, and the send- ing out of its two first Missionaries, The arrival of the Missionaries in India, SECT. III. Progress of the Mission from 1795 to SECT. V. Progress of the Mission at Serampore, from 1800 to 1807, containing the prin- cipal events under each year succes- 18 sively, SECT. VI. Progress of the Mission continued to the beginning of 1809, including a list of 815.64 Fuller BRIEF NARRATIVE OF THE BAPTIST MISSION. SECTION I. The Formation of the Society, and the sending out of its two first Missionaries. AT an association of ministers and churches held at Nottingham, in 1784, it was resolved to set apart an hour on the first Monday evening in every month for extraordinary prayer for the revival of religion, and for the extending of Christ's kingdom in the world. This resolution was attended to for about seven years with some degree of zeal and importunity. In 1787, Mr. Carey was ordained pastor of the church at Moulton, and joined the association. From his first entering on the work of the ministry, if not from an earlier period, his mind appears to have been deeply impressed with the state of the heathen world. In reference to • this object he made himself acquainted with the geogra phy, population, and religion of the various nations of the earth; and with the labours of christians, both of early and later ages, in propagating the gospel. He also acquired some considerable knowledge of various languages, particularly Latin, Greek and Hebrew; and all seemed to be directed to the same end. Whenever he met with his brethren in the ministry, he would seldom omit to converse with them on the importance and practicability of missions. These conversations, together with the monthly prayer meetings, wrought considerably on the minds of the ministers. It seemed scarely reconcileable with sincerity to pray month after month, and year after year, for the enlargement of Christ's kingdom, and use no means for enlarging it. About 1790, Mr. Carey visited Birmingham, and became acquainted with Mr. Pearce, whose kindred soul entered with ardour into all his views. Some of the leading members also of Mr. Pearce's church were much interested in his proposals, and promised to assist him. In the spring of 1791, at a ministers' meeting held at Clipstone, the two sermons that were preached, bore much upon this subject. One was delivered by Mr. Sutcliff, from 1 Kings xix. 10, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, &c. And the other by Mr. Fuller, from Hag. i. 2. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say the time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. After worship was over, Mr. Carey perceiving the minds of his brethren impressed by what they had been hearing, was very desirous, that before they parted they would come to some resolution on the forming of a Missionary Society. The only resolution that was formed however at this time was, that as Mr. Carey was known to have a manuscript by him on the subject, he should be requested to revise and print it for the consideration of the religious public. In the spring of 1792, the annual association was held at Nottingham, and Mr. Carey was one of the preachers. His sermon was founded on Isaiah liv. 2, 3. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, &c, Having observed in his introduction, that the church was here addressed as a desolate widow, dwelling in a little cottage by herself; that the command to enlarge her tent contained an intimation that there should be an enlargement in her family; and that to account for so unexpected a change, she was told, that her " Maker was her husband," who should be called "The God of the whole earth;" he took up what he conceived to be the spirit of the passage in two exhortations, viz. EXPECT GREAT THINGS-ATTEMPT GREAT THINGS. The effect of this discourse was considerable. A resolution was passed, that a plan should be prepared against the next ministers' meeting at Kettering, for forming a society for propagating the gospel among the heathen; and Mr. Carey generously engaged to devote the profits which might arise from his late publication on the subject, to the use of such a society. The In agreeing upon a plan we had no difficulties to encounter from diversity of opinion, for in every thing of importance there was a happy unanimity. We conversed on all subjects, without debating on any. general principles on which the society was formed, were, in respect of civil government, to yield a cordial and unreserved obedience in every thing consistent with our duty to God; and in respect of christians of other denominations, to cherish a catholic spirit towards them, and engage in a ready co-operation with them in every thing which did not require a sacrifice of religious principle. Considering the present divided state of Christendom, however, it appeared to us that each denomination, by exerting itself separately, would be most likely to answer the great ends of a mission. Hence the name by which we at first chose to designate ourselves was, The Particular (or Calvinistic) Baptist Society for propagating the gospel among the heathen. But so far were we from having in view the exclusive promotion of our own peculiar principles as Baptists, that we were determined from the beginning, if no opportunity appeared for sending out Missionaries of our own, that we would assist other societies already in being amongst the Presbyterians and the Moravians. Some of the greatest difficulties which we had to encounter were the following: We were inexperienced in the work we knew of no opening for a mission in any one part of the world more than another-we had no funds to meet the expense that must attend an undertaking of the kind-our situation in an inland part of the country was inconvenient for foreign correspondence -the persons who would have the management would live at such a distance from each other as to render freB |