Adoniram Judson (1788–1850) had been a cynical actor who rejected the
faith of his father. His wife Ann Hasseltine, had been the town belle,
indulged by her parents. They were hardly likely candidates for the rigors of the early
19th-century mission field—but now Ann Hasseltine Judson, nicknamed Nancy, and
her husband, Adoniram Judson, are assured of their place in history and even more
assured of hearing those glorious words every saint should long to hear from
their Lord and King "Well done My good and faithful servant"
(Mt 25:21). Adoniram
helped pave the road into the spiritual darkness of the "10-40 Window" of the Far East so that
faithful men and women could be imitators of him and and carry forth the glorious Gospel
of Jesus Christ, making
disciples of all the nations (Mt 28:18,
19,
20)
Adoniram Judson was born in 1788, the son of a devout
Congregationalist minister who cherished the fond hope that his son would follow
in his footsteps. From early in his life he excelled in everything he touched.
Judson was precocious and at the early age of three learned to read under the
tutelage of his mother while his father was absent on a journey. How
great was the father's astonishment and delight upon his return, to hear his
young son read to him a chapter from the Bible. As he grew, Adoniram to his
father's disappointment became enamored with his own brilliance and could not think
of wasting his superb talents in so dull a calling as the ministry. Having
vanquished all rivals in intellectual contests, he enrolled in Providence
College (modern day Brown University) at the precocious age of 16 and graduated
at age 19 as valedictorian. He entertained the most extravagant ambitions and
his imagination ran wild as he contemplated his future fame. He pictured himself
as an orator, greater than Demosthenes, swaying the multitudes with his
eloquence or as a second Homer, writing immortal poems or even as a second
Alexander the Great, weeping because there were no more worlds to conquer.
Judson was not just inordinately ambitious
but was openly
atheistic. It was during the early years of the nineteenth century, while
Judson was in college, that French infidelity swept over the country. With only
three or four exceptions, all the students of Yale were avowed infidels and
preferred to call each other by the names of leading infidels such as Tom Paine
or Voltaire, instead of their own names. And Providence College did not escape
the contamination of this vile flood of skepticism. In the class one year above
that of Judson there was a young man by the name of Ernest [other sources
identify this individual as "Jacob Eames"], who was exceptionally gifted, witty
and clever, and an outspoken atheist. An intimate friendship developed between
these two brilliant young men, with the result that Judson also became a bold
exponent of infidelity, to the extreme mortification of his father and mother.
When his father sought to argue with him, he quickly demonstrated his
intellectual superiority, but he had no answer to his mother's tears and solemn
warnings. So by the age of 20, the minister's son had completely denounced
Christ and his upbringing.
"Like the prodigal son he left home in quest
of an exciting life. He wanted to escape parental restraints."
But God Who possesses amazing grace deeper than our darkest
sin (see note
Romans 5:20), is able to save even an abject infidel like Adoniram Judson from the
"guttermost" to the uttermost (see note
Hebrews 7:25)! One day Adoniram set out on horseback on a tour
of adventure through several states. He joined a band of strolling players and
lived, as he himself related later, "a wild, reckless life." Leaving the
troupe after a few weeks, he continued his trip on horseback, stopping on a
certain historic night at a country inn. Apologetically, the landlord explained
that, only one room being vacant, he would be obliged to put him next door to a
young man who was extremely ill; in fact, probably dying. Adoniram said that was
no problem.
"I'll take the room," said Judson.
"Death has no terrors
for me. You see, I'm an atheist."
Through the night he heard
the agonizing cries and pleas of a dying man who obviously did not know God. As
the man's cries grew weaker in the early hours of morning, Judson
wondered what the destiny was that awaited such a man or for that matter
himself. At sunrise, he inquired of the innkeeper what the condition of the sick
man was.
"Oh, he
died in the night," was the curt reply.
"Do you know who he was?"
asked Judson.
"Yes," the innkeeper answered, "he was a graduate of
Providence College, a young fellow named Ernest", in the providence of
God, the man who had "mentored"
Judson in his unbelief and atheism.
|
ADONIRAM
JUDSON'S
CRISIS OF BELIEF |
Shaken by the event of his friend's death, a different Adoniram Judson
returned home and sought admission to Andover Theological Seminary. Once
enrolled, the writing of the Puritan, Thomas Boston led Judson to full faith in
Christ and salvation. When Adoniram Judson graduated from seminary he received a
call from a fashionable church in Boston to become its assistant pastor.
Everyone congratulated him. His mother and sister rejoiced that he could live at
home with them and do his life work, but Judson shook his head.
"My work
is not here," he said. "God is calling me beyond the seas. To stay
here, even to serve God in His ministry, I feel would be only partial obedience,
and I could not be happy in that."
Although it cost him a
great struggle he left mother and sister to follow the heavenly call. The
fashionable church in Boston still stands to this day, rich and strong, but
Judson's influence on the churches in Burma resulted in thousands of converts
from darkness to light, and the influence of his consecrated life ripples around
the world even to the present day! O, for an ear to be attentive to the Master's
voice and a heart so submitted to His command, however difficult that call might
seem to be.
So one who had once been a raving atheist had been transformed into a young
man who felt God calling him into missions. There was one great problem facing
Judson concerning missions; in early 1800 America, there were no foreign
missionaries. In about 1811 Judson wrote the following in a magazine
article:
"How do Christians discharge this trust committed to them? They let three
fourths of the world sleep the sleep of death, ignorant of the simple truth that
a Savior died for them. Content if they can be useful in the little circle of
their acquaintances, they quietly sit and see whole nations perish for lack of
knowledge."
Through meeting and prayer with other concerned Congregationalists, Judson
helped to formulate plans to form a mission society dedicated to sending
missionaries to India. The budding missionary however also found something else
during that time, his future wife. At the home of a deacon where the mission
society met Judson fell in love with a godly young woman by the name of Ann.
Nancy had previously experienced the glorious transaction of passing, as Nancy
put it, "from death into life." But just put yourself in the place of Ann's
father when he received the following note from Adoniram Judson:
"I have not to ask, whether you
can consent to part with your daughter early next Spring, to see her no more in
this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the
hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her
exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the climate of
India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution,
and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him
who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of
perishing immortal souls, for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God?"
And so with her eyes wide open to the impending dangers of missionary life,
Anne consented to marriage and she and Judson were wed in February of 1812.
|
ADONIRAM
JUDSON:
THE MISSIONARY YEARS |
And so only 13 days after they wed, in 1812, they set sail for India while
their good friend Luther Rice prepared to come on a later ship. As they settled
in for the four-month journey to India, Adoniram and Ann also settled in to an
intense study of Scripture. They knew that when they arrived in India they would
be ministering alongside the famous Baptist missionaries of Serampore Mission
led by none other than William Carey
(book or
short biography). How would they work together with
their differences concerning baptism? Adoniram was also seeking to reconcile
some questions he had about his own Covenant Theology. All of their first
converts would be adults. He wondered if they should also baptize the children
of these new believers in a pagan land. Had the Judsons known that the Baptist
missionaries of India had a policy to avoid such controversies, they may never
have embarked on this study. Regardless, they became convinced over the weeks of
study and prayer that believer's baptism was the New Testament mandate and
determined to be baptized by immersion when they arrived in India.
And so Ann and Adoniram left America as Congregationalist but arrived in
India as Baptists. They knew this decision would severely affect their
relationship with their friends and family back in America. Ann wrote to one of
her closest friends;
"My dear Nancy, we are confirmed Baptists, not because
we wished to be, but because truth compelled us to be … We anticipate the loss
of reputation, and of the affection and esteem of many of our American friends."
When they landed in Calcutta, Judson wrote to William Carey, "… feeling
that we are in an unbaptized state, we wish to profess our faith in Christ by
being baptized in obedience to his sacred commands."
The parting of the Judsons with the Congregationalist was on friendly terms
and was used to further the kingdom of God just as did the parting of Paul and
Barnabas. The Judsons were baptized by William Carey’s colleague William Ward.
The new Baptists found that their greatest enemy was not paganism but the
British East India Company. Greed caused the British government to distrust
missionaries and the changes that took place in their converts. People freed
from sin have a bad habit of bowing down to God rather than man and the British
knew that. Refused permanent status in India, Ann and Adoniram set sail and went
first to Mauritius and thence to Burma—a closed land, ruled by a
tyrannical regime, horribly hot and disease-ridden. No place could have more
fulfilled Adoniram's prophecy in his letter of proposal to Ann's father than
Burma. Burma was a land of superstition, governmental corruption and dedicated
Buddhism. William Carey's son Felix wrote of Burma:
"The houses of Rangoon
were miserably built, the streets were filthy with vermin, the rents wickedly
oppressive, the taxes absurdly high, and the punishments barbarous…"
Burma was all that and
more. Torture and mass executions were common occurrences. Any foreign religion
was dealt with swiftly and unmercifully. The country's rulers were proud men who
vainly believed their nation was superior to all others and invincible. This is
the place, which Adoniram had brought his fair Ann to minister for the Lord
Jesus Christ & they found the place "dark, cheerless, and unpromising."
There was plenty to do upon arriving in Rangoon. The Burmese language was
difficult beyond belief; a seemingly endless string of words with no punctuation
or recognizable sentence structure of any kind. Translating was Judson's sole
work for over six years. Then (after 6 years) in 1819, the first Burman, Moung
Nau, gave his life to Christ and was baptized. Soon several more were baptized
and a new missionary, Dr. Pierce joined them. Things were looking up as they
often do just before the storm hits.
For
I
consider that the
sufferings of
this
present
time are not
worthy to be compared
with the
glory that is to be
revealed to us. (see
note
Romans 8:18)
(Torrey's Topic "Afflictions"
or in
NTB)
Judson and Pierce slowly had gained the Burmese king's approval only to have
that destroyed by the announcement that 5000 British troops had attacked and
taken Rangoon in 1824. Even though the missionaries were not British, they were
white foreigners and were soon imprisoned in the most horrid conditions one
could imagine.
So at age 36, Judson (and Pierce) were imprisoned along with 100 other men in
a single room. He was bound with three pairs of chains and his feet were
fastened in stocks which at times were elevated, so that only his shoulders
touched the ground. The room into which he and many other prisoners were
crowded, was without a window and felt like a fiery furnace under the merciless
glare of the tropical sun. The stench of the place was terrible, vermin crawled
everywhere and the jailer, Mr. Spotted Face, was a brute in human form. Every
afternoon the gong would sound at exactly 3PM and in would walk "Mr. Spotted
Face" who would come in and often select one of the prisoners for execution that
afternoon. And, as Judson saw other prisoners dragged out to execution, he lived
in terrifying suspense that he might be chosen at the next sounding of the gong
& he was able to say with Paul, "I die daily."
Not only was there the torture of confinement, while Adoniram was in prison
Burmese ruffians were plundering every white man's house. What was to be done to
preserve Adoniram's precious manuscripts of Scripture he had been laboring over
for so long that the Burmese might have the living word of God in their own
language? What seemed to be a clever plan occurred to Ann -- She would hide the
manuscripts in a pillow! Having done this, she brought the pillow to the prison
and no one dreamed that the white man's head rested at night on the most
precious of treasures -- the Word of God. Then came a crushing misfortune.
Taking a fancy to the pillow, the jailer grabbed it and kept it as his own.
Judson's spirit groaned within him. What an irreparable loss! But Ann's
ingenuity was not yet exhausted. Having made a prettier, nicer pillow, she
brought it to the prison and Judson said to the jailer, "How would you like to
exchange the old, soiled pillow for this bright new one?" Mr. Spotted Face
readily agreed, wondering at the odd taste of the white man. Thus the precious
manuscripts were recovered. Many times, smitten down with disease and at death's
door, he breathed out the prayer,
Lord, let me finish my work. Spare me long enough to put Thy saving Word into
the hands of a perishing people.
What a day of rejoicing in God's goodness when the Word of God finally rolled
off the press with its merciful invitation in Burmese,
Whosoever will,
let him take the Water of Life freely. (see note
Revelation 22:17)
Surely Adoniram would have fallen and perished under the weight of his cross,
except for the tender, persistent, beautiful ministrations of Ann. As often as
possible she bribed the jailer and then, under cover of darkness, crept to the
door of Judson's den, bringing food and whispering words of hope and
consolation. Finally for three long weeks she did not appear; but, upon her
return, she bore in her arms a newborn baby to explain her absence. An epidemic
of smallpox was raging unchecked through the city and little Maria was smitten
with the dread disease. Due to the double strain of concern for her imprisoned
husband and the suffering baby, Ann found herself unable to nurse the little
one. Tormented by its pitiful cries, Ann took her baby up and down the streets
of the city, pleading for mercy and for milk: "You women who have babies, have
mercy on my baby and nurse her!"
As the British won battle after battle it became apparent Burma was lost.
Seeing the inevitable, the Burmese realized that the missionaries could help
them in translation and negotiations. They were finally set free 21 months they
of suffering this seemingly intolerable confinement and deprivation.
One of the most pathetic pages in the history of Christian missions is that
which describes the scene when Judson was finally released and returned to the
mission house seeking Ann, who again had failed to visit him for some weeks. As
he ambled down the street as fast as his maimed ankles would permit, the
tormenting question kept repeating itself, "Is Ann still alive?" Upon reaching
the house, the first object to attract his attention was a fat, half-naked
Burmese woman squatting in the ashes beside a pan of coals and holding on her
knees an emaciated baby, so begrimed with dirt that it did not occur to him that
it could be his own. Across the foot of the bed, as though she had fallen there,
lay a human object that, at the first glance, was no more recognizable than his
child. The face was of a ghastly paleness and the body shrunken to the last
degree of emaciation. The glossy black curls had all been shorn from the
finely-shaped head. There lay the faithful and devoted wife who had followed him
so unwearily from prison to prison, ever alleviating his distresses and
consoling him in his trials. Presently Ann felt warm tears falling upon her face
and, rousing from her stupor, saw Judson by her side.
Ann had indeed "counted
the cost" and within only a few months after Adoniram had been freed, his dear
Ann wife died on October 24th, 1826 to be followed by their daughter Maria in
1827. Yet Ann left an eternal indelible legacy. Ann was the first missionary to
learn Siamese and to translate a portion of Scripture, the Gospel of Matthew,
into that tongue. She also strove to improve the lot of Burmese women, who were
considered little more than chattel. She missed her family but could affirm that
"I am happy in thinking that I gave up this source of pleasure … [and] I am
happy [to] labor for the promotion of the kingdom of heaven." The call of
missions had indeed cost the Judson's dearly. These losses were great but in
Refiner's sovereign plan, there was yet more tragedy in store for Adoniram.
After Ann's death Adoniram sank into a deep depression. He renounced all
outward acceptability, returning an honorary doctorate he had earned from Brown
University. Finally he removed himself to the heart of a tiger infested jungle
to live alone in a hut. Judson spent forty days in the jungle contemplating his
call and on occasion even contemplating suicide. The local natives considered his
survival through those days as nothing short of the way that God spared Daniel
in the lion's den. "The love that never fails" sustained Adoniram.
If I had not felt certain," he says, "that every additional trial was ordered by
infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings.
Judson joined with Paul in declaring:
The love of
Christ constraineth me ... Therefore I will glory in reproaches, in persecution
and in distresses for Christ's sake." (2Corinthians 5:14)
In addition to his passion to translate the Bible into Burmese, Judson had a
another passion and prayer, namely, to lead individuals to know Christ in His
transforming power and to live to see one hundred converts. With great tact and
consuming zeal, he preached by the road side and dealt with inquirers. Years
went by without a single convert, but he refused to be discouraged. When a
member of the Mission Board in America wrote, deploring the lack of results, and
inquired concerning the prospects, this intrepid ambassador of Christ replied, "The
prospects are as bright as the promise of God." There were many
disappointments, but as noted above after six long years of unwearied effort and
fervent supplication Adoniram was finally rewarded. His Journal, of June 27,
1819, gives the thrilling record.
"We proceeded," he says, "to
a large pond, the bank of which is graced with an enormous image of Buddha, and
there administered baptism to Maung Nau, the first Burman convert. Oh, may it
prove the beginning of a series of baptisms in the Burman empire, which shall
continue in uninterrupted succession to the end of time!"
With a judicious admixture of gentle entreaty and stern warning, he sought
one day to point out to a native woman the momentous alternatives that lay
before her. Making two divergent marks on the ground, he said,
"This leads
to eternal life, while this leads to eternal destruction. Will you leave this
straight and narrow path drawn by the Saviour's finger for that which leads to
everlasting despair? Will you? Will you?"
Many years later this woman,
now an earnest and active Christian, said,
"Even
now I can hear that terribly earnest 'Will you?' coming from the teacher's lips
as though it was the voice of God."
Yes, the
voice of God! Many listened wistfully to the foreigner's preaching, for even
their depraved hearts discerned in his message the tender and imperious accents
of the voice of God.
God indeed causes all things to work together for good to those who love
Him as the following story from Adoniram's life so beautifully illustrates.
As a result of Adoniram's 21 months in the squalid Burmese prison, for the rest
of his life he carried the ugly marks made by the chains and iron shackles which
had cruelly bound him. Undaunted, he asked for permission to enter another
province where he might resume preaching the Gospel. The godless ruler
indignantly denied his request, saying,
"My people are not fools enough to
listen to anything a missionary might SAY, but I fear they might be impressed by
your SCARS and turn to your religion!"
Judson so fervently pursued his passion of evangelizing the Burmese that by
1839 recorded 47 baptisms. During 1832 there were 217 who came to Christ and
1144 baptisms in 1836.
Eight years after the death of Ann, Adoniram married the widow of a fellow
missionary, Sarah Boardman. None of Ann's children survived but Adoniram and
Sarah would have six children who survived. God had restored much to Judson and
in 1840 He allowed him to finish his great translation of the Burmese Bible.
Nearly eight more years passed with great victories and great love between Sarah
and Adoniram. Again, tragedy visited Judson, as Sarah grew ill. In 1845 at age
57, he determined to go with her to America, Judson left Burma with his wife.
The trip was too much and Sarah was laid to rest in St. Helena. Arriving in
America, now missing his second wife, Judson was unprepared for the reception he
received. It had been 38 years since he last set foot on American soil. Luther
Rice a contemporary missionary to the Far East had returned to America years
before and had tirelessly furthered the cause of supporting foreign missions.
And thus people knew of this great man of God, Adoniram Judson so that
everywhere he went, people wanted him to speak and tell of the work of God in
Burma. While in America, Judson married for a third time. Emily proved a
faithful companion and sister in Christ in the remaining years of Judson's life
when they returned to Burma.
Judson became critically ill in the spring of 1850 and it was believed that
his only hope of recovery lay in taking a long sea voyage. A French barque, the
Aristide Marie, was scheduled to sail from Moulmein on the 3rd of April. The
stricken missionary was carried on board by his weeping converts. When the ship,
after certain delays, sailed several days later, he was accompanied only by Mr.
Thomas Ranney, a fellow missionary. On April 12, 1850, Adoniram Judson breathed
his last and on the same day his body was buried at sea. Some of Adoniram's
children never saw him after childhood. But when he died in 1850, he left behind
7,000 more "children"—members of the Burmese Christian church he and Ann had
begun along with 63 churches and 123 missionaries and pastors. Judson's greatest
legacy was his undying love for Christ. While in America someone complained that
Judson didn't tell more thrilling stories of adventure and intrigue. In reply to
that Judson said,
"I glad they have it to say (that I) had nothing better
to tell than the wondrous story of Jesus' dying love."
