The Persian version of the New Testament being now nearly finished, Mr. Martyn, with his native assistant, commenced the translation of the Psalms of David into Persian, from the Hebrew. From his diary in the beginning of 1812, it appears that he was not satisfied with his Persian New Testament.
“The last has been, in some respects, a memorable year. I have been led, by what I have reason to consider as the particular providence of God, to this place, and have undertaken an important work, which has gone on without material interruption, and is now nearly finished. I like to find myself employed usefully, in a way I did not expect or foresee, especially if my own will is in any degree crossed by the work unexpectedly assigned me; as there is then reason to believe that God is acting. The present year will probably be a perilous one; but my life is of little consequence, whether I live to finish the Persian New Testament, or do not. I look back with pity and shame upon my former self, and on the importance I then attached to my life and labours. The more I see of my own works, the more I am ashamed of them. Coarseness and clumsiness mar all the works of man. I am sick when I look at man, and his wisdom, and his doings; and am relieved only by reflecting, that we have a city whose builder and maker is God. The least of His works it is refreshing to look at. A dried leaf, or a straw, makes me feel myself in good company: complacency and admiration take place of disgust.
“I compared, with pain, our Persian translation with the original; to say nothing of the precision and elegance of the sacred text, its perspicuity is that which sets at defiance all attempts to equal it.”
But the more he read and studied the sacred scriptures, the stronger attachment he felt towards them, and so far from becoming tired of them, from having them so constantly in his hands, he used to turn to them for comfort in all his sorrows.
“Feb. 2d.—From what I suffer in this city, I can understand the feelings of Lot. The face of the poor Russian appears to me like the face of an angel, because he does not tell lies. Heaven will be heaven, because there will not be one liar there. The word of God is more precious to me at this time than I ever remember it to have been; and of all the promises in it, none is more sweet to me than this—‘He shall reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.’”
“Feb. 3d.—A packet arrived from India, without a single letter for me. It was some disappointment to me; but let me be satisfied with my God; and if I cannot have the comfort of hearing from my friends, let me return with thankfulness to his word, which is a treasure of which none envy me the possession, and where I can find what will more than compensate for the loss of earthly enjoyments. Resignation to the will of God is a lesson which I must learn, and which I trust he is teaching me.”
In the earlier part of his life he felt a great increase of spiritual feeling and enjoyment, in consequence of having for a time scarcely any other book to read than the Bible.
Mr. Martyn was sometimes encouraged to believe that the constant perusal of the scriptures had made a serious impression on the mind of Mirza Seid Ali, his assistant in translation. He was evidently interested in his employment, and even went so far as to acknowledge his belief in Christ, as the Son of God, and to express his willingness to trust in him for salvation, and make a public profession of his faith. But his conduct at other times manifested, that he had only a belief in these truths as facts, and that he did not really submit himself to God by faith and repentance. His candour was evinced in a confession which he made, on a point in which the natural disposition of his countrymen inclines them to be very perverse. He had been boasting of the humility and simplicity of his sect, the Soofies; upon which Mr. Martyn remarked, that if he was really humble, he would not dispute so boldly as he did, but would be like a child. Upon hearing this he did not speak, except to acknowledge, “True, I have no humility;” and afterwards, in a tone of distress, said, “The truth is, we are in a state of compound ignorance; ignorant, yet ignorant of our ignorance.” When their translation was finished, Mr. Martyn remarked, “Mirza Seid Ali never now argues against the truth, nor makes any remarks but of a serious kind. He speaks of his dislike to some of the Soofies, on account of their falsehood and drunken habits. This approach to the love of morality, is the best sign of a change for the better, which I have yet seen in him. As often as he produces the New Testament, which he always does when any of his friends come, his brother and cousin ridicule him; but he tells them that, supposing no other benefit to have been derived, it is certainly something better to have gained all this information about the religion of Christians, than to have loitered away the year in the garden.”
Engd. by J. H. Nesmith