The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter, Vol. 3
Overview
Perhaps one of the must universal human experiences is found in the stark realization that each one of us will die. How we confront the reality of death is deeply informed by our worldview and belief system; Christianity has much to say about death.
Volume Three of The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter contains Baxter’s writings on death. The Last Work of a Believer is derived from a eulogy Baxter delivered at the funeral of one of his dear friends and congregants. Death inspired Baxter to reflect on his own death and the broadly shared experience of knowing and loving individuals who have died. He turns to the words of Paul, and compares life to a race that must be run, in full acknowledgment of Christ as the author and perfecter of faith. In the meantime, our tasks include studying, preaching, praying, and avoiding activities which divert our attention—lust, ambitions, and the quest for power.
Baxter’s honest reflections on death emphasize the central themes of the Gospel—resurrection, life, and salvation—in the face of human suffering, doubt, and loss.
- William Orme’s biography of Baxter
- Chronological index of Baxter’s works
Top Highlights
“I. Pride, is an inordinate self-exalting; or a lifting up of ourselves above the state or degree appointed us.” (Page 2)
“It containeth in it these following acts or parts. 1. A will to be higher or greater than God would have us be. 2. An overvaluing of ourselves, or esteeming ourselves to be greater, wiser, or better than indeed we are. 3. A desire that others should think of us, and speak of us, and use us, as greater, or wiser, or better than we are. 4. An endeavour of seeking to rise above our appointed place, or to be overvalued by others. 5. An ostentation of our inordinate self-esteem in outward signs of speech or action. Every one of these is an act of pride. The three first are the inward acts of it in the mind and will, and the two last are its external acts.” (Page 2)
“to dispatch first with greatest care and diligence, the greatest works of absolute necessity” (Page 148)
“Thief iii. The next thief or time-waster is, inordinate adorning of the body.” (Page 159)
“‘Turn all your passions into the right channel, and make them all holy, using them for God upon the greatest thing.’ This is the true cure: the bare restraint of them is but a palliate cure, like the easing of pain by a dose of opium. Cure the fear of man, by the fear of God, and the love of the creature, by the love of God, and the cares for the body, by caring for the soul, and earthly, fleshly desires and delights, by spiritual desires and delights, and worldly sorrow, by profitable, godly sorrow.” (Page 261)
…The most prominent English churchman of the 1600s.
—Christian History, a magazine affiliated with Christianity Today
…We must learn from the Puritan pastor Richard Baxter…to redouble our efforts to find strength from spiritual joy.
[Baxter’s] words have hands and feet. They climb all over you; they work their way into your heart and conscience, and will not be dislodged.
Look at Richard Baxter… what a flashing diamond was he! Even swearers on the ale-bench could not but know that he was a heaven-born spirit.
I was greatly refreshed to find what a sweet savor of good Mr. Baxter’s doctrine, works, and discipline remain to this day.
- Title: The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter, Vol. 3
- Author: Richard Baxter
- Publisher: Paternoster
- Publication Date: 1830
- Pages: 611
Richard Baxter was born on November 12, 1615 in Shropshire, England. Although his childhood education was poor, he studied under John Owen between 1629 and 1632, and was converted at the influence of The Bruised Reed, by Richard Sibbes.
After his mother died, Baxter began to study theology, and studied with both John Owen and Francis Garbet. He was ordained in 1638 by John Thornborough and quickly established his reputation as a preacher and pastor. He became involved the Nonconformity Movement—a movement which resisted the governance of the Church of England, and he renounced his ordination.
In April, 1641, Baxter began his ministry at Kidderminster, which lasted nineteen years. In addition to his ministry as a preacher and pastor, Baxter initiated many social reforms which earned him a reputation among Presbyterians and Episcopalians as a theological uniter. He wrote The Reformed Pastor during his ministry in Kidderminster.
Baxter moved to Gloucester and Coventry in 1643 to avoid the Civil War, and became chaplain in the army. He returned to London in 1660 where he preached regularly and became politically influential. In 1685, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for his Paraphrase on the New Testament, a charge later rescinded by the government.
Baxter wrote prolifically throughout this lifetime. He is well known for his works on the Roman Catholic Church, his works on conversion, his 4-volume Christian Directory, and A Call to the Unconverted to Turn and Live. Baxter provoked theological controversy for his ecumenism—in stark contrast to the religious warfare of his time—and his rejection of limited atonement. He believed that repentance and obedience affect the outcome of salvation, and that right belief is intricately connected to Christian ethics. Baxter’s covenant theology also contributed to the rise of Puritanism.
Richard Baxter died on December 8, 1691. His last words were, “I have pain…but I have peace.”
