The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter, Vol. 5
Overview
Volume Five of The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter contains the third part of A Christian Directory, which covers what Baxter calls “Christian Ecclesiastics.”
In this volume, Baxter writes about meaningful worship and the right end of worship. He also articulates the connection between covenant theology and corporate worship, including baptism and profession of faith and the communal affirmation entailed in both. "Worship", says Baxter, "helps us keep our obligations toward one another."
The role of pastors endured an identity crisis in the years following the Reformation, as Protestants attempted to understand the relationship between ministers and their congregants apart from the authority of Rome. Baxter writes at length about ecclesiastical authority, the history of the episcopacy, the duty of individuals toward their pastors, and the ministerial office itself. Baxter also attempts to address the central issues faced by Protestant ministers: Do individuals need to be re-baptized? How do Protestants define and relate to the communion of saints? Should ministers be re-ordained? How do Protestants define church authority? What should the future relationship between Protestants and Catholics look like? This practical guide navigates through difficult ecclesiological issues which have lingered in the centuries following Baxter’s original writing.
- William Orme’s biography of Baxter
- Chronological index of Baxter’s works
Top Highlights
“He hath made it our duty to worship him constantly” (Page 5)
“It is not the reading of many books which is necessary to make a man wise or good; but the well reading of a few, could he be sure to have the best.” (Page 584)
“Be sure that you seriously and faithfully practise that inward worship of God, in which the life of religion doth consist: as to love him above all, to fear him, believe him, trust him, delight in him, be zealous for him; and that your hearts be sanctified unto God, and set upon heaven and holiness:’” (Pages 18–19)
“Thus God is worshipped either inwardly by the soul alone, or also outwardly by the body expressing the worship of the soul. For that which is done by the body alone, without the concurrence of the heart, is not true worship, but an hypocritical image or shew of it, equivocally called worshipb.” (Page 2)
“The right worshipping of God prepareth us for heaven, where we are to behold him, and love, and worship him for ever” (Page 5)
…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. 5
- Author: Richard Baxter
- Publisher: Paternoster
- Publication Date: 1830
- Pages: 602
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.”
