The Practical Works of the Rev. Richard Baxter, Vol. 23
Overview
Volume Twenty-Three concludes The Saint’s Everlasting Rest. Baxter addresses the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, and encourages his readers to compare expectations of life on earth with the promises of heaven. Fearing death leads to doubt and despair, but contemplating heaven brings comfort and rest.
- William Orme’s biography of Baxter
- Chronological index of Baxter’s works
Top Highlights
“You will not suffer your child to use a knife till he have wit to do it without hurting him” (Page 180)
“But do we believe ourselves; or are we Christians in judgment, and pagans in affection?” (Page 179)
“When truth is apprehended only as truth, this is but an unsavoury and loose apprehension; but when it is apprehended as good, as well as true, this is a fast and delightful apprehension. As a man is not so prone to live according to the truth he knows, except it do deeply affect him, so neither doth his soul enjoy its sweetness, except speculation do pass to affection. The understanding is not the whole soul, and therefore cannot do the whole work.” (Page 313)
“We can read, and study, and confer, preach, and hear, day after day, without much weariness, because in these we have to do with instruments and creatures; but in secret prayer and conversing with God immediately, where no creature interposeth, how dull, how heartless and weary are we! Thirdly, And if we lose creatures or means, doth it not trouble us more than our loss of God? If we lose but a friend, or health, &c., all the town will hear of it; but we can miss our God, and scarce bemoan our misery. Thus it is apparent, we exceedingly make the creature our rest. Is it not enough that they are sweet delights, and refreshing helps in our way to heaven, but they must also be made our heaven itself?” (Page 178)
“Many were more willing to go to heaven in the former days of persecution, when they had no hopes of seeing the church reformed, or delivered: but now men are in hopes to have all things almost as they desire, the case is altered; and they begin to look at heaven as strangely and sadly, as if it would be a loss to be removed to it.” (Page 190)
…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. 23
- Author: Richard Baxter
- Publisher: Paternoster
- Publication Date: 1830
- Pages: 575
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.”