A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian Ethics

by Richard Baxter

When I mention the covenant I imply the sacraments, which are but its appendants or confirming seals, and the investing the believer solemnly with its benefits. But in these God is pleased to condescend to the most familiar communion with his church, that love and thankfulness might want no helps. There it is that the love of God in Christ applieth itself most closely to particular sinners; and the meat or drink will be sweet in the mouth, which was not sweet to us on the table at all. Oh how many a heart hath this affected! How many have felt the stirrings of that love, which before they felt not, when they have seen Christ crucified before their eyes, and have heard the minister, in his name and at his command, bid them "take," and "eat," and "drink;" commanding them not to refuse their Saviour, but take him and the benefits of his blood as their own; assuring them of his good-will and readiness to forgive and save them.

3. Behold also the loveliness of God in his holy ones, who bear his image, and are advanced by his love and mercy. If you are christians indeed, you are taught of God to love his servants, and to see an excellency in the saints on earth, and make them the people of your delight, Psal. xvi. 1, 2; 1 Thess. iv. 9. And this must needs acquaint you with the greater amiableness, in the most holy God, that made them holy. Oh how oft have the feeling and heavenly prayers of lively believers excited those affections in me which before I felt not! How oft have I been warmed with their heavenly discourse! How amiable is that holy, heavenly disposition and conversation which appeareth in them! Their faith, their love, their trust in God, their cheerful obedience, their hatred of sin, their desire of the good of all, their meekness and patience; how much do these advance them above the ignorant, sensual, proud, malignant, and ungodly world! How good then is that God that makes men good! And how little is the goodness of the best of men, compared to his unmeasurable goodness! Whenever your converse with holy men stirs up your love to them, rise by it presently to the God of saints, and let all be turned to him that giveth all to them and to you.

And as the excellency of the saints, so their privilege and great advancement, should show you the goodness of God, that doth advance them. As oft as thou seest a saint, how poor and mean in the world soever, thou seest a living monument of the abundant kindness of the Lord. Thou seest a child of God, a member of Christ, an heir of heaven. Thou seest one that hath all his sins forgiven him, and is snatched as a brand out of the fire, and delivered from the power of Satan, and translated into the kingdom of Christ. Thou seest one for whom Christ hath conquered the powers of hell; and one that is freed from the bondage of the flesh; and one that, of the devil's slave, is made a priest, to offer up the sacrifices of praise to God. Thou seest one that hath the Spirit of God within him; and one that hath daily intercourse with heaven, and audience with God, and is dearly beloved by him in Christ. Thou seest in flesh a companion of angels, and one that hath the divine nature, and must shortly be above the stars in glory, and must be with Christ, and must love and magnify God for ever. And is not the amiableness of God apparent, in such mercy bestowed upon sinful man? And should we not now begin to admire him in his saints, and glorify him in believers, who will come with thousands of his angels, to be glorified and admired in them at the last? 2 Thess. 1. 10. Oh the abundant deliverances, preservations, provisions, encouragements, which all his servants receive from God! Who ever saw the just forsaken, even while they think themselves forsaken? "For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace," Psal. xxxvii. 25, 28, 31, 37. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints," Psal. cxvi. 15. "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart," Psal. xcvii. 10, 11. "O love the Lord all his saints! for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer," Psal. xxxi. 23.

Direct. XI. Insist not so much on your desires after vision, as to undervalue the lower apprehensions of faith; but love God by the way of faith, as in order to the love of intuition.

We are exceeding apt to be over-desirous of sight; and to take nothing as an object fit to affect us, which sense perceiveth not. When we have the surest evidence of the truth of things unseen, it hardly satisfieth us, unless we may see or feel. And hereupon, our love to God is hindered; while we think of him as if he were not, or take the apprehensions of faith as if they were uncertain, and little differed from a dream. Yea, it proveth the ground of most dangerous temptations to infidelity itself. While we take that knowledge which we have of God, in the way of faith, the love and communion which is exercised thereby, to be as nothing; we are next tempted to think, that there is no true knowledge of God, and communion with him, to be attained. And when we have been searching and striving long, and find that we can reach no more, we are tempted to think, that the soul of man is made but as the beasts, for present things, and is incapable of those higher things which are revealed in the gospel; and that if it were indeed a life to come, and man were made to enjoy his God, we should get nearer to him than we are, and know him more, and love him better.—But is it nothing, O presumptuous soul, to see God in a glass, in order to a nearer sight? Is it nothing to have the heavenly Jerusalem described and promised to thee, unless thou see it and possess it? Wilt thou travel to no place, but what thou seest all the way? Wouldst thou have no difference betwixt earth and heaven? What canst thou have more in heaven, than immediate intuition? Wouldst thou have no life of trial, in the obedience of faith, before the life of fruition and reward? Or canst thou think that a life of sight and sense is fit for trial and preparation, to show who is meet for the rewarding life? Unthankful soul! Compare thy state with that of brutes: is it nothing for thee to know thy Maker in the works of his creation and providence, and in the revelations of grace, and the belief of promised immortality, unless thou presently see him in his glory; when these thy fellow-creatures know him not at all? Compare thyself now, with thyself as heretofore, in the days of thy ignorance and carnality. Hadst thou then any such knowledge of God, as thou now undervaluest? or any such communion with him, as thou now accountest next to none? When the light first shined in thine eyes, and thou hadst first experience of the knowledge of God, thou thoughtest it something, and rejoicedst in the light: if then thou couldst have suddenly attained but to so much as thou hast now attained, wouldst thou have called it nothing? Would it not have seemed a greater treasure to thee, than to have known both the Indies as thine own? O be not unthankful for the little which thou hast received, when God might have shut thee out in that darkness which the greatest part of the world lieth in, and have left thee to thyself, to have desired no higher knowledge, than such as may feed thy fancy, and pride, and lust. Art thou so far drowned in flesh and sense, as to take intellectual apprehensions for dreams, unless thy sense may see and feel? Wilt thou take thy soul, thyself for nothing, because thou art not to be seen or felt? Shall no subjects honour and obey their king, but they that have seen his court and him? Desire the fullest and the nearest sight, the purest and the strongest love; and desire and spare not the life where all this will be had: but take heed of being too hasty with God, and unthankful for the mercies of the way. Know better the difference betwixt thy travel and thy home; and know what is fit for passengers to expect. Humbly submit to an obedient waiting in a life of faith; and make much of the testament of Christ, till thou be at age to possess the inheritance. Thou must live, and love, and run, and fight, and conquer, and suffer by faith, if ever thou wilt come to see and to possess the crown.

Direct. XII. It is a powerful means to kindle the love of God in a believer, to foresee by faith the glory of heaven, and what God will be there to his saints for ever.[117]—And thus to behold God in his glory, is the use of grace. Though the manner of knowing him thus by faith, be far short of what we there expect, yet it is the same God and glory that now we believe, which then we must more openly behold. And therefore, as that apprehension of love will inconceivably excel the highest which can be here attained; so the forethoughts of that doth excel all other arguments and means to affect us here; and will raise us as high as means can raise us. The greatest things, and greatest interest of our souls, being there, will greatly raise us to the love of God, if any thing will do it: to foresee how near him we shall be ere long; and what a glorious proof we shall have of his good will; and how our souls will be ravished everlastingly with his love! To think what hearts the blessed have that see his glory, and live with Christ! how full of love they are! and what a delight it is to them thus to love! must needs affect the heart of a believer.—Lift up thy head, poor drowsy sinner! look up to heaven, and think where thou must live for ever! Think what the holy ones of God are doing! Do they love God, or do they not? Must it not then be thy life and work for ever? And canst thou forbear to love him now, that is bringing thee to such a world of love? Thou wouldst love him more, that would give thee security to possess a kingdom which thou never sawest, than him that giveth thee but some toy in the hand. And let it not seem too distant to affect thee: the time is as nothing till thou wilt be there: thou knowest not but thou mayst be there this night. There thou shalt see the Maker of the worlds, and know the mysteries of his wondrous works. There thou shalt see thy blessed Lord, and feel that love which thou readest of in the gospel, and enjoy the fruits of it for ever. There thou shalt see him that suffered for thee, and rose again, whom angels see and worship in his glory. Thou shalt see there a more desirable sight, than those that saw him heal the blind, and lame, and sick, and raise the dead; or those that saw him in his transfiguration; or those that saw him on the cross, or after his resurrection; or than Stephen saw when he was stoned; or Paul when he was converted; yea, more than it is like he saw when he was in his rapture, in the third heavens! O who can think believingly on the life which we must there shortly live, the glory which we must see, the love which we must receive, and the love which we must exercise, and not feel the fire begin to flame, and the glass in which we see the Lord become a burning-glass to our affections!—Christ and heaven are the books which we must be often reading; the glasses in which we must daily gaze, if ever we will be good proficients and practitioners in the art of holy love.

Direct. XIII. Exercise your souls so frequently and diligently in this way of love, that the method of it may be familiar to you, and the means and motives still at hand, and you may presently be able to fall into the way, as one that is well acquainted with it, and may not be distracted and lost in generals, as not knowing where to fix your thoughts.—I know no methods alone will serve to raise the dead, and cause a carnal, senseless heart to love the Lord. But I know that many honest hearts, that have the spirit of love within them, have great need to be warned, that they quench not the Spirit; and great need to be directed how to stir up the grace which is given them: and that many live a more dull, or distracted, uncomfortable life, than they would do, if they wanted not skill and diligence. The soul is most backward to this highest work, and therefore hath the greater need of helps: and the best have so much need as that it is well if all will serve to keep up loving and grateful thoughts of God upon their minds. And when every trade, and art, and science, requireth diligence, exercise, and experience, and all are bunglers at it at the first, can we reasonably think that we are like to attain any high degrees, with slight, and short, and seldom thoughts?

Direct. XIV. Yet let not weak-headed or melancholy persons set themselves on those methods or lengths of meditation, which their heads cannot bear; lest the tempter get advantage of them, and abate their love, by making religion seem a torment to them; but let such take up with shorter, obvious meditations, and exercise their love in an active, obediential way of living.—That is the best physic that is fitted to the patient's strength and case: and that is the best shoe that is meetest for the foot, and not that which is the biggest or the finest. It is a great design of Satan, to make all duties grievous and burdensome to us; and thereby to cast us into continual pain, and fear, and trouble, and so destroy our delight in God, and consequently, our love. Therefore pretend not to disability for carnal unwillingness and laziness of mind; but yet mar not all by grasping at more than you are able to bear. Take on you as you are able, and increase your work, if God increase your strength. If a melancholy person crack his brain with immoderate, unseasonable endeavours, he will but disable himself for all.

Direct. XV. Keep clear, and hold fast the evidences of thy sincerity, that thou mayst perceive thy interest in the love of God, and resist the temptations which would hide his love to thee, and cause thee to doubt of it, or deny it.—Satan hath not his end when he hath troubled thee, and robbed thee of thy peace and comfort; it is worse that he is seeking to effect by this: his malice is more against God, than against thee; and more against God and thee, in this point of love, than in any other grace or duty. He knoweth that God esteemeth this most; and he knoweth if he could kill thy love, he kills thy soul. And he knoweth how natural it is to man, to love those that love him, and hate those that hate him, be they never so excellent in themselves. And therefore, if he can persuade thee into despair, and to think that God hateth thee, and is resolved to damn thee, he will not despair of drawing thee to hate God. Or if he do but bring thee to fear that he loveth thee not, he will think accordingly to abate thy love. I know that a truly gracious soul keepeth up its love, when it loseth its assurance; and mourneth, and longeth, and seeketh in love, when it cannot triumph and rejoice in love: but yet there are some prints left on the heart, of its former apprehensions of the love of God: and such souls exceedingly disadvantage themselves as to the exercises of love, and make it a work of wondrous difficulty. Oh! it will exceedingly kindle love, when we can see God's surest love-tokens in our hearts, and look to the promises, and say, They are all mine; and think of heaven, as that which shall certainly be our own: and can say with Thomas, "My Lord, and my God:" and with Paul, that "The life which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, that loved me, and gave himself for me." Denial of our grace may seem to be humility, but it tendeth to extinguish love and gratitude.

But, you will say, I must avoid soul-delusion and pharisaical ostentation on the other side; and few reach assurance; how then should we keep up the love of God?