A Christian Directory, Part 1: Christian Ethics

by Richard Baxter

Few ever had more weakness to imbitter their lives than he; and yet this heightened and cherished the peculiar seriousness of his spirit. Few ever were more strongly tempted to infidelity; and yet, as Providence overruled it, that contributed in the issue to his greater establishment. He was tempted sorely to question the truth of the Scriptures, the immortality of the soul, and the life to come. This sort of temptations did not assault him in that way that is usual with melancholy persons, but with a show of sober reason. Hereupon he was forced to dig to the very foundations of religion, and seriously to examine the reasons of christianity, and to give a hearing to all that could be said against it; and his preaching and writings were upon this account the more useful. And he at last found that nothing is so firmly believed, as that which hath been some time doubted of.

He was a great observer of Providence, and in the course of his life met with many surprising deliverances. When he was seventeen years of age, riding on an unruly horse, who would often get the bit in his teeth, and run away with his rider, he was run away with in a very dangerous place. He was in a field of high ground, where there was a quick-set hedge on the side of him, that was the only fence; on the other side of which was a deep narrow lane, about a story's height below him. When the horse was running away with him, he turned aside on a sudden, and leaped over the hedge into the lane. He came to the ground before the horse, and yet received no hurt, thought it seemed marvellous how his feet could fall besides him. At another time, being about the same age, and at Ludlow Castle, in company of several idle gentlemen, he was learning to play at tables of the best gamester in the house. When his opposite had once so much the better, that it was a hundred to one, besides the difference of their skill, he still held on, though both he and the standers-by laughed at him for not giving up, and told him the game was lost: he was so confident of it as to offer a hundred to one; and actually did lay down ten shillings to sixpence. When the wager was laid, he told him there was no possibility of the game, but by one cast often: and it so fell out, that he had that same cast for several times successively, so that by that time a man could go four or five times about the room, his game was gone, which caused great admiration. He took the hint, feared that the devil had the ruling of the dice, and did it to entice him to be a gamester, and so gave him his ten shillings again, and resolved never more to play at tables whilst he lived. At another time, travelling from London into the country, about Christmas, in a very deep snow, he met on the road a loaded waggon, where he could not pass by but on the side of a bank: passing over which, all his horse's feet slipped from under him, and all the girts broke, so that he was cast just before the waggon wheel, which had gone over him, but that it pleased God the horses suddenly stopped, without any discernible cause, till he got out of the way. Often was he brought very low while he was at Kidderminster, so as to receive the sentence of death in himself, when his poor honest, praying neighbours there met together, and upon their fasting and earnest prayers, he hath been recovered. Once when he had been very low for three weeks together, and was unable to go abroad, on the very day that they prayed for him, which was on the Friday, he recovered so as to be able to preach to them, and administer the sacrament, on the Lord's day following. Another time he had a tumour rose on one of the tonsils of his throat, white and hard like a bone, above the hardness of any scirrhous tumour. He feared a cancer, and applied such remedies by the advice of the physician as were thought fittest, but without alteration; for it remained hard as at first. At the end of a quarter of a year, he was under some concern, that he had never praised God particularly for any of the deliverances he had formerly afforded him. And thereupon being speaking of God's confirming our belief of his word, by his fulfilling his promises, and hearing prayers, (as it is published in the second part of his "Saints' Rest,") he annexed some thankful hints as to his own experiences; and suddenly the tumour vanished, leaving no sign where it had been remaining; though he neither swallowed it down, nor spit it out, nor could ever tell what became of it. Another time having read in Dr. Gerhard the admirable effects of the swallowing a gold bullet upon his own father, in a case much like his, he got a gold bullet, between twenty and thirty shillings weight; and having taken it, he knew not how to be again delivered of it. He took clysters and purges for about three weeks, but nothing stirred it. And a gentleman having done the like, the bullet never came from him till he died, and it was cut out. But at last his neighbours set apart a day to fast and pray for him, and he was free from his danger in the beginning of that day. And at another time, being in danger of an ægilopse, he had also sudden relief by their prayers. At another time riding upon a great hot, mettled horse, as he stood upon a sloping pavement in Worcester, the horse reared up, and both his hinder feet slipped from under him; so that the full weight of the body of the horse fell upon his leg, which yet was only bruised, and not broken: when considering the place, the stones, and the manner of the fall, it was a wonder his leg was not broken in shivers. Another time as he sat in his study, the weight of his greatest folio books broke down three or four of the highest shelves, when he sat close under them; and they fell down on every side of him, and not one of them hit him, except one upon the arm. Whereas the place, the weight, and greatness of the books was such, and his head just under them, that it was a wonder they had not beaten out his brains, or done him an unspeakable mischief. One of the shelves just over his head having Dr. Walton's Polyglot Bible, all Austin's Works, the Bibliotheca Patrum, Marlorate, &c. At another time, viz. March 26, 1665, as he was preaching in a private house, a bullet came in at the window, and passed by him, but did no hurt. Such things as these he carefully took notice of, and recorded. And indeed his being carried through so much service and suffering too, under so much weakness, was a constant wonder to himself, and all that knew him; and what he used himself often to take notice of, with expressions of great thankfulness.

There was scarce a man in England so consulted about cases of conscience as he was. He was applied to in matters of more than common concern and difficulty, by persons of all ranks and qualities. His "Directory" may give the world satisfaction how fit he was for that province: and had he kept an exact account of the various cases that had been proposed to him, with his solutions, we should have had yet fuller evidence.

He loved a retired life, but could not so conceal himself as not to be observed and much respected. My Lord Broghill, who was afterwards Earl of Orrery and Lord President of Munster, gave him many marks of his respect. Archbishop Usher used great freedom with him, and urged him to some of his writings. In the worst of times he had some even in King Charles's court that were very respectful to him. Duke Lauderdale was one of these: and let him be ever so ill a man himself, this must be said, that Mr. Baxter had sometimes an interest in him for the procuring good, and the avoiding mischief. While he lived at Acton, he had free conversation with his neighbour Sir Matthew Hale. And he manifested his respect to Mr. Baxter, by giving a high encomium of him both for piety and learning, before all the judges at the table at Serjeants' Inn, at the time when he was in prison upon the Oxford Act. My Lord Balcarres and his Lady had also a very great value for him. He had many letters full of respects from eminent divines in foreign parts. But there was no friend in the whole course of his life whom he more valued and respected, and by whom he was more beloved, than that noted citizen Henry Ashhurst, Esq. commonly called Alderman Ashhurst, who was the most exemplary person for sobriety, self-denial, piety, and humility, that London could glory of. In short, living and dying, he was as much respected by some, and as much slighted by others, as any man of the age.

Hardly any man was ever more calumniated and reproached than he. Dr. Boreman, of Trinity College, charged him in print with killing a man with his own hand in cold blood. Some years after, the same charge was brought against him in a coffee-house; but he that brought it being afterwards convinced, professed his sorrow, and asked his pardon. But Sir Roger L'Estrange published a story a little like it in his "Observator," and it was also inserted in the preface to the "Life of Dr. Heylin," and was lately inserted in a book entitled, "Ordination by mere Presbyters proved Void and Null, in a Conference between Philalethes and Pseudocheus." The story was this, that Mr. Baxter finding one Major Jennings in the war time among the bodies of the dead and wounded, looked on while Lieutenant Hurdman, that was with him, ran him through the body in cold blood. And that Mr. Baxter took off with his own hand the king's picture from about his neck, telling him as he was swimming in his gore, that he was a popish rogue, and that was his crucifix: which picture was kept by Mr. Baxter till it was got from him, but not without much difficulty, by one Mr. Somerfield who lived with Sir Thomas Rouse, who restored it to the true owner, who was supposed to be dead of his wounds: and this narrative was subscribed by Jennings himself, that it might pass for the more authentic.—Mr. Baxter, on the contrary, solemnly protested in print[4] upon occasion of the publication, that he knew not that he ever saw Major Jennings; that he never saw him or any other man wounded; that he never took such a picture from him, or saw who did it; nor was in the field when it was done; much less spoke any thing like the words reported: but that being at Longford House, while it was a garrison for the parliament, a soldier showed a small medal of gilt silver, bigger than a shilling; and said that he wounded Jennings, took his coat from his back, and the medal from his neck, which Mr. Baxter bought for eighteen pence, no one offering more: and that hearing afterwards he was living, he freely desired this Somerfield to give it him, supposing it was a mark of honour which might be useful to him. And this story was all the thanks that ever he had.

When he preached before King Charles, his Majesty sent the lord chamberlain to him to require him to print his sermon, and he accordingly printed it, and added in the title page, "by his Majesty's special command." Dr. Pierce afterward asserted to several, that he was none of the king's chaplain, and that he had no order from him for the printing of his sermon. And he could scarce preach a sermon, but he was represented as having some seditious design, covered over with innocent words.

He was vehemently aspersed by those that were fond of extremes on all hands. When the lecture was set up at Pinner's Hall, if he did but preach for unity and against division, or unnecessary withdrawing from each other, or against unwarrantable narrowing the church of Christ, it was presently said he preached against such and such persons. If he did but say that the will of man had a natural liberty, though a moral thraldom to vice; and that men might have Christ and life if they were but truly willing, though grace must make them willing; and that men have power to do better than they do; he was said to preach up Arminianism and free-will. And on the other hand, when he in public told the people, that they must not make the world believe that they were under greater sufferings than they really were, nor be unthankful for their peace; and that they ought when any hurt them, to love and forgive them, and see that they failed not of their duty to them; but should not forsake the owning and just defending by Scripture evidence, the truth opposed; some of the high-church party, in a printed account, told the world, that he bid the people resist, and not stand still and die like dogs: for the falsity of which he was forced to appeal to the many hundreds that heard him.

Nay, he was aspersed even after his death. For it was reported that in the latter part of his life even till he died, he was in great doubt and trouble about a future state; that he inclined to think there was no future state at all, and ended his days under such a persuasion, to his no small trouble; he having written so many things to persuade persons to believe there was. Which was abundantly answered by Mr. Sylvester, in his preface prefixed to the "History of his Life and Times."