The Life of Margaret Wife of Richard Baxter, Chapter 7
CHAP. VII. Of her exceeding desires to do good.
§. 1. AS at her conversion, and in her sickness, she absolutely devoted her self, and all that she had to God; so she earnestly set her self to perform it to the last. At first she gave but the tenth of her incomes to the poor; but I quickly convinced her, that God must not be stinted, but as all was his, so all must be used for him by his stewards, and of all we must give account; only in his appointed order we must use it, which is, 1. For our own natural necessities. 2. For publick necessary good. 3. For the necessities of our children, and such Relations as are part of our charge. 4. And then for the godly poor. 5. And then for the common poors necessities. 6. And lastly, For conveniencies; but nothing for unuseful things.
§. 2. To name the particular great instances of her private charity, is neither suitable to my ends, nor her desires. I will instance but some of her more publick cares.
§. 3. She was earnestly desirous of the winning of souls, and of the utmost improvement of mine and other mens labours to that end. At Acton, I told you how she promoted it; and at Totteridge, out of Church-time, she gladly opened her doors to her Neighours, that would come in for instruction.
§. 4. At London, when she saw me too dull and backward to seek any Employment till I was called, and that most places in the City had some Supplies; she first fisht out of me in what place I most desired more Preaching. I told her in St. Martins Parish, where are said to be forty thousand more than can come into the Church, especially among all the new Buildings at St. Iameses, where Neighbours many live like Americans, and have heard no Sermon of many years.
When she had once heard this, without my knowledg she sets one to seek after some capacious Room there; and none was found, but divers Rooms over the Market-house laid together. She gets one to take them. And they two agreed to importune me to preach each morning, and in the afternoon to get by turns the ablest Ministers they could procure in London. And to that end she got a Minister an hundred miles off to come up to help me, promising him 4cl. a year to go from day to day to supply the places of such eminent Ministers as should be got. All this charge, besides paying a Clerk, and a woman to look to the Seats, rose high. Part of it the people paid, and the rest she paid her self.
§. 5. Hence God was pleased to remove us, but by the interposition of a marvellous deliverance. The Roof of that Market-house is a vast weight, and was ill contrived to lye much on one Beam in the middle of the Floor: the place being greatly crowded, the Beam gave so great a crack as put all the people in a fear. But a second crack set them all on running, and crying out at the windows for Ladders: I having seen the like before at Dunstans Fleetstreet while I was preaching (which occasioned the pulling down and new building of the Church) reproved them sharply for their fears, and would have gone on to preach; but see the strange hand of God on her that set all the work on foot! After the first crack she got down the stairs through the crowd, where others could not get that were stronger. The first man she met, she askt him what Profession he was of? He said a Carpenter. Saith she, Can you suddenly put a prop under the middle of this Beam? The man dwelt close by, had a meet prop ready, suddenly put it under, while all we above knew nothing of it; but the mans knocking encreased the peoples fears and cry. We were glad all to be gone; and the next morning took a skilful Workman to take up the boards, and search the Beam; which we all saw had two such rents, so long and so wide, and the sound part left was so slender, that we took it for a wonder that the house fell not suddenly.
§. 6. But this fright encreased my Wives diseased frightfulness; so that she never got off all the effects of it while she lived. The fear, and the marvellous deliverance, made her promise to God two things: 1. To keep the Anniversary memorial of it in publick Thanksgiving (which she did.) And 2. to build a safer place, where they might meet with less fear. And it too deeply toucht her mind to think that it was she that took the place, and brought them all duplicate page duplicate page thither. And if 800. persons had been there buried in the ruins, as the Papists were at Blackfryers, O what a dreadful thing it would have been in the heavy loss, the many dolorous Families, and the publick scandal! These were too great thoughts to fall on a weak and too passionate nature.
§. 7. According to her promise she paid for that place, and presently set to seek and build another. And there was there no fit grounds near it to be had, but two; of which one was in Oxenden-street, which she could not have without giving 30. l. a year ground-rent, and to be at all the charge of building on it, and this but for a Lease not very long. But she must do it by promise and desire. She gets a Friend to make the bargain, takes the ground, and begs money to build on it a Chappel (which tempted us by the ill advice of Friend, to take also the front-ground to the street, and build two little houses on it, to our great loss, all her own money, and manytimes more, being laid out upon them, much against her inclination).
§. 8. When that Chappel was finished, I began and preacht there but one day, being to go on the morrow into the Countrey. It unhappily fell out, that Secretary Henry Coventry's house was on the back-side of it, who resolved that it should not be used by us. The next Lords day, when I was far off, and left my Wife at home, she got one Mr. Seddon, a Derbyshire-stranger then come to Town, to preach there (an humble pious man, that had suffered imprisonment formerly by Cromwell's Party for being for the King's Restoration at the rising of Sir George Booth): Secretary Coventry thinking I would be there, had got three Justices with a Warrant as for me, to have apprehended me, and sent me to Goal. But it fell on Mr. Seddon. But because the Warrant made for me, was so altered as to the name that it suited not his case, after some time of Imprisonment he had his Habeas Corpus, and by the Justice of worthy Judg Hale and other Judges, was delivered. But he was a tender man, and my Wife sensible that she was the occasion (which did her no good), and all the burden lay on her to maintain him, to visit and comfort him, to pay the Lawyers, and discharge all fees; which as I remember cost her 20 l. And yet we were calumniated as if I (that was twenty miles off) had put another to suffer in my stead.
§. 9. When she saw that we could not be suffered to preach in the place which upon her promise she had built; she was very glad that Dr. Lloyd and the Parishioners accepted of it for their publick Worship; asking them no more Rent than we were to pay for the ground, and the Room over for a Vestry at 5 l. and asking no advantage for all the money laid out on the building: yet since the purchase of the fee-simple of the Chappel-ground hath cost me 200 l. more (and the adjoining ground 200 l. more, to my great loss).
§. 10. So much was her heart set on the helping the ignorant untaught poor about St. Iameses, that she set up a School there to teach some poor children to read, and the Catechism freely; and thereby also relieved a poor honest man that taught them, who hath a Wife and many children, and no other maintenance of his own. [Mr. Bruce.] And she would fain have set up more, had she had money: For this she beg'd a while of her good friends; but they quickly gave over, and she paid him mostly of her own, six pound a year, till her death. I mention this, to move some charitable people to continue it; and to tell them, that in the many great out-parishes of London there are multitudes of the children of the poor, that spend their time in idleness, and play, and are never taught to read; and that there are many good women very poor, that would be glad of a small stipued to teach such to read, and the Catechism; and so both might have relief and help: and I think Charity can scarce be better used, as honest Mr. Gouge hath in Wales found by experience. And I would such places in London where the tenth or the fourth person in the Parish cannot come to Church, and many thousands have disused themselves from Gods publick Worship, and breed up their children accordingly, were pitied as well as Wales.
§. 11. When she saw that I could not use the Chappel which she built, she presently hired another near (ready built, for gain) in Swallow-street, that the poor people where I had begun (through Gods mercy with considerable success) might still be taught: and when I had there a while continued, and was kept out (by the Officers standing at the door with the Justices Warrant many Months together) it was her care and act to refer it to many good Ministers, to choose one for the place that would be better endured by them that would not endure me; and a faithful painful self-denying man was chosen, who hath there done much good, and still doth.
§. 12. When I was thence driven, it was her choice that I should go quite to Southwark each Lordsday, to Preach to a Congregation of poor people there.
§. 13. When Dr. Manton's place, at Covent-Garden, was void, it was her desire that I should Preach once a day there, because being near, many of the poor of St. Iames's would come thither, as they did.
§. 14. She got from her friends also money to help to build another very useful Chappel for another, among a numerous poor people, where still much good is done. And she promoted two or three such more.
§. 15. She was very impatient of publick Collections for the Ministers, or for the Rent of the place, because it sounded ill, and prejudiced the ignorant and covetous, and troubled the poor that had no money; and therefore did the utmost she could with her own Purse and her friends to avoid it, knowing that Rent must be paid, and Ministers and their Families must have Bread (and it's pity they should be under the cares of want).
§. 16. She was so far from crossing me in my preaching freely without Salary, or gathering a Church that would maintain me, or making Collections, or getting Subscriptions, that she would not have endured any such thing if I had desired it; though she knew that the labourer was worthy of his hire, and that God had ordained, that they that Preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel: yet she knew that all must be done to the furtherance of the Gospel, and to edifying; and was of Paul's mind, that would rather die than any should make his glorying void, and deprive him of that reward. Therefore it was so far from offending her (as it would be with many Ministers Wives that were in want, and might have such maintenance as is their due), that I neither conformed, nor took any place of gain, that it was as much by her will as my own, that for the first nine or ten years of my ejected state I took not so much as any private gift to supply my wants, except Ten Pounds a year from Serjeant Fountaine, which his importunity, and my civility would not permit me to refuse.
§. 17. And I take it yet for a greater part of her self-denial and charity, that when her own Estate proved much too short to maintain her in the exercise of such good works as she was devoted to, she at length refused not to accept with thanks the liberality of others, and to live partly on Charity, that she might exercise Charity to them that could not so easily get it from others as we could do: And accordingly of latter years divers faithful pious friends (no way related to us, or obliged by us) have been so free, kind and liberal, that I have much ado to forbear here naming them, in expression of their bounty, and my thanks. And I must say of her, that once her pride would not have stooped to be so much beholden, as to live on the Charity of strangers.
§. 18. When Warrants were out (from Sir Thomas Davis) to distrain of my goods for fines for my Preaching, she did, without any repining, encourage me to undergo the loss, and did her self take the trouble of removing, and hiding my Library a while (many score being so lost), and after, to give it away, bonâ fide, some to New England, and the most at home to avoid distraning on them. And the danger of Imprisonment, and paying 40. l. for every Sermon, was so far from enclining her to hinder or discourage me from any one Sermon, that if she did but think I had the least fear, or self-saving by fleshly wisdom, in shrinking from my undertaken Office work, it was so great a trouble to her, that she could not hide it (who could too much hide many others).
§. 19. She was exceeding impatient with any Nonconforming Ministers that shrunk for fear of suffering, or that were over-querulous and sensible of their wants or dangers; and would have no man be a Minister that had not so much self-denial as to lay down all at the feet of Christ, and count no cost or suffering too dear to serve him. She greatly hated choosing, or using the sacred Ministry for wealth, ease, or honour, or any worldly end, serving the flesh under the name of serving Christ, and looking to be reverenced and honoured in this taking of Gods Name in vain.
§. 20. Accordingly after some years, wherein a lager course had been taken, she was against my perswading Parents to devote their children to the Ministry, that had but good Wits and Parts, and were not prophane; though my success with some did much encourage me to it heretofore: But her sense of the sin and mischief of bad Ministers, made her perswade all, that in that case she had to do with, to take heed of devoting their Sons to the Ministry, till they had good reason to judg them truly godly; and as she would not have pious persons to Marry such as were not pious, on pretence of hopes that God would convert them; so much less would she have such hopes that have no promise from God, pretended for devoting unsanctified lads to the Sacred Office: she saw how many, even of good mens children, prophaned the Ministy, and turned to any course that did but serve their worldly interest; that she was vehemently against addicting any to that Office, that had not besides good Wits and Parts, so great a love to God and Souls, as to come to it with absolute selfdenial, resolved to serve Christ at the dearest rates, and take his acceptance, and the winning of Souls for their Benefice.
She was not willing to entice any into the way of the Ministry, as a common Trade to live by in the world; and would have had two or three Reading, Writing, and Catechising-Schools set up instead of one Grammar-School: And she would not have Parents make Scholars of bad children, nor send them to the Universities, lest when they had a little wordy Learning they should make themselves Ministers, whether their Parents would or not; and so a swarm of such as had been a few years at the University, should think a Benefice their due, and take the charge of the souls of many, that never knew the worth of one, nor how it must be qualified and guided.
§. 21. Her expectations of liberality to the poor from others were too high, and her displeasure too great towards them that denied her; whereupon when she saw a worthy person in debt, or Prison, or great want, she would promise to gather them such a Sum, and sometimes she was put to pay most of it her self: But a Fortnight or Month before she died, she promised to get 20. l. towards the relief of one of known name and worth, and could get but 8. l. and somewhat over of it, and paid all the rest her self.
§. 22. Her judgment was, that we ought to give more or less to every one that asketh, if we have it; and that Neighbourhood, and notice, and asking, next to known indigence, and great worth, are the marks by which to know to whom God would have us give. I thought, that besides these, we must exercise prudence in discerning the degrees of need and worth. But she practised as she thought, and specially to them in Prison for debt; and blamed me if I denied any one.
§. 23. Alas! I know many poor Widows, and oothers, that think they have now lost a Mother, and are left desolate, whom I could wish some that are able would help, instead of the help which they have lost.
§. 24. She was much more liberal to many of my own poor kindred than I was: But her way was not to maintain them in idleness, but to take children, and set them to some Trade, or help them out of some special straits.
§. 25. To her own kindred she bare a most tender love: but her care was most to get them to be good, and save their souls, and next to settle them well in the world. I had ever been greatly averse to motion Marriages, yet she even compelled me (first satisfying my reason) to be a motioner of a Wife to her only Brothers Son, who, it's said, was worth to him above 20000. l. And her Sisters children she loved as if they had been her own, especially three Daughters.
§. 26. There are some things charged on her as faults, which I shall mention. 1. That she busied her head so much about Churches, and works of Charity, and was not content to live privately and quietly. But this is but just what prophane unbelievers say against all zeal, and serious godliness: what needs there all this ado? Doth not Paul call some women his helps in the Gospel? He that knows what it is to do good, and makes it the business of his life in the world, and knows what it is to give account of our stewardship, and to be doomed as the unprofitable slothful servant, will know how to answer this accusation.
§. 28. Another accusation is, that she was wasteful and imprudent in leaving me so much in debt.
To that I answer, 1. Let any one that reads what went before, consider what she did, and he will not wonder at her debts: It was not to pamper her own body; she used mean clothing, and a far meaner diet for her own person, I think much less than Cornario's and Lessius's proportion.
2. And she went into no debt but (by mortgage, or otherwise) she gave the Creditors good security for.
3. But I confess she and I differed in this; I thought I was to give but all my Income, and not to borrow to give, unless in some publick, or extraordinary case: she thought otherwise, that while she could give security, she ought to borrow to relieve the poor, especially the most worthy. Nor did she draw upon us any debt, but what there was not only sufficient security for, but also a fair prospect of our selves having a competency left, had it pleased God to lengthen her life: and I am far from fearing want my self.
But so much for opening the course of her studies, labours, expences, and indeed her delights.