The Life of Margaret Wife of Richard Baxter, Title page – To the reader
A BREVIATE OF THE LIFE OF MARGARET, The Daughter of FRANCIS CHARLTON, of Apply in Shropshire, Esq And Wife of RICHARD BAXTER. For the use of all, but especially of their Kindred. There is also Published the Character of her Mother, truly described in her Published Funeral Sermon, Reprinted at her Daughters Request, called, The Last Work of a Believer, His passing-prayer, recommending his departing Spirit to Christ, to be received by him.
LONDON: Printed for B. Simmons, at the Three Golden Cocks at the West-end of St. Pauls. 1681.
TO THE READER.
Reader,
GOD having called away to his Blessed Rest and Glory, the Spirit of the most dear Companion of these last Nineteen Years of my Life, or near; I found in her Last Will a request, that I should reprint five Hundred of her Mothers Funeral-Sermons, written by me 1661, being now out of Press, called The last Work of a Believer, his Passing Prayer, &c. Not only her very great Love and Honour of her remembred Mother moved her to it, but the apprehension of the Vsefulness of that subject to Dying Christians; a Subject about which her Soul was awakened the more, by the Death of many Friends and excellent Christians taken away this Year. And the day somewhat excited her, for it was written by her on Decem. 30, the same day which she kept secretly as an Anniversary Remembrance of the Sentence of Death from which she had been delivered; and the same day when our dear Friend Mr. Corbet lay dying. And I finde some expectations of her own speedy Death, had some hand in it.
Being thus obliged by her Request, mine own Affections urged me to premise this Breviate of her own Life: Written, I confess, under the power of melting Grief, and therefore perhaps with the less prudent judgment; but not with the less, but the more Truth: For passionate Weakness poureth out all, which greater Prudence may conceal. Conscionable mens Histories are true; but if they be also wise, they tell us but some part of Truth, concealing that which would do harm, and which the depraved world cannot bear without abusing it: But we that are less wise, tell all the Truth, too little regarding how men will receive it. And hence comes all History, which hath not evidence equal to natural, to be of less credit than most men think; while bad men lie, and good men leave out so much of the Truth, as makes the rest to be as another thing than altogether it would appear.
And having purposed to write this Breviate concerning my dear Wife, God having the same year taken away two more of my ancient Family, I wrote a Breviate of their Lives also; One was my excellent holy Mother-in-Law, Mary the Daughter of Sir Thomas Hunks, Widow to my dear Father. She was one of the most humble, mortified, holy persons, that ever I knew; and lived in longing to be with Christ, till she was an Hundred years old wanting three or four, in full understanding, and at last rejoycing in the triumphant frequent hearing and repeating the 91 Psalm.
The other was my old Friend and Housekeeper, Jane Matthews, who lived in pious humble Virginity, with eminent worth, to about Seventy six or Seventy seven years, and Died of mere decay, without considerable Pain or Sickness, about a Month, or six Weeks before my Wife.
To these I added a fourth, a Breviate of the Life and Death of that worthy Mother of my Wife, as to the time since I knew her. But I have cast by all these later three, and much of the first, by the Counsel of wise Friends, as things which they think that Strangers will not make so great a matter … Love and Nearness made me do. And I must … that God's Image is the same thing on all his Children; and when you have described one, you have described all, as to the Essentials. But (as in Faces and bodily Strength) they so much differ in Integrals, Degrees and Accidents, that the Lives of some are far more Exemplary and Honourable to Christ their Lord, and their Christian Profession, than others are. And some are so much blemished by Errours, Soul-Diseases, and miscarriages of Life, yea and injuries to the Church of Christ, by their carnal Animosities and Divisions, as rendereth the Examples of the more wise, holy, loving and peaceable, and patient Christians, the more conspicuous and honourable by the difference.
On this account, finding young people naturally much delighted in History, and that for want of better, abundance are quickly corrupted and ensnared by Talebooks, Romances, Play-books, and false or hurtful History, I have long thought that true and useful History is of great use to prevent such evils, and to many profitable ends: And that to young people it is very profitable to begin with the Scripture-History, and next the Lives of holy persons, and next to read the true Church-Historians, and the History of our Native Country; Melchior Adamus in Germany, Beza in his Icones, Thuanus and many others in France, have done the Church this way great service, by a due Commemoration of Exemplary persons. And such as Junius, Scultetus, Thuanus, and others who have recorded the chief passages of their own Lives, have done a profitable work, though Mom'es will say, They publish their own Praise in Pride. There is no saying or doing any … the world, which bad men will not reproach, or put an evil face on, or make an ill use of to themselves. But he that reads such Lives as Bucholtzers, melanchtons, and their like, and then readeth their Church-Histories, will the better discern that they were no Liars.
As it is Satans work to counterwork Christ by the Abuse and Perversion of his own Ordinances and Means, (as to disgrace Revelation by feigned Revelation, and Spirituality by false pretendings to the Spirit, and Magistracy by wicked Magistrates, and the Ministry by worldly and ungodly Ministers, and Christianity by hypocrite false Christians;) so he doth enervate the credit and use of History by false History. And how great use he hath made of this to promote Popery, he that readeth Jacobus de Voragine, and many other of their Legends, or Saints Lives and Miracles, and such as Tympius and many more, besides their voluminous deceitful Histories of Church, Popes and Councils, may quickly finde.
And being my self a vehement Hater of false History, I beg Pardon of the Reader for interposing this Digression: Lately writing of the Iudgment of Cranmer and others, as cited by Dr. Stillingfleet in his Irenicon, about Episcopacy, that the Reader might know where to find it, I added in a Parenthesis, that it was left out in Dr. Burnet's Book: For this I am accused, as disgracing him and his Book falsly. I here do him right, and confess it was ill done of me to judge so hastily without better tryal: But I must tell him wherein my fault consisted; Not in accusing him; I take it not to be a fault in D. B. that he hath omitted many things that are in Fuller, Fox, and others: I had not thought that his Book was disgraced, if he wrote not over again all that every one else had written before him. But my fault lay, 1. In believing Dr. Stillingfleet, who tells us, That these Papers were written in K. Edward's Reign, which made me look for them in Dr. Burnet's Second Volume, where they are not. And another affirming to me, that he saw them in that second Volume, and I perusing it purposely a second time, confirmed me. But Dr. B. saith, Dr. Stillingfleet was mistaken many years, and that they were written long before, in the Reign of Hen. 8. and so he hath them in his first Volume, which I had not perused, not expecting them there. And for this hasty judging, I beg his Pardon.
As to these little private Histories of mine own Family forementioned, I was loath to cast by mine own Mother-in-Laws Life, She being a person of so long and extraordinay Holiness, living (long with Sir Robert Harley, whose Lady was her Cousin-German, and after at Shrewsbury, and after with my Father and me, &c.) in so great Communion with God, contempt of the World, and all its Pomp and Vanity, so great Victory over the flesh, and so long desires to die, and especially in much constant, fervent, successful Prayer, that had marvellous answers, as very few Christians attain.
And I was loath to have cast by the Narrative of my Wifes Mother, for some Reasons not now to be mentioned, and because her Daughters extraordinary Love to her, made her just honour very dear to her: (But her Character is in the Sermon truly given you).
But I am convinced by the judgment of my Friends, that publick things are fittest for publick notice. And I feel that Love, Grief and Nearness affect me with the matters that are so near me; and as it doth not much concern the world to know whether I am sick or well, dead or alive, or whether ever I had a being, (though it concerns me:) So I should think of the concerns of my Friends. Affection makes us think our own or our Friends affairs to be such, as the world should be affected with: I perceive this weakness, and submit.
That which is left out of the Narrative of my Wifes Life, is the occasions and inducements of our Marriage, and some passages between some Relatives and her, which the world is not concerned (yet at least) to know.
If this that is written seem useless to any, it will not hurt them, if they leave it to others that find it more suitable to them: All things be not agreeable to all: That may be useful to persons of her own quality, which is not so to many others. To her Nephews, and Neeces, and some other Kindred, who were also near to her, and for whose sake above most others I write it, you cannot think that it will be altogether useless. O that they would all imitate her in all that is praiseworthy, and needful to themselves. The grand Objection I foresee will be, That I seem but to predicate some of mine own good Works by praising hers. And must I needs bury the memory of them as hers, for fear of the sting of such Objectors? I have told them truly, It is not my own acts, but those that were properly hers, that I there mention. It is not her giving of my Money which I there recite, but that which either was her own and none of mine, or else procured by her for those uses; and the Works such, in which I was but the Executor of her Will.
She is gone after many of my choicest Friends, who within this one year are gone to Christ, and I am following even at the door. Had I been to enjoy them only here, it would have been but a short comfort, mixt with the many troubles which all our Failings and Sins, and some degree of unsuitableness between the nearest and dearest, cause. But I am going after them to that Blessed Society, where Life, Light and Love, and therefore Harmony, Concord and Ioy are perfect and everlasting.
Reader, While I give thee but the Truth, forgive the effects of Age, Weakness and Grief. And if before duplicate page duplicate page I get over this (owned) Passion, I publish also a few Poetical Fragments partly suited to the condition of some sick, or sad afflicted Friends, and partly to my own; if thou accept them not, forgive them only and neglect them. As the man is, such will be his thoughts and works. The Lord prosper our preparation for our great approaching Change. To leave this world for ever, and enter upon an endless Life, where we shall speed according to the preparations of this little inch of time, doth certainly bespeak the most scrious Thoughts, the wisest and speediest Care and Diligence, the most patient Suffering, the most unwearied Labour, the most frugal use of all our Time, the most resolute resistance to all Temptations; and to the Faithful the most joyful Hopes.
July 23. 1681. Rich. Baxter.