The Christians Converse with God, Title page – List
The Christians CONVERSE with GOD, OR, THE Insufficiency and Vncertainty OF Human Friendship And the Improvement of SOLITUDE IN CONVERSE with GOD; With some of the AUTHOR's Breathings after him.
By Richard Baxter.
Recommended to the Reader's serious thoughts when at the House of Mourning, and in Retirement. By Mr. Matth. Silvester.
LONDON, Printed for John Salusbury, at the Rising Sun over against the Royal Exchange in Cornhill. 1693.
TO THE READER·
THis Excellent Discourse, breathing the Excellence of it's (now Deceased) Authors Spirit, craves thy most serious perusal; and it will plentifully reward the hours which shall be spent thereon. It greatly savours of deep thoughts, strict observations, and long and great experience of God, of Things, and Persons. Creatures look best when at a distance, and in prospect; but when nearer to us, they are then easily looked through, and seldom found to correspond with their Appearances to us, and with our expectations from them. But God is such a deep and boundless Abyss of Perfection, as most delightfully will endure and recompence all the severity and closeness of our eternal Thoughts about him. Perfected Spirits are all thought concerning God, and find their Hearts enflamed, and all their Powers invigorated thereby eternally, to inexpressible Satisfaction: And what varieties of pleasant Thoughts the Innumerable Instances and Mirrours of Divine Excellencies in the Heavens will endlesly Minister unto, I do not know, nor dare I guess too boldly at them. But how those Souls can look for Heaven, or truly be accounted gracious, who never retire solemnly to converse with God, I know not. Surely, where God is not more than all to us, he can be comfortably nothing: And our religious Exercises and Pretences must needs be mean and dull, whilst God is triflingly and seldom thought on, and conversed with by us. Can holy Walking be preserved and promoted without love? Can love to God and Christ, and to the invisible State, be kindled, cherished, and continually advanced without Faith? Can Faith be any thing but Fancy and Presumption, without Thought and Knowledge? And can the Life of Faith, Hope, Love, and holy Walking, be fixt and vigorous, and proficient, without our serious and frequent representations of God unto our selves by solemn Contemplations of his excellent Perfections, free Communications, plentiful Provisions, and glorious Designs, whereto he hath entitled us, seeing our Religion and Devotions in all the parts thereof can have no Life and Soul but this? What is it to converse with God in Solitude, but to actuate our Thoughts of what we know concerning God in Christ, and to accomodate them to all the needful and useful Purposes of Religion and Devotion; and to make Thoughts solemnly serviceable to the great Ends thereof, viz. our due and seasonable Representations of our God to us, and of our selves to him in Christ, pursuant to the stated and occasional Ends and Interests of Christian Godliness, as the matter may require? Conversing thus with God, wants not its great Advantages in life and death. And if these Thoughts contained in this Book, (which did so greatly reconcile the Author to the Thoughts of his then approaching, but now experienced Death,) were more in Exercise at Funeral Solemnities, and this Book then put into the hands of Mourners, it would be no matter of Repentance that I know of. These are the hasty Thoughts and Sentiments of thine in and for the Lord, whilst
Matthew Sylvester. London, Sept. 12. 1692.
THE CONTENTS·
THE Context opened.
p. 1
Why Christ was forsaken by his Disciples.
p. 6.
Use 1. Expect by the forsaking of your Friends to be conformed unto Christ: Reasons for your Expectation.
p. 12
The Aggravations of their forsaking you.
p. 34
Some quieting Considerations.
p. 38
The Order of Forms in the School of Christ.
p. 51
The Disciples scattered every Man to his own.
p. 57.
Selfishness contrary to friendly fidelity.
p. 58.
Considerations to quiet us in the death of faithful Friends.
p. 60
Whether we shall know them in Heaven.
p. 71
Whether Creatures be any matter of our Comfort in Heaven.
p. 73.
Quest. Shall I have any more Comfort in present friends than in others?
p. 76
Doct. 3. When all forsake us, and leave us (as to them) alone, we are far from being simply alone, because God is with us.
p. 80.
The advantages of having God with us.
p. 81
Quest. How he is with us.
p. 82
Use. 1. Imitate Christ: Live upon God alone, though men forsake you; yet thrust not your selves into Solitude uncalled.
p. 91
In what cases Solitude is lawful and good.
p. 92
Reasons against unnecessary Solitude.
p. 94
The Comfort of Converse with God in necessary Solitude. The Benefits of Solitude. The Reasons from God. Improved largely in some Meditations.
p. 102.111
Directions for Conversing with God in Solitude.
p. 149
Concluded in further Meditation.
p. 160
A Caution.
p. 166
Books Printed for John Salusbury in Cornhill.
THE certainty of The Worlds of Spirits, fully evinced by unquestionable Histories of Apparitions and Witchcrafts, Operations, Voices, &c. Proving the Immortality of Souls, the Malice and Miseries of the Devils and the Damned, and the Blessedness of the Justified. By Richard Baxter.
An End of Doctrinal Controversies which have lately troubled the Churches, by …econciling explication without much Disputing. By Richard Baxter.
The Protestant Religion truly stated and justified, by the late Reverend Divine Mr. Richard Baxter: Whereunto is added by way of an Epistle, some Account of the Learned Author, never before published. By Mr. Matth. Sylvester and Mr. Daniel Williams.
The Harmony of the Divine Attributes, in the contrivance and accomplishment of Mans Redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ. By William Bates, D. D.
The Changableness of this World, with respect to Nations, Families, and particular Persons; with a practial Application thereof to the various conditions of this Mortal Life. By Timothy Rogers, M. A.
The Christian Lover, or a discourse opening the Nature of Participation with, and Demonstrating the necessity of Purification by Christ. By T. Cruse.
The Duty and blessing of a Tender Conscience, plainly stated and earnestly recommended to all that regard acceptance with God, and the prosperity of their Souls. By the same Author.
Five Sermons on various Occasions. By the same Author.
The Mirrour of Divine Love unvail'd, in a Paraphrase on the High and misterious Song of Solomon. By Robert Fleming. V. D. M.
The Mourners Memorial, in two Sermons on the death of the truly Pious Mrs. Susannah Some. With some Account of her Life and death. By T. Wright, and Robert Fleming. V. D. M.
A new Examination of the Accidence and Grammar, in English and Latin, wherein all the Rules of Properi quae Maribus, Que Genus, As in presenti, Sintax, and Praesodia, are made plain and easie, that the meanest Capacity may speedily learn the Latin Tongue.