The Reformed Pastor - Richard Baxter

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your heels before you are aware: he will play the juggler with you undiscerned, and cheat you of your faith or innocency, and you shall not know that you have lost it; nay, he will make you believe it is multiplied or increased, when it is lost. You shall see neither hook nor line, much less the subtle angler himself, while he is offering you his bait. And his bait shall be so fitted to your temper and disposition, that he will be sure to find advantages within you, and make your own principles and inclinations betray you; and whenever he ruineth you, he will make you the instruments of ruin to others. O what a conquest will he think he hath got, if he can make a minister lazy and unfaithful, if he can tempt a minister into covetousness or scandal! He will glory against the Church, and say, 'These are your holy preachers! See what their preciseness is, and whither it brings them.' He will glory against Jesus Christ himself, and say, 'These are thy champions! I can make thy chiefest servants abuse thee; I can make the stewards of thy house unfaithful.' If he did so insult God upon a false surmise, and tell him he could make Job curse him to his face, what will he do if he should prevail against you? And at last he will insult as much over you, that he could draw you to be false to your great trust, and to blemish your holy profession, and to do so much service to him that was your enemy. O, do not so far gratify Satan; do not make him so much sport; suffer him not to use you as the Philistines did Samson, first to deprive you of your strength, and then to put out your eyes, and so to make you the matter of his triumph and derision. 4. Take heed to yourselves, because there are many eyes upon you, and there will be many to observe your falls. You cannot miscarry but the world will ring of it. The eclipses of the sun by day are seldom without witnesses. As you take yourselves for the lights of the churches, you may expect that men's eyes will be upon you. If other men may sin without observation, so cannot you. And you should thankfully consider how great a mercy this is, that you have so many eyes to watch over you, and so many ready to tell you of your faults; and thus have greater helps than others, at least for restraining you from sin. Though they may do it with a malicious mind, yet you have the 41
advantage of it. God forbid that we should prove so impudent as to do evil in the public view of all, and to sin wilfully while the world is gazing on us! 'They that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.' Why, consider that you are ever in the open light: even the light of your own doctrine will expose your evil doings. While you are as lights set upon a hill, think not to lie hid. Take heed therefore to yourselves, and do your work as those that remember that the world looks on them, and that with the quick-sighted eye of malice, ready to make the worst of all, to find the smallest fault where it is, to aggravate it where they find it, to divulge it and to take advantage of it to their own designs, and to make faults where they cannot find them. How cautiously, then, should we walk before so many ill-minded observers! 5. Take heed to yourselves, for your sins have more heinous aggravations than other men's. It was a saying of king Alphonsus, that 'a great man cannot commit a small sin,' much more may we say, that a learned man, or a teacher of others, cannot commit a small sin; or, at least, that the sin is great as committed by him, which is smaller as committed by another. (1) You are more likely than others to sin against knowledge, because you have more than they; at least, you sin against more light, or means of knowledge. What! do you not know that covetousness and pride are sins? do you not know what it is to be unfaithful to your trust, and, by negligence or self-seeking, to betray men's souls? You know your 'Master's will; and, if you do it not, you shall be beaten with many stripes.' There must needs be the more wilfulness, by how much there is the more knowledge. (2) Your sins have more hypocrisy in them than other men's, by how much the more you have spoken against them. O what a heinous thing is it in us, to study how to disgrace sin to the utmost, and make it as odious in the eyes of our people as we can, and when we have done, to live in it, and secretly cherish that which we publicly disgrace! What vile hypocrisy is it, to 42
Page 1 and 2: THE REFORMED PASTOR Richard Baxter
Page 3 and 4: published, in 1766, an Abridgement
Page 5 and 6: similar suggestion. To furnish ever
Page 7 and 8: of my ordinary pain and weakness, I
Page 9 and 10: call on them to labor as for your l
Page 11 and 12: wisdom will gainsay it? Will zeal f
Page 13 and 14: Catechisms, I take a catalogue of a
Page 15 and 16: and serious business. Much judgment
Page 17 and 18: Your unworthy fellow -servant Richa
Page 19 and 20: • Secondly, To show why we must t
Page 21 and 22: heartily entertain that Savior whom
Page 23 and 24: God, and to preach an unknown Chris
Page 25 and 26: holy can rightly study them or know
Page 27 and 28: education of youth, especially in o
Page 29 and 30: into any dangerous error, and vent
Page 31 and 32: matter of practice, and they were o
Page 33 and 34: poor of your flock; they are apt to
Page 35 and 36: overcome it; lest, while you seek t
Page 37 and 38: yet as is most suitable to the capa
Page 39 and 40: Chapter 2 The motives to the oversi
Page 41: our very hearts, and is it not nece
Page 45 and 46: troops of Christ against Satan and
Page 47 and 48: out ways enough to wipe off any sta
Page 49 and 50: and of the life to come, as will wi
Page 51 and 52: with an affected fervency, but he s
Page 53 and 54: have leprous or even dirty hands. T
Page 55 and 56: ordained ministers without a specia
Page 57 and 58: heed to which their state requireth
Page 59 and 60: a hard measure, and that your wife
Page 61 and 62: 1. We must labor, in a special mann
Page 63 and 64: to us to acquaint them with it, and
Page 65 and 66: perfecting of the saints, that they
Page 67 and 68: the work be cast on us alone; and m
Page 69 and 70: have but a few days or hours more t
Page 71 and 72: what he purposed, or promised to be
Page 73 and 74: exercised in such proceedings, lest
Page 75 and 76: prayers of the congregation. In suc
Page 77 and 78: eproach it by our negligence, while
Page 79 and 80: Chapter 4 The manner of the oversig
Page 81 and 82: upon the greatest, most certain, an
Page 83 and 84: they are not, and have no other way
Page 85 and 86: cavillers may be silenced. The weig
Page 87 and 88: and how will the remnants of old Ad
Page 89 and 90: than to his work, and not to care m
Page 91 and 92: find out means to close such breach
Page 93 and 94:
Chapter 5 Motives to the oversight
Page 95 and 96:
those that Christ hath set over the
Page 97 and 98:
world. O that our hearts were but m
Page 99 and 100:
which is committed to our charge. I
Page 101 and 102:
unworthy to be your monitor; but a
Page 103 and 104:
own sins, as well as the sins of th
Page 105 and 106:
to this unworthy county! And I hope
Page 107 and 108:
Satan, we have no great reason to e
Page 109 and 110:
honor, or that their interest in th
Page 111 and 112:
our reproofs, and if the applause b
Page 113 and 114:
ulers, and bear the sway wherever t
Page 115 and 116:
(1) If we were duly devoted to our
Page 117 and 118:
Though I move you not to a constant
Page 119 and 120:
worldly interests in opposition to
Page 121 and 122:
they see that you seek not the thin
Page 123 and 124:
church's service as they can. I wou
Page 125 and 126:
and an interest distinct from that
Page 127 and 128:
parties; or that ever well discerne
Page 129 and 130:
sorrow, that where the servants of
Page 131 and 132:
(1) Lay not too great a stress upon
Page 133 and 134:
their practice shows their hearts a
Page 135 and 136:
Besides, consider what a disadvanta
Page 137 and 138:
churches, who were moderate men, an
Page 139 and 140:
it is his last means when reproofs
Page 141 and 142:
Chapter 7 Application to the duty o
Page 143 and 144:
the Church, I will enumerate some o
Page 145 and 146:
among the saints in glory, and prai
Page 147 and 148:
godly jealousy,' and what temptatio
Page 149 and 150:
they who were against reformation i
Page 151 and 152:
to be catechized or instructed, bec
Page 153 and 154:
are in smaller parishes may do. And
Page 155 and 156:
etter from them, that have not been
Page 157 and 158:
For we shall not leave out any man
Page 159 and 160:
and renouncing the world, and parti
Page 161 and 162:
Chapter 9 Motives from the difficul
Page 163 and 164:
2. Having noticed these difficultie
Page 165 and 166:
Chapter 10 Motives from the necessi
Page 167 and 168:
in private we may do it much more.
Page 169 and 170:
men, pity us.' Now, do that for the
Page 171 and 172:
Chapter 11 Application of these mot
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wilderness; to steer the vessels th
Page 175 and 176:
think what a difference there is be
Page 177 and 178:
all men should be faithful to the t
Page 179 and 180:
(14) All the judgments that God hat
Page 181 and 182:
prayers and cries, on one of our pu
Page 183 and 184:
Chapter 12 Objections to this duty
Page 185 and 186:
physician to be thoroughly studied
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extraordinary work, (I mean writing
Page 189 and 190:
pleasures? If you must, then, for s
Page 191 and 192:
together in vain discourse, and spe
Page 193 and 194:
this the voice of obedience, or of
Page 195 and 196:
such men for want of better, I cann
Page 197 and 198:
Shepherd of the Church, will not lo
Page 199 and 200:
Answer: (1): It is not to be denied
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most of the preaching recorded in t
Page 203 and 204:
advantage of ministers having a sin
Page 205 and 206:
I am first to give you some directi
Page 207 and 208:
As, (1) That God's oracles must be
Page 209 and 210:
will perhaps convince them and inci
Page 211 and 212:
Chapter 14 Directions for this duty
Page 213 and 214:
willing to hear you, and receive in
Page 215 and 216:
is. If you ask, 'What is repentance
Page 217 and 218:
expressions are put into their mout
Page 219 and 220:
will raise the dead to life again,
Page 221 and 222:
you, or is it not Have you experien
Page 223 and 224:
chiefly for the purpose of preparin
Page 225 and 226:
much greater a work have I yet to d
Page 227 and 228:
(2) As you may not soon have an opp
Page 229 and 230:
or three cold words of advice, with
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The Reformed Pastor - Richard Baxter

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