The Life & Times of the REV. Richard Baxter (Volume 2) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. WORKS ON CONVERSION, Introductory Remark?' Treatise of Conversion'?' Cnll to the Unconverted ?' Xowor Never '?'Directions fur .i Sumrl Conversion ? Directions to UieConverted'?' Character of a 1Suund (.'hristiui.'?l Mischirf, i of Ecll-ignorance'?The Countess of Balcarrae?Controversy with Bishop MoMey?'Auintor a Brute?Various smnller Treatises?Concluding Observations. The class of books to which this chapter is devoted, must ever rank high, perhaps I should say highest, among the works of Baxter. As they treat of the most important subject which can occupy the attention of mankind in its degenerate stale; so they discuss that subject with a power which is probably unequalled in human writings. While Baxter's talents were adequate to any subject to which they might be directed, the conversion of men was the grand object to which he devoted them, in the fullest extent in which they could be exercised. Other things he might resort to as recreation, or submit to' as duty; this employment constituted his sacred delight. His whole soul was here eminently at home; he revels and luxuriates in it, exulting in the privilege of calling sinners to repentance, and thus promoting the glory of his Lord and .Master. In this department of writing, I am not aware that he had properly any predecessor in the English language. Among the works both of the episcopal and puritan divines, many excellent discourses on most branches of Christian faith and duly had previously appeared. The Puritans excelled especially in the expository and didactic departments of instruction; while many Conformists produced very able treatises on the several branches of theological and moral truth. But by no one nor all of them was produced such a mass of pungent and powerful addresses to the consci...