Citizen of Heaven

These words, penned near the end of Richard Baxter's life provide us with the key to the incredible depth of his devotional life and, in turn, his success as a pastor. Baxter counted himself blessed to realize at an early age what Paul meant when he instructed the believers at Colossae to "...keep seeking the things above, where Christ is..." As a young army chaplain, the rigour of weeks of travel on horseback and sleeping out of doors, along with hours of preaching and personal pastoral care, stretched Baxter's frail body to the breaking point. He experienced a complete breakdown in 1647. He was left languishing for five months in the homes of friends with no book but the Bible, spending hours in heavenly meditation to prepare for his certain death.

Baxter began writing down his meditations for the benefit of others after his death. Weeks passed and Baxter slowly recovered. His notes became a series of sermons and eventually evolved into The Saints' Everlasting Rest , his first published work and an enormous bestseller.

From that time forward, Baxter vowed to spend at least one hour of every remaining day in meditation upon the scenes and activities in heaven described in the Scriptures. All other duties might be crowded out of his busy day, but he jealously guarded his hour enjoying the benefits of his membership in the family of God and citizenship in His heavenly dominion. This heavenly meditation was not optional; Baxter needed to know God intimately:

Frequency in heavenly contemplation is particularly important to prevent a shyness between God and thy soul. Frequent society breeds familiarity, and familiarity increases love and delight, and makes us bold in our address. The chief end of this duty is, to have acquaintance and fellowship with God...

The Bible was the object of his meditation, for he knew that it is "our Belief of the Truth of the Word of God, and the Life to come, which is the Spring that sets all Grace on Work..." Conversely, he noted, "I observed easily in my self that if at any time Satan did more than at other times weaken my Belief of Scripture, and the Life to come, my Zeal in every religious Duty abated with it and I grew more indifferent..."

Baxter's "love and delight" in God was the firm foundation which prevented him from becoming bitter from pain and persecution, stuffy from years of learning, and haughty or proud from his great achievements. His devotional life seemed to radiate until those around him were affected in the same way. The once depraved town of Kidderminster slowly came to admire and imitate the very man they once ridiculed in effigy at their riotous fairs.

Particularly conspicuous was their faithfulness in prayer, both public and private. In a day when most prayers were recited from the Book of Common Prayer, Baxter preferred to pray "without a form" because "it is easier to me to pray or preach six hours in freedome, about things which I understand, than to pray or preach the tenth part of an hour in the fetters of a form of words which I must not vary." His example inspired others to pray from their hearts, too.

Besides the answered prayers in his own life, he writes of "A grave and honest Widow, Mrs. Giles," whose son was given to severe epileptic seizures. All of the physician's efforts were in vain, so the people of Kidderminster came together for a day of fasting and prayer. The young man was "suddenly cured, and never had a Fit since to this Day..."

Baxter appears to have related well to the adolescents in the parish and his influence upon "the younger sort" was truly remarkable. Each Saturday evening, a number of the young people of Kidderminster met privately in homes. They discussed the sermon from the previous Lord's Day, prepared themselves for the next, and joined together in intercessory prayer for three hours.

Baxter's "love and delight" in God was also apparent in public worship on Sunday mornings. This is one of the few areas in which Baxter broke ranks with his Puritan brethren, when most sought to make public worship a plain and solemn affair, removing organs from chapels and limiting singing to the Psalms, without accompaniment.

Baxter, however, held a much loftier view of the place of praises sung to music in public worship. He was no "dry as dust" preacher:

For myself I confess that Harmony and Melody are the pleasure and elevation of my Soul, and have made a Psalm of Praise in the holy Assembly the chief delightful Exercise of my Religion and my Life. Methinks, when we are singing the praises of God in the great assemblies with joyful and fervent spirits, I have the liveliest foretaste of heaven upon earth...

Yes, Baxter longed for eternity in heaven, to be employed in praising and worshipping God. What Christian does not? But, Baxter had a divine impatience and he would not be put off until death to experience God's presence. He recognized that an eternity of praise and worship begins the moment a sinner comes to Christ and is set free.

The importance of daily praise and meditation was not immediately recognized even by Baxter himself. While still in his thirties, Baxter had written many times of the necessity of praising God daily and he pleaded "...let praises have a larger room in thy duties..." However, nearly twenty years later, he was compelled to confess:

Then I was little sensible of the greatness and excellency of Love and Praise; though I coldly spake the same words in its commendations... But my Conscience now looketh at Love and delight in God, and praising him, as the top of all my Religious Duties, for which it is that I value and use the rest.

This, then, is the key to Baxter's earnestness and success and it can be ours, as well; He took to heart Paul's "short sermon" to the Ephesian elders and lived it out moment by moment, day by day. Before caring for others, he learned to "keep watch" over himself. Yes, Richard Baxter loved to preach of the grace and mercy of God. He was careful to painstakingly teach the way of salvation and a holy life in Christ. He delighted in his time spent studying God's word. He counted shepherding God's flock as the most exalted work a man could do on earth. But, above all else, he loved God. It was his deep and abiding love of Jesus Christ, the one who paid the price to redeem him, which made the fallen world tolerable and the difficult work pleasant. Baxter was an energetic, effective shepherd in spite of constant trouble and countless sorrows because he "set his mind on things above" and brought heaven down to earth for others to see and hear and touch. His heavenly life spanned over half a century, yet he influenced thousands for eternity.