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A26936
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The grand question resolved, what we must do to be saved instructions for a holy life / by the late Reverend Divine, Mr. Richard Baxter ; recommended to the bookseller a few days before his death to be immediately printed for the good of souls.
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Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing B1279; ESTC R14371
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33,250
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49
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the Bellows of Sedition or Rebellion or of an envious hurtful Zeal or a snare for the Innocent or a Pistol to shoot at the Upright in Heart These are not they that have been the shame of their Profession the hardning of Ungodly Men and Infidels and that have caused the Enemies of the Lord to blaspheme If any Man will make a Religion of or for his Lusts of Papal Tyranny or Pharisaical Formality or of his private Opinions or of proud censoriousness and contempt of others and of Faction and 〈◊〉 warrâ—ntable Separations and Divisions and of standing at a more observable distance from common Professors of Christianity than God would have them or yet of pulling up the Hedg of Discipline and laying Christ's Vineyard common to the Wilderness the Storm is coming when this Religion founded on the Sand will fall and great will be the fall thereof When the Religion which consisteth in Faith and Love to God and Man in mortifying the Flesh and crucifying the World in Self-denyal Humility and Patience in sincere Obedience and faithfulness in all Relations in watchful Self-Government in doing Good and in a Divine and Heavenly Life tho' it will be hated by the ungodly World shall never be a dishonour to your Lord nor deceive or disappoint your Souls A Short Catechism Quest 1. WHat is the Christian Religion Answ The Christian Religion is the Baptismal Covenant made and kept wherein God the Father Son and Holy Ghost doth give himself to be ouâ— reconciled God and Father our Saviour and Sanctifier and we believingly give up our selves accordingly to him renouncing the Flesh the World and the Devil Which Covenant is to be oft renewed specially in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Quest 2. Where is our Covenant-part and Duty fullier opened Answ 1. In the Creed as the Sum of our Belief 2. In the Lord's Prayer as the Sum of our Desires 3. And in the Ten Commandments as given us by Christ with the Gospel-Explications as the Sum of our Practice Which are as followeth The CREED I Believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord which was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was Crucified dead and buried he descended into Hell The third day he arose again from the Dead he ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right Hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he shall come to Judg the Quick and the Dead I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting Amen The LORD'S Prayer OUR Father which art in Heaven Hallowed be thy Name Thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us And lead us not into Temptation but deliver us from Evil for thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever Amen The Ten Commandments I. I Am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage Thou shalt have no other Gods before me II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven Image or any likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above or that is in the Earth beneath or that is in the Water under the Earth thou shalt not bow down thy self to them nor serve them For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children unto the third and fourth Generation of them that hate me and shewing Mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my Commandments III. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain IV. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy six days shalt thou labour and do all thy Work but the seventh Day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt not do any Work thou nor thy Son nor thy Daughter thy Man-servant nor thy Maid-servant nor thy Cattel nor the Stranger that is within thy Gates For in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh Day wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-Day and hallowed it V. Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy Days may be long upon the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee VI. Thou shalt not Kill VII Thou shalt not commit Adultery VIII Thou shalt not Steal IX Thou shalt not bear false Witness against thy Neighbour X. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbour's House thou shalt not cover thy Neighbour's Wife nor his Man-servant nor his Maid-servant nor his Ox nor his Ass nor any thing that is thy Neighbour's Quest 3. Where is the Christian Religion most fully opened and entirely contained Answ In the Holy Scriptures especially of the New Testament Where by Christ and his Apostles and Evangelists inspired by his Spirit the History of Christ and his Apostles is â—ufficiently delivered the Promises and Doctrine of Faith are perfected the Covenant of Grace most clearly opened and Church-Offices Worship and Discipline established in the understanding whereof the strongest Christians may increase whilst they live on Earth The explained Profession of the Christian Religion I. I Believe that there is one GOD an infinite Spirit of Life Understanding and Will perfectly Powerful Wise and Good The Father the Word and the Spirit the Creator Governour and End of all things our absolute Owner our most just Ruler and our most gracious Benefactor and most amiable Good II. I believe that Man being made in the Image of God an imbodied Spirit of Life Understanding and Will with holy Viâ—acity wisdom and Love to know and love and serve his Creator here and for ever did by wilful finning fall from his God his Holiness and Innocency under the Wrath of God the Condemnation of his law and the Slavery of the Flesh the World and the Devil And that God so loved the World that he gave his only Son to be their Redeemer who being GOD and one â—ith the Father took our Nature and became MAN being conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary called Jesus Christ who was perfectly holy sinless fulfilling all Righteousness over came the Devil and the World and gave himself a Sacrifice for our Sins by suffering a cursed Death on the Cross to ransom us and reconcile us unto God â—nd was buried and went among the Dead the â—hird Day he rose again having conquered Death And he fully established the Covenant of Grace that â—ll that truly repent and believe shall-have the love of the Father the Grace of the Son and the Comâ—union of the Holy Spirit and if they love God and â—bey him sincerely to the
sober Profession can be taken for an insufficient title Grudge not then at the Communion of any Professed Christian in the Church Visible though we must do our part to cast out the obstinately impenitent by Discipline which if we cannot do the Fault is not ours The presence of Hypocrites is no hurt but oft a Mercy to the Sincere How small else would the Church seem in the World Outward Privileges belong to Outward Covenanters and Inward Mercies to the Sincere Division is wounding and tends to Death Abhor it as you love the Churches welfare or your own The Wisdom from above is first pure and then peaceable Never separate what God conjoineth It is the Earthly sensual devilish Wisdom which causeth bitter envying and strife and confusion and every evil Work Blessed are the Peace-makers XIV Take heed of Pride and Self-conceitedness in Religion If once you over-value your own understandings your crude Conceptions and gross Mistakes will delight you as some supernatural light And instead of having compassion on the Weak you will be unruly and despisers of your Guides and censorious contemners of all that differ from you and persecutors of them if you have Power and will think all intolerable that take you not as Oracles and your words as Law Forget not that the Church hath always suffered by censorious unruly Professors on the one Hand and O what Divisions and Scandals have they caused as well as by the Prophane and Persecucutors on the other Take need of both And when Contentions are afoot be quiet and silent and not too forward and keep up a Zeal for Love and Peace XV. Be faithful and conscionable in all your Relations Honour and obey your Parents and other Superiors Despise not and resist not Government If you suffer unjustly by them be humbled for those Sins which cause God to turn your Protectors into Afflictors And instead of murmuring and rebelling against them reform your selves and then commit your selves to God Princes and Pastors I will not speak to Subjects and Servants and Children must obey their Superiors as the Officers of God XVI Keep up the Government of God in your Families Holy Families must be the chief preservers of the Interest of Religion in the World Let not the World turn God's Service into a customary lifeless Form Read the Scripture and edifying Books to them Talk with them seriously about the State of their Souls and everlasting Life Pray with them fervently Watch over them diligently Be angry against Sin and meek in your own cause Be Examples of Wisdom Holiness and Patience And see that the Lord's Day be spent in holy preparation for Eternity XVII Let your Callings be managed in Holiness and Laboriousness Live not in Idleness be not slothful in your Work whether you be Bound or Free in the sweat of your Brows you must eat your Bread and labour the six Days that you may have to give to him that needeth Slothfulness is Sensuality as well as filthier Sins The Body that is able must have fit Employments as well as the Soul or else Body and Soul will fare the worse but let all be but as the labour of a Traveller and aim at God and Heaven in all XVIII Deprive not your selves of the benefit of an able faithful Pastor to whom you may open your Case in secret or at least of a holy faithful Friend And be not displeased at their free Reproofs Wo to him that is alone How blind and partial are we in our own Causeâ— and how hard is it to know our selves without an able faithful Helper You forfeit this great Mercy when you love a Flatterer and angrily defend your Sin XIX Prepare for Sickness Sufferings and Death Overvalue not Prosperity nor the Favour of Man If selfish Men prove false and cruel to you even those of whom you have deserved best marvel not at it but pray for your Enemies Persecutors and Slanderers that God would turn their Hearts and pardon them What a Mercy is it to be driven from the World to God when the love of the World is the greatest danger of the Soul Be ready to die and you are ready for any thing Ask your Hearts seriously What is it that I shall need at a dying Hour And let it speedily be got ready and not be to seek in the time of your Extremity XX. Understand the true Method of Peace of Conscience and judge not of the State of your Souls upon deceitful Grounds As presumptuous Hopes do keep Men from Conversion and embolden them to sin so causless Fears do hinder our Love and Praise of God by obscuring his Loveliness And they destroy our Thankfulness and our Delight in God and make us a Burden to our selves and a grievous Stumbling block to others The general Grounds of all your Comfort are 1. The gracious Nature of God 2. The sufficiency of Christ And. 3. the Truth and Universality of the Promise which giveth Christ and Life to all if they will accept him But this Acceptance is the Proof of your particular Title without which these do but aggravate your Sin Consent to God's Covenant is the true Condition and Proof of your Title to God as your Father Saviour and Sanctifier and so to the saving Blessings of the Covenant Which Consent if you survive must produce the Duties which you consent to He that heartily consenteth that God be his God his Saviour and Sanctifier is in a state of Life But this includeth thâ—â— rejection of the VVorld Much Knowledge and Memory and Utterance and lively Affections are all very desirable But you must judge your state by none of these for they are all uncertain But 1. If God and Holiness and Heaven have the highest estimation of your practical Judgment as being esteemed best for you 2. And be preferred in the Choice and Resolution of your Wills and that habitually before all the Pleasures of the VVorld 3. And be first and chiefly sought in your Endeavours This is the infallible proof of your Sanctification Christian Upon long and serious study and experience I dare boldly commend these Directions to thee as the VVay of God which will end in Blessedness The Lord resolve and strengthen thee to obey them This is the true Constitution of Christianity This is true Godliness and this is to be Religious indeed And all this is no more than to be seriously such as all among us in general VVords profess to be This is the Religion which must difference you from Hypocrites which must settle you in Peace and make you an Honour to your Profession and a Blessing to those that dwell about you Happy is the Land the Church the Family which doth consist of such as these These are not they that either Persecute or Divide the Church or that make their Religion a servant to their Policy to their ambitious designs or fleshlâ— Lusts nor that make it