Christian Reader
THE Love of Christ in his holy
ones, and the great usefulness
of such History, command
me to take it as a pleasing office,
to commend this real description of
a Saint, to thy serious perusal and imitation.
The good acceptance and success of
the late published Life and death of
Mr. Joseph Alleine, the more encourageth
me to serve thee in this. As to the
credit of the Narrative, let it be enough
to tell thee, that his worthy Brother
Mr. James Janeway intimately acquainted
with his most secret life is the writer
of it I have no hand in it my
self And if thou live in or near London,

A 3

where he is now well known, I will not
be beholden to thee to believe it; especially,
if thou also know the other most
credible arrestors. I know that many
such Histories, shew more what the writer
could say, than what the Person was
or did: But here both He and his Relations,
and those whom he lived with,
were all so near us, and are many of
them yet so intimately known to me,
and others, that there is no place for
doubting left us.
I confess such instances are very sad
to my thoughts, while I am desiring
the welfare of mankind on earth. To
hear of the death of an Infant, who
might have proved we know not what;
or of an useless person, or of an aged
Christian, who hath profitably run
out the course of nature, is nothing so
sad to me, as to hear of the removal of
such excellent young men, when they
are prepared for their work, and just beginning
it! But God is infinitely Wise,
and Just, and more Merciful too than we
can be. He knoweth what he doth and
why; and is accountable to none about
the measure of his benefits, nor the reasons
of his various disposals. But the
great Judgements which since his death
have befallen these Kingdoms, do partly
tell us that it is no wonder, if such men
were taken from the evil to come, of
whom the world hath so notoriously declared
it self unworthy. It is fitter for
such lights to shine in Heaven, than to
be put under a bushel here on earth.
And for himself, he hath run long
enough who hath toucht the prize: He
hath failed long enough who is come safe
to the harbour: And he hath lived long
enough, who is readiest to die? Though
I wonder at the lengthning of my own
life, which that been threatned by God
and Man these thirty three years or more,
yet, alas, how much less have I lived
than this man did, who am yet far short
of his Heavenly preparations? I am ashamed
to read that any thing of mine was
a help to his attainments, and to find
that at almost sixty years of age, I am
much below what he was raised to at
twenty three. O that God would give
my frozen age, such warm reflexions from
these his remains, that according to my
need I may receive more from him that

A 4

is dead, than ever he did from me alive!
If his own Reverend Father received so
much from him, why may not I also have
some quickning even by the dead,
through the fruits of the spirit left behind
him, and the same spirits quickning
influx upon me? And may I but so Die,
how harmless, how welcome will Death
be?
We think it great pity, that he lived
to preach but two Semons in the world!
That some poor ignorant dull Congregation,
had not been instructed and awakened
by his Doctrine; and his spiritual
fervour had not by dispersed writings, enflamed
the souls of thousands with the
same Heavenly Love and Zeal. But who
knoweth yet but that this one Narrative
of his Holy exemplary Life and Death,
may do as much as more numerous or Voluminous
writings? The many Volumes
of holy Lives, of antient Doctors, Martyrs,
and later Divines, Philosophers and
others in Germany, England and other
Lands, have done much good, and are
still very useful, and a pleasant and profitable
recreation, O how much better
than Play-books and Romances! But
experience tells us, that God still poureth
forth as large measures of his spirit, as
heretofore he did. If holy Augustines
life, after so much pollution, and holy
Hieroms life, qui fatetur se non fuisse virginem,
were so laudible and exemplary;
O how much praise do I owe to God, for
his grace upon his Servants, who am
yet acquainted with so great a number of
holy laborious faithful Ministers, who I
have great reason to believe, not only
to have all their lives been free from all
gross heynous sins, but also to have laid
out their zeal, their time, their labours,
so sincerely and self-denyingly for God, and
the good of souls, as that I cannot but
hope that, if those who are against their
Preaching of the Gospel, were but as well
acquainted with them as I am, they
would be their friends and forward to promote
their work.
I know one Temptation the Reader is
like to meet with, to hinder his profiting
by this example: Even to think that
Mr. Alleine and Mr. Janeway by Overdoing
did but cut short their own Lives;
and that their excessive labours in meditation,
prayer and other duties did deprive
the Church of the benefit of much
more, which they might have lived to do:
and therefore that such examples are not
to be imitated, but stand as warnings to
us, not to overdo and destroy our bodies
as they did. To which I answer, 1. I
am one my self, that wish both of them
had done somewhat less, in that part of
duty which hurt the body, and overmatched
their strength. And I am not perswading
you, that every man must needs
Preach as oft as Mr. Allen, or study and
meditate as long as Mr. Janeway and he
did: Men have their various capacities
and opportunities, and works. 2. But
yet I dare not charge either of them with
sin: because I know not their particular
motives. 3. And perhaps their lives had
been as short if they had done less, as
are the lives of many hundred Students,
who favour themselves more than any
wise man would wish. And it was Gods
mercy that they who had but a short life
to live, should do more than many that
live to the period of natures course. And
Methusalems life and theirs is equalled
now. Whom have you known that by
longer living, hath got more holy readiness
to die? 4. But I beseech you distinguish
well, between that part of their
work, which was really like to overthrow
their natures, and the rest which had no
such tendency: and do not make the
avoiding of the former a pretence, against
your imitating of the later. It is not studying,
meditating, praying, preaching,
according to the measures of natures
strength, that much shortneth life. I think
that Learned man wrote not foolishly,
who maintaineth that studies tend to long
life? For my own part I was feeble before
I was a hard Student: And studies
have been a constant pleasure to me; And
let any man judge whether constant pleasure
tend to shorten any mans life? Indeed,
that which destroyeth the health of
Students is, 1. The sedentariness of their
lives, 2. And want of temperance or due
care of their diet, 3. And want of sufficient
cheerfulness, 4. And taking colds.
Could Students but more imitate the labouring
man, and take just hours and opportunities
for bodily labour not playful
walks and exercises, that never warm and
purge the blood, and did they eat and
drink wisely, and live joyfully, and avoid
colds, they might bestow the rest of their
time in the hardest studies, with little
hurt; except here and there a melancholy
or diseased man. I doubt not but
such narratives as this, will tempt many a
slothful sensual Scholar, to indulge his
sensuality as the wiser way; but at a dying
hour he will find the difference. O what
a comfort then is the review of a Holy,
Heavenly well-spent life!
I have oft thought what the Reason is
that among the Papists, if the lives of
their Saints be described in the highest
strain, or their books have even unreasonable
pretensions of devotion, even to
the laying by of our understandings, or
to a kind of Deification, like Barbansons,
Benedictus, de Benedictis, and divers
others it doth not offend men, but
the vulgar themselves do glory in the sanctity
of them. Whereas if with us a
man rise higher in holiness, and in devote
contemplation, yea or action, than others,
he is presently the great eye-sore and obloquy
of the world, I mean of the envious
and ungodly part, which is too great.
But the reason I perceive is, that among
the Papists, to be a Religious man is to
be a Perfectist who doth more than is
commanded him or is necessary to salvation;
and so the people being taught that
they may be saved without being such
themselves, their spleen is not stirred up
against them, as the troubles of their
Consciences peace; but they are interessed
in their honour, as being the honour
of their way and Church: But with us
men are taught that they must be Religious
themselves in sincerity if ever they
will be saved, and that without Holiness
none shall see God, and that they
are not sincere if they desire not to be perfect:
And so they that will not be godly
themselves, do think that the lives of
the godly do condemn them.
I write not this to cast any disgrace on
the true History of any holy mens lives:
Nor shall it ever be my employment to
reproach or hide Gods Graces in any, nor
to make men believe that they are
worse than they are. Whoever revile
me for it, I will magnifie and love
that of God which appeareth in any
of his servants, of any sect or party whatsoever.
When I read such writings as
old Gerson, Guil. Parisiensis, and divers
others, and such as Jos. Acosta and some
other Jesuits, and such lives as Nerius's
and Mr. de Reuti's, &c. I cannot but think
that they had the spirit of God, and the
more do I hate all those mischievous engines,
additions and singularities, which
divide so many Christians in the world,
who have the same spirit, and will not
suffer us to hold the unity of the spirit in
the bond of peace. O this unhappy pretended
Wisdom, and Orthodoxness in the
holding of our several opinions, is the
knowledge that puffeth up, and hath bred
the pernicious tympanite of the Church,
when it is Charity that edifieth it; And
the more men glory in their dogmatical
knowledge, to the contempt and hurt of
such as differ from them, the less they
know as they ought to know. And if
any man have knowledge enough to
kindle in his soul the Love of God, the
same is known and loved of God, and
then he will prove that wise man indeed,
at death and to Eternity, I Cor 8.1, 2, 3.
Reader, Learn by this History to place
thy Religion in love and praise, and a
heavenly life. Learn to keep such communion
with God, and to find such employment
with thy heart by meditation,
as thy strength, and opportunity, and other
duties will allow thee: for I urge thee
to no more Learn hence to thirst after
the good of souls, and to fill up thy
hours with fruitful duty! And O that
we could here learn the hardest lesson, to
get above the love of life, and to overcome
the fears of death, and to long to
see the glory of Christ, and triumphantly
to pass by Joy to Joy. O blessed world
of holy spirits! whose nature, and work,
and happiness is Love: Not Love of Carnal-self,
and Interest, and Parties, which
here maketh those seek our distruction
most, who have the highest esteem of our
knowledge and sincerity as thinking our
dissent will most effectually cross their
partial Interests: But the Love of God
in Himself and in his Saints, checked by no
sin; hindered by no distance, darkness,
deadness or disaffection: diverted by
no carnal worldly baits; tempted by no
persecutions or afflictions; damped by no
fears of death, nor of any decaies or cessation
through Eternity. To teach me
better how to live and die, in Faith,
Hope and Love, is that for which I read
this narrative; and that thou maist learn
the same is the end of my commending it
to thee! The Lord teach it effectually to
thee and me. Amen.
RICHARD BAXTER.
August 28.
1672.