1 of 4

He was 17th-century England's most visible pastor, a prolific, popular, and controversial author, a powerful preacher, married to his parish, passionate for the conversion of souls and for the reformation of England's church. He was a man in a hurry, his days crammed with writing projects, sermon preparation, systematically scheduled meetings with the 800 families from the parish, and whatever other surprises a minister's day might hold.

She was, when she first met him, a superficial and self-centered teenager nearly half his age, from a family of means, who grudgingly accompanied her mother to hear him preach and ended up soundly converted to Christ. Not long after her conversion, she was stricken by "consumption," most likely tuberculosis, and lay for a month close to death. He gathered his inner circle of praying friends. Their prayers for her recovery resulted in a sudden cure that was widely noted as God's gracious intervention in her life.

But for all of his pastoral, preaching, and intellectual gifts, he was a difficult man: irritable and prone to speaking or writing his mind when prudence might respond otherwise. He also suffered constantly from a debilitating array of illnesses, made even worse when we remember that existing medical "treatments" often did more harm than good.

Under his ministry, she deepened into an articulate and sensitive soul, troubled by both the needs of others and her own frustratingly slow progress as a Christian. Childhood traumas resulted in lifelong struggles with irrational fear. She suffered from migraines and was periodically obsessed with worries over her health. Overly fragile with regards to the attitudes and responses of those closest to her, she struggled with forgiveness and "letting it go." As he would later write, "Her understanding … was higher and clearer than other people's, but, like the treble strings of a lute, strained up to the highest, sweet, but in continual danger."

It was a surprise to nearly everyone when, some years later on September 10, 1662, the 47-year-old Richard Baxter and the 26-year-old Margaret Charlton were wed at a special service presided over by Baxter's friend Samuel Clarke. What is even more surprising is that their marriage of 19 years would be full of such mutual delight and love. Perhaps most surprising of all is that we should today know so much about their life together.

Within a month after Margaret's death in 1681 at the age of 46, Richard turned to writing to work through his sorrow. "Under the power of melting grief," he produced within a few days a character sketch of his beloved, unprecedented for its realism and honesty. It provides an extraordinary glimpse into the marriage of a man and a woman who really loved each other. Richard's Breviate ("brief account") of the Life of Margaret (1681) is an exceptional piece of grief work that sheds unexpected light into the progress, priorities, and passions of a 17th-century Puritan marriage.

The dramatic shift in Church of England politics that accompanied Charles II's restoration to the throne forced Richard Baxter from his parish in Kidderminster in 1660, ending one of the most remarkable pastorates in English church history. Distressed to lose their pastor, Margaret and her mother followed Richard to London. They were determined to support his preaching ministry there and, in Margaret's case, to remain close to someone who was becoming for her more than just a spiritual director.

As her pastor, Richard was very much aware of the dynamics that can develop in counseling members of the opposite sex. Concerned to maintain propriety, he wrote several letters to deflect her growing affections towards him: "How hard it is to keep our hearts from going too far even in honest affections towards the creature, while we are so backward to love God, who should have all the heart and soul and might. Too strong love to any, though it be good in the kind, may be sinful and hurtful in the degree. It will turn too many of your thoughts from God, and they will be too often running after the beloved creature … . It will increase your sufferings by involving you in all the dangers and troubles of those whom you over-love." Margaret copied this paragraph from one of Richard's letters, and after her death, Richard found this and many others like it as he sorted through her personal papers. These excerpts give us a tantalizing glimpse of the beginnings of their relationship.

next page... |  1 of 4

share this page

RSS Feed   RSS Help