The Practical Works of Richard Baxter: with a Life of the Author and a ... - Richard Baxter - Google Boeken

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CONTENTS

THE SIXTEENTH VOLUME.

THE MISCHIEFS OF SELF-IGNORANCE, AND

BENEFITS OF SELF-ACQUAINTANCE.

EPISTLE DEDICATORY, &C.

The Text opened

Self-knowledge, what; and how many sorts •

How far it is a shame to be ignorant of ourselves ..

The mischiefs of self-ignorance, 1. It cherisheth atheism..

2. Causeth ignorance of the life to come

3. And of the evil of sin...

4. It keepeth the soul from true humiliation

5. It maketh Christ undervalued

6. It makes a holy conversation vilified

7. It makes men cheated by the world..

8. It causeth pride

9. It makes men run into temptations.

10. It makes temptations prevalent.

11. It makes men quarrel with God's word and ministers

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20. It makes men lose their time, and neglect preparations

Discovered by some effects: 1. By men's unhumbleness

2. By the abounding of hypocrisy 61-3. By the love

of flattery, and impatience of plain reproof 63-

4. By men's partiality 65-5. When every man would

be a rule to others 68-6. By the great change that

approaching death, or other awaking providences make

69-7. By men's quarrelling with others in their

sufferings, and overlooking the great cause in them-

selves 78 The discovery prosecuted

Motives.

1. If you know not yourselves, you cannot repent

2. Nor be duly sensible of your misery

3. Nor indeed by Christians

4. You will not know what to do with yourselves.

5. You will not know how to apply the word

6. Nor how to confess or pray

7. Nor how to give thanks•••

8. Nor how to receive the Lord's-supper

9. All your studies will be irrational, preposterous, &c.

10. You will be much unuseful to others

11. You cannot well proceed to know extrinsic things

12. How many things have you to know about yourselves

Caution against excessive studying of ourselves

Who need this caution ....

savourily about heart-affairs .....

Information: Why the sincere can discourse so fully and

And why they are so full in prayer, and others so empty

The excuses of the prayerless answered..

Why the upright are so prone to self-accusing..

Motives to the Ungodly.

1. If you know not yourselves, you know not whether you

must dwell in heaven or hell.....

2. All shall shortly know themselves...

3. And be surprised to find themselves in a mistake..

How useful a companion conscience is to converse with..

4. It is Satan's chief design to keep yourself ignorant.

Yet some can go on in known misery

A threefold despair....

In what cases the sincere may go on in sin against knowledge

But the ordinarily self-knowledge would do much.......

Information: Why faithful ministers search so deep, and

speak so hardly of unrenewed souls

Questions to the unsanctified

132

What Christianity is, and who sincere in the covenant

Who certainly are unregenerate

Exhortation to the Regenerate.

I. 1. To know their sins, 2. Their graces. 1. For want of

1. You confess not sin as you ought to God or man 169-

2. You pray not against it, or for grace as you ought

170-3. You are negligent in your watch ibid.-

4. Seek not help 171-5. Lie in unobserved sins

1. In general, When sin is most unobserved.

2. Particularly, 1. The self-ignorant little think, while they

are orthodox, what errors they may fall into

2. Or in adversity, what sins prosperity may draw forth..

3. Or how soon the resolutions of affliction may decay.

4. Or when the heart is warm and heavenly, how quickly

it may cool and fall to earth

5. And in prosperity they little think what sins adversity

may detect or occasion ...

6. Or what pride may appear in those that are humble

7. Some of the greatest sins of Christians too little ob-

served and lamented: As, 1. The remnants of infidelity

2. The great imperfection of love to God

3. And want of love to one another

8. The insinuations of selfishness in all that we do

9. The eruption of passions that seemed mortified......

10. Affections mixed with carnality, which seemed spiritual

Caution against overmuch suspicion or accusation of our-

2. Sin surpriseth more dangerously: 3. And the remedy is

neglected, through self-ignorance..

II. What hinders believers from knowing their graces:

1. The sense of the contraries 199-2. The smallness

of grace 200-3. Not judging by sure marks: the

essentials of holiness: what they are

What marks remain uncertain

4. Overvaluing what we have, by looking at what we

ought to be.....

5. Judging upon disadvantage: 1. Surprising ourselves

unpreparedly. 2. Judging in passion, of fear or grief.

3. When helps are absent. 4. When our bodies are

melancholy, or otherwise unfit ibid.-5. Refusing the

former judgment of our sincerity, if we have not a

continued sight of grace

6. The variety and confusion of the soul's operations

Motives to labour to know our Sanctification.

1. It is a most excellent sort of knowledge...

2. It is a most delightful felicitating, knowledge..

3. It might sweeten every place and state

4. It would much help our belief of Scripture

5. And our trusting on God in all straits

6. And our cheerful progress in religion...

7. It may keep you from the terrors of the doubting.

8. And sweeten all your other mercies

9. And debilitate temptations to sensual pleasures

10. And sweeten all the service of God

11. And kindle love to God....

12. It is necessary to a life of thankfulness...

13. You will not else live to the glory of the Gospel

14. It will make all sufferings easy...

ibid.

As, 1. Scorns ibid.-2. Opposition. 3. Slanders 224-

4. Imprisonment and banishment 226-5. Personal

and family crosses 227-6. Death

The hindrances of self-acquaintance. 1. External, 2. Minis-

ters' unskilfulness and unfaithfulness.

Direct. 1. Live under a skilful, faithful pastor

In what cases to use their personal helps ..

Objections against ministers' personal helps, answered

Quest. How far a doubting person may rest in the judgment

of a minister about the state of his soul

The directions applied to both sorts

Hind. 2. Desire not much prosperity, and detest flatterers

Hind. 3. Conversing only with bad men

Direct. 3. Converse with heavenly, exemplary Christians..

II. Internal hindrances; 1. Pride

Direct. 2. Look to the time to come, and be not too tender

of present trouble .

Hind. 3. Self-love blindeth

Direct. 3. Bring your minds to a just impartiality.

Hind. 4. Not observing the heart in trial, but taking it only

Caution: When and how to judge ourselves.

Direct. 4. Judge of your habitual state by your actions.

THE TRUE CATHOLIC, AND CATHOLIC CHURCH

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THE

MISCHIEFS OF SELF-IGNORANCE,

AND THE

BENEFITS OF SELF-ACQUAINTANCE:

OPENED

IN DIVERS SERMONS AT ST. DUNSTAN'S, WEST;

AND PUBLISHED

IN ANSWER TO THE ACCUSATIONS OF SOME, AND THE
DESIRES OF OTHERS.

"For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself: But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden," GAL. vi. 3-5.

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