His love to the honest people of Kidderminster, who had the prime of his strength and the flower of his labours, was very remarkable. He told them, in the preface to the "Saints' Rest," that the offers of greater worldly accommodations, with five times the means that he received with them, was no temptation to him once to question whether he should leave them. But he was afterwards forced to leave them, by Bishop Morley, and Mr. Danse the old vicar. He did not part with them without mutual grief and tears. And when he went from them, he left Mr. Baldwin, to live privately among them, and oversee them in his stead; and he advised them to frequent the public church assemblies, in conjunction with their private helps, unless the public minister was utterly insufficient, or preached heresy, or in his application set himself against the ends of his office, by endeavouring to make a holy life seem odious. After parting from them, he wrote a letter to them but once a year, lest it should be the occasion of their suffering; and for fear lest if they did any thing that was displeasing, it should be represented as the effect of his suggestions. But in process of time even this honest and quiet people were exasperated. They were alienated from the prelates and their adherents, for running down Mr. Baxter and those of his mind, as deceivers. Repeating sermons in their houses they were laid in gaols with common malefactors, their goods were seized, and they were fined and punished again and again. At length they were hardly more angry with the bishops, than they were with Mr. Baxter himself, whom they censured upon his publishing the book called "The Cure of Church Divisions," as strengthening the hands of persecutors by persuading them of the lawfulness of communicating in their parish church, with a conformable minister in the Liturgy. But he still continued his care of them, and concern for them. And at length he became capable of helping them to a valuable, useful man, that would make it his business to promote serious religion among them. For Colonel John Bridges had sold the patronage of the living to Mr. Thomas Foley, upon condition that he should present Mr. Baxter next if he were capable of it; and if not, that he should present one with his consent. When the old vicar died, many thought that Mr. Baxter himself would have conformed. Archbishop Stern, of York, particularly, bid a minister take it on his word that he conformed, and was gone to his beloved Kidderminster. But Mr. Baxter had no such thoughts, though he would gladly have assisted them in getting a suitable person. But the people there refused to have any hand in bringing in another minister into the church, lest they should seem to consent to his conformity, or be obliged to own him in his office. They were not to be prevailed with to concur; and for that reason Mr. Baxter refused to meddle in the choice. When Mr. Foley had put in a valuable man to be their minister, Mr. Baxter wrote to them to join with him in prayers and sacrament, at that time when they had no opportunity for separate meetings. But their sufferings had so far alienated them from the church party, that they would not yield that his letter should be so much as read among them. However, Mr. Baxter kept up a peculiar respect to them, and concern for them, as long as he lived.
His works were various. Dr. Bates, in his funeral sermon, says that his books, for the number and variety of matter in them, make a library. They contain a treasure of controversial, casuistical, positive, and practical divinity; and the excellent Bishop Wilkins did not stick to say that he had cultivated every subject he handled. I will touch only upon those of his works that are here collected together in four volumes.
The first volume contains his "Christian Directory." The first part of it, which he calls "Christian Ethics," is perhaps the best body of practical divinity that is extant in our own or any other tongue. And though in the "Ecclesiastical Cases" there are some things that are not to every man's gust, (and no other could well be expected where there is so vast a variety,) yet he that will have the patience to read through, will find his pains rewarded by ample instruction.