Baxter was ed­u­cat­ed at Wroexter School, and for a time held the Mas­tership of the Dudley Grammar School. On taking Ho­ly Orders, he be­came curate of Kidderminster in 1640. Subsequently, he was for some time chaplain to one of Cromwell’s regiments. Through weak­ness he had to take an en­forced rest, dur­ing which he wrote his Saints’ Everlasting Rest. On re­gain­ing his health, he re­turned to Kid­der­min­ster, where he stayed un­til 1660, when he moved to Lo­ndon. At the Res­tor­a­tion, he be­came chap­lain to King Charles II, and was of­fered the bi­shop­ric of Her­e­ford, which he de­clined. On the pass­ing of the Act of Un­i­form­i­ty, he re­tired from ac­tive du­ty as an Ang­li­can min­is­ter. Around 1673, he ob­tained a li­cense as a Non-con­form­ist min­is­ter and be­gan lec­tur­ing in Lon­don. Baxter’s works in­clude:

• Aphorisms of Justifica­tion, 1649
• The Saints Everlasting Rest, 1650
• Poetical Fragments: Heart Imployment with God and Itself; The Concordant Discord of a Brokenhearted Heart, 1681
• Additions to the Poetical Fragments of Rich. Baxter, written for him­self, and Communicated to such as are more for serious Verse than smooth, 1683
• A Paraphrase on the Psalms, with other Hymns Left fitted for the Press, pub­lished posthumously, 1692

Sources

Hymns

1. He Lacks Not Friends That Hath Thy Love
2. Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care
3. Ye Ho­ly Angels Bright