What do you think?
Rate this book
A Grief Sanctified: Through Sorrow to Eternal Hope
Their love story is not one of fairy tales. It is one of faithfulness from the beginning through to its tragic ending.
Richard and Margaret Baxter had been married only nineteen years before she died at age forty-five. A prominent pastor and prolific author, Baxter sought consolation and relief the only true way he knew- in Scripture with his discipline of writing. Within days he produced a lover's tribute to his mate and a pastor's celebration of God's grace. It is spiritual storytelling at its best, made all the more poignant by the author's unveiling of his grief.
J. I. Packer has added his own astute reflections along with his edited version of this exquisite memoir that considers six of life's realities-love, faith, death, grief, hope, and patience. He guides you in comparing and contrasting the world's and the Bible's ideals on coping with these tides of life. The powerful combination of Packer's insights and Baxter's grief gives you a beacon if you are searching for God, a pathfinder for your relationships, and a lifeline if you are grieving.
Richard and Margaret Baxter had been married only nineteen years before she died at age forty-five. A prominent pastor and prolific author, Baxter sought consolation and relief the only true way he knew- in Scripture with his discipline of writing. Within days he produced a lover's tribute to his mate and a pastor's celebration of God's grace. It is spiritual storytelling at its best, made all the more poignant by the author's unveiling of his grief.
J. I. Packer has added his own astute reflections along with his edited version of this exquisite memoir that considers six of life's realities-love, faith, death, grief, hope, and patience. He guides you in comparing and contrasting the world's and the Bible's ideals on coping with these tides of life. The powerful combination of Packer's insights and Baxter's grief gives you a beacon if you are searching for God, a pathfinder for your relationships, and a lifeline if you are grieving.
191 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
22 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
J.I. Packer
446 books930 followersWhat do J. I. Packer, Billy Graham and Richard John Neuhaus have in common? Each was recently named by TIME magazine as among the 25 most influential evangelicals in America.
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
Dr. Packer, the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College, was hailed by TIME as “a doctrinal Solomon” among Protestants. “Mediating debates on everything from a particular Bible translation to the acceptability of free-flowing Pentecostal spirituality, Packer helps unify a community [evangelicalism] that could easily fall victim to its internal tensions.”
Knowing God, Dr. Packer’s seminal 1973 work, was lauded as a book which articulated shared beliefs for members of diverse denominations; the TIME profile quotes Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington as saying, “conservative Methodists and Presbyterians and Baptists could all look to [Knowing God] and say, ‘This sums it all up for us.’”
In a similar tribute to Dr. Packer almost ten years ago, American theologian Mark Noll wrote in Christianity Today that, “Packer’s ability to address immensely important subjects in crisp, succinct sentences is one of the reasons why, both as an author and speaker, he has played such an important role among American evangelicals for four decades.”
For over 25 years Regent College students have been privileged to study under Dr. Packer’s clear and lucid teaching, and our faculty, staff and students celebrate the international recognition he rightly receives as a leading Christian thinker and teacher.
(https://www.regent-college.edu/facult...)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 25, 2024
One of my Goodreads categories is "bathroom books." These are titles that I've plodded through a page or two, a paragraph or two at a time while answering nature's call. Since I could not find Richard Baxter's memoir of his wife in audio*, this edition with Packer's commentary was my best option.
First, it's odd to me that, though Baxter's work makes up the bulk of this volume, Packer alone is listed as the author. That's a fail on Crossway's part. As is its addiction to endnotes—a lazy, reader-inimical practice.
I was interested in the book for the record of how Richard ministered to his wife's frailties. Unfortunately, well-meaning friends dissuaded him from writing about how their marriage came about—that would have been most interesting! Richard shares passages from Margaret's own writing, his letters to her, and other reflections to show her struggles to truly believe and internalize the gospel. He writes, "When we were married, her sadness and melancholy vanished. Counsel did something to it, and contentment something; and being taken up with our household affairs did somewhat." First, this is a great comeback to people who say dumb things like, "Marriage won't solve all of your problems." Well, duh. But it just might solve some of them, so knock it off with the attitude that it won't solve any. Second, the solutions it can bring, according to Richard, are access to wise and loving counsel, the contentment that comes from having desires met, and the healthy distraction of having to focus on one's calling as a wife. Richard sees his responsibility to live with his wife with understanding. Part of that is seeing rightly the nature of her trials: "It is not God's or our enemies' afflicting us in worldly losses or sufferings... which is half so painful as our own inward infirmities. A man's spirit can bear his infirmities of outward crosses, but a wounded spirit who can bear?" She needed correction, but even more, she needed compassion. Compassion, indeed, is often the best means of correction. Richard provided that, though, he admits, not perfectly: "I was apt...to be impatient with her impatiency and with every trouble of her mind, not enough considering how great tenderness...she needed." The best way to persuade someone of the truth of God's love is to love them truly. All of the sermons and scoldings about their unbelief will do nothing without that.
My only criticisms of Richard would be resolved if I could time travel and take him a copy of The Things of Earth and a good book on marriage. His too-harsh disdain of material things and his ridiculous take on clergy marriage needed correction.
Packer's commentary at the end of the book compared it with A Grief Observed. It was very interesting to see the similarities and differences between Baxter's and Lewis's experiences of grief.
*If you are inclined to make an audiobook of a public domain work, for pity's sake do not make the eighty-seventh version of a popular title; rather, make the first version of one that's never been recorded. Fill a need that hasn't been filled yet!
First, it's odd to me that, though Baxter's work makes up the bulk of this volume, Packer alone is listed as the author. That's a fail on Crossway's part. As is its addiction to endnotes—a lazy, reader-inimical practice.
I was interested in the book for the record of how Richard ministered to his wife's frailties. Unfortunately, well-meaning friends dissuaded him from writing about how their marriage came about—that would have been most interesting! Richard shares passages from Margaret's own writing, his letters to her, and other reflections to show her struggles to truly believe and internalize the gospel. He writes, "When we were married, her sadness and melancholy vanished. Counsel did something to it, and contentment something; and being taken up with our household affairs did somewhat." First, this is a great comeback to people who say dumb things like, "Marriage won't solve all of your problems." Well, duh. But it just might solve some of them, so knock it off with the attitude that it won't solve any. Second, the solutions it can bring, according to Richard, are access to wise and loving counsel, the contentment that comes from having desires met, and the healthy distraction of having to focus on one's calling as a wife. Richard sees his responsibility to live with his wife with understanding. Part of that is seeing rightly the nature of her trials: "It is not God's or our enemies' afflicting us in worldly losses or sufferings... which is half so painful as our own inward infirmities. A man's spirit can bear his infirmities of outward crosses, but a wounded spirit who can bear?" She needed correction, but even more, she needed compassion. Compassion, indeed, is often the best means of correction. Richard provided that, though, he admits, not perfectly: "I was apt...to be impatient with her impatiency and with every trouble of her mind, not enough considering how great tenderness...she needed." The best way to persuade someone of the truth of God's love is to love them truly. All of the sermons and scoldings about their unbelief will do nothing without that.
My only criticisms of Richard would be resolved if I could time travel and take him a copy of The Things of Earth and a good book on marriage. His too-harsh disdain of material things and his ridiculous take on clergy marriage needed correction.
Packer's commentary at the end of the book compared it with A Grief Observed. It was very interesting to see the similarities and differences between Baxter's and Lewis's experiences of grief.
*If you are inclined to make an audiobook of a public domain work, for pity's sake do not make the eighty-seventh version of a popular title; rather, make the first version of one that's never been recorded. Fill a need that hasn't been filled yet!
May 29, 2009
What can one say about the profound truths found in this gem? I haven't enough good things to impart! This is an expression of grief from a husband who misses and loved his recenty deceased wife. While relaying their personal life, the things he loved about her, her weaknesses and her wisdom, we find a very womanly woman and a very human reationship. It is such a reflection of the gospel and the truths that Christ brings to those whom He redeems. Such a little known but much needed reality check in our world of comfort and also private suffering and grief! LOVE this book! It has had a HUGE impact on my personal walk with the Savior!
July 28, 2015
The book has a very lovely book cover and story plot. I give this book 5 stars.
September 2, 2014
A little disappointing. Packer writes too much and repeats some of what Baxter says. I'm often thinking, "I know I already read this." It's as much a biography of Baxter's wife as him. He doesn't write as much about dealing with grief as I had hoped.
August 3, 2017
Reading J I Packer is always rewarding but at times difficult for me. Only because he is on a different plane. Add Baxter to the mix in his 1600s wisdom akin to CS Lewis and I pedal hard to stay up.
However, the love story of his marriage and his walk in grief is worth the work. Packer's Part Three, The Grieving Process, provided Packer's thoughts on grief from bereavement which resonated loudly.
Packer's time and effort to comment on Baxter's Breviate shows his commitment and belief in an old but still relevant way to love and grieve our wives. It is worth a look.
However, the love story of his marriage and his walk in grief is worth the work. Packer's Part Three, The Grieving Process, provided Packer's thoughts on grief from bereavement which resonated loudly.
Packer's time and effort to comment on Baxter's Breviate shows his commitment and belief in an old but still relevant way to love and grieve our wives. It is worth a look.
May 10, 2024
Meet Richard Baxter - Know a Puritan Marriage - See a Christian Handle Grief Faithfully
The review title is from Packer’s Epilogue where he answers the question, “Why did I put this book together?”
This book is mostly composed of Baxter’s “Breviate of the Life of Margaret Baxter”. Amended to this original publication are incredibly insightful and helpful comments and clarifications from Packer. One would guess that Packer knew the man, which in a sense he did. Again from the Epilogue Packer says, “Through his [Baxter’s] writings, he has been a close personal friend of mine for over half a century” and this closeness is apparent in the commentary.
This book MAY make you cry, it WILL make you think, and it SHOULD - by the example of Richard and Margaret Baxter, and the grace of God - drive each of us to joyfully give all glory to God, both in life and in death.
The review title is from Packer’s Epilogue where he answers the question, “Why did I put this book together?”
This book is mostly composed of Baxter’s “Breviate of the Life of Margaret Baxter”. Amended to this original publication are incredibly insightful and helpful comments and clarifications from Packer. One would guess that Packer knew the man, which in a sense he did. Again from the Epilogue Packer says, “Through his [Baxter’s] writings, he has been a close personal friend of mine for over half a century” and this closeness is apparent in the commentary.
This book MAY make you cry, it WILL make you think, and it SHOULD - by the example of Richard and Margaret Baxter, and the grace of God - drive each of us to joyfully give all glory to God, both in life and in death.
Want to read
July 18, 2012I've been wanting to read this one for awhile. I've heard it called the single best book on Christian suffering. Carl Trueman writes:
"So much wisdom packed into so few pages. And as we all know, even the most devoted marriage ultimately ends in tragedy. Baxter’s bereavement awaits the marriages of us all."
"So much wisdom packed into so few pages. And as we all know, even the most devoted marriage ultimately ends in tragedy. Baxter’s bereavement awaits the marriages of us all."
May 13, 2015
Read this almost a year after my father passed away. It's an accurate title, our hope in Christ gets us through grief and sanctifies us in the process. God showed me, through this book, how my hope in Jesus lead me through that hard season and made me trust in Him even more. A must-read if you want to understand what a godly grief looks like in a Christian life.
March 1, 2008
A wonderful book. One of the best I have ever read. It should be read alongside Lewis's A Grief Observed in that Packer references it constantly and because Packer is able to take Baxter's experience and give some practical things to work through in the grieving process. Great book.
July 8, 2013
Outstanding. Worth reading if only for Packers brilliant application of Baxters writing to today's Christian.
Poignant, moving and deeply practical advice for anyone suffering loss.
Poignant, moving and deeply practical advice for anyone suffering loss.
April 20, 2019
Helpful, but not comprehensive.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews