Baxter the preacher

Richard Baxter created an art of preaching based on his theology of man: created and fallen. Because of these truths he knew what was in mens hearts when he got up to preach, consider Packer:

"They are slow to grasp divine truth, not merely through natural stupidity, but becasuse their wills are fundamentally apathetic towards it. They dislike it; they do not want to learn it; their thoughts wander during sermons, and what they hear and remember they misunderstand and misapply "I am daily forced to admire how lamentably ignorant many of our people are, that have seemed diligent hearers of me these ten or twelve years, while I spoke plainly as I was able to speak!" Baxter wrote in 1665. To combat this ingrained, wliful obtuseness, Baxter strove to be as plain and pungent as he could...

"The plainest words are the profitablest oratory in the weightest matters. Fineness is for ornament, and delicacy for delight, but they answer not necessity...It is hard...to hear or read a neat, concise, sententious (ed - ?) discourse, and not to be hurt by it; for it usually hindereth the due operation of the matter, and keeps it from the heart, and stops it in the fancy, and makes it seem as light as the style. We use not to stand upon compliment...when we run to quench a common fire, nor to call men out to it by an eloquent speech. If we see a man fall into fire or water, we stand not upon mannerliness in plucking him out, but lay hands on him while we can without delay" (Baxter).