The Godly Home: A Review

J.I. Packer has been a cheerleader for reading the Puritans for quite a few decades now. In his introduction to Leland Ryken's book “Worldly Saints: The Puritans as they Really Were” he had this to say about them:

“In [their] thoroughness they were extreme, that is to say, far more thorough than we are, but in their blending of the whole wide range of Christian duties set forth in Scripture they were extremely balanced. They lived by “method” (we would say, by a rule of life), planning and proportioning their time with care, not so much to keep bad things out as to make sure that they got all good and important things in – necessary wisdom, then as now, for busy people!”

Few quotes better sum up Richard Baxter's recently re-published work “The Godly Home.” However, before I discuss the book, I should mention a few things about this edition. The Godly Home is a 2010 reprint of several chapters from Baxter's 992 page work A Christian Directory. This classic work was Baxter's magnum opus, and serves as a stunning collection of practical theology. Baxter designed this work to be, well, a directory for the Christian. It contains discussions on virtually every aspect of the Christian life and seeks to provide biblical and pastoral advice for all of these topics. The Godly Home is a reprint of Baxter's chapters discussing marriage, parenting, and the family.

This new edition is very well put together. The editor (Randall J. Pederson) sprinkles the book with many helpful footnotes and explanatory features. His restructuring of the work makes for a clean and easy read. However, this book is not necessarily designed for someone to sit down and read straight through (although it can be done). It is laid out in a topical format, (for example Baxter will devote one chapter to marriage, one to family worship, one on the responsibility of parents to children, one on the responsibility of children to parents, etc...) and it can be a bit tedious to read all at once. For someone who is already on board with what Baxter is saying it can feel a bit repetitive. However, the exhaustive nature of this work is also its biggest strength. As Packer said above, the Puritans lived by method, and Baxter here gives us a step by step, point by point, look at the method of godly life. Baxter's writing style is clean and easy to read, and he clearly writes with a pastor's heart. All in all, I would really recommend this volume. For seasoned Christians, it will prove to be a helpful exposition on the structure and functions of the family. And for new believers (many of whom have no idea what a Christian home should look like) this book could well be the resource that keeps them from floundering.