Humble Advice: OR THE HEADS OF Those things which were offered to many Honourable Members of PARLIAMENT BY Mr RICHARD BAXTER at the end of his SERMON, Decemb. 24. at the abbey in Westminster.  
With some Additions as they were delivered by him to a Friend that desired them, who thought meet to make them public.  
 seal with anchor 
ANC HO RA SPEI   
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Underhill and Francis titan, 1655.   

Good Works earnestly desired from this PARLIAMENT FOR THE CHURCH.  
1. PErfect that excellent Work resolved on, that All Children be taught to read, and that every Family have a Bible.  
2. Perfect that excellent Work, of enjoining Catechizing: of which more anon.  
3. Seeing you have well intended to enjoin the general use of the Assemblies lesser Catechism, put it into the Act of Ejection, that whosoever shall de industria after Admonition, Preach or persuade any against any Doctrine contained in that Catechism, shall be Ejected. 1. This is but reasonable: For if Children must Learn it, Learned men and Teachers should not Preach against it. 2. It is not against the Instrument in the Articles for Liberty of Religion: For it only hinders the Propagating of errors, and not the holding or professing them, when called thereto. And it only denieth such Propagators the public Countenance and Maintenance: and not Liberty.  
4. Let no man have Liberty to Preach, Teach or persuade any against the essential,( fundamental) Truths of Christian Belief, in private or public, though he have not your Maintenance: For it is not our own Gain that we look after, but the safety of mens souls. God forbid you should let men defy Christ, or persuade men to Infidelity, or deny and vilify Gods Word, &c. so they will but ▪ do it for nothing: The Pope and Popish persons abroad and at home, will maintain Emissaries enough, to do their work, without your maintenance. Thousands might curse you for ever in hell, if you grant such a Liberty to all men to deceive them, and entice them thither.  
If you cannot agree to accept those as Fundamentals, which were given in by the Ministers, you have the two Ancient Creeds of the Church: that of the West, commonly called the Apostles: and that of the East, called the Nicene, and as now enlarged, the Constantinopolitane. Take these two conjunctively for a Test.  
Or else leave out any point that is less momentous in the foresaid Catechism, and let the rest serve to this use. Should I tell you of the Profession of the Worcestershire Ministers, you might well think it comes from too private hands to be offered you to such a use: but I had rather you used that then none.  
5. We beseech you fail not, 1. To secure to us by a Law: 2. And to Recommend the free use of ministerial Assemblies and Associations: which whether necessary or not for Regiment, are certainly so necessary for Unity, that we cannot carry on Gods work in Concord well without them. This most confess. Deny us not what the Church enjoyed under Heathen Princes, and hath used in the Apostles daies,( Act. 15, &c.) and ever since to this day. If you doubt whether we will wrong the State, 1. Our Estates and Lives are in your hand to answer it. 2. Let a Magistrate be present with us as oft as you please to see our course. Yet let it be only the Ministers that are Approved by you, and Own the fundamental Verities, that have this Freedom.  
But if you will give it all or none( though I hope better) rather let● all have it, then none.  
6. Let these Approved Associated Ministers have Liberty granted to Ordain others to the ministerial Office:( Whether any shall be of the Quorum, I meddle not.) And recommend Ordination to the Churches, to be sought, when they receive a Pastor. And let none be Admitted to a Pastora●l Charge, having the public Maintenance, that is not Ordained or Approved by Ministers.  
7. If any Arminians, Antinomians, Anabaptists, or the like mistaken ones, think it not enough to hold their Opinions, but they will hold Communion with none that are of a contrary mind, nor admit them to the Lords Supper, though Godly and otherwise fit, let such hold no pastoral Cure( for Lectures I leave to you) that have the public Maintenance: Because they will else force all the Godly people that are not of their Opinion, to live without Gods Ordinances and Church-Communion; or at least, to wander for it, to their great discommodity.  
8. Take not the Works of the Ministry out of their hands, which is, To judge who are the fit subjects of their Administrations in Baptism, and the Lords ▪ Supper and Church-Censures, as to those personal Qualifications, which according to Gods Word are required. It is as essential to a Pastor to Rule as to Teach: And as you may not Preach in his stead, so neither may you Ecclesiastically Rule in his stead. Some body must Judge of Church Cases and Persons: and it is fittest for them, whose Office it is. That which you have to do, is to Question and Punish them, for Maladministration. If under pretence of judging rightly who are the true subjects of sacramental Administrations, they will deny them to All, or exclude the fit Subjects, Punish them for it, according to the quality of the offence.  
9. Let your Commissioners for Approbation and Ejection, have Power to keep the Peace in the Church, as Justices of Peace have in Civils: or else let Justices look to it. That if any turbulent Mutineers, shall bend their endeavours to Rail at and Reproach their Brethren, or make disturbances, they may be restrained.  
10. Let the public Places, as well as Maintenance, be only for the Approved Ministers, and none have leave to Preach in those Places,( called Churches) without the Ministers Consent.  
11. Let all that have Tolerated Meetings, enjoy them only in some known allowed place, where the doors shall be as open to any, at Sermon time, as ours are to them, lest they secretly sow the seeds of Rebellion.  
12. Let the Ministers and Church have the disposal of the Meeting place in time of Sacraments, and of exercise of public Discipline, that strangers, or wicked persons may not intrude among them at such times, without their Consent, lest they force us to Celebrate the Lords Supper in private houses.  
13. Let some be authorised in every Parish, or near at hand, to dispose of all vacant Seats in Churches, and determine all Controversies thereabout.  
14. Seeing our common Version of the psalms in metre is so faulty, that it is not fit to be continued, when Better may be had( in so high a part of Gods Worship, we should serve him with the best:) And those that lay them by do use some one, some another: when Concord in such a Work, is so desirable among the Churches: We humbly move, that you would Recommend some one of the best unto all Churches in the Land. Might I presume to speak my thoughts, That Version which being first approved of by the late Assembly of Divines, and after very much Corrected and bettered in Scotland, and now approved by their Assembly, and used generally by their Churches, is the best that is extant, and fittest in many respects to be Recommended. But if so great a preparation to unanimous reception satisfy not, You may Authorize the Ministers of the Province of London to appoint a Committee of skilful men, to draw one Version out of all, or to try and judge of the best that is already extant. We are scarce like to be unanimous without your interposition.  
15. Have a special care of the revenues and Government of the Universities.  
16. Lay a penalty on him that Prints or sels any Books against the Fundamentals or Essentials of Christianity; and that slander or reproach Magistracy, Ministry, or Ordinances of Christ. And burn some more of this nature, that you may manifest a disowning them. Specially Hobbs his Leviathan.  
17. Provide a competent Maintenance for the Ministry: Not for their sakes so much as the Peoples: Begin with Cities and Market-Towns: Allow a Congregation of two thousand or three thousand souls, more Ministers than one of three hundred or four hundred souls. If tradesman, Lawyers, and others that pay not Tithes in most places, were equally assessed, it might help to this, and maintain a Catechist, as followeth.  
18. Seeing prejudice doth hurry so many souls to perdition, and the common scorning of a Godly life, by the natural Enemies to it, is a chief Cause of that prejudice; Might not some Law be made to restrain such scorners in some measure; At least let a Godly life in general, and Family-Duties in special( in Prayer, Praises, and Reading Scripture, in Catechizing) be Recommended by you to the Nation; that so poor souls might have the credit of a Parliament, to set against the credit of a scorner, to cure their prejudice?  
19. Let those Ministers be ejected as Negligent, that forbear All exercise of Discipline, as well as they that preach not: that is, who admit notorious wicked livers to Communion, without any Admonition, according to Christs Rule, and permit the Obstinate without any Censure. For such unconscionable man-pleasers, taking all wicked people to Sacraments that fly from Discipline out of other Parishes, are exceeding hinderers of our Discipline, and deceivers and destroyers of the peoples souls.  
20. Confirm the good Laws that are already afoot for the Lords-day, and Authorize the Officers to whip those that cannot pay: For a custom of sitting in the stocks, doth but make them contemn it, and harden them to greater wickedness. The like I move for swearers, drunkards, and prohibited Ale-sellers.  

More particularly concerning the second Head, Of Catechizing.  
1. I conceive it would be an excellent work, and is Necessary, to Appoint in every Parish in great Towns, or others very Populous, one Cat●chist,( or more according to the number of persons) who should perform this work.  
2. Let him be chosen by the Minister; or if that be denied, let the Minister Nominate him, and the People consent, and Neighbour-Ministers Judge of exceptions against him.  
3. Let them be men of competent Ability, of godliness and upright Conversations.  
4. Let his work be, first to teach some Creed containing the Fundamentals, with the Lords-Prayer and ten Commandments; and then the Assemblies shorter Cat●chisme: or that at first, where people are capable. And so far as he can ▪ to tell them briefly the sense, and inquire how they understand it.  
5. Let him be tied to spend two hours every day in this work, taking the Families in course, yet labouring most where he findeth most need.  
6. Let all persons, Rich and poor, young and old, submit to be catechised by him, under some fit penalty every month they shall refuse: except they have a Certificate from the Minister, either that he is teaching them, or that they understand the matter already, and then let them be no more constrained to attend and learn it.  
7. Let him teach no women between the age of twelve and sixty, but in the public meeting ▪ place of the Church: but the rest where shall be thought fittest by themselves.  
8. If any pretend Conscience against learning the Principles of Religion, they are not to be heard: but if any pretend Conscience against any thing in the Assemblies Catechism, let them before the Minister produce their Reasons: And if they remain unsatisfied, let them have liberty to use Mr Perkins Six Principles, or any other which the Neighbour-Ministers shall approve of: If they refuse this, I hope to pay the penal mulct, will not wound their Consciences.  
9. This must be no hindrance from Ministers doing what of it they can: and in small Parishes, the Minister alone may do it: but not in great.  
10. Let the Catechist be under the Ministers Oversight for Instruction in the work.  
11. Let a competent Salary( of about twenty pound, or sixteen pound, or twelve pound per annum) be allowed to the Catechist for his work. Which may be imposed on the people to pay.  
12. If he be found unworthy, let the Minister have power to remove him, or who else you think fit.  
This one work well established, will make the name of this Parliament Honourable to all Generations, and may bring many thousand souls to Heaven; and remove most of the great scruples about the unfitness of people to be Church-members, or to Communicate, because they are Ignorant. It will exceedingly supply the great defect of more Ministers in great Congregations: which is the ruin of such places: Many Congregations can maintain a Catechist or two that cannot maintain another Minister. And we have the Example of the Ancient times of the Church, when Catechists were employed by teaching the Principles, to sit the Converted to be further admitted. In a word, it will be so blessed a work, as the happy fruits of it cannot be conceived, as Experience will manifest them, if it be faithfully discharged. The Lord encourage them that promote it, and cross them that cross it.  
Decemb. 25. 1654.   
FINIS.