It’s a Puritan love story. On paper, it was a long shot. He was a single man in his early forties, consumed with leading a church of eight hundred families. She was half his age and full of worldly ambition. It all started when Margaret Charlton (1631-1681) moved to an English town with her wealthy mom. She didn’t take kindly to Richard Baxter’s preaching at first but eventually his sermons on conversion found its way inro her heart. Her feelings for Richard grew also. She tried to suppress them, reminding herself that her devotion to Christ must have no rivals. Richard initially resisted but eventually reciprocated. The gossip in town was fast and furious–a considerably older pastor cavorting with a young, wealthy woman.
When the Act of Conformity of 1662 separated Richard from his parish, suddenly he had time to devote to their relationship and they married several weeks later. The years of their marriage coincided with the period Puritans came under heavy persecution. It wasn’t easy to be married to a nonconformist minister in England. Richard was miserable at times, a preacher without a pulpit. Most of what we know about their nineteen-year union Richard wrote in his memoir following her death. She was the practical one, taking the initiative to rent space for Richard to preach and covering the cost of a new chapel for him. Richard regarded her as “better than the divines” (fellow clergy) at solving spiritual problems. When Richard went to prison for unauthorized preaching, Margaret insisted on going with him. He wrote, “Cheerfully, she went with me to prison.” Cheerfully?! Fortunately, a benevolent jailer allowed them to bring their bed to prison. Margaret was fastidious, bordering on obsessive. Richard called it “scrupulosity.” He thought it was a sinful waste of time to keep the house as clean as the dishes.
Early in their relationship, Margaret became seriously ill, and the church commenced to pray and fast for her. When she recovered, they came together in a service of thanksgiving. Margaret provided seven reasons for which she was thankful, and five ways Richard and the church could pray for her: