New Abridgement of Baxter's "Practical Works"?

[Fly Caster]

The Practical Works of Richard Baxter: Selected Treatises

I'm wanting badly to order this (stated more accurately, I'm salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs), but I'm a little confused by the description.

It says "This edition, The Practical Works of Richard Baxter is the most complete abridgment of Baxter's 23-volume work ..." and then lists the contents:

* The Saints' Everlasting Rest
* The Divine Life
* A Treatise of Conversion
* A Call to the Unconverted
* Now or Never
* Directions and Persuasions to a Sound Conversion
* Directions for Weak Distempered Christians
* The Character of a Sound, Confirmed Christian
* The Mischiefs of Self-Ignorance and the Benefits of Self-Acquaintance
* Dying Thoughts

Does anyone know if the contents are abridged, or does it just mean that other items in the 23-vol work have been left out? At this price, I guess it's a steal either way-- but I hate to spend money for something like this to find that it's been all hacked up.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[LeeD]

It would seem that they mean other works of Baxter's are not included. There is no way they could fit 23 volumes into 1008 pages. That is a very reasonable price for those particular treatises. Enjoy!

 

[Wayne]

Looks like it is what it says it is--Selected Treatises. Can't say for sure, but most likely the publisher, Hendricksen, did not take the trouble to condense any of the works selected.

The original 23 volume edition, [London: James Duncan, 1830], is in octavo. Then there was a later four volumes that appeared under much the same title. That set was in folio and small type. Might have contained all of the 23 volumes, but I don't know. I do seem to remember someone making the point that Baxter had been selectively abridged in those four volumes and by that abridgment his views were thus misrepresented.

For the money, you probably can't go too wrong. Don't expect the very best of bindings.

 

[KMK]

I believe all of these are available for free at Googlebooks.

 

[Phil D.]

I believe all of these are available for free at Googlebooks.

Pretty much everything Baxter wrote is available here (his Whole Works are easily downloadable as PDF files).