

PART
II.
Reverend
Mr.
Richard
Baxter.
167
Brethren,
p
Ecaufe you
Dire&ed your
Letter to
me by
Name,
I
am bold
to
tell
you my
JD
private Refolution
of
your
firft
Quellion.
I
will
do
by
the Children of Re-
fufers,
as
by
Strangers
( except
I
know that
they
refufe
through
meer licentiouf-
`nefs ): I dare
not
refufe
to
Baptize the Child
of
a
Stranger,
as
filch:
but I will
firB fpeak
with
one
of
the Parents, and be more
fully
fatisfied
of
their Know-
'
ledge,
and
Reafons
of
Diffeny-
and enquire
of
their Lives: and
on
the
fame
Terms I admit Diffenters alto to the Lord's Supper,
viz.
if
there
be
no Charge
againft
their Lives, and they
come to
me
before hand
, and
fatisfie
me
of
their
fimefs.
Still
letting them know it
is
a
dangerous cafe
to
live from
under
Order
`
and Difcipline, and
that
I
do this
to them but for
a
time till they
cáìí
be fatisfied,
` as
I
would
do
for
a
Stranger.
Tour
Brother,
Rl.
Baxter.
To our
Reverend
and
Beloved Brethren the
Affociate
d Minifers
in
the
County
of Cumberland.
§aç.Upon the Publication
of
our
Agreement,theMinillersin
molt Counties
be-
gan to take
the
Bufinefs
into confideration; and though
fome few
of the
ancient
Presbyterians were
againf
it,
and thought
at
would bring the Presbyterian Govern.
ment into Contempt, or hinder the Exécution
of it,
when
it had
been agreed
on
by,fo grave a Synod atWeJlminfter, and eftablifhed by
the Parliament, and there-
fore
they
rather
defired a
Britt
Execution
of the Ordinance of
Parliament, and
an
Agreement on
thofe
Terms)
yet the moft
of
the godly, faithful Minihers,
as
far
as
I
could learn,
were
for
it
:
For
as
we hindered
no Man
from following
his
ownJudgment in
his
own Congregation,
fo
we
Evinced beyond denial
that it
would
be
but
a
partial dividing Agreement, to
agree
on the Terms.
of
Presbyte.
rians, Epifcopal, or any one
Party,
becaufe
it
would unavoidably
Phut
out the
other Parties
;
which
was
the principal thing which we endeavoured
to avoid:
it
being not
with
Presbyterians
only, but with
all
Orthodox,
faithful
Pallors and
People, that
we
are bound to hold
Communion,
and to livein
Chriftian Concord,
fo far
as
we have attained,
Phil.
;.
rg,
16.
§
;6.
Hereupon many Counties began to Affociate,
as
Wmlafhire,
Dorfetfhire, So-
merfeoJhire,
HampJhire,
Efex, and others
:
And
fome
of
them printed
the
Articles
of
their
Agreement.
In
a
word,
a
great delire
of
Concord began to
poffefs all
good
People
in
the
Land, and our
Breaches
feem'd ready to heal. And
though
fome
thought that
fo
many
Affociations,
andForms
of
Agreement, did but tend
to
more
Divifion, by fhewiag our
diverfity
of
Apprehenfions,
the contrary proved true
by
Experience
:
For we
all
agreed
on the
fame
Cowie,
even
to
unite
in
the pra-
&ice
of
fo
much of
Difcipline
as
the Epifcopal, Presbyterians, and
Independants
are agreed in, and
as
croffeth none
of
their Principles
:
And they that thought
the
Expreflion
of
the Churches
delires
in
various words
of
Prayer in Publick
was
better than
a feinted
Form
for all Churches neceffarily
to
ule,
should
not think
that
the Efpreliion of our Confent
to
the
fame things,
is
a
dividing way, becaufeit
is
done in
various Expreffions
:for
this
Liberty greatly helped
Unity
:
formany
a
one
would have rumpled fome
particular words in fuch
an
impofed
Form
of
Concord,
who
yet
would
accord in the Subftance
of
the
Work.
The
Efx
Agreement
was
printed;
(to
the
fame
purpofe with
ours).
The
Wilt(lire
Minifters were
fo
fiddly
held
to
it
by
the Independent
Party, that they
could get them but to there following preparatory Articles:
WE
wholeNames are Subfcribed,
Minihers
of
the
Gofpel
in
the County
of
YV
Mar,
being
humbly
fenfible
of
our many
Failings
in
the
Work
of
the
Mi-
`nihry
by
the Lord Chrift committed to
us,
and
of
the great need wherein we
`
Band
of
the
mutual help
of
ourBrethren
forAdvice, Encouragement and Strength-
'
ping herein: And fadly bawailing the Corruptions
of
the People in our
feveral
eon