PART II. ReverendMr. 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 darenot refufe to Baptize the Child of a Stranger, as filch: but I will firB fpeak with oneof 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 beno Charge againft their Lives, and they come tome 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 andBeloved Brethren the Affociated Minifers in the County of Cumberland. §aç.Upon the Publication ofour 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 Exécutionof 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 ofthem printed the Articles of their Agreement. In a word, a great delire ofConcord began to poffefs all good Peoplein the Land, and our Breachesfeem'd ready to heal. And though fome thought that fo many Affociations, andForms ofAgreement, 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 Difciplineas the Epifcopal, Presbyterians, and Independants are agreed in, and as croffeth none of their Principles : And they that thought theExpreflion ofthe 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 Workof the Mi- `nihryby the Lord Chrift committed to us, and of the great need wherein we ` Band ofthe mutual help ofourBrethren forAdvice, Encouragement and Strength- ' ping herein: And fadly bawailing the Corruptionsof the People in our feveral eon
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