The `Prefáce to the Reader. impartial Debates about things controverted, adds&ednels to PeffIntereft and Re- putation with our refpeetive Patties, impatience of revere Thoughts and Studies; and of impartial Confideration beforewe Mc and pals our Judgment, taking thing; WO much upon Tru(t; Prejudice againft thofe whole Sentiments are different from our own, laying too great a weight upon eccentrical and meaner things,prying too boldly into, and talking too confidently about things onrevealed, or but darkly hinted to us in the SacredText, and reprelenring the Doitrine of Our. Chrillianity in our own Artificial Terms andSchemes, and foconfining the Intereft, Grace, and Heart of God and Chrill to our refpeetiveParties; as if we had forgot, or had ne- ver read Rom. 14.17-19. Alla ro. 34, 3c. Gal. 6. 14 -16. and Eph. 4. r F: That Perlònwhofe Thoughts,, Heart andLife(hall meet me in the Spirit and Reach of z Pet. 1. t --n. shall my hearty Love and Service , although hede- termine neverto,hear me Preach,or tp Communicate with me all his days, through the Imprellion of his Education or Acquaintance; though at the fame time lhould be. loth that lath a narrow Thought should be the Principle, Poile and Con- du& ofmy Church Fellowlhip, Spirit, or Behaviour. God bath, I doubt hot, his eminent and valuable Servants mall Parties and Perfwafions amongst Chriftians. An heavenly mind and Life is all in all with me. I doubt not but that God bath many precious faithful Ones atnongft the Mencalled Independanü, Presbyieridns, A. nabaptifis, Prelarical And I humbly judge it reafonable that'( 1.) The Mil- carriages of former Parties be not imputed to fucceeding Parties who own not, not abet their Principles as prodù&ive of filch pra&ical Enormities.. (a. ) That the Mifcarriages of tome particular Perlons be not Charged on the refl., until they pre- fe(sormanifefttheirApprobationofthem, .(s.) That what is repented of and pardoned,be not fo received as to fomentDivifions and Recriminations. (4.) That my trait from Mr. Baxter, and faithfulnefs to him, and toPolterity, be notconftrù- ed as the Refùlt of any Spleen in me againftany Perfon or Párty mentioned inthis following Hiltory. (t.) And that we all value that in ohe another, which God thinks lovely where he forms and finds it. And 6. 0Utinam! that we formmo other Tell and Canon of Chriltian Orthodoxy and Saving Soundnefs,, and Chrifti- an Fellowthip,than what the Sacred Scriptures give us as Explicatory of the Chrifli- án Baptifmal Creed and Covenant, as influencingus into an holy Life, and heaven-.. ly Hopes and Joys. I thought once to have given the World a faithful Abftratt of Mr. Baxter's Doetrines or Judgment, containing the Sence of what he held about Jufification, Faith, Works, ee. and yetlayingaude his Terms of Art: that here-, by the Reader might difcern the Confonancy of it to the Sacred Text , and to the Doetrinal Confefliions of theReformed Churches; hisConfiftence with himfelf,and his nearer approach in Judgment to thofe from whom he feems todiffermuch, than the prejudiced Adverfariesare aware of. But this mull be a Work of Tittíe', if not an Enterprize too great for me, as I julily fear it is. But I will do by him as I would do by others, and have them do by me, viz. give him his owned Explica- tion of the BaptifmalCreed and Covenant, as a fit Teft to try his Judgment by - and if his Doctrines in his other Treatifes confiff herewith, others perhaps will fee more Caufe to think him Orthodox in the molt weightyArticles, and lets to be' fufpected, notwith(tanding his different Modes of Speech. The Things profefedly believed by him far may be fees in his Chriftian Concord) were, THat there ìe one only God : The Easier , infinite in Being , Wifdono , Goodnefl , and Power : the Maker, Preferver, and Diofer ofall things; and the molt juSb and merciful Lord of All. That Mankindbeing fallen by Sinfrom God and HappineJd, under theWrath ofGod, the Carfe ofhis Law, and. the Power of the Detail, Godfe laved the World, that be gave bis only Son to be their Redeemer : who, being God, and one with the Father , didtake tiehim oar Nature, and became Man, being conceived of the Holy Ghafl in the Virgin Mary, and born of ber, andnamed J ESidS CH R I S T: and having liv'd en Earth without Sin, and wrought many Mirdele,, for witnefßofhis Truth, he gaveup,bimfelf a Sacri- fice for our Sins, and a Renfomfar us, in BeringDeath on the Croft andbeing,buried, be it Lord of all inGlory with the Father. And having ordained that all that truly repent, and believe in hime and love hima'áoveall things, andfncerely obey him, and that to the e z Death
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