P A & T II. Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter. 259 make no refiftance to the legal Exercifè qfa lawful Authority. If it were the Ana bapti(ts, Millinaries or Levellers they would fear them. But for mypart, I thought it very unmeet that fuch a Word as intimated any formidablenels in us, Ihould ever come out of our Mouths, either to them, or to our People, or among our felves ; for it feemeth to intimate either that wewould refili, or would have them think fo. 4. And I looked to the end of all theft Anions; and the chief things that moved me next the pleating of God and Confcience, is, that when we are alt 5lenced and perfecuted, and theHiftory of theft things (hall be delivered to polte- day, it will be a jut Blot upon us if we fuffer as refuting to fue for Peace, and it will be our juft Vindication when it fhall appear, that we humbly petitioned for, and earneftly pùrfued after Peace, and came as near them for the obtaining it, as "Scripture andReafon will allowus to do, and were ready to do anything for Peace, except to fm and damn our Souls. And for my own part, I could fitifer much more comfortably when I had ufed thefe means, and been repulfèd, than if I had ufed nòne. y. And Lally, I gave them all notice, that I hoped if we got no more, to have an opportunity by this Treaty to Bate our Difference right to the, underítanding of Foreigners andPofterity, and to bear my Teftimony totheCaufe of Truth, and Peace, and Godlinefs, openly under the Proieetion of the King Authority, both by Word and Writing, which they that fat Bill would never do but look on with ferret filent Grief till all is gone; and then have their Confciences and others tell them, that they never made any tut attempt, or fpake a Word ti prevent the Ruine. § 104. But as to the point of yielding too far to them, I told them firft, that moderate Epifcopacy was agreeable to my Judgment, and that they knew that I medled notas a Presbyterian, but as a Chritian that is obliged to feek the Church. es Peace : And alto that others may accept of thofe Terms as better thanworfe, which yet they cannot take to be the belt. And if we miff it asto the way or terms, ourBrethren that thought fo had the Liberty to acquaint us with our Er- ror, and to fetus right. § roq. Shortly after this, inBead of the;Diocefans Conceffrons, it was told us that the King would put all that he thoughtmeet to grant us into the Form ofa De- claration, and we Ihould fee it firi, and have Liberty to give notice of what we liked not, as not conf(tentwith thedefined Concord ( andfo the Diocefans cannot be charged withany mutability, as having ever granted us fuch Abatements which after theyreceded from ): We thankfullyaccepted of thisOffer, and received from the Lord Chancellor the following Copy of the Declaration. This Copy of a Declaration the Lord Chancellor next feet us to perufe and alter before it were publilhed, that it might fatisfie our Dares. Received on Sept. 4. His Majeffy's Declaration to all his loving SuljeEis of his Kingdom öf Englañd and Dominion of Wales, concerning Ecclefaffical Affairs. f jjbW much the Peace of the State is concerned in the Peace of the Church, 'L-1 and how difficult a thing it is to preferveOrder and Government in Civil, ` whi1B there irho Orderand Government inEccleftatical Affairs, is evident tothe World; and this little part of theWorld, our own Dominions bath had 'fo late Experience of it, that we may very well acquiefce in the Cohclution, without ` enlarging ourfell in difcourfeuponit, it being a Subjeâ wehave had frequent oc ' cafion to contemplate upon, and to lament abroad, as well as at home. InourLetter to theSpeaker oftheH.ofCommonsfromBreda,we declared howmuch ' we defired theAdvancement and Propagation of the Proteftant Religion:That nei- ' ther the Unkindnefs of tholeof the fame Faith towards us, northe Civilities and ` Obligations from thofe of a contrary Profeflion(of both which we have hadabun- a dam Evidence) could in the legat degree Bartle us, or make us fwerve from ir, ` and that nothing canbe propofed to manifet our Zeal and Affeeeion for it , to 'whichwe will not readily confent. And we faid then, That we did hope in due Fite our Pelf to propofe fómewhat for the propagationof it, that will fatisfie-the L I 2 World
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=