g8 7he HIS T 0 R Y of the PuRITANS. VoL. II. K. Charles I. in the houfe of commons, beGdes Se/den and Whitlock, Oliver St. John ~ Efq; Sir 'Thomas Widdrington, John Crew, Efq ; Sir John Hipjley, and others of the greateft names. Of the indcThe INDEPENDENTS or .congregational brethren, compofed a third pendents. party, and made a bold ftand againft the proceedings of the high pref– byterians; their numbers were [mall at firft, though they encreafed pro– digioufly in a few years, and grew to a confiderable figure under the pro– tetl:odhip of Oliver Cromqvel!. We have already related their original, and carried on their hill:ory till they appeared in public about the latter end of the year I 640. The di– vines who paffed under this denomination in the affembly, had fled their country in the late times, and formed focieties according to their own model in Holland, upon the fl:ates allowing them the ufe of their churches, after their own fervice was ended, with liberty of ringing a bell to pnb– lic wodhip. Here (as they declare) they fet themfelves to confult the holy fcriptures as impartially as they could, in order to find out the difci– pline that the apofl:les themfdves pracrifed in the very firft 2ge of the church; the condition they were in, and the melancholy profpect of their affairs affording no temptation to any particular biafs. The reil: of their hifl:ory, with their difl:inguifhing opinions, I i11all draw from their apologetical narration publilhed in 1643· and prefented to the houfe of commons. Apologet, " As to the church of England(fay they) we profefs before God and the !'<arr. of the " world, that we do apprehend a great deal of defilement in their way of :rdepen8 '' worfhip, and a great deal of unwarranted power exercifed by their church ents, p. 7 ' " governors, yet we allow multitudes of their parochial churches to be '' true churches, and their miniflers true minifl:ers. In the late times, " when we had no hopes of returning to our own country, we held " communion with them, and offered to receive to the Lord's [upper " fome that came to vifit us in our exile, whom we knew to be godlyi " upon that relation and memberfhip they held in their parifh churches " in England, they profeffing themfelves to be members thereof, and be– ,, longing thereto. The fame charitable difpofition we maintained to– " wards the dutch churches among whom we lived. We mutually ~ave and •• received the right hand of fellow.fhip, holding a brotherly correfpon– " dence with their divines, and admitting fome of the members of their " churches to communion in the facrament, and other ordinances, by " virtue of their relation to thofe churches. 1b. p. 12, '5· The fcheme they embraced was a middle way between bro~vnifm and presf?yte[y_, (viz.) that " every particular congregation of chri/lians has att " entire and compleat power qfjurifdiCJion over its members, to be exercifed " hy the elders tbereqf within itfe!J. This they are fure muft have been "the
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