(Matt. xii, 20.) 2. Tolerandi sunt ii qui ab omnibus animatis abstinendum putant, quod quidam faciebant religione quâdam. Cap. xv, 6. "Ινα ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐν ἑνὶ ςόματι δοξάζητε τὸν Osov, id est, ut cum Deum laudatis, eique preces funditis, faciatis id non tantum eodem verborum sono-sed et animo pleno muluæ delectionis, sine contemptu, sine odio. Habes hanc vocem oμodvpadov (Act. ii, 46), ubi forma est ecclesiæ perfectissimæ. Adde ad ejus vocis explicationem id quod est, Act. iv, 32, (all which includeth communion in the eucharist.)-Verse 7. Nolite ob res tales, alii alios à fraternitate abscindere.

XXIII.

Petition to the King at the Close of the Conference.—Reliquiæ Baxterianæ, by Sylvester, pp. 366—8.1

To the King's most excellent Majesty. The due account and humble Petition of us Ministers of the Gospel lately Commissioned for the Review and Alteration of the Liturgy.

May it please your Majesty ;

When this distempered nation, wearied with its own. contentions and divisions, did groan for unity and peace, the wonderful providence of the most righteous God appearing for the removal of impediments, their eyes were upon your majesty, as the person born to be, under God, the centre of their concord, and taught by affliction to break the bonds of the afflicted, and by experience of the sad effects of men's uncharitableness and passions, to restrain all from violence and extremities, and keeping moderation and mediocrity, the oil of charity and peace. And when these your subjects' desires were accomplished in your majesty's peaceable possession of your throne, it was the joy and encouragement of the sober and religious, that you began the exercise of your 'Printed as originally drawn up by Baxter.--Reliquiæ Baxterianæ, p. 365.

government with a proclamation full of Christian zeal against debauchery and profaneness, declaring also your dislike of "those who under pretence of affection to your majesty and your service, assume to themselves the liberty of reviling, threatening, and reproaching others, to prevent that reconciliation and union of hearts and affections, which can only with God's blessing, make us rejoice in each other." Our comforts also were carried on by your majesty's early and ready entertainment of motions for accommodation in these points of discipline and worship in which we were disagreed, and your professed resolutions to draw us together by mutual approaches, and publishing your healing Declaration, which was received with the thanks of your House of Commons, and the applause of the people, and the special joy of those that longed for concord and tranquillity in the church. In which your majesty declareth so much satisfaction in the foundations of agreement already laid, as that you "should think yourself very unfortunate, and suspect that you are defective in the administration of government, if any superstructures should shake these foundations, and contract or lessen the blessed gift of charity, which is a vital part of Christian religion." And as in the said gracious Declaration, your majesty resolved to "appoint an equal number of learned divines of both persuasions to review the liturgy, and to make such alterations as shall be thought most necessary, and some additional forms (in the Scripture phrase as near as may be) suited unto the nature of the several parts of worship; and that it be left to the minister's choice, to use one or other at his discretion;" so in accomplishment thereof, your majesty among others, directed your commission unto us for the review of "the several directions, rules, and forms of prayer, and things in the said Book of Common Prayer contained:" and "if occasion be, to make such reasonable and necessary alterations, corrections, and amendments therein, as by and between us shall be agreed upon to be needful or expedient for the giving of satisfaction to tender consciences, and the restoring and continuance of peace and

unity in the churches under your protection and government," —and what we "agree upon as needful or expedient to be done, for the altering, diminishing, or enlarging the said Book of Common Prayer, or any part thereof, forthwith to certify and present it in writing" to your majesty.

In obedience to this your majesty's commission, we met with the Right Reverend Bishops, who required of us, that before any personal debates, we should "bring in writing, all our Exceptions against the Book of Common Prayer, and all the additional forms which we desired." Both which we performed; and received from them an Answer to the first, and returned them our full Reply. The last week of our time, being designed to personal conference, was at the will of the Right Reverend Bishops spent in a particular dispute by three of each part, about the sinfulness of one of the injunctions, from which we desired to be free; and in some other conference on the by. And though the account which we are forced to give your majesty of the issue of our consultations is that, no agreements are subscribed by us, to be offered your majesty, according to your expectation; and though it be none of our intent to cast the least unmeet reflections upon the Right Reverend Bishops and learned brethren who think not meet to yield to any considerable alterations to the ends expressed in your majesty's commission; yet we must say, that it is some quiet to our minds that we have not been guilty of your majesty's and your subjects' disappointments, and that we account not your majesty's gracious commission, nor our labour lost, having peace of conscience in the discharge of our duties to God and you: that we have been the seekers and followers of peace, and have earnestly pleaded, and humbly petitioned for it; [and offered for it any price below the offence of God Almighty, and the wounding or hazard of our own, or of the people's souls; and that we have in season borne our testimony against those extremes, which at last will appear to those that do not now discern it, to have proceeded from uncharitable mistake, and tended to the division and trouble of the

church that whatever shall become of charity, unity, and concord, our life, our beauty, and our bands, our consciences tell us we have not deserted them, nor left any probable means unattempted, which we could discern within our power.] And we humbly beseech your majesty to believe, that we own no principles of faction or disobedience, nor patronize the errors or obstinacy of any. It is granted us by all, that nothing should be commanded us by man, which is contrary to the Word of God: that if it be, and we know it, we are bound not to perform it, God being the absolute universal sovereign; that we must use all just means to discern the will of God, and whether the commands of man be contrary to it: that if the command be sinful, and any, through the neglect of sufficient search, shall judge it lawful, his culpable error excuseth not his doing of it from being sin; and therefore as a reasonable creature must needs have a judgment of discerning, that he may rationally obey, so are we with the greatest care and diligence to exercise it in the greatest things, even the obeying of God and the saving of our souls; and that where a strong probability of great sin and danger lieth before us, we must not rashly run on without search; and that to go against conscience, even where it is mistaken, is sin and danger to him that erreth. And on the other side we are agreed that, in things no way against the laws of God, the commands of our governors must be obeyed: that if they command what God forbids, we must patiently submit to suffering; and every soul must be subject to the higher powers, for conscience sake, and not resist : that public judgment, civil, or ecclesiastical, belongeth only to public persons, and not to any private man: that no man must be causelessly and pragmatically inquisitive into the reasons of his superior's commands; nor by pride and selfconceitedness exalt his own understanding above its worth and office; but all to be modestly and humbly self-suspicious:

2 This passage between brackets was left out in the Address as presented to the king.

that none must erroneously pretend God's law against the just command of his superior, nor pretend the doing of his duty to be sin that he who suspecteth his superior's commands to be against God's laws, must use all means for full information, before he settle in a course of disobeying them: and that he who indeed discovereth anything commanded to be sin, though he must not do it, must manage his opinion with very great tenderness and care of the public peace, and the honour of his governors. These are our principles. If we are otherwise represented to your majesty we are misrepresented. If we are accused of contradicting them, we humbly crave that we may never be condemned till we are heard. It is the desire of our souls to contribute our parts and interests to the utmost, for the promoting of holiness, charity, unity, and obedience to rulers in all lawful things. But if we should sin against God, because we are commanded, who shall answer for us, or save us from his justice? And we humbly crave, that it may be no unjust grievance of our dissent, that thereby we suppose superiors to err; seeing it is but supposing them to be men not yet in heaven; and this may be imputed to every one that differeth in opinion from another. And we beseech your majesty to believe that, as we seek no greater matters in the world than our daily bread, with liberty to preach the gospel, and worship God according to his Word and the practice of the primitive purest church, so we hope it is not through pusillanimity and overmuch tenderness of suffering that we have pleaded so much for the avoiding of suffering to ourselves or others. May none of our sufferings hinder the prosperity of the church, and the good of souls [of men! May not our dread sovereign, the breath of our nostrils, be tempted by misrepresentations to distaste such as are faithful, and unawares to wrong the interest of Christ, and put forth his hand to afflict those that Christ would have him cherish, lest their head should be provoked to jealousy and offence! May not the land of our nativity languish in divisions, nor be filled with the groans of those that are shut out of the holy assemblies,