1797+] 
Thefe affemblies continued till the re- 
ftoration and were highly ufeful in open- 
ing and preferving.a friendly. corre- 
{pondence among the minulters, and -the 
congregations were hereby affifted in 
Bienen, minifters of charaéter and abi- . 
lities f or their vaca he churches. 
TO HIS HIGHNESS THE LORD PROTECTOR 
OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLANDy 
&c. 
The humble Petition of the Minifer s of the Gofpel 
in the courtly of Denon affociated. 
May it pleafe your Highnefs, 
“WE humbly crave leave here to tender 
to your Hghneis our moff_ hearty acknowledg- 
ments of the fignail happinefs we at prefent 
énjoy in the free ufe of the holy ordinances of 
God ;’ which, ‘as much as fome did erewhiles 
fuperftitioufly corrupt and others, would ftill 
more facrilegioufly abolifh them, are yet ‘by 
God"s: fpecial, Provideacey and. your Highneds? 
Protection gracioufly continued. to his -Gnful 
»Land in their power and purity. Bleffed be 
the name of our merciful God, we have full 
Liberty to. doe all the gooa vs either can or 
Ought. » Yet fadly weighing the many 
fearful dangers be ly threat’ned to the Truthes of 
God anil the peace of his Peo le by the malicious- 
contrivances of our common Enemy and his 
ferpent+like Inftruments}' who. have had -no 
greater advantage than -the unkind dittances 
which wei bluth to ‘temember, we held it our, 
duty to\lay afide the infifting on fuch fnaller 
circumftantials which have too long occafioned 
too great diviiions armong us, andin a biotherl, 
agreement to contripute our mutual Councells 
for the better prefervation of fundamentall 
Truthes and the happier promoting of the greate 
_ worke of God on the hearts of our Peopie which 
we rejoice to looke on as the majur bufinels we 
have in the world. To this purpofe we have 
had two general Meetings, the firtt on the 18th 
of O&ober 16565 and the other the 21% -of this 
init, May.’ Ineach of which we found it not in 
vain to feek the ‘ace of our God, butaffure our- 
felves we had his ear open to our Prayers on the 
days of our humiliation, becaufe by. his grace 
our hearts were fo happily knit together the 
days tollowing which we. fweetly fpent in bio- 
therl, confultations and amicable debates. 
And whereas we cannot but take votice 
how unreafonably our faithfull aGings have been 
miiconftrued ky fome in the country and are 
Jealous they may be as unworthily reprefented 
to your Highneis, we humbly crave leave to 
profefs to your Highnefs as in the prefence of 
that grea‘e God (who knows all the fecrets of 
all our hearts) that we have had no other aime 
in theie our meetings than the neceflary fecuring 
of the doctrine according to Gadlinefs gene: ally 
Maintained in all the reformed Churches, the 
confo:ming the lives of our People to that holy 
doctrine which they pretend to embrace, and the 
Jeading of them to a peaceable and brotherly 
converfation by our exemplary practice. 
And that your Highnefs may the better 
Hifferting £ etition to Oliver Cromwell. 
‘to’ the 
179 
difcern the real truth of this our folemn Pro- 
teltation, we have afiumed the boldnefs to pre- 
fentto your Highnets hands the particular re- 
fults of all our chiefett debates which we are 
fully affured will rvadily receive your Highnefs* 
gracious approbation, 
May it therefore pleafe your Highnefs to 
vouchiafe us the favour to continue to looke on 
us as Minifters of Chrift and to procéét us fo 
Jong as we fhall be found faithful to the preate 
Intereft of our Common Lord and his people. 
And we fhall ever pray: for the daily encreafe of 
all Goda’s bleflings on your Highn, fs anu his 
Commonwealth, raat Mote efpecially for the 
fljutifhing ‘of the Gofpel whofe great prercza- 
tive it is to fan&tify them all. 
Mr. Fuay EL, after the ejeétment in 
1662, zcaioully and fuccefstully exerted 
himfeif to unite the prefbyterians and 
independents, and to form them inte 
regular affociations. In.1691, they held 
their firft aflembly ; and they have met 
in May and September, from that period 
prefent. Formed for the pur- 
pofes of brotherly cauncil and advice, 
they have produced the happieft effects ; 
but, as every human inftirution partakes 
of the imperfeétion of its origin,. fo this 
affociation being formed at a period when 
religious Itberty was very imperfectly un- 
derftood, it is no wonder that fome of its . 
rules fhould have breathed the contraéted 
{pirit of its pious, but misjudging found- 
ers. Fhe affembly ufed formerly to 
take upon them to examine the tefti- 
monials of thofe who offered themfelves 
candidates for the miniftry ; and they 
too often infitted upon fuch quatifications 
from the candidate as the feriptures never 
required : it was, therefore, chargeable 
with affuming an unlawful jurifdidtion 
over the coniciences of men, About the 
Veale iy ao sn a majority of the members 
of the affembly confidered it in this 
ight, and it no longer interferes in the 
election, or ordination, of minifrers. 
Since this queftion was determined, 
nothing has occurred to defiroy thee peace 
and good temper of thefe meetings. 
NViets. the diffenting minifters, through 
the king'dom, to form fmilar atfociations; 
and Puitere the: like friendly corre- 
fpondence with their brethren, in their 
re{peétive counties, upon our Benne! 
principles as diffénters, it would be at- 
tended with the mof beneficial confe- 
qeences. It would bring proteftant dif- 
fenters, of each fenamination, better ac- 
qu quainted with each other, fateen thofe 
alperities which jarring opinions are too 
4 to excite, deliver them from the fatal 
effets of ticir prefent divided uncon- 
nected 
