'" Nunc vero si nominis odium est, quis nominum reatus? quaB accusatio voca- buloruni? nisi aut Barbaruin sonat aliqua vox iioniinis, aut iiialedicuni, aut iiupu- dicuni? Tcrtul. Apol.
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because a Protestant ;" amongst Protestants, at least the one half account all men of my persuasion, calvinisti- cal, sacramentariam sectaries ; amongst these again, to some I have been a puritanical sectary, an Arian heretic, because anti-prelatical; yea, and amongst these last, not a few account me a sectary, because I plead for presbyterial government in churches ; and to all these am I thus esteemed, as I am fully convinced, causelessly, and erroneously. What they call sectarism, I am persuaded is ' ipsissima Veritas,' the ' very truth itself,' to which they also ought to submit ; that others also, though upon false grounds, are convinced of the truth of their own persuasion, I cannot but believe ; and therefore as I find by experience, that the horrid names of heretic, schismatic, sectary, and the like, have never had any influence or force upon my judg- ment, nor otherwise moved me, unless it were unto retaliation ; so I am persuaded it is also with others, for ' homines sumus,' forcing them abroad in such liveries, doth not at all convince them, that they are servants to the master of sects indeed, but only makes them wait an opportunity to cast the like mantle on their traducers. And this usually is the beginning of arming the more against the few with violence, im- patient of bearing the burdens, which they impose on others' shoulders ; by means whereof Christendom hath been made a theatre of blood, and one amongst all, after that by cruelty and villany he had prevailed above the rest, took upon him to be the only dictator in Christian religion. But of this afterward.
Now by the concession of these, as I hope, not un- equitable demands, thus much at least I conceive will be attained, viz. That a peaceable dissent in some
" Acts xxiv. 14. xxviii. '22. Hseresis cliristianorum. Tertul. Secta Christ. Id. Heresis catholica, et haeresis sanctissima. Constant. Epist. Chr. Syrac. mislenta sys- tema : quo probare conatur Calviiiiauos esse liiereticob. Huii, Calv, Tur. Andrews Epist. ad Muliii.
Ix PREFACE.
smaller things, disputable questions, not absolutely necessary assertions, deserves not any rigid censure, distance of affections, or breach of Christian commu- nion and amity. In such things as these, ' veniam petimusque damusque vicissim :' if otherwise, I profess I can hardly bring my mind to comply and close in with them, amongst whom almost any thing is lawful but to dissent.
These things being premised, I shall now set down, and make public that proposal, which heretofore I have tendered, as a means to give some light into a way for the profitable and comfortable practice of church government ; drawing out of general notions what is practically applicable, so circumstantiated, as of necessity it must be. And herein I shall not alter any thing, or in the least expression go off from that which long since I drew up at the request of a worthy friend, after a discourse about it ; and this, not only because it hath already been in the hands of many, but also because my intent is not, either to assert, dispute, or make out any thing farther of my judgment in these things, than I have already done (hoping for more leisure so to do, than the few hours assigned to the product of this short appendix will permit), but only by way of a defensative, to evince, that the rumours which have been spread by some, and entertained by others, too greedily about this matter, have been exceeding causeless and groundless ; so that though my second thoughts have, if I mistake not, much improved some particulars in this essay, yet I cannot be induced, be- cause of the reason before recounted (the only cause of the publication thereof), to make any alteration in it ; only I shall present the reader with some few things, which gave occasion and rise to this proposal. As,
(1 .) A fervent desire to prevent all farther division and separation, disunion of minds amongst godly men^
PREFACE. Ixi
suspicions and jealousies in the people towards their ministers, as aiming at power and unjust domination over them, fruitless disputes, languishings about un- profitable questions, breaches of charity for trifles, ex- asperating the minds of men one against another ; all which growing evils, tending to the subversion of Christian love, and the power of godliness, with the disturbance of the state, are too much fomented by that sad breach and division, which is here attempted to be made up.
(2.) A desire to work and draw the minds of all my brethren (the most I hope need it not) to set in for a thorough reformation, and for the obtaining of holy communion, to keep off indifferently the unworthy from church privileges, and profaningof holy things. Where- unto, I presumed, the discovery of a way whereby this mio-ht be effected, without their disturbance in their former station, would be a considerable motive.
(3.) A consideration of the paucity of positive rules in the Scripture for church government, with the great difficulty of reducing them to practice in these present times (both sufficiently evidenced by the endless dis- putes, and irreconcilable differences of godly, precious, and learned men about them), made me conceive, that the practice of the apostolical churches, doubtless for a time observed in those immediately succeeding, would be the best external help for the right interpretation of those rules we have, and pattern to draw out a church way by. Now truly after my best search and inquiry into the first churches and their constitution, framing an idea and exemplar of them, this poor heap following seems to me as like one of them, as any thing that yet I have seen ; nothing at all doubting, but that if a more skilful hand had the limning of it,° the propor- tions, features, and lines, would be very exact, equal,