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their and our mutual patterns and examples, which are only worthy to be followed, having the blessed Apostles amongst them, who were sent immediately by Christ himself, and enabled and guided by the unerring Spirit of God. And truly this is a pattern fit to be followed of all that fear God, and no man or men to be followed further than they follow Christ and them." *

The fact elicited by these statements, considered in connexion with what has been advanced in the preceding pages, throws much light upon the actual condition of the so-called puritan mind of England at this period. Both within and without the church by law established, there were many whose views approximated more or less nearly to those of the Independents of a later period, and of modern times. Their chief defect related to the connexion between the spiritual and the civil power; but, generally speaking, they saw clearly that what Bishop Hall termed "Independent Congregations" was the binding order of a scriptural polity. Hence, when they came to hold intercourse with the Christian settlers of New Plymouth, both parties found themselves one in all that was essential to church order, fellowship, and worship. A church was formed at Salem on the 6th of August, 1629, in the presence of the representatives of the church at Plymouth, when a covenant was signed by about thirty persons desirous of uniting in church fellowship. The terms of this covenant were similar to those employed by Jacob's church on a previous occasion, and are such as could not have been used by parties holding

* Young's Chronicles, pp. 386, 387.

episcopalian or presbyterian opinions.* follows

It was as

"We covenant with our Lord and one with another. We bind ourselves, in the presence of God, to walk together in all his ways, according as he is pleased to reveal himself to us in his blessed Word of Truth, and do profess to walk as follows, through the power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"We avouch the Lord to be our God, and ourselves to be his people, in the truth and simplicity of our spirits.

"We give ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the word of his grace, for the teaching, ruling, and sanctifying us, in matters of worship and conversation, resolving to reject all canons and constitutions of men in worship.

"We promise to walk with our brethren with all watchfulness and tenderness, avoiding jealousies, suspicions, backbitings, censurings, provokings, secret risings of spirit against them; but in all offences to follow the rule of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to bear and forbear, give and forgive, as he hath taught us.

"In publick or in private we will willingly do nothing to the offence of the church; but will be willing to take advice for ourselves and ours, as occasion shall be presented.

"We will not in the congregation be forward, either to show our own gifts and parts, in speaking, or scrupling, or discovering the weaknesses or failings of our brethren; but attend an ordinary call thereunto,

*They chose a pastor, a ruling elder, and a teacher, or as Smyth would have termed it, a "triformed presbytery." But this did not constitute them presbyterians; being intra-congregational and subject to the church. See back, p. 26.

knowing how much the Lord may be dishonoured, and his gospel and the profession of it slighted, by our distempers and weaknesses in publick.

"We bind ourselves to study the advancement of the gospel in all truth and peace, both in regard of those that are within or without, no way slighting our sister churches, but using their counsel as need shall be; not laying a stumbling-block before any, no, not the Indians, whose good we desire to promote, and so to converse, as we may avoid the very appearance of evil.

"We do hereby promise to carry ourselves in all lawful obedience to those who are over us, in church or commonwealth, knowing how well-pleasing it will be to the Lord, that they should have encouragement in their places, by our not grieving their spirits by our irregularities.

"We resolve to approve ourselves to the Lord in our particular callings, shunning idleness, as the bane of any state; nor will we deal hardly or oppressingly with any, wherein we are the Lord's stewards.

"Promising also, to the best of our ability, to teach our children and servants the knowledge of God and of his will, that they may serve him also. And all this, not by any strength of our own, but by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood we desire may sprinkle this our covenant made in his name." ""**

From this period the congregational system prevailed in the colony. About fifteen hundred emigrants went over in 1630, with Winthrop, the newly appointed governor, at their head; and many others followed in succeeding years, until the jealousy of

*Neal, i. 543, 544.

Laud put a stop to the emigration in this direction, as we shall hereafter have occasion to notice more fully.

Those who went over in 1630 published an address before their departure, "to the rest of their brethren in and of the church of England," from which it has been inferred that they were any thing but Congregationalists at that time. This address was in part as follows :"We desire you would be pleased to take notice of the principals and body of our company, as those who esteem it our honour to call the church of England, from whence we rise, our dear mother, and cannot part from our native country, where she specially resideth, without much sadness of heart, and many tears in our eyes, ever acknowledging that such hope and part as we have obtained in the common salvation, we have received in her bosom, and sucked it from her breast. We leave it not, therefore, as loathing that milk wherewith we were nourished there, but blessing God for the parentage and education, as members of the same body shall always rejoice in her good, and unfeignedly grieve for any sorrow that shall ever betide her, and, while we have breath, sincerely desire and endeavour the continuance and abundance of her welfare, with the enlargement of her bounds in the kingdom of Christ Jesus; wishing our heads and hearts were fountains of tears for your everlasting welfare, when we shall be in our poor cottages in the wilderness, overshadowed with the spirit of supplication."

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In order to understand such a document as this, it

* Young's Chronicles, p. 398. Neal, i. 545, 546. Price's Hist. of Nonconformity, i. 62, 63.

should be remembered that it was written for "the removal of suspicion, and misconstruction of their intentions." * Neither need there be any doubt that "their professions were heartfelt and sincere," + since their relation to the church of England had in fact been what they described, and their views as rigid puritans had always been connected with affection for the pious ministers and congregations of the church of England.‡ At the same time, it is observable that there is a studied silence respecting their own sufferings for conscience' sake, and respecting the bishops and their doings. They went, probably, as far as they could in the expression of their kindly feelings towards the church, without committing themselves one way or another concerning their private views. Before this, Higginson had expressed the same feelings, only more strongly. "We will not say,"-he exclaimed, in 1629, when taking his last look of his native land, from the stern of the ship that conveyed him to New England,We will not say, as the separatists were wont to say at their leaving of England, Farewell, Babylon! Farewell, Rome! but we will say, Farewell, dear England! Farewell, the church of God in England, and all the Christian friends there. We do not go to New England as separatists from the church of England."§ The fact that all these parties, on their arrival at Salem, adopted the ecclesiastical discipline of those whom they deprecated as separatists, only proves that they had been misinformed

*Neal, i. 545.

+ Young's Chronicles, p. 398.

The rigid puritans, though Congregational Independents, had always deprecated the idea of being thought separatists. § Young's Chronicles, p. 398.

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