Foreword

The idea of the so-called ‘Protestant wind’is now a common feature in historical discussion of the arrival
of William III’s Dutch fleet to English shores on 5 November 1688, and it has contributed significantly to
the mythology surrounding the event. Whatever the meteorological truth may have been it certainly is
true to say that the ‘Glorious Revolution’heralded the winds of change in the religious climate for
Dissenting Protestants in England. In the main the Particular Baptists welcomed the new king openly and
quickly took advantage of the religious freedoms he promised. A small group of visionary leaders of the
Particular Baptists called for a meeting to take place in London in September of 1689 which established
the pattern of an annual General Assembly and helped lay the foundations of a denominational
structure with shared beliefs and common commitments. A number of key documents were published
by the Particular Baptists between the years 1689 and 1695 and together these testify to this
foundational period of denominational history. These documents included accounts of the annual
General Assemblies held in London and Bristol, A Confession of Faith from 1688 which reissued the so-
called Second London Confession of 1677, a very important but often overlooked tract on the The
Gospel Minister’s Maintenance Vindicated which attempted to set the denominational policy of
financially supporting the ordained ministry on a proper footing, and a little-known document from 1695
offering A Brief Instruction in the Principles of Christian Religion. The reports of the annual General
Assemblies are especially significant because they provide us with a listing of which churches were
involved, and in the case of the records from 1689 and 1692 the names of the delegates or messengers
representing those churches. An invaluable record of the geographical breadth of the denomination and
its leadership is thereby set forth. We also get insight into the way that controversy was handled by the
churches, as is perhaps best evidenced by the debate over singing within worship services which
dominated the proceedings in 1692.

Professor Renihan has here brought together, for the very first time, all of these key texts into a unified
discussion under a single title. Seeing them all presented in this creative way, I found myself asking,
‘Why has no one ever thought to do this before?’It is such an obvious and sensible way to present what
is in effect a tightly defined, but succinct, collection of documents, that I must admit a certain amount of
envy that Professor Renihan came up with the idea before anyone else did. But such simplicity and
narrow focus is the genius of this book in a nut-shell. The argument is concentrated in the detail and
there is much to ponder and admire here. What Renihan has attempted to do is to present the full text
of the relevant documents, together with helpful and informative introductions, all of which is
supported by text-critical observations and comments. The result is an invaluable volume which should
quickly become the standard introduction to the thought and writing of the Particular Baptists during
the latter part of the seventeenth century, a period which has proven to be so influential to what we
now recognize as essential to Baptist practice and theology down to the present day.

Congratulations on a very creative volume, Jim. You should consider it a well-deserved feather in your
cap. It stands as an excellent companion to your earlier study on Baptist Confessions of Faith and fills a
gap in our Baptist denominational history. I am confident it will be as valued as that earlier book was
and should become the standard ‘first port-of-call’for researchers interested in the subject.
 subject. Larry J. Kreitzer Regent’s Park College, Oxford Author of William Kiffen and His World

Preface
The First London Confession of 1644 was issued under the names of leaders from seven London
churches. This well-known fact demonstrates that from their earliest appearance, the Particular Baptists
recognized and practiced the need for inter-congregational cooperation and mutual action. The 47th
article of that Confession expresses the doctrine: “And although the particular congregations be distinct,
and several bodies, every one as a compact and knit city within itself; yet are they all to walk by one rule
of truth; so also they (by all means convenient) are to have the counsel and help one of another, if
necessity require it, as members of one body, in the common faith, under Christ their
head.”Independency did not imply isolation. Throughout the next half-century and beyond, this formal
connectionalism characterized these churches. In many ways, it was a hallmark of their corporate lives.
It provided a means of mutual recognition giving assurance of common conviction, supplying counsel in
the face of difficult ecclesiastical and practical matters as well as confidence that the individual church
was not alone in its faith and life. At root, they believed it was their duty, based on their understanding
of Scripture, to join together for support and assistance; the exigencies of official opposition and
persecution only deepened this need. They formed associations of churches throughout England and
Wales, 1 and these “communions”2 of churches served their purpose well. Until 1689, however, no
attempt was made to form a comprehensive national association of churches. There may be benign
reasons for this; perhaps the gradual spread of churches did not provide sufficient means for such a
body, possibly it simply had not been considered necessary due to the positive work of the county
associations, perhaps there were no leaders with sufficient vision to inaugurate a formative process. A
definite and darker cause is the political climate after 1662, since it would have been nearly impossible
to form during the days of the enforcement of the Clarendon Code. When liberty came in the Glorious
Revolution, almost immediately the London pastors sought to call and host a meeting to establish just
such a body. The rapidity with which they acted may imply that the desire for such a meeting had been
present for some time. In any case, the invitation they distributed seems to have been well-received,
and the inaugural meeting was held in September 1689. This was followed by others through 1693.3 The
documents transcribed here record this process. Each General Assembly published a Narrative of its
acts, and several supporting documents were also released. The 1677 Confession of Faith (2LCF) was
promoted, a defense of the necessity of financial support for pastors printed, a Catechsim authorized,
and other subordinate but important papers ordered. All of these documents are incorporated here, so
far as I know, some of them for the first time in print since the seventeenth century. I have chosen to
maintain antiquated orthography as much as possible. Some slight formatting changes have occasionally
been made to the texts. My thanks to Dr. Larry Kreitzer for his kind willingness to write a foreword, to
Dr. Richard Barcellos for the careful work he has put into this project, and to Cameron Porter for
excellent attention to many details.

James M. Renihan Escondido, California January 13, 26

1
 The Letter Calling for the 1689 General Assembly
Introduction
Although the 1662 Act of Uniformity and its associated legislation did not directly force the already non-
conforming Particular Baptists out of the established church, it nevertheless brought significant
consequences to them. The following decades of persecution took their toll on congregations and clergy.
In Bristol and London, ministers were imprisoned and worship disrupted.

1 Abraham Cheare of Plymouth was placed in custody and died in his cell—his church spent eighteen
years without a pastor. 2 Many more examples might be cited. Suffice to say that it was an era of
trouble. Despite periods of relative calm and relief, 3 this quarter-century produced a dark self-
evaluation. By 1689, the churches and their ministers needed help.

When William and Mary acceded to the throne in 1688, a new era of toleration dawned, opening
opportunities for public meetings, discussion and planning. The London pastors were in some sense, the
de facto leaders of the cause in England. In light of the difficulties faced, seven of them4 joined together
to issue a call to come together in a national General Assembly of churches. The following letter is that
invitation. It opens the window on these documents, hinting at the agenda desired for the meeting.

The Letter Calling for the 1689 General Assembly

“The following is a copy of [the letter] sent to the church at Luppitt, in Devonshire, the place where the
present church at Upottery then met.” 1

London, July 22, 1689. “To the Church of Christ in Luppitt, kind Salutations.

“We the elders and [&] ministering brethren of the churches[,] in and [&] about [the city of] London,
being several times assembled together to consider of the present state of the [B] aptized [C]
ongregations, not only in this city, but also in the country, cannot but first of all, adore the [D] ivine [W]
isdom and goodness of Almighty God, in respect of his late most gracious providence, for our
deliverance from that dismal dispensation, which threatened us[,] from the continual and [&] unwearied
attempts and [&] designs of the enemy of our sacred religion and [&] civil liberties; by which means[,]
our sinking and drooping spirits are again revived, and our earnest hopes and long expectations raised,
and afresh quickened, in respect of the more full and perfect deliverance of the church of God, and his
more glorious appearance, for the accomplishing [accomplishment] of those gracious promises and [&]
prophecies contained in the holy [S] cripture relating to the latter days. “But2 in the second place, we
cannot but bewail the present condition our churches seem to be in; fearing that much of that former
strength, life, and vigour, which attended us is much gone; and in many places the interest of [our Lord]
3 Jesus Christ seems to be much neglected[,] which is in our hands, and the congregations to languish,
and our beauty to fade away (which thing, we have some ground to judge, you cannot but be sensible of
as well as we); and from hence we have been put upon most mature and serious considerations of such
things that may be the cause thereof, and amongst others are come to this result: That the great neglect
of the present ministry is one thing, together with that [general] 4 unconcernedness there generally
seems to be, of giving fit and proper encouragement for the raising up an able and honourable
ministry[,] for the time to come; with many other things [(] which[,] we hope, we are not left wholly in
the dark about[)][,] which we find we are not in a capacity to prevent and cure (as instruments in the
hand of God, and his blessing attending our [C] hristian endeavours) unless we can obtain a general
meeting here in London of two principal brethren (of every church of the same faith with us) in every
county respectively. We do therefore humbly intreat and beseech you, that you would be pleased to
appoint two of your brethren—one of the ministry, and one principal brother of your congregation with
him—as your messengers; and send them up to meet with the rest of the elders [&] and and [sic.]
brethren of the churches in London, on the 3rd of September next; and then we hope [we shall have
that before us, and be also helped] to consider such things that may much tend to the honour of God,
and further the peace, well-being, establishment, at [and] 5 present, as also the future comfort of the
churches. We hope you will readily, notwithstanding the charge, comply with our pious and christian
desire herein; and in the mean time, to signify your intentions forthwith[,] in a letter; which we would
have you direct to our reverend and well beloved brethren, Mr. H. Knowles, or Mr. W. Kiffin [Kiffen].
This is all at present from us, your brethren and labourers in God’s vineyard, who greet you well in our
Lord Jesus Christ, and subscribe ourselves your servants in the gospel.

“WILLIAM KIFFIN [Kiffen],

HANSARD KNOLLYS,

JOHN HARRIS,

GEORGE BARRETT,

BENJAMIN KEACH,

EDWARD MAN,

RICHARD ADAMS.”

“Brother Kiffin [Kiffen] lives in White’s alley, [in] Little Moorfields [Moorefields].”

2
The Narrative of the 1689 General Assembly
Introduction
 From all appearances, the Letter of Invitation was well-received, so that by early September 1689
representatives from over 100 churches attended or communicated with the inaugural General
Assembly. The list of churches and messengers is impressive, and the enthusiasm palpable. Desiring to
provide the churches with an accounting of the events of the week of meetings, it was agreed that a
Narrative should be printed and distributed.

The document below is a transcription of this Narrative. Beginning with an epistle addressing both
thankfulness for a new day of toleration and bewailing the deficiencies acknowledged in the churches, it
continues to a description of the Assembly itself. It addresses the rules and procedures governing the
proceedings, the business proposed and concluded, and the theological matters debated. This is
followed by an account of the communicating churches and two supplemental statements. By and large,
the portrait given is positive and hopeful.

But not all had been in agreement. A 1688 letter from William Kiffen to Thomas Vauxe1 indicates that
there was some level of difference between the London churches. The matter was political, relating to
the rights of James II to grant toleration unilaterally to Dissenters from the Church of England, including
Roman Catholics. The Assembly addressed this matter and issued an assertion about it. Not all of the
churches considered this an appropriate action by the Assembly. 2

The final document directly attached to the Narrative is a record of the details related to the
development of a fund to assist impoverished ministers. It is a disclosure to the churches of the names
of those responsible for collecting and disbursing funds. Based on the Kiffen/ Vauxe correspondence, in
the previous years this had been somewhat controversial, but this document indicates resolution and
agreement. 3 This Narrative and supporting documents open a window into the national associational
life of these churches. The Act of Toleration brought a new climate of freedom, and the messengers
present seem to have been hopeful of advance in the future.