_Acts and Memoirs of the particular Church of Christ at Northampton, of which Mr. Samuel Blower was pastor._ In the year 1695, this Church did, upon the departure of the Rev. Mr. Blower, their pastor, give their unanimous call to Thomas Shepherd to succeed him in the pastoral office, who thereupon accepting the call, did actually succeed him in the office aforesaid. The form of the Church Covenant:-- We, this Church of Christ, whose names are underwritten, having given up, ourselves to the Lord and one to another according to the will of God, do promise and covenant, in the presence of God, to walk together in all the laws and ordinances of Christ, according to the rules of his Gospel, through Jesus Christ so strengthening us. (This was subscribed by about 164 names.) A memorandum on the next page states, "That Thomas Shepherd, accepting the call this Church gave him, did own and declare his willingness and consent to walk with them as a pastor with his people, so long as they could walk comfortably together in all the ways and ordinances of the Lord." Under date of September 11th, 1696, we have the following statement, from which it appears that Mr. Shepherd's ministry at Northampton was of short duration:-- At a Church-meeting then holden, it was publicly owned by this Church that Thomas Shepherd, their present pastor, was not under obligation to a continuance with them, by virtue of any conditional consent or promise made upon sitting down. The conditions not being observed by this people, my engagements to them thereupon must needs cease. About a year and a half from this time, _i.e._, February 25th, 1698, Mr. John Hunt was chosen the pastor of this Church. His father was one of the ejected ministers, a Mr. William Hunt, ejected from the vicarage of Sutton, in Cambridgeshire. He was a man of eminent piety and great usefulness, and two of his sons became devoted ministers among the Dissenters. The pastor of this Church was first at Royston, and from thence came to Northampton, and afterwards he became minister of the Independent Church at Newport Pagnell. He appears to have inserted the following passage from Philip Henry's 'Life' among the Church records:--"Those ministers who will rule by love and meekness need no laws or canons to rule by, other than those of the holy Scriptures."