Congregationalism has always accorded large liberty to local churches in their interpretation of doctrine and polity. Its creeds are not exclusively binding, and its platforms have always been held to be open to revision. They have been witness to the faith and practice of the churches rather than tests for subscription. But by reason of this liberty a colletion of Congregational creeds and platforms illustrates the history of the body whose expressions they are better than if those symbols were less readily amended. The points wherin they agree may therefore confidently be believed to set forth that which is abiding in the faith and practice of the churches, while the features of change and the traces of discussion of more temporary importance which these creeds and platforms exhibit illustrate as clearly that which is mutable in our ecclesiastical life. It is because the writer deems such a collection of prime value in illuminating the history of Congregationalism that this compilation has been made. - from the Preface