Of E!eflion. ~Family being Jews by birth, and himfelflikewife, then Salvation had come BooK V, unto him and them all, becaufe they_ all were Sons of .A6rabam by birth ~ ( 1! Jews) as well as he. So as It 1s evtdent, that as he was a Geotde by birch, to now bemgconvened, 1s therelore called a Son of Abrabam, and withal had this priviledgeof A6rabam, as being his Son, ( wh,ch is the point I al– ledg this for) to have his houfe brought tnto the Covenant, even of that of Salvation, in conformity to his Father Abrabam, whofe houfe at the firfi giv– ing of that Covenant (even Children aod all) were circumcifed and taved upon that ground , Chnfi intending now he lhould go in to eat with him to convert his houlhold alfo, And let me add this, that as Chrifi once before in the Converfton of the Centurion, the firfi fruits of the Gentiles, Mat. 8. d 1 d firH breal< open the Treafury of the Gentiles converlion : So upon occalion of this Mans converficn aft~rwards, he !hews the priviledge of the Gentiles when convened : And their covenant to be the fame with Abrabams in a con• form1ty therewith, and fo here firfi broacheth the DoC!rine of it, this Man being the next fi"rflifmzts of the Gentiles: ll1ewing how their covenant was to run by houlholds, in a conformity to Abrahams tamily at firfi, And 1.. Thus in like manner, when the Apollles came to Preach the Gofpcl to a Gentile Houi!IOider, Mafier or Father of a Family, they carried the offer of it in this tenour, and in the way of this priviledge, as amotive to converli– on. So when P atll preached to the Jaylour, Afls 16. He asking What fhafl J .to to be Javed? verfe 30. Pat1l anfwers, Betievt 011 tbe Lord Jefus andthou fbalt be Javed; and then addeth, thou and tbme houfe. As Chnfl publilhed the Covenant with thefe Promifes annexed to a Gentile converted already, to comfort him; fo the Apofiles promulge the offer Of it toone to be convened. and being aMafler ot a Family,dodeclare his priviledge by thi>, that he ihould be ameans to convey it to his Houfe : and accordingly it fell out there,verft 54· That he /ltlieved in God witball his Houfe, as Zacbeus and his houlhold did here. And 3· In the New Teftament, we find in the event (which fiill anfwers to Promifes) that the Gofpel fpread it felf through whole houtholds, this be– ing the tenure of our Covenant. So it is faid of the Centurion aGenttle, AHs 1o. 2. That he was a devout man, fearing God, be and all his Houft. So Ly– dzawasconverted, ~ndallherHoufe, Afls 16, 15, 16. So 1Cor. 1.16. Tht huujhotd of SttpbanUI, and perhaps intimated, at leaf! fom~times, in that ufu– al Phrafe [tbe Church i11tby Houje.] Now then, when the Covenant thus runs with the Heads of Houfes for the Families themfelves, I argue thus from thence for their Children , That they mufl needs be included anGI intended in a more fpecial manner; for they are the Natural BrmJthes, and Servmzts but engrafted, as was faid of the Jews and Gentiles in the like cafe. And the Servant abides not always i1J tbe Hozife,btit tbe So11 tver abides in it, Job118. 35'· The Houfe of Aaro11 and his Childrm, are put for one and tho fame, Pjal, 11 )·a, 15. In like phrafeoffpeech Leab and Raehet in bringing forth Children, are faid to build tip tbe Honfe of Ifrael, Ruth 4· n, And fo the word Houje is ufed for Pojlertty in all Langua– ges. And for the further confirmation of this, namely, that this tnwre of the Gentiles Co7Jtnallt 111 a co•iformity to Abrahams, ll10uld run thus by Families from the Heads thereof, this doth fully fuit with the original Promife made to Abraham himfelf, when tbe Scrzpwre forefaw (as Paut's phrafe is) that tbt Gmttles fbould be juflified, aod fo conveyed a6lr..ffing through A6rah.1m unto them , as his Seed, The Promife (Gnzef: 12, 3.) runs in thefe terms, In thee jhatl att the Families of tbe Earth be bteffed; as elfewhere, r;Ienef. 18.1 8.and 22.18. it runs in thefe terms, Att the Nations of tbe Earl b foalt bt bt,[fod. Thefe Expreflions are both ufed; the one to thew, the Seed lhould be of all Natio11s a11d People, yet fo, as Withal, the Covenant was to run by Familus ittthofe Ntttio1u. Therefore the New Tefiament quotes it in both fenfes. Gatat. )· 8. fays, ,.1,,...,.;1!,., ntl Natio11s, or Heathens, becaufe fome of all Nations rnall be converted: But Pttrr, when he makes mention of theCove– nant; ACls 3· 25, though chiefly forthc end to !hew the Jews were th~ firft Children
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