I 264 The Birth- I'riviledge and Cuvenantaholinej Ch. 3 6 where all that were.rot Gentiles, all to whom Clirift was fert, are called children; Te are di chidren ofthe `T-rophet°t , and ofthe `; Covenant which G od made With your Fathers, A &s 3. ,o. Doth the Covenant appertain to them, and they ftiled the children of the Covenant and yet are they out of Covenant ? Are they children, to whom the Adoption pertaines, and yet no"children? w hen Mailer Tombes bath given any faire anfwer to thefe Que- re's, efpecially the two Jail; we than/conceive forne probability of truth in bis Gloffe on the Apoflles words ; in the meantime we cannot but look upon it in full oppofition and contradi &ion to that which the Apoffle'expref ely delivers. For the Text of the Apoftle, it will be befides my purpofe to make any full Com- ment upon it; it will befufficient to take it out of Matter r,mbes. his hands, and vindicate it from that which he would afiert from it , and to let the Reader know the Apoflles scope in that place, which is not"to make a. full Comment on thefe words, Gen. 17.7. but only tafree it from an objection which the unbeleeving Jews might raife from it. God bath made a Covenant with them to be their God, arìd the God of their feed. if he cat} them off as the Apostle doth,affïrme, the Covenant then is broke, and the Word of God is of none Teti. The Apoftle denies that this followes,and fhewes that the terme Ifrael, or children of Abraham admits of diftindion, and produces a Scripture verf. 7. where one di. flindion is implied, viz. Gen. 2 t. 12. he ifaac 'ball thy feed be cal, led, and fo a numerous company by7Jbrmael is excluded ( who were /Ibrahams feed after the flefh) and only the Eons of promife by /faac are accounted the feed, verf S. that come from Ifaac, borne by miracle, And verf i o, 11,12, 13. feconds it with io- thers- concerning the children of ¡'aa:, Efan and 7acob. As then there was adiftindion.offeed ; fo alio now, one member he had laid down before; viz. IJraclites according to the flefh veiled in all thofe priviledges there reckoned up , verf. 4, 5. Thefe they p`eaded, the Apoille yeilds them ; And Malter Tombes (accord- ing to the difcovery of thefe times) denies them. The fecond member he after falls upon, the eternally &loved andchafen of God,and largely amplifies. In thefe, Abrahams feed may continue; though the other be calf off; to whom yet God bath continued (in fucceffive generations) a God in Covenant , and continued,' to them the priviledges of beirg.his people, though now he was upon
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