394 The Gedly areyvafhedaradSasf#ified. S a c T. VIII. their hearts and fouls they donot Itedfafily cleaveunto God , and faithfully keep this Covenant in theConditions thereof. The internal, or inward Covenant, is that wherebyGodBoth ina Spiritual powerful manner take a people to him,work. ing in their hearts all thofe gifts and gracespromifed in the Covenant, as regene- ration , remiflion offinne, adoption, and the like : And in this fenfe onely the truelygodly are in the Covenant, and they arconely Gods people, and he their God. [his diftinfionolaCovenant into outward and inward, is nor a diftifjø of a re.,ar into its Species, fo much as a diftinfbon of a thing into the feverall adminiftrarions and difpenfationsof it. If e.Jdam had flood firm in that [late of integrity, there had not been this dilin@ion of an external! and internal! Cove- runt : for all then would have been godly ; and the outward ddpenfationof Gods love wouldhave been to none, but thole that were indeed bis. Buc fincethe fall, even in Gods own garden, thereare weeds as well as flowers, there is Chaff as well as Wheat in his Floor : and therefore tome are partakers of the Covenant on- ly externally , tomeboth externally and internally alto. 3. By reafon of this external!and vilble participationof the Covenant. All thole who liveunder it, and donot apoftatize, or abfolutely revolt from it, have a kinde of external! Covenant-holinefs, and in oppofition to Heathens and Pa.. gans or Apofìates maybe called holy. This is indeed greatly doubted of by tome; but if we confider the Scripture, God doth own a people for his, though not in- wardly godly, as long as they externally own him, and doe not plainly renounce his Worship and Service. It is true indeed, if we fpeak offpirituall and gracious Communion with anenjoyment of God, fo they are none of his ; but we now re- lare to an external! fociety onely : Thus the Jews, though they were falte and by- poetical in their hearts, yea full of many abominable impieties, yet God owned them as his people, till theconjugal! bond at left was wilfully and perfidiouly vio= laced by them. Hence in that they were Circumcifed, and folemnlyworfhipped the true God , God owned them as his people, though he did allo at the fame time reproove them feverely for their finnes. Hence the Heathens, &poet. 2.are laid tobe ("rangers from theCovenant and common- wealthof ¡frac!; Implying, that all the lfraelirea by Birth and Education , till theymade a manifeft revolt, were under the Covenant. Thereforeconfider what the Apofile faithof all the yews Rom. 9.4. Who are Ifraelites to whom pertaineth the adoption, andrheglo- ry, i, e, The Arkand outward telimony of Godsprefence, and the Covenants, and Adoption. They were all in Covenant, and fo cutwardly the tonnesof God; and therefore God by the Propht complaineth that they had taken his formes, and his daoghters, which thay had brought forth ao him, and offered themup to Mo- loch.Thusyou fee in the old Teftamenc,that even unregenerate men were in tome fenfeunder theCovenant, and fo had an external!holineffe;and thereforefomtimes they areal! called Saints,Deut,;;.; inoppofition to the world, that was deftitute of the knowledgeand true worfhip of God; and fame again, that were the chil- dren of theKingdome, fhouldyet becall forth, Math. ta, Under the New Te. Lament , that fuch an external, valeenjoying of the Ordinances doth alto bring a ki.,dof external holineffe, which Heathens and Pagans have not is apparentfirth by that place, r Cot', 7. Elie were your children unclean, but now they are holy. What hohnetfe can this be ? Fitt, it cannot be a civil hol irkfte,as Tome would czpound it. That is,tbeyare legitimate Children, and not Baftards u for in that fence the children of heathens are holy, i. e. theyare not Balards, becaufe marriages are lawful! and valida- mong! diem. The fecondly, Holireffecannot be undetfloodof true inherent holineffe, for fo all the childrenof Believing Parents arc not holy. How many godlyParents have wicked and ungodly children ? Therefore thirdly, it mud bemeant of an external Covenant- holineffe, where- by Believets were in outward manner owned by God, ynd by that their children allo
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