Ans. 1. There is no churching here of strangers and Eunuchs 1by Church-Oath, but as cCalvin, Musculus, Gualter, dJunius, observe, the Eunuch and stranger are comforted that under the Messiahs Kingdom, they shall have no cause to complain of their ceremonial separation from Gods people and the want of some ceremonial privileges of that kind, because the stranger and Eunuch shall have. v. 5. an everlasting room, and honour in Gods House, and the Son of the stranger a place in the Catholic Church v. 6. 7. so being, they believe and obey. But 1. v. 6. to lay hold on my covenant is not to lay hold on the Church-covenant; give us precept, promise, practise, or one syllable in Gods Word for this interpretation. 1. v. 4. to take hold on the covenant is to believe the covenant, and not to swear a vocal Oath. 2. To lay hold on the covenant, saith eMusculus, is to keep the covenant, and not to depart from it, to live according to it, fsaith Junius) and to rest on God, to do what is Gods will commanded in the covenant (saith) gCalvin, and hGualter) and so all who spake sense on that place, and never one dreamed of a Church-covenant before. 3. God saith of it (my covenant) there is no reason then to call it a Church-covenant here more then Jerome. 31. 32. 33. Psal. 25. 10. Isai. 55. 3. Jerem. 50. 5. Zach. 2. 11. 4 Laying hold on the covenant is not an external, professed, vocal, visible and Church embracing of the covenant, for then the Lord promiseth to the Eunuch the name of a faithful visible fellow member, in a congregation, if he shall lay hold on the covenant, and swear it in the Church assembly, this Church-swearing is not rewarded so, for how is it proved that a name, even an everlasting name, better then the names of sons and daughters, is the name of a fellow-member in some obscure congregation or parish? is this better then the name of a borne Jew, who was also a member of the visible Church, and if he believed in Christ, had also the everlasting name of a member of the Jewish Church? Surely there is no ground for this in Gods Word, the everlasting name must be some spiritual remembrance and some invisible honour beyond the external honour of being named the son or daughter of a Jew, and by what warrant also of Gods word is Gods holy mountain and his house of Prayer. v. 7.
Ans. 1. There is no churching here of strangers and Eunuches 1by Church-Oath, but as cCalvin, Musculus, Gualter, dIunius, observe, the Eunuch and stranger are comforted that under the Messi•hs Kingdome, they shall have no cause to complaine of their ceremoniall separation from Gods people and the want of some ceremoniall priviledges of that kind, because the stranger and Eunuch shall have. v. 5. an everlasting roome, and honor in Gods Hous•, and the Son of the stranger a place in the Catholick Church v. 6. 7. so being, they believe and obey. But 1. v. 6. to lay hold on my covenant is not to lay hold on the Church-covenant; give us precept, promise, practise, or one syllable in Gods Word for this interpretation. 1. v. 4. to take hold on the covenant is to believe the covenant, and not to sweare a vocall Oath. 2. To lay hold on the covenant, saith eMusculus, is to keep the covenant, and not to depart from it, to live according to it, fsaith Iunius) and to rest on God, to doe what is Gods will commanded in the covenant (saith) gCalvin, and hGualter) and so all who spake sense on that place, and never one dreamed of a Church-covenant before. 3. God saith of it (my covenant) there is no reason then to call it a Church-covenant here more then Ierom. 31. 32. 33. Psal. 25. 10. Isai. 55. 3. Ierem. 50. 5. Zach. 2. 11. 4 Laying hold on the covenant is not an externall, professed, vocall, visible and Church embracing of the covenant, for then the Lord promiseth to the Eunuch the name of a faithfull visible fellow member, in a congregation, if he shall lay hold on the covenant, and sweare it in the Church assembly, this Church-swearing is not rewarded so, for how is it proved that a name, even an everlasting name, better then the names of sonnes and daughters, is the name of a fellow-member in some obscure congregation or parish? is this better then the name of a borne Jew, who was also a member of the visible Church, and if he believed in Christ, had also the everlasting name of a member of the Jewish Church? Surely there is no ground for this in Gods Word, the everlasting name must be some spirituall remembrance and some invisible honour beyond the externall honour of being named the sonne or daughter of a Jew, and by what warrant also of Gods word is Gods holy mountaine and his house of Prayer. v. 7.
- 1Author of the discourse of church-covenant. fol. 12.
- cCalvin Musculus in come. Gualther in loc.Calvin Musculus in comme. Gualther in loc.
- dJunius annot.Iunius annot.
- eMusculus ib.
- fJunius annotIunius annot
- gCalvin come.Calvin com.
- hGualter.
