Answ. Churches at first (by your own confession) were in families, where therefore God's grace did the more abound, by how much the less it did abound abroad And hence Abraham's family and household was a Church of God; but yet consider withal that all were not of this Family church, merely because they were of the family of household, but because they were Godly, or the children of such as were godly in the family; for Abraham's servants and household, were such as he could and did Command to keep the way of the Lord, and so were obedient to God in him, Gen. 18.19. and we see they did obey, and did receive that new strange, & painful sign of Circumcision: about the nature and use of which, no doubt he first instructed them, and in the place you mention, Gen. 35.4. they gave to Jacob all men strange gods, & eatings to worship God more purely And it's evident, Exod. 12.45 that every one in the family, had not to do with the seals of the Church, & therefore now not of the Church though of the family: for a foreigner, or hired servant was not to eat of the passover nor was every one who was bought with money to eat oft ⟨p. 12⟩until they were Circumcised, ver. 44. nor were […] such to be circumcised, until they were willing & desirous to eat the Passover, & that unto the Lord; then indeed they, & theirs were first to be Circumcised, ver. 4•. and although this be not expressly set down, Gen. 17. in Abraham's family▪ yet I doubt not, but that, as one Scripture gives light unto another, so, this Scripture in Exo. shows the mind of God in the first beginning of the Church, as well as in these times: if therefore the servants who were godly in the family, were only to be circumcised, and their children born in the house with them, then this example is no way leading to corrupt Churches, as you fear it will; but rather the contrary, that if Prose••te servants then, were received into the Church together with their seed, much more are they received now: And if they did not defile the church then, neither should we think that they will do so now. And I beseech you consider of it, that God was then as careful of keeping his Church holy as in these days, especially in the first constitution of it, as in this of Abraham's Gen. 17. And hence God was as much provoked by their unholiness then, as by any unholiness now, 1 Pet. 1 16.
Answ. Churches at first (by your own confession) were in families, where therfo•e God's grace did the more abound, by how much the less it did abound abroad• And hence Abraham's family and houshold was a Church of God; but yet consider withall that all were not of this Family church, meerly because they were of the family of houshold, but because they were Godly, or the children of such as were godly in the family; for Abraham's servants and houshold, were such as he could and did Command to keep the way of the Lord, and so were obedient to God in him, Gen. 18.19. and we see they did obey, and did receive that new strange, & painfull signe of Circumcision: about the nature and use of which, no doubt he first instructed them, and in the place you mention, Gen. 35.4. they gave to Iacob all men strange gods, & eat••ings to worship God more purely And it's evident, Exod. 12.45 that every one in the family, had not to do with the seales of the Church, & therefore now not of the Church though of the family: for a foreigner, or hired servant was not to eat of the passeover nor was every one who was bought with money to eat oft ⟨p. 12⟩untill they were Circumcised, ver. 44. nor were 〈…〉 such to be circumcised, until they were willing & desireous to eat the Passeover, & that unto the Lord; then indeed they, & theirs were first to be Circumcised, ver. 4•. and although this be not expresly set down, Gen. 17. in Abrahams family▪ yet I doubt not, but that, as one Scripture gives light unto another, so, this Scripture in Exo. shews the mind of God in the first beginning of the Church, as well as in these times: if therefore the servants who were godly in the family, were only to be circumcised, and their children born in the house with them, then this example is no way leading to corrupt Churches, as you fear it will; but rather the contrary, that if Prose••te servants then, were received into the Church tog•ther with their seed, much more are they received now: And if they did not defile the church then, neither should we think that they will do so now. And I beseech you consider of it, that God was then as carefull of keeping his Church holy as in these dayes, especially in the first constitution of it, as in this of Abrahams
