PAR. 2.
MAymonides againe is awry, and wringeth blood from the Text, whilst hee voucheth, that Circumcision was appointed to Abraham, and his seed onely; Thou and thy seed after thee, Gen. 17.9. The seed of Ishmael was not bound, sayth he, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called, Gen. 21.12. Esau also, sayth hee, was excepted from Circumcision; for Isaac sayd to Jacob, Gen. 28.4. God give thee the blessing of Abraham, even to thee, and thy seed with thee: but the Iewish Doctor did forget, that Abraham circumcised Ishmael, and that the succeeding seed of Ishmael were circum∣cised; he forgot also, that Abraham did circumcise all bought with his money, Gen. 17.23. and yet the Iew dares not say, all they were of the seed of Abraham: He forgot thirdly, that Abraham circumcised all; all the men in the house, borne in the house, ver. 29. Were those home-borne slaves of the seed of Abraham? Fourthly, he forgot, that Esau was cicumcised; concluding Isaac to be a breaker of Gods Law, by omitting his young sonne Esau his Circumcision. Epiphanius, de mensur â, & ponderibus, about the middle of the booke (as I proved in my Sermon, at the re-admission of a relapsed Christian, into our Church from Turcisme, and is entitu∣led, A returne from Argier) Epiphanius, I say, acknowledgeth Esaus Circumcision and sayth, the Iewes themselves doe father the invention of that Attractory instrument, whereby circumcision was made, in effect, uncircumcision, upon the wicked Esau, and his first practise on himself. Lastly, the Iewish Rabbi forgot that the Esauites, or: Edomites were circumcised, and therein imitated their father. As for the places of Scripture tortured by Maymonides; this may be sayd of them, concerning that place, Thou and thy seed; I say no Iew shall ever be able to prove them spoken, Quoad exter∣nas omnes ceremonias, exclusive, & absolutè for many Proselytes came into the Iewish Church, and were circumcised: Secondly, if you take the word naturally, for the seed, and generation, which flowed from Abraham, Ishmael was of the seed, and Ishmael was circumcised; and the Iew should prove, which hee cannot, that no Ishmaelite was circumcised. The next objection is; in Isaac shall thy seed be called, that is, called to be more blessed, more holy, more preferred, more prosperous in this world, more beneficiall to others, for the world to come; from Isaac, and his seed shall Christ come; yet Christ came of Ruth the Moabitesse, who was of the seed of Lot; I know not that ever he came from any Ishmaelite; the Apostle, Gal. 3.16. interprets thus; he sayth not, unto seeds as of many, but as of one; and to thy seed, which is Christ. Lastly, Isaac sayd to Iacch (as in the Jewes objection) God give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and thy seed with thee? I answer, Gal. 3.14. S. Paul applieth the Blessing of Abraham Thus; That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentles through Jesus Christ; and so it did; for Christ came not from Esau, but Iacob: Secondly, the blessing of Abraham was, the promise that he should be the heyre of the world, Rom. 4.13. This indeed befell not Ishmael, or Esau; but