He saith also again concerning our ears how he hath circumcised our heart. The Lord saith in the prophet, They have hearkened unto me with the hearing of their ears; and again, he saith, They that are afar off shall hear with their ears; they shall know what I have done; and be ye circumcised, saith the Lord, in your heart;
and again, Hear, O Israel, for thus saith the Lord thy God; and again the spirit of the Lord prophesied, Who is he that wisheth to live for ever? let him hearken unto the voice of my Son.
And again he saith, Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken these things for a testimony. And again he saith, Hearken unto the voice of the Lord, ye rulers of this people. And again he saith, Hearken ye children unto the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
To this end, therefore, hath he circumcised our hearing, that when we hear his word, we should believe; for the circumcision in which they trust is done away with. For he hath said that circumcision is not that which was made in the flesh; but they have transgressed, for an evil angel hath deluded them.
He saith unto them, These things saith the Lord your God, -- here I find a new commandment -- Sow not among thorns, but be ye circumcised unto your Lord. And what saith he? Circumcise the hardness of your hearts, and harden not your neck. And again, Behold, saith the Lord, all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in their foreskin, but this people is uncircumcised in their hearts.
But he will say, Of a truth the people have been circumcised for a seal unto them; but so, also, hath every Syrian and Arabian, and all the priests of idols. Do they also belong to the covenant? But the Egyptians also are in circumcision.
Learn, therefore, children of love, richly concerning all things, that Abraham, who first gave circumcision, circumcised, looking forward in the spirit unto Jesus, having received the doctrines of the three letters.
For he saith, And Abraham circumcised out of his household eighteen and three hundred. What, then, was the knowledge that was given by this? Learn ye, that he mentioneth the eighteen first, and then, having made an interval, he mentioneth the three hundred. In the eighteen, IH, you have Jesus; and because the cross in the letter T was about to convey the grace of redemption, he mentioneth also the three hundred. Therefore, he showeth Jesus in the two letters, IH, and the cross in the one, T.
He knoweth this who hath placed the engrafted gift of his teaching in us. No one hath had from me a more true account than this; but I know that ye are worthy.