Eighty Sermons, Trinity Sunday · Sermon 40
SERM. XL. Preached upon Trinity-Sunday.
1 COR. 16.22.
If any man love not the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, let him be Anathema, Maranatha.
CHriſt is not defined, not deſigned by any name, by any word ſo often, as by that very word, The Word, Sermo, Speech. In man there are three kinds of ſpeech; Sermo innatus, That inward ſpeech, which the thought of man reflecting upon it ſelfe produces within, He thinks ſomething; And then Sermo illatus, A ſpeech of inference, that ſpeech which is occaſioned in him by outward things, from which he drawes concluſions, and determins; And laſtly, Sermo prolatus, That ſpeech by which he manifeſts himſelfe to other men. We conſider alſo three kindes of ſpeech in God; and Chriſt is all three. There is Sermo innatus; His eternall, his naturall word, which God produced out of himſelfe, which is the generatiof the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity; And then there is Sermo illatus, His word occaſioned by the fall of Adam, which is his Decree of ſending Chriſt, as a Redeemer; And there is alſo Sermo prolatus, His ſpeech of manifeſtation and application of Chriſt, which are his Scriptures. The firſt word is Chriſt, the ſecond, the Decree, is for Chriſt, the third, the Scripture, is of Chriſt. Let the word be Chriſt, ſo he is God; Let the word be for Chriſt, for his comming hither, ſo he is man; Let the word be of Chriſt, ſo the Scriptures make this God and man ours. Now If in all theſe, if in any of theſe apprehenſions, any man love not the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, let him be Anathema, Maranatha.
By moſt of thoſe, who, from the perverſeneſſe of Heretiques,Diviſio. have taken occaſion to prove the Deity of Chriſt, this text hath been cited; and therefore I take it now, when in my courſe propoſed, I am to ſpeak of the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity; but, (as I ſaid of the firſt Perſon, the Father) not as in the Schoole, but in the Church, not in a Chaire, but in a Pulpit, not to a Congregation that required proofe, in a thing doubted, but edification, upon a foundation received; not as though any of us would diſpute, whether Jeſus Chriſt were the Lord, but that all of us would joyne in that Excommunication, If any man love not the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, let him be, &c. Let this then be the frame that this exerciſe ſhall ſtand upon. We have three parts; The perſon upon whom our Religious worſhip is to be directed, The Lord Ieſus Chriſt: And ſecondly, we have the expreſſion and the limitation of that worſhip, as farre as it is expreſſed here, Love the Lord Ieſus Chriſt: And laſtly, we have the imprecation upon them that doe not, If any man doe not, let him be Anathema, Maranatha. In the firſt we have Verbum naturale, verbum innatum, As he is the eſſentiall word, The Lord, a name proper only to God; And then Verbum conceptum, verbum illatum, Gods Decree upon conſideration of mans miſery, that Chriſt ſhould be a Redeemer, for to that intent he is Chriſtus, Anointed to that purpoſe; And laſtly, Verbum prolatum, verbum manifeſtatum, That this Chriſt becomes Ieſus, That this Decree is executed, that this perſon thus anointed for this office, is become an actuall Saviour; So the Lord is made Chriſt, and Chriſt is made Ieſus. In the ſecond Part we ſhall finde another argument for his Deity, for there is ſuch a love required towards the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, as appertaines to God onelyonly; And laſtly, we ſhall have the indeterminable, and indiſpenſable excommunication of them, who though they pretend to love the Lord, (God in an univerſall notion) yet doe not love the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, God, in this apprehenſion of a Saviour; and, If any man love not, &c.
Firſt then, in the firſt branch of the firſt part, in that name of our Saviour, The Lord, 1 Part. Dominus.we apprehend the eternall Word of God, the Son of God, the ſecond Perſon in the Trinity: for, He is Perſona producta, Begotten by another, and therefore cannot be the firſt; And he is Perſona ſpirans, a Perſon out of whom, with the Father, another Perſon, that is, the Holy Ghoſt proceeds, and therefore cannot be the laſt Perſon, and there are but three,Nazian. and ſo he neceſſarily the ſecond. Shall we hope to comprehend this by reaſon? Quid magni haberet Dei generatio, ſi anguſti is intellectus tui comprehenderetur? How ſmall a thing were this myſtery of Heaven, if it could be ſhut in, in ſo narrow a piece of the earth,Idem. as thy heart? Qui tuam ipſius generationē vel in totum neſcis, vel dicere ſit pudor, Thou that knoweſt nothing of thine owne begetting, or art aſhamed to ſpeake that little that thou doeſt know of it, wilt not thou be aſhamed to offer to expreſſe the eternall generation of the Son of God? It is true, De modo, How it was done, our reaſon cannot, but De facto, that it was done, our reaſon may be ſatisfied. We beleeve nothing with a morall faith, till ſomething have wrought upon our reaſon, and vanquiſhed that, and made it aſſent and ſubſcribe. Our divine faith requires evidence too, and hath it abundantly; for, the works of God are not ſo good evidence to my reaſon, as the Word of God is to my faith; The Sun ſhining is not ſo good a proofe that it is day, as the Word of God, the Scripture is, that that which is commanded there, is a duty. The roote of our beliefe that Chriſt is God, is in the Scriptures, but wee conſider it ſpread into three branches, 1 The evident Word it ſelfe, that Chriſt is God; 2 The reall declaration thereof in his manifold Miracles; 3 The concluſions that ariſe to our underſtanding; thus illumined by the Scriptures, thus eſtabliſhed by his miracles.
In every mouth,Ex Scripturis. in every pen of the Scriptures, that delivers any truth, the Holy Ghoſt ſpeaks, and therefore whatſoever is ſaid by any there, is the teſtimony of the Holy Ghoſt, for the Deity of Chriſt. And from the Father we have this teſtimony, that he is his Son,Mat. 3. ult. Heb. 1.8. This is my beloved Son, And this teſtimony that his Son is God, VntoUnto his Son he ſaith, Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever. The Holy Ghoſt teſtifies, and his Father, and himſelfe;Apoc. 1.8. and his teſtimony is true, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning, and the ending, ſaith the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Hee teſtifies with his Father;Apoc. 22.16. and then, their Angels and his Apoſtles teſtifie with him, I Ieſus have ſent mine Angels, to teſtifie unto you theſe things in the Church, That I am the Roote, and the Off-ſpring of David, not the off-ſpring onelyonly, but the roote too, and therefore was before David. God and his Angels in Heaven teſtifie it, And viſible Angels upon earth, his Apoſtles,Acts 20.28. God hath purchaſed his Church, with his owne blood, ſayes S. Paul; He who ſhed his blood for his Church, was God; and no falſe God, no mortall God, as the gods of the Nations were,1 Iohn 5.20. Tit. 2.13. but, This is the true God, and cternall life; and then, no ſmall God, no particular God, as the Gods of the Nations were too, but, We looke for the glorious appearing of our great God, our Saviour Chriſt Ieſus: God, that is, God in all the Perſons, Angels, that is, Angels in all their acceptations, Angels of Heaven, Angels of the Church, Angels excommunicate from both, the fallen Angels, Devils themſelves, teſtifie his Godhead,Mar. 3.11. Vncleane Spirits fell downe before him, and cryed, Thou art the Sonne of God.
This is the teſtimony of his Word;Miracula. the teſtimony of his Works, are his Miracles. That his Apoſtles did Miracles in his name,Acts 3.16. was a teſtimony of his Deity. His name, through faith in his Name, hath made this man ſtrong, ſayes S. Peter, at the rayſing of the Creeple. But that he did Miracles in his own Name, by his own Power, is a nearer teſtimony; Belſſed be the Lord God of Iſrael, Pſal. 72.18.ſayes David, Qui facit Mirabilia ſolus, Which doth his Miracles alone, without deriving power from any other, or without uſing an other inſtrument for his Power.Epipha. For, Mutare naturam, niſi qui Dominus naturae eſt, non poteſt: Whoſoever is able to change the courſe of nature, is the Lord of nature; And he that is ſo, made it; & he that made it,Tertul. that created it, is God. Nay, Plus eſt, it is more to change the courſe of Nature, then to make it; for, in the Creation, there was no reluctation of the Creature, for there was no Creature, but to divert Nature out of her ſetled courſe, is a conqueſt upon a reſiſting adverſary, and powerfull in a preſcription. The Recedat Mare, Let the Sea go back, and the Siſtat Sol, Let the Sun ſtand ſtill, met with ſome kinde of oppoſition in Nature, but in the Fiat Mare, and Fiat Sol, Let there be a Sea, and a Sun, God met with no oppoſition, no Nature,Auguſt. he met with nothing. And therefore, Interrogemus Miracula, quid nobis de Chriſto loquantur, Let us aske his Miracles, and they will make us underſtand Chriſt; Habent enim ſi intelligantur, linguam ſuam, If wee underſtand them, that is, If wee would underſtand them, they ſpeake loud enough, and plaine enough. In his Miraculous birth of a Virgin, In his Miraculous diſputation with Doctors at twelve yeares of age, in his faſting, in his inviſibility, in his walking upon the Sea, in his re-aſſuming his body in the Reſurrection, Chriſt ſpoke, in himſelfe, in the language of Miracles. So alſo had they a loud and a plaine voyce, in other men; In his Miraculous curing the ſick, raiſing the dead, diſpoſſeſſing the Devill, Chriſt ſpoke, in other men, in the language of Miracles. And he did ſo alſo, as in himſelfe, and in other men, ſo in other things; In the miraculous change of Water into Wine, in the drying up of the Fig-tree, In feeding five thouſand with five loaves, in ſhutting up the Sun in darkneſſe, and opening the graves of the Dead to light, in bringing plenty of Fiſh to the Net, and in putting money into the mouth of a Fiſh at the Angle, Chriſt ſpoke in all theſe Creatures, in the language of Miracles. So the Scriptures teſtifie of his Deity, and ſo doe his Miracles, and ſo doe thoſe Concluſions which ariſe from thence, though we conſider but that one, which is expreſſed in this part of the Text, that he is the Lord, If any love not the Lord, &c.
We reaſon thus, God gives not his glory to others,Dominus. and his glory is in his Eſſentiall Name, and in his Attributes; and to whomſoever he gives them, becauſe they cannot be given from God, he who hath them, is God. Of theſe, none is ſo peculiar to him, as the name of Iehova; the name, which for reverence, the Jews forbore to ſound, and in the room therof ever ſounded, Adonai, and Adonai, is Dominus, the name of this Text, The Lord; Chriſt by being the Lord thus, is Jehovah, and if Jehovah, God. It is Tertullians obſervation, Et ſs Pater ſit, & dicatur Dominus, & Filius ſit, & dicatur Deus, That though the Father be the Lord, and be called the Lord, and though the Son be God, and be called God, yet, ſayes he, the manner of the Holy Ghoſt in the New Teſtament, is, to call the Father God, and the Son the Lord. He is Lord with the Father, as he was Con-creator, his Collegue in the Creation; But for that Dominion and Lordſhip which he hath by his Purchaſe, by his Paſſion, Calcavit ſolus, Ple trod the Wine-preſſe alone, not onelyonly no man, but no Perſon of the Trinity, redeemed us, by ſuffering for us, but he. For the ordinary appellation of Lord in the New Teſtament, which is foreign, it is but a name of Civility, not onelyonly no name implying Divine worſhip, but not implying any diſtinction of ranke or degree amongſt men. Mary Magdalen ſpeaks of Chriſt, and ſpeakes to the Gardiner, (as ſhe thought) and both in one and the ſame word; it is foreign, Dominus, Lord, to both: when ſhe ſayes, They have taken away my Lord, meaning Chriſt,Iohn 20.15. and when ſhe ſaies to the Gardiner, Sir, if thou haſt borne him hence, it is the ſame word too. But all that reaches not to the ſtyle of this Text, The Lord, for here The Lord, is God;1 Cor. 12.3. And no man can ſay, that Ieſus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoſt. All that was written in the Scriptures, all that was eſtabliſhed by Miracles, all that is deduced by reaſon, conduces to this, determines in this, That every tongue ſhould confeſſe, that Ieſus Chriſt is the Lord; in which eſſentiall name, the name of his nature, he is firſt propoſed, as the object of our love.
Now this Lord, Lord for ever, is become that which he was not for ever,Chriſtus. (otherwiſe then in a ſecondary conſideration) that is, Chriſt, which implies a perſon prepared, and ſitted, and anointed to a peculiar Office in this World. And can the Lord, the ever-living Lord, the Son of God, the onelyonly Son of God, God himſelfe have any preferment? preferment by an Office in this World? Was it a preferment to Dionyſius, who was before in that height over men, to become a ſchoole-maſter over boyes? Were it a preferment to the Kings Son, to be made governour over a Bee-hive, or over-ſeer over an Ant-hill? And men, nay Mankinde is no more, not that, not a Bee-hive, not an Ant-hill, compared to this Perſon, who being the Lord, would become Chriſt. As he was the Lord, we conſidered him as God, and that there is a God, naturall reaſon can comprehend; As he is Chriſt, we conſider him God and Man, and ſuch a Perſon, naturall reaſon (not rooted in the Scriptures, not illuſtrated by the Scriptures) cannot comprehend; Man will much eaſilier beleeve the Lord, that is, God, then Chriſt, that is, God and Man in one Perſon.
Chriſt then is the ſtyle, the title of his Office; Non Nomen, ſed Appellatio, Tertul.Chriſt is not his Name, but his Addition. Vnctus ſignificatur, ſayes he, & unctus non magis nomen, quam veſtitus, calceatus; Chriſt ſignifies but anointed, and anointed is no more a Name, then apparelled, or ſhod, is a name: So, as hee was apparelled in our fleſh, and his apparell dyed red in his owne blood, ſo as he was ſhod to tread the Wine-preſſe for us, So he was Chriſt. That it is Nomen Sacramenti, as S. Aug. cals it, A myſtery, is eaſily agreed to: for all the myſteries of all the Religions in the World, are but Milke in reſpect of this Bone, but Catechiſmes in reſpect of this Schoole-point, but Alphabets in reſpect of this hard Style, God and Man in one perſon. That it is Nomen Sacramenti, as Auguſtine ſays, is eaſie; but that it is Nuncupatio poteſtatis, as Lactantius cals it, is ſomewhat ſtrange, that it is an office of power, a title of honour: for the Creator to become a Creature, and the Lord of life the object of death, nay the ſeat of death, in whom death did ſojourn three dayes, can Lactantius call this a declaration of power? is this Nuncupatio poteſtatis, a title of honour? Beloved, he does, and he may; for it was ſo: for, it was an Annointing;Exod. 29.7. Chriſtas is unctus; and unction was the Conſecration of Prieſts, Thou ſhalt take the annointing Oyle, and powre it upon his head. The Mitre (as you may ſee there) was upon his head then; but then there was a Crowne upon the Mitre; There is a power above the Prieſt, the regall power; not above the function of the Prieſt, but above the perſon of the Prieſt;1 Sam. 10.1. & 24. But Unction was the Conſecration of Kings too; Samuel ſaluted Saul with a kiſſe, and all the people ſhouted, and ſayd, God ſave the King; but, Is it not, ſayes Samuel, becauſe the Lord hath annointed thee, to be captaine over his inheritance? Kings were above Prieſts; and in extraordinary caſes, God rayſed Prophets above Kings; for there is no ordinary power above them: But Unction was the Conſecration of theſe Prophets too; Eliſha was annointed to be Prophet in Elias roome; and ſuch a Prophet as ſhould have uſe of the Sword:1 Reg. 19.16, 17. Him that ſcapes the Sword of Hazael, (Hazael was King of Syria) ſhall the Sword of Iehu ſlay, and him that ſcapes the Sword of Iehu (Iehu was King of Iſrael) ſhall the Sword of Eliſha ſlay. In all theſe, in Prieſts who were above the people, in Kings, who (in matter of Government) were above the Prieſts, in Prophets, who (in thoſe limited caſes expreſſed by God, and for that time, wherein God gave them that extraordinary employment) were above Kings, The Unction imprinted their Conſecration, they were all Chriſts, and in them all, thereby, was that Nuncupatio poteſtatis, which Lactantius mentions; Unction, Annointing was an addition and title of honour:Pſal. 109. Pſal. 2.6. Deut. 18. Much more in our Chriſt, who alone was all three; A Prieſt after the Order of Melchizedek; A King ſet upon the holy hill of Sion; And a Prophet, The Lord thy God will rayſe up a Prophet, unto him ſhall yee harken: And beſides all this threefold Unction, Humanitas uncta Divinitate; He had all the unctions that all the other had, and this, which none other had; In him the Humanity was Conſecrated, anointed with the Divinity it ſelfe.
So then,Nazian: Cyrill. Pſal. 95.7. unio unctio, The hypoſtaticall union of the Godhead to the humane nature, is his Conception, made him Chriſt: for, oleo laetitia perfuſus in unione, Then, in that union of the two natures, did God annoint him with the oyle of gladnes above his fellows. There was an addition, ſomething gained, ſomething to be glad of; and, to him, as he was God, The Lord, ſo nothing could be added; If he were glad above his fellows, it was in that reſpect wherein he had fellows, and as God, as The Lord, he had none; ſo that ſtill, as he was made Man, he became this Chriſt. In which his being made Man, if we ſhould not conſider the laſt and principall purpoſe, which was to redeem man, if we leave out his part, yet it were object inough for our wonder, and ſubject inough for our praiſe and thankeſgiving, to conſider the dignity, that the nature of man received in that union, wherin this Lord was thus made this Chriſt, for, the Godhead did not ſwallow up the manhood; but man, that nature remained ſtill; The greater kingdom did not ſwallow the leſſe, but the leſſe had that great addition, which it had not before, and retained the dignities and priviledges which it had before too.Damaſc. Chriſtus eſt nomen perſonae, non naturae, The name of Chriſt denotes one perſon, but not one nature: neither is Chriſt ſo compoſed of thoſe two natures, as a man is compoſed of Elements; for man is thereby made a third thing, and is not now any of thoſe Elements; you cannot call mans body fire or ayre, or earth or water, though all foure be in his compoſition: But Chriſt is ſo made of God and Man, as that he is Man ſtill, for all the glory of the Deity, and God ſtill, for all the infirmity of the manhood:Idem. Divinum miraculis lucet, humanum contumeliis afficitur: In this one Chriſt, both appear; The Godhead burſts out, as the Sun out of a cloud, and ſhines forth gloriouſly in miracles, even the rayſing of the dead, and the humane nature is ſubmitted to contempt and to torment, even to the admitting of death in his own boſome; ſed tamen ipſius ſunt tum miraculae, Idem.tum ſupplicia, but ſtill, both he that rayſes the dead, and he that dyes himſelf, is one Chriſt, his is the glory of the Miracles, and the contempt and torment is his too. This is that myſterious perſon, who is ſingularis, and yet not individuus; ſingularis, There never was, never ſhall be any ſuch, but we cannot call him Individuall,Idem. as every other particular man is, becauſe Chriſtitatis non eſt Genus, there is no genus nor ſpecies of Chriſts; it is not a name, which, ſo (as the name belongs to our Chriſt, that is, by being annointed with the divine nature) can be communicated to any other, as the name of Man, may to every Individuall Man. Chriſt is not that Spectrum, that Damaſcene ſpeaks of, nor that Electrum that Tertullian ſpeakes of; not Spectrum, ſo as that the two natures ſhould but imaginarily be united, and only to amaze and aſtoniſh us, that we could not tell what to call it, what to make of it, a ſpectre, an apparition, a phantaſma, for he was a Reall perſon. Neither was he Tertullians Electrum, a third metall made of two other metals, but a perſon ſo made of God and Man, as that, in that perſon, God and Man, are in their natures ſtill diſtinguiſhed. He is Germen Davidis, Iere. 23.5. Iſa. 4.2.in one Prophet, The branch, the Off-ſpring of David; And he is Germen Iehovae, The Branch, the Off-ſpring of God, of the Lord, in another: When this Germen Davidis, the Sonne of Man would do miracles, then he was Germen Iehovae, he reflected to that ſtock into which the Humanity was engrafted, to his Godhead; And when this Germen Iehovae, the Son of God, would indure humane miſeries, he reflected to that ſtock, to that humanity, in which he had inveſted, and incorporated himſelf. This perſon,1 Cor. 15.3. Tertul. this Chriſt dyed for our ſins, ſays S. Paul; but ſays he, He dyed according to the Scriptures; Non ſine onere pronunciat Chriſtum mortuum; The Apoſtle thought it a hard, a heavy, an incredible thing to ſay that this perſon, this Chriſt, this Man and God, was dead, And therefore, Vt duritiam molliret, & ſcandalum auditoris everteret, That he might mollifie the hardnes of that ſaying, and defend the hearer from being ſcandalized with that ſaying, Adjecit, ſecundùm ſcripturas, He adds this, Chriſt is dead, according to the Scriptures: If the Scriptures had not told us that Chriſt ſhould die, and told us againe, that Chriſt did die, it were hard to conceive, how this perſon, in whom the Godhead dwelt bodily, ſhould be ſubmitted to death. But therein principally is he Chriſtus, as he was capable of dying. As he was Verbum naturale, and innatum, The naturall and eſſentiall word of God, He hath his firſt name in the text, He is the Lord: As he is verbum illatum, and Conceptum, A perſon upon whom there is a Decree and a Commiſſion, that he ſhall be a perſon capable to redeem Man by death, he hath this ſecond name in the text, He is Chriſt; As he is The Lord, he cannot die; As he is Chriſt (under the Decree) he cannot chuſe but die; But as he is Ieſus, He is dead already, and that is his other, his third, his laſt name in this Text, If any man love not &c.
We have inverted a little, the order of theſe names, or titles in the Text;Ieſus. becauſe the Name of Chriſt, is in the order of nature, before the name of Ieſus, as the Commiſſion is before the Execution of the Commiſſion. And, in other places of Scripture, to let us ſee, how both the capacity of doing it, and the actuall doing of it, belongs onelyonly to this perſon, the Holy Ghoſt ſeems to convey a ſpirituall delight to us, in turning and tranſpoſing the Names every way; ſometimes Ieſus alone, and Chriſt alone, ſometimes Ieſus Chriſt, and ſometimes Chriſt Ieſus, that every way we might be ſure of him. Now we conſider him, as Ieſus, a reall, an actuall Saviour. And this was his Name; The Angel ſaid to his Mother, Thou ſhalt call his name Ieſus, for he ſhall ſave his people; And we ſay to you, Call upon this name Ieſus, for he hath ſaved his people; for,Rom. 8.1. Now there is no condemnation to them that are in Chriſt Ieſus: As he was verbum conceptum, and illatum, The word which the Trinity uttered amongſt themſelves, ſo he was decreed to come in that place, The Lord of the vineyard (that is, Almighty God ſeeing the miſery of Man,Luk. 20.13. to be otherwiſe irremediable) The Lord of the vineyard ſaid, what ſhall I doe? I will ſend my beloved Sonne; it may be, they will reverence him when they ſee him. But did they reverence him, when they ſaw him? This ſending made him Chriſt, a perſon, whom, though the Sonne of God, they might ſee: They did ſee him; but then, ſays that Goſpell, they drew him out and killed him. And this he knew before he came, and yet came, and herein was Ieſus, a reall, an actuall, a zealous Saviour, even of them that ſlew him: And in this (with piety and reverence) we may be bold to ſay, that even the Son of God, was filius prodigus, that powred out his blood even for his Enemies; but rather in that acclamation of the prodigall childs Father, This my ſonne was dead, and is alive againe, he was loſt, and is found. For, but for this deſire of our ſalvation, why ſhould he who was the Lord, be ambitious of that Name, the name of Ieſus, which was not Tam expectabile apud Iudaeos nomen, Tertull.no ſuch name as was in any eſpeciall eſtimation amongſt the Iews: for, we ſee in Ioſcphus, divers men of that name, of no great honour, of no good converſation. But becauſe the name implyes ſalvation, Ioſua, who had another name before,Idem. Cum in hujus ſacramenti imagine parabatur, when he was prepared as a Type of this Ieſus, to be a Saviour, a Deliverer of the people, Etiam nominis Dominici inaugur atus eſt figurae, & Ieſus cognominatus, then he was canonized with that name of ſalvation, and called Ioſuae, which is Ieſus.
The Lord then, the Son of God, had a Sitio in heaven, as well as upon the Croſſe; He thirſted our ſalvation there; and in the midſt of the fellowſhip of the Father from whom he came, and of the Holy Ghoſt, who came from him and the Father, and all the Angels, who came (by a lower way) from them all, he deſired the converſation of Man, for Mans ſake; He that was God The Lord, became Chriſt, a man, and he that was Chriſt, became Ieſus, no man, a dead man, to ſave man: To ſave man, all wayes, in all his parts, And to ſave all men, in all parts of the world: To ſave his ſoule from hell, where we ſhould have felt pains, and yet been dead, then when we felt them; and ſeen horrid ſpectacles, and yet been in darknes and blindnes, then when we ſaw them; And ſuffered unſufferable torments, & yet have told over innumerable ages in ſuffering them: To ſave this ſoule from that hell, and to fill that capacity which it hath, and give it a capacity which it hath not, to comprehend the joyes and glory of Heaven, this Chriſt became Ieſus. To ſave this body from the condemnation of everlaſting corruption, where the wormes that we breed are our betters, becauſe they have a life, where the duſt of dead Kings is blowne into the ſtreet, and the duſt of the ſtreet blowne into the River, and the muddy River tumbled into the Sea, and the Sea remaunded into all the veynes and channels of the earth; to ſave this body from everlaſting diſſolution, diſperſion, diſſipation, and to make it in a glorious Reſurrection, not onelyonly a Temple of the holy Ghoſt, but a Companion of the holy Ghoſt in the kingdome of heaven, This Chriſt became this Ieſus. To ſave this man, body and ſoule together, from the puniſhments due to his former ſinnes, and to ſave him from falling into future ſinnes by the aſſiſtance of his Word preached, and his Sacrrments adminiſtred in the Church, which he purchaſed by his bloud, is this perſon, The Lord, the Chriſt, become this Ieſus, this Saviour. To ſave ſo, All wayes, In ſoule, in body, in both; And alſo to ſave all men. For, to exclude others from that Kingdome, is a tyrannie, an uſurpation; and to exclude thy ſelfe, is a ſinfull, and a rebellious melancholy. But as melancholy in the body is the hardeſt humour to be purged, ſo is the melancholy in the ſoule, the diſtruſt of thy ſalvation too. Flaſhes of preſumption a calamity will quench, but clouds of deſperation calamities thicken upon us; But even in this inordinate dejection thou exalteſt thy ſelf above God, and makeſt thy worſt better then his beſt, thy ſins larger then his mercy. Chriſt hath a Greek name, and an Hebrew name; Chriſt is Greeke, Ieſus is Hebrew; He had commiſſion to ſave all nations, and he hath ſaved all; Thou giveſt him another Hebrew name, and another Greek,Apoc. 9.11. when thou makeſt his name Abaddon, and Apollyon, a Deſtroyer; when thou wilt not apprehend him as a Saviour, and love him ſo; which is our ſecond Part, in our order propoſed at firſt, If any man love not, &c.
In the former part,2 Part. we found it to be one argument for the Deitie of Chriſt, That he was Iehovah, The Lord; we have another here, That this great branch, nay this very root of all divine worſhip due to God, is required to be exhibited to this perſon, That is, Love, Cicero.If any man love not, &c. If any man could ſee Vertue with his eye, he would be in love with her: Chriſt Jeſus hath beene ſeen ſo: Quod vidimus, ſayes the Apoſtle, That which we have ſeene with our eyes, we preach to you, and therefore If any man love not, &c. If he love him not with that love which implyes a Confeſſion, that the Lord Jeſus is God,Levit. 10.12. That is, if he love him not with all his heart, and all his power: What doth the Lord thy God require of thee? To love him with all thy heart, and all thy ſoule. God forbids us not a love of the Creature, proportionable to the good that that creature can doe us: To love fire as it warms me, and meat as it feeds me, and a wife as ſhe helps me; But becauſe God does all this, in all theſe ſeverall inſtruments, God alone is centrically, radically, directly to be loved, and the creature with a love reflected, and derived from him; And Chriſt to be loved with the love due to God himſelfe:Mat. 10.37. He that loveth father or mother, ſon or daughter more then me, is not worthy of me, ſayes Chriſt himſelfe. If then we love him ſo, as we love God, intirely, we confeſſe him to be the Lord; And if we love him ſo, as he hath loved us, we confeſſe him to be Chriſt Ieſus: And we conſider his love to us (for the preſent) in theſe two demonſtrations of it, firſt Dilexit in finem, As he loved, ſo he loved to the end; And then Poſuit animam, Greater love there is not, then to die for one, and he did that.
Our Saviour Chriſt forſooke not Peter, when Peter forſooke him:In finem. becauſe he loved him, he loved him to the end. Love thou Chriſt to the end; To His end, and to Thy end. Finem Domini vidiſtis, ſayes S. Iames, You have ſeene the end of the Lord; That is,1 … 5.11. ſayes Auguſt. to what end the Lord came; His way was contempt and miſery, and his end was ſhame and death: Love him there. Thy love is not required onelyonly in the Hoſanna's of Chriſt, when Chriſt is magnified, and his Goſpel advanced, and men preferred for loving it: No, nor onelyonly in the Transfiguration of Chriſt, when Chriſt appeares to thee in ſome particular beames, and manifeſtation of his glory; but love him in his Crucifigatur, then when it is a ſcornfull thing to love him, And love him in the Nunquid & tu? when thou muſt paſſe that examination, Wert not thou one of them? Iohn 18.25, 26.And in the Nonne ego te vidi? if witneſſes come in againſt thee for the love of Chriſt, love him when it is a ſuſpicious thing, a dangerous thing to love him; And love him not onelyonly in ſpirituall transfigurations, when he viſits thy ſoule with glorious conſolations, but even in his inward eclipſes, when he withholds his comforts, and withdrawes his cheerfulneſſe, even when he makes as though he loved not thee, love him. Love him, all the way, to his end, and to thy end too, to the laying downe of thy life for him.
Love him then in the laying downe of the pleaſures of this life for him,Mortificatio. and love him in the laying downe of the life it ſelfe, if his love need that teſtimony. Of the firſt caſe, of crucifying himſelfe to the world,Epiſt. 39. S. Auguſtine had occaſion to ſay much to a young Gentleman, young, and noble, and rich, and (which is not, in ſuch perſons, an ordinary tentation, but where it is, it is a ſhrewd one) as he was young, and noble, and rich, ſo he was learned in other learnings, and upon that ſtrength withdrew, and kept off from Chriſt. It was Licentius, to whom S. Auguſtine writes his 39. Epiſtle. He had ſent to S. Auguſtine a handſome Elegie of his making, in which Poeme he had ſaid as much of the vanity and deceivableneſſe of this world, as S. Auguſtine could have looked for, or, perchance, have ſaid in a Homily; And he ends his Elegy thus, Hoc opus, ut jubeas, All this concerning this world I know already, Do you but tell me, doe you command me, what I ſhall doe. Iubebit Auguſtinus conſervo ſuo? ſayes that ſenſible and bleſſed Father: Shall I, ſhall Auguſtine command his fellow-ſervant? Et non plang at potiùs fruſtra juberc Dominum? Muſt not Auguſtine rather lament that the Lord hath commanded thee, and is not obeyed? Wouldſt thou heare me? Canſt thou pretend that? Exaudi teipſum, Duriſsime, Immaniſsime, Surdiſsime; Thou that art inoxorable againſt the perſwaſions of thine owne ſoule, Hard againſt the tenderneſſe of thine owne heart, Deafe againſt the charmes of thine owne Verſes, canſt thou pretend a willingneſſe to be led by me? Quam animam, quod ingenium non licet immolare Deo noſtro? How well diſpoſed a ſoule, how high pitched a wit is taken out of my hands, that I may not ſacrifice that ſoule, that I may not direct that wit upon our God, becauſe, with all theſe good parts, thou turneſt upon the pleaſures of this world? Mentiuntur, moriuntur, in mortem trahunt: Doe not ſpeake out of wit, nor out of a love to elegant expreſſions, nor doe not ſpeake in jeſt of the dangerous vanities of this world; Mentiuntur, they are falſe, they performe not their promiſes; Moriuntur, they are tranſitory, they ſtay not with thee; and In mortem trahunt, they dye, and they dye of the infection, and they transfuſe the venome into thee, and thou dyeſt with them: Non dicit verum, niſi veritas, & Chriſtus veritas, Nothing will deale truely with thee but the Truth it ſelfe, and onelyonly Chriſt Jeſus is this Truth. He followes it thus much farther, Si calicem aureum inveniſſes in terrae, If thou foundeſt a chalice of gold in the earth, ſo good a heart as thine would ſay, Surely this belongs to the Church, and ſurely thou wouldſt give it to the Church: Accepiſti à Deo ingenium ſpiritualiter aureum, God hath given thee a wit, an underſtanding, not of the gold of Ophir, but of the gold of the heavenly Jeruſalem, Et in illo, Satanae propinas teipſum? In that chalice once conſecrated to God, wilt thou drink a health to the devill, and drink a health to him in thine owne bloud, in making thy wit, thy learning, thy good parts advance his kingdome? He ends all thus, Miſerearis jam mei, ſi tibi viluiſti, If thou undervalue thy ſelfe, if thou thinke not thy ſelfe worth hearing, if thou follow not thine owne counſels, yet miſerearis mei, Have mercy upon me, me, whoſe charge it is to bring others to heaven, me, who ſhall not bee received there, if I bring no body with mee; bee content to goe with me, that way, which by the inſpiration of the holy Ghoſt I do ſhew, and that way, which by the conduct of the holy Ghoſt I would fain goe. All bends to this, Firſt, love Chriſt ſo far as to lay down the pleaſures of this life for him, and ſo far, as to lay down the life it ſelf for him.
Chriſt did ſo for thee:Martyrium. and his bleſſed Servants the Martyrs, in the Primitive Church, did ſo for him, and thee; for his glory, for thy example. Can there be any ill, any loſſe, in giving thy life for him? Is it not a part of the reward it ſelfe, the honour to ſuffer for him?Muk 10.30. When Chriſt ſayes, Whoſoever loſes any thing for my ſake, and the Goſpels, he ſhall have a hundred fold in houſes, and lands, with perſecutions, wee need not limit that clauſe of the Promiſe, (with perſecutions) to be, That in the midſt of perſecutions, God will give us temporall bleſſings, but that in the midſt of temporall bleſſings, God will give us perſecutions; that it ſhall be a part of his mercy, to be delivered from the danger of being puffed up by thoſe temporall abundances, by having a mixture of adverſity and perſecutions; and then,Tertul. what ill, what loſſe, is there in laying downe this life for him? Quid hoc mali eſt, quod martyrialis mali, non habet timorem, pudorem, tergiverſationem, poenitentiam, deplorationem? What kinde of evill is this, which when it came to the higheſt, Ad malum martyriale, to martyrdome, to death, did neither imprint in our holy predeceſſors in the Primitive Church, Timorem, any feare that it would come; not Tergiverſationem, any recanting leſt it ſhould come; nor Pudorem, any ſhame when it was come; nor Poenitentiam, any repentance that they would ſuffer it to come; nor Deplorationem, any lamentation by their heires, and Executors, becauſe they loſt all, when it was come? Quid mali? What kinde of evill can I call this, in laying down my life, for this Lord of life, Cujus reus gaudet, Idem.when thoſe Martyrs called that guiltineſſe a joy, Cujus accuſatio votum, and the accuſation a ſatisfaction, Cujus poena foelicitas, and the ſuffering perfect happineſſe? Love thy neighbour as thy ſelfe, is the fartheſt of that Commandement; but love God above thy ſelfe; for, indeed, in doing ſo thou doſt but love thy ſelfe ſtill: Remember that thy ſoule is thy ſelfe; and as if that be loſt, nothing is gained, ſo if that be gained, nothing is loſt, whatſoever become of this life.
Love him then,Dominus. as he is preſented to thee here; Love the Lord, love Chriſt, love Ieſus. If when thou lookeſt upon him as the Lord, thou findeſt frowns and wrinkles in his face, apprehenſions of him, as of a Judge, and occaſions of feare, doe not run away from him, in that apprehenſion; look upon him in that angle, in that line awhile, and that feare ſhall bring thee to love; and as he is Lord, thou ſhalt ſee him in the beauty and lovelineſſe of his creatures, in the order and ſucceſſion of cauſes, and effects, and in that harmony and muſique of the peace between him, and thy foule: As he is the Lord, thou wilt feare him, but no man feares God truly, but that that feare ends in love.
Love him as he is the Lord, Chriſtus.that would have nothing periſh, that he hath made; And love him as he is Chriſt, that hath made himſelfe man too, that thou mighteſt not periſh: Love him as the Lord that could ſhew mercy; and love him as Chriſt, who is that way of mercy, which the Lord hath choſen. Returne againe, and againe to that myſterious perſon, Chriſt; And let me tell you, that though the Fathers never forbore to call the bleſſed Virgin Mary, Deiparam, the Mother of God, yet in Damaſcens time, they would not admit that name, Chriſtiparam, that ſhe was the Mother of Chriſt: Not that there is any reaſon to deny her that name now; but becauſe then, that great Heretique, Neſtorius, to avoid that name, in which the reſt agreed, Deiparam, (for he thought not Chriſt to be God) invented a new name, Chriſtiparam: Though it be true in it ſelf, that that bleſſed Virgin is Chriſtipara, yet becauſe it was the invention of an Heretique, and a fundamentall Heretique, who though he thought Chriſt to be anointed by the Holy Ghoſt above his fellowes, yet did not beleeve him to be God, Damaſcen, and his Age, refuſed that addition to the bleſſed Virgin; So reverently were they affected, ſo jealouſly were they enamoured of that name, Chriſt, the name which implyed his Unction, his Commiſſion, the Decree, by which he was made a Perſon, able to redeeme thy ſoule: And in that contemplation, ſay with Andrew, to his brother Peter, Invenimus Meſsiam; I have found the Meſsias; I could finde no meanes of ſalvation in my ſelfe, nay, no ſuch meanes to direct God upon, by my prayer, or by a wiſh, as hee hath taken; but God himſelfe hath found a way, a Meſsias; His Son ſhall bee made man; And Inveni Meſsiam, I have found him, and found, that he, who by his Inearnation, was made able to ſave me, (ſo he was Chriſt) by his actuall paſſion, hath ſaved me, and ſo I love him as Ieſus.
Chriſt loved Stephen all the way,Ieſus. for all the way Stephen was diſpoſed to Chriſts glory, but in the agony of death (death ſuffered for him) Chriſt expreſſed his love moſt, in opening the windowes,Acts 7.56. the curtaines of heaven it ſelfe, to ſee Stephen dye, and to ſhew himſelfe to Stephen. I love my Saviour as he is The Lord, He that ſtudies my ſalvation; And as Chriſt, made a perſon able to work my ſalvation; but when I ſee him in the third notion, Ieſus, accompliſhing my ſalvation, by an actuall death, I ſee thoſe hands ſtretched out, that ſtretched out the heavens, and thoſe feet racked, to which they that racked them are foot-ſtooles; I heare him, from whom his neareſt friends fled, pray for his enemies, and him, whom his Father forſooke, not forſake his brethren; I ſee him that cloathes this body with his creatures, or elſe it would wither, and cloathes this ſoule with his Righteouſneſſe, or elſe it would periſh, hang naked upon the Croſſe; And him that hath, him that is, the Fountaine of the water of life, cry out, He thirſts, when that voyce overtakes me, in my croſſe wayes in the world, Is it nothing to you, all you that paſſe by? Lament. 1.12.Behold, and ſee, if there by any ſorrow, like unto my ſorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me, in the day of his fierce anger; When I conceit, when I contemplate my Saviour thus, I love the Lord, and there is a reverent adoration in that love, I love Chriſt, and there is a myſterious admiration in that love, but I love Ieſus, and there is a tender compaſſion in that love, and I am content to ſuffer with him, and to ſuffer for him, rather then ſee any diminution of his glory, by my prevarication. And he that loves not thus, that loves not the Lord God, and God manifeſted in Chriſt, Anathema, Maranatha, which is our next, and our laſt Part.
Whether this Anathema be denounced by the Apoſtle, by way of Imprecation,3 Part. Imprecatio. that he wiſhed it ſo, or pronounced by way of excommunication, That others ſhould eſteem them ſo, and avoid them, as ſuch perſons, is ſometimes debated amongſt us in our books. If the Apoſtle ſay it by way of Imprecation, if it ſound ſo, you are to remember firſt, That many things are ſpoken by the Prophets in the Scriptures, which ſound as imprecations, as execrations, which are indeed but propheſies; They ſeeme to be ſpoken in the ſpirit of anger, when they are in truth, but in the ſpirit of propheſie. So, in very many places of the Pſalmes, David ſeemes to wiſh heavy calamities upon his and Gods enemies, when it is but a declaration of thoſe judgements of God, which hee prophetically foreſees to be imminent upon them: They ſeeme Imprecations, and are but Propheſies; and ſuch, wee, who have not this Spirit of Propheſie, nor foreſight of Gods wayes, may not venture upon. If they be truly Imprecations, you are to remember alſo, that the Prophets and Apoſtles had in them a power extraordinary, and in execution of that power, might doe that, which every private man may not doe: So the Prophets rebuked, ſo they puniſhed Kings. Soa2 King. 2.24. Elizeus called in the Beares to devoure the boyes; And ſob2 Kings 1. Elias called downe fire to devoure the Captaines; So S. Peter killedcActs 5. Ananias, and Sapphira with his word; AnddActs 13.8. ſo S. Paul ſtroke Elymas the Sorcerer with blindneſſe. But upon Imprecations of this kinde, wee as private men, or as publique perſons, but limited by our Commiſſion, may not adventure neither. But take the Prophets or the Apoſtles in their higheſt Authority, yet in an over-vehement zeale, they may have done ſome things ſome times not warrantable in themſelves, many times many things, not to be imitated by us. In Moſes his paſſionate vehemency, Dele me, Exod. 32.32.If thou wilt not forgive them, blot me out of thy booke, And in the Apoſtles inconfiderate zeale to his brethren, Optabam Anathema eſſe, I could wiſh that my ſelfe were accurſed from Chriſt; Rom. 9.3.In Iames and Iohns impatience of their Maſters being neglected by the Samaritans, when they drew from Chriſt that rebuke, You know not of what ſpirit you are; In theſe,Luke 9.55. and ſuch as theſe, there may be ſomething, wherein even theſe men cannot be excuſed, but very much wherein we may not follow them, nor doe as they did, nor ſay as they ſaid. Since there is a poſſibility, a facility, a proclivity of erring herein, and ſo many conditions and circumſtances required, to make an Imprecation juſt and lawfull, the beſt way is to forbeare them, or to be very ſparing in them.
But we rather take this in the Text,Excommunicatio. to be an Excommunication denounced by the Apoſtle, then an Imprecation: So Chriſt himſelfe, If he will not heare the Chruch, let him be to thee as a Heathen, or a Publican; That is, Have no converſation with him. So ſayes the Apoſtle, ſpeaking of an Angel, Anathema, If any man, if we our ſelves, Gal. 1.9.if an Angel from heaven, preach any other Goſpel, let him be accurſed. Now the Excommunication is in the Anathema, and the aggravating thereof in the other words, Maranatha. The word Anathema had two ſignifications; They are expreſſed thus, Quod Deo dicatum, Juſt. Mart.Quod à Deo per vitium alienatum; That which for ſome excellency in it, was ſeparated from the uſe of man, to the ſervice of God, or that which for ſome great fault in it, was ſeparated from God and man too. Ab illo abſtinebant tanquam Deo dicatum, Ab hoc recedebant, Chryſoſt.tanquam à Deo abalienatum: From the firſt kinde, men abſtained, becauſe they were conſecrated to God, and from the other, becauſe they were aliened from God; and in that laſt ſenſe, irreligious men, ſuch as love not the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, are Anathema, aliened from God. Amongſt the Druides, with the Heathen, they excommunicated Malefactors, and no man might relieve him in any neceſſity, no man might anſwer him in any action: And ſo amongſt the Jews, the Eſſeni, who were in ſpeciall eſtimation for ſanctity, excommunicated irreligious perſons, and the perſons ſo excommunicated ſtarved in the ſtreets and fields. By the light of nature, by the light of grace, we ſhould ſeparate our ſelves from irreligious, and from idolatrous perſons; and that with that earneſtneſſe, which the Apoſtle expreſſes in the laſt words, Maran Atha.
In the practiſe of the Primitive Church,Maran Atha. by thoſe Canons, which we call The Apoſtles Canons, and thoſe which we call The penitentiall Canons, we ſee there were different penances inflicted upon different faults, and there were, very early, relaxations of penances, Indulgences; and there were reſervations of caſes; in ſome any Prieſt, in ſome a Biſhop onelyonly might diſpenſe. It is ſo in our Church ſtill; Impugners of the Supremacy are excommunicated, and not reſtored but by the Archbiſhop: Impugners of the Common prayer Booke excommunicated too, but may bee reſtored by the Biſhop of the place: Impugners of our Religion declared in the Articles, reſerved to the Archbiſhop: Impugners of Ceremonies reſtored when they repent, and no Biſhop named: Authors of Schiſme reſerved to the Archbiſhop; maintainers of Schiſmatiques, referred but to repentance; And ſo maintainers of Conventicles, to the Archbiſhop; maintainers of Conſtitutions made in Conventicles, to their repentance. There was ever, there is yet a reſerving of certaine caſes, and a relaxation or aggravating of Eccleſiaſticall cenſures, for their waight, and for their time: and, becauſe Not to love the Lord Ieſus Chriſt was the greateſt, the Apoſtle inflicts this heavieſt Excommunication, Maran Atha.
The word ſeemes to be a Proverbiall word amongſt the Jews after their returne, and vulgarly ſpoken by them, and ſo the Apoſtle takes it, out of common uſe of ſpeech: Maran, is Dominus, The Lord, and Athan is Venit, He comes: Not ſo truly, in the very exactneſſe of Hebrew rules, and terminations, but ſo amongſt them then, when their language was much depraved:Dan. 4.16. Deut. 33.2. but, in ancienter times, we have the word Mara for Dominus, and the word Atha for Venit; And ſo Anathema, Maran Atha will be, Let him that loveth not the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, be as an accurſed perſon to you, even till the Lord come. S. Hierom ſeems to underſtand this, Dominus venit, That the Lord is come; come already, come in the fleſh; Superfluum, ſayes he, odiis pertinacibus contendere adverſus eum, qui jam venit; It is ſuperabundant perverſneſſe, to reſiſt Chriſt now; Now that he hath appeared already, and eſtabliſhed to himſelfe a Kingdome in this world. And ſo S. Chryſoſtome ſeemes to take it too; Chriſt is come already, ſayes he, Et jam nulla poteſt excuſatio non diligentibus eum; If any excuſe could be pretended before, yet ſince Chriſt is come, none can be: Si opertum, ſayes the Apoſtle, If our Goſpel be hid now, it is hid from them who are loſt; that is, they are loſt from whom it is hid. But that is not all, that is intended by the Apoſtle, in this place. It is not onelyonly a cenſorious ſpeech, It is a ſhame for them, and an inexcuſable thing in them, if they doe not love the Lord Jeſus Chriſt, but it is a judiciary ſpeech, thus much more, ſince they doe not love the Lord, The Lord judge them when he comes; I, ſayes the Apoſtle, take away none of his mercy, when he comes, but I will have nothing to doe with them, till he comes; to me, he ſhall be Anathema, Maran Atha, ſeparated from me, till then; then, the Lord who ſhews mercy in minutes, do his will upon him. Our former Tranſlation had it thus, Let him be had in execration, and excommunicated till death; In death, Lord have mercy upon him; till death, I will not live with him.
To end all, If a man love not the Lord, if he love not God, which is, which was, and which is to come, what will pleaſe him? whom will he love? If hee love the Lord, and love not Chriſt, and ſo love a God in generall, but lay no hold upon a particular way of his ſalvation, Sine Chriſto, ſine Deo, ſayes the Apoſtle to the Epheſians, when ye were without Chriſt, Eph. 2.12.ye were without God; A non-Chriſtian, is an Atheiſt in that ſenſe of the Apoſtle. If any man finde a Chriſt, a Saviour of the World, but finde not a Ieſus, an actuall Saviour,1 Iohn 2.22. that this Jeſus hath ſaved him, Who is a lyar, ſayes another Apoſtle, but he that denieth that Ieſus is the Chriſt? 1 Iohn 5.1.And (as he ſayes after) Whoſoever beleeveth that Ieſus is the Chriſt, is borne of God. From the preſumptuous Atheiſt, that beleeves no God, from the reſerved Atheiſt, that beleeves no God manifeſted in Chriſt, from the melancholique Atheiſt that beleeves no Jeſus applied to him, from him of no Religion, from him of no Chriſtian Religion, from him that erres fundamentally in the Chriſtian Religion, the Apoſtle enjoynes a ſeparation, not till clouds of perſecution come, and then joyne, not till beames of preferment come, and then joyne, not till Lawes may have beene ſlumbred ſome yeares, and then joyne, not till the parties grow ſomewhat neare an equality, and then joyne, but Maran Atha, donec Dominus venit, till the Lord come to his declaration in judgement, If any man love not the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, let him be accurſed. Amen.