our Saviour's time it kept some from the Coâ—fession of the Faith though not from the Faith In the primitive times there were degrees of such as were separated froÌ„ the Church of which were some of the Audientes Hearers of the word preached among whoÌ„ were some indeed that were not yet admitted to the farthar blessings of the Church those were by punishment but Hearers these had been but Hearers A second sort were Procumbentes such as in prostrate manner ask'd pardon of the Church for some publique scandall given by them to the Church A third were the Orantes call'd also as S. Cyprian say's Abstenti persons after some offence admitted only to the Prayers of the Church A last sort were such as were once Communicants persons admitted to the Lord's Supper but for great sinnes depriv'd of so great a blessing To be remov'd from the Lord's Table was a great punishment yet greater it was to be remov'd also from the prayers of the Church but how great was it then not to be admitted to aske pardon The Libellatici were soonest Restored the Church looking upon their frailty as well as on their Fault they being such as for feare of punishment had their names registred in the Magistrates Booke from whence they are call'd Libellatici aknowledging their consent to offer Incense to the Gentiles Gods but meeting with a dealing Judge redeem'd themselves from trouble and the performance by the perswasion of a Bribe Their unwillingnesse to offend wonne the Church to a willingnesse to Restore them Adulterers indeed as too too foule were left for many yeares to be wash'd with their own tears in hope to be throughly wash'd in the blood of Christ But such as relapsed into Idolatrie were not readmitted till the houer of death when as much they were to leave the Church as to re-enter it and rather in a new hope of the Church Triumphant than a new possession of the Church Militant This manner of Excommunication was grievous indeed and often attended with grievous consequences God permitting the Devill in primitive times upon the pronouncing of the sentence to enter into the persons and torment them as we read of Stilico's secretary excommunicated by S. Ambrose We may remember it is call'd a delivering unto Satan 1 Cor. 4.5 Hymeneus and Alexander 1 Tim. 1.20 were thus delivered up by S. Paul And this Excommunication the Fathers call a resemblance of damnation S. Jerome termes it a judging before the day of Judgement and S. Cyprian calls it the death of the Soule So grievous it is that S. Chrysostome thinks it to grievous too be exercised since not against the living saies he because we must not prevent God's judgement nor against the Dead because they have their judgement already Yet in this point his Mercy was more than his Judgement we having not only the permission but the Command in God's Word and the practice of the Ancient Church the greatest Heretiques having been struck with this sentence by the greatest Councils And thus though it were very grievous it was very necessary and if more weight may be given unto it some think it added in the Word that is added Mara-natha Let him be Anathema Mara-natha Between which words some copies have no point and such it seems Oecolampadius liked but insteed of Maranatha he thinks it should be Matha and so expounds it by Anathema Mortis which may be interpreted One accursed to death But Guesse being too bold an attendant upon the holy text we must according to the Originall read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as the very ancient printed copie of Prevotius with small difference 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which as S. Jerome says is as much as Dominus noster venit Our Lord is come The compound word is acknowledg'd to be rather Syriaque than Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying then our Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is come or by the libertie of the Hebrew which often uses the time past for time to come shall come yet some understand it of the time past which had been apt if the Apostle had here spoken of the Iews who denyed he was come but speaking here to the Corinthians he seems not to speake to such as denyed our Saviour but to such as lov'd him not According to which acception some make the sense to be Let such a one be accursed 'till the Lord shall come Others Let suh a one be accursed when the Lord shall come or be separated from the comming of the Lord that is from the benefit of his comming which is the deliverance of the Just This expression then of the Apostle is an allusion to to the severest curse among the Jewes in their Excommunication to be inflicted at the comming of their Messias a forme of speech not unknown as appeares to S. Pauls converted Corinthians Briesely then and clearely we may take the first words for the pronoucing of the Curse the last for a confirmation of the curse the first being as the writing the last as the Seale The sentence is whosoever loves not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Accursed the Confirmation is Nay the Lord shall come and at his comming prove this Curse a Truth Thus speakes the Apostle by an Aposiopesis a figure attending upon Indignation which is the passion in which the Apostles Zeale here speakes Let him be Anathema doe only 1 Paul say so Yea Maranatha the Lord shall come and say so The Lord whom he loves not shall come and say so Since then there is so great so certaine a Curse for all that doe not Love the Lord needfull it will be to know who are such which we may know by knowing the nature of the Duty or what it is to Love the Lord Jesus Christ If we should aske most men whether they love the Lord our Saviour they would presently venture not to love him by their Indignation at the question Yet notwithstanding such Disdaine one might peradventure as easily pose them as anger them But not to tempt them to the hazard of the Passion and at once to save their Patience and Credit they may without being catechiz'd positively know that the nature of true Love consists in similitude so that he which truely loves the Lord is to his endeavour like the Lord. And since our blessed Saviour who is the Sonne of God is like the Father by his Nature we likewise who are by Adoption the Sonnes of the same Heavenly Father must strive to be like unto him in Holinesse He is holy therefore we must be Holy In this consists our proportionall similitude unto God! And that we may the more fitly resemble him we must fit our will unto his will which being reveal'd in his commandement if we love Him we must love his Commandement and then we unfeinedly love it when we keep it No other signe or Truth is there of our Love if we observe not what Christ Commands we as yet love not Christ that
we phrase it strictly to lye on the same Couch and in the bosome even of Abraham the famous patriarch of the Iews or for an Eleazar Abraham's servant in Hebrew the same with the Greek name Lazarus to feast even in the bosome of his great Lord Abraham were such a union of the King and the Begger or such a union of the Lord and Servant as were no lesse a wonder than a Feast yet such shall be the entertainment of our Saviour's Ghuests as it is said Mat. 8.11 Many shall come from the East and West and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdome of Heaven the Originall is more exact 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 recumbent they shall lie downe or feast on the same couch with Abraham In like manner it is said Ioh. 13.23 the Disciple lean'd on Iesus bosome they were not then risen from the table as may be observed in the story of that chapter and v. 25. he is said to lie on Iesus breast And thus shall we be not in the bosome of an Abraham but indeed of Christ himsefe and he will prepare a table for us and we shall be abundantly satisfyed with the fatnesse of his house and he shall make us drink of the Rivers of his pleasures Psal 36.8 He will feed us with the fat of wheat as the Prophet David speaks Psal 81.16 and 147.14 according to the Originall He will feed us with the fat of kidnies of wheat as as Moses speakes or rather sings Deut. 32.14 in a phrase almost as strange as the blessing All which blessings are Promised to us in this bread all which are sealed unto us in this bread this being by faith the bread of Life which evermore give unto us O thou that art both the bread and the Lord that we being fed with this bread of Life in this life may be strengthned to eternall Life and to eternall thanks which for thy bounty and thy Mercy in this bread be render'd unto thee O Lord with the Father and thy Blessed Spirit for evermore FINIS OF Anathema Maranatha A SERMON BY BARTEN HOLYDAY Doctor of Divinity OXFORD Printed by Leonard Lichfield 1657. 1 Cor. 16.22 If any man Love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maranatha TO shew the beginning of Love were to shew the beginning of God the first Love that was being God Himselfe so that He which first Loved and he who was first Loved was the same the First love then consisted in Identitie Thus whiles there was nothing but God not only God was love but all Love was God But when God made something and that there was an Intelligent Nature that was not God then did there beginne a love which consisted in similitude and shews it selfe to be but a deriv'd Love Which resemblance of the Creator in the Creature is in things meerely Naturall call'd similitude as in Creatures indued with a reasonable Will it is call'd Love which we may terme a voluntary reflexion of Goodnesse in the Reasonable Creature towards the Creator So that for the Creature to Love God is as truely naturall as to be a Creature and to fall from the Love of God is to fall from the similitude of God and so to fall from the nature of a Creature Yet man thus fell when God to shew his love and his Nature to be the same and to be as unchangeable as Infinite renew'd man not by a new making of man but by a making of himselfe man by an unexpected wonder of Mercy making Man in part become his own Saviour There ought then to be in renewed Man a new Similitude a new Love the Love of Jesus of this Saviour And since the Essence the Nature of a Christian consists in this Love he that has not in him this Love has not in him the nature of a Christian And having not the nature of a Christian he cannot have the blessing of a Christian and therefore he is as necessarily an Anathema or Accurs'd as he is voluntarily not a Christian So that a man is made an Anathema by his unbelief as he is to be declared an Anathema for his unbelief Which curse our Apostle seeing to be due to some and foreseeing the danger which might be easily due to many he uses in this place Indignation and Mercy making the same speech which is a condemnation unto some to be only a Threatning unto others Those that were guilty might feele it and those that were Innocent might Feare it and by Fearing it not Feele it That therefore we may learne this Feare we must learne to know this Curse and that we may know the justice of the punishment we must know the justice of the Duty for the breach whereof the punishment is due all which being expressed by the Apostle we may see the Cause of the Duty why we ought to love the Lord Iesus Christ we may see the Punishment for the Violation of the Duty expressed in the words Anathema Maranatha we may see also the Nature of the duty wherein it consists that so knowing what it is to Love the Lord Iesus Christ we may understand our Innocency or Guilt The Cause of the duty the duty of Love to our blessed Saviour is implyed in the names of our blessed Saviour names alwaies used Devoutly by our Apostle but here Eminently as including the principall Reasons of the Love a love due to our Saviour for his Dominion over us he is the Lord a Love due to him for his Love towards us he is Iesus our Saviour a love due to him for God's Love toward Him Christ he is the Annointed of God He is a Lord in the Highest sense being the Ruler of his People he is a Lord in the nearest sense being the Husband of his Church Indeed God says unto the People Hos 2.16 they shall call me Ishi my Husband and no more Baali my Lord not that he was not as well their Lord as their Husband but as S. Jerome observes they should not call him their Lord by the name Baali it being the usuall name of their Idol-god Being then the Lord and Husband of his Church his Church must have power on her head 1 Cor. 11.10 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dominion indeed in a figurative speech a veile the signe of his dominion Which right was implyed by Abimilech rebuking Sara he is saies he of Abraham a Covering of the eies unto thee that is a veile the signe of the Husband's power and therefore by the Hebrews is the veile called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as some think from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to have dominion strictly to spread 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being to have dominion Thus should the Gracious behaviour of every true Christian be as a testimonie of subjection to Christ our Lord who extends to us his Love his Providence his Protection And most eminently is the title due to our Saviour since in accurate use of the word Dominus
Commands it And therefore Clemens Epist 2. dares to say he that keeps not the Lord's Commands Let him be accursed till the Lord comes He is the Lord our Lord we are his Servants whose actions being vertually in reference to him the nature of our love to him as to our Lord consists in a conformity of our actions unto His. How sadly then doe they draw this curse upon themselves that abuse God's Word by Prophanesse or Heresie Who abuse his command by obstinacy or security who abuse his Servants by oppression or contempt indeavouring rather to prove his Servants hypocrites than to become his servants Again he is our Iesus our Saviour whose Love towards us being Infinite we must in a sort imitate the Infinitie of his love by a perpetuall increase of our Love Which is surely increased by a remembrance of his Passion which is perform'd according to his own desire in a frequent Communicating at his holy table Our Saviour has left that as the sure mark of his friends they are those that frequently come and suppe with him How sadly then doe they draw this curse upon themselves who by contempt or neglect of that blessed provision insteed of partaking with his friends in the merit of his Passion partake with the Jews in their guilt of his passion In what condition also are they who to the merit of his Blood dare adde the merit either of their workes or will Lastly he is Christ the Lord 's Annointed He is annointed as a King and is the Defender of his faithfull Subjects who then can be safe from his Curse and Justice that contemnes his Majestie in his command He is annointed as a Prophet and who shall escape a curse that resists God's will in resisting his prophet that declares his will He is annointed as a Priest who then shall escape that curse from which only our High Priest the Sonne of God can deliver him And as it is Duty to Love our Saviour so is it Wisedome which we must imploy in the manner of our Love Of which one degree it is to be called after his Name but a farther degree it is a degree of wisedome to be call'd by a fit name Some indeed as some Easterne Christians have from his name of Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the title of Marani some from his name Jesus as the Iesuites by the choise of their Ignatius but the Apostles chose to be called from his name Christ Christians In the two first whereof we may see the weakenesse of men In the last we may see the wisedome of God and the Godly All the names of our Saviour implie excellencies the first his Dominion over his Church the second his nature of a Mediatour whereby he saves us These are prerogatives as well as Excellencies and therefore it is Humilitie and safety for men rather to decline than assume such Appellations Or if the name Iesuite may be admitted for the Pretence or Intent of an Indeavour to save soules too extreame an Arrogancy it is for a Sect of men to assume a title as peculiar to themselves which is as claimeable by all the Ministers of the Gospell This covetuous zeale is not allowable But the name Christ implying our Saviours spirituall annointing may for our proportion descend to us may as a Holy oile descend from the Head to the Skirts of the Garment and so from Christ we may happily and fitly be called Christians True it is God has annointed him above his fellows yet a truth it is also that his fellows are annointed nay they were not his fellows if they were not annointed And as he has annointed them with Him so has he annointed them by Him and for his sake Wherfore though the name Christ and also Christian may signifie annointed yet as the one name is derived from the other so is our Annointing deriv'd from His. And since this annointing includes all blessings and all these blessings come by our blessed Saviour let him be accursed that loves not our Lord Jesus Christ The word here for Love is not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies a lesse degree of love than the former and therefore he that beares not so small affection to our Saviour justly deserves to be an Anathema Yet the greatest part of such as professe Christ are rather content to receive his blessings his outward blessings than his Commands or if they receive them 't is so unwillingly that we may feare they rather Indure him than Love him But our Apostle curses all them that doe not love him among whom the Greek Interpreters generally understand all that offend God by grievous sinnes such as Schismatiques Fornicatours Eaters of meat offered to Idols unworthy Communicants Denyers of the Resurrection and the like Need then we have to learne the nature of love and learne it we may from the Body from that part of the body the Liver which is by nature appointed as the Instrument and seat of Love It is the seate of Love as Salomon implies Prov. 7.23 whiles he saies the adulterer goes on till a dart strike through his liver The liver is the fountaine of the veines and the first instrument of blood the lappes or extremities of it compassing and comforting the stomach thus sacred Love compasses and strengthens our spirituall appetite and is as the fountaine of all devout affections The Liver is made of blood and it makes blood so is our spirituall love begotten by God's love of us and then increases into greater and new love of God imitating in this the figure of the liver which is shaped like a crescent or the Moone in her increase The liver makes blood out of the purest and most aëry part of the matter it workes upon and thus does spirituall love arise from the purer parts and contemplation of those things it considers The Liver is the chiefe seate of the nutritive facultie and by the veines conveighs blood to all parts of the body so is love the chiefe instrument of spirituall nourishment dispensing a chierfull heate and alacrity to all actions of a Christian The temper of the liver consists in heate and moisture qualities which singularly prolong life so the sacred heate and living moisture of spirituall love shall maintaine us into an eternity of life And as in the Liver is made that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or separation of the profitable humours from the bad so an intimate power and degree of spirituall love separates our thoughts from the corruptions and vaine humours of the World The Hebrews call the Liver 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Exod. 29.13 for the weightinesse of it through the abundance of blood which abundance is the materiall occasion of the abundance of spirits thus likewise holy love which is the true spirituall blood is fill'd with the abundance of purer spirits which are the quick extasies and raptures of the soule In the Judaicall Sacrifices the caule of the Liver was to be burnt unto the Lord not only to expresse that we ought to be purged from our naturall Lust but also that we should be purisyed into a supernaturall Love O then let us love the Lord who is as unwilling to curse us as he is able to doe it who cannot loose his true Dominion though we would loose our seeming obedience who will judge all men with a Judgement that shall be Just and yet Extreame since all shall receive from him an everlasting reward Let us Love our Jesus our mercifull Saviour who descended from Heaven that we might ascend to it who descended to Us that we might not descend to Hell who descended to the Infamie of the Crosse that we might ascend to the honour of the Love of Iesus Let us then bow the Knee to him that bowed the Head for us and gave up the Ghost And let us Love the Christ of God the Annointed let us returne unto him the holy Savour of his own oile wherewith he has annointed us let us thank him for his Grace with his own Grace let us at least make so cheap a recompence this being the acceptable art of Grace whereby we shall not need to feare this our Apostle's Anathema but with Truth and Comfort crie Maranatha The Lord shall come he shall come for our Deliverance Which grant unto us most mercifull Father that when thy Sonne thy Christ our Lord Iesus shall appeare we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his Comming To whom with thee O Father and thy blessed Spirit be all Praise and Glory now and for ever FINIS
his eye this image would have saved him from indolatry Consonant to this doctrine does also Diophanes a Lacedemonian in his Antiquities relate that the first that practised this art of Idolatry was a rich Aegyptian for the losse of his sonne whose Image for the love and remembrance of him he placed in his house and addes that if his servants had at any time offended they ranne to the Image and crown'd it with flowers and thus appeased the wrath of their Lord. A strange effect of Idolatry to find pardon by sinne But we need not assert this Aegyptian Original of Idols nor with Isidore ascribe it to Ishmael nor with the Gentiles to Prometheus nor more particularly with the Grecians to Cecrops nor with some to Ninus nor with S. Cyrill against Julian to Belus the first Idol was the Serpent in Paradise whom our first Parents idoliz'd by an obedience against God or rather the Devil himself was the first in Heaven where by diverting his angelicall intuition frō admiring God's excellency to his own he became the first Idol and the first Idolater And what shall we now account an Idol and image of God he is incorporeall therefore not subject to our eye He is incomprehensible and therefore not subject to our understanding He is infinite therefore not subject to the dimentions of a statue Besides if he were visible he has not reveal'd himselfe as visible and if he had reveal'd himselfe so yet has he forbidden us to reveale Him And whatsoever images we make of the Deity they are a lye and so the true occasion of sinne and punishment Pictures therefore in Christian times were forbidden to be placed in the Spanish Churches as appeares by the Elibertine Council Canon 36. in the time of Constantius and Gallerius as Baroniust places it and so before the Nicene Council Which may shew the early and necessary providence of the Church for the preserving the purity of Divine Worship And though some of eminent learning as Bellarmine Suarez and the accurate Loaisas would weaken the force of this Decree by a subtil interpretation telling us it was to prevent the abuse of such pictures by the Pagans because if so placed the Christians when persecuted could not in their occasionall flight carry them away or to prevent the defacing of them by time if made upon the plaistering of the walls as they expresse it we need not such plaistering interpretations Let the Council speake for it selfe which thus speakes Placuit Picturas in Ecclesia esse non debere ne quod colitur adoratur in parietitibus depingatur the reason we see was that God should not be painted who was to be worshipped And therefore the learned Albaspina a late Bishop of Orteano writing on this Councill though he says the Canon intends not statues or the pictures of Saints and Martyrs yet ingenuously confesses the pictures of God and the Trinity to be by this Council forbidden to be placed in Churches And not to omit the piety and so the value of this Council it may be observed that the aged and renown'd prelate Hosius of Corduba was present at it as the Subscriptions of the Council witnesse But some tell us that Images were among God's own people the Israelites yet as true it is that when they made them Images of God they sinned and for that sinne were punished And whereas some terme them helpes in the worshippe of God can that be a help in God's worship which is forbidden by God Better helpes they might have made in those times if they had made the Images of such Israelites as were then plagued by God for making Images But by making as some think the Image of God they doe not represent Him but abuse Him and by having Him so they have Him not at all We may not worship the likenesse of any thing in Heaven we may not then worship the picture of our Saviour unlesse we will deny the truth of his Ascension or the Morality and so the Property of the commandement Let us then worship our Saviour with a purer love Let us not vainly seek Him in his Picture but in his Precept There is the true likenesse of Christ Let us by holinesse make our selves the true picture of Christ rather then make to ourselves the false picturs of Christ And as for the more solid but as vain ware Idols let us with severity heare Jeremi's derision of them chap. 10.15 They were upright as the Palme tree but spake not they must needs be borne because they cannot goe be not afraid of them for they cannot doe evil neither also is it in them to doe good Let us heare how aptly the Wiseman in the Wisdome of Solomon ch 13.18 derides the Idolater falling down before his Idol For health he calls upon one that is weake for life prayes to one which is dead for aid humbly beseeches that which hath least meanes to helpe and for a good journey he askes of that which cannot set a foot forward Heare also how terribly the Prophet Habakkuk 2.19 deales with such a one Woe unto him that saies to the wood Awake to the dumbe stone Arise it shall teach behold it is laid over with gold and silver and there is no breath at all in the midst of it Great yet is the subtilty and Industry of Vasquez other Thomists in the defence of Images for they cannot defend thē-selves but Rachel taught the safe use of them when she hid them and some Schoolemen of a timerous and wary devotion as Durand Helcot Biel and others dare not in all points defend the Thomists defence of Images To say that not the Image is worshipped but God in it or by it is but the answer that the witty but unhappy Julian made in the defence of the Heathen Idols which alas Needs a defence and finds none The only Image that may be ador'd is not the Picture of our Saviour but our Saviour and all use of Pictures beyond Commemoration is abuse But the practice of the first Church may or should preserve us from such inticing Impurity as the horrible uncleanesse by commerce with filthy Spirits may hopefully preserve us from such Filthinesse of the Spirit Yet were there diverse kinds of such uncleanesse and so of such persons The prohibition of them is the story of them and it is written Deut. 18.10 11. where they are Numbred and Distinguished whiles it is said there shall not be among the People of God any that uses Divination or an Observer of Times or Inchanter or a Witch or a Charmer or a Consulter with familiar Spirits or a Wizard or a Necromancer For all that doe these things are an Abomination to the Lord. The subtilty of man has made a Discovery of Humane fallacies but God's Wisedome makes a discovery of Develish fallacies but both present rather the Danger than the Art and so though both rather the avoiding of them than the learning of them the