been evidently set forth crucified among you this day, and as you have been called to feast upon his passion, so now you are called to feast upon the fruits and effects of it. Have you seen him dying on a cross for you! O come and see what immediately followed upon his death. "Behold, the vail of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom."-That I may divide the words, and then explain them, you may notice here, 1. The connexion of this verse, with what went before, in the particle AND, intimating, the time of this miracle, that it intended the death of Christ, verse 50, "When he had cried, with a loud voice, he gave up the ghost." This loud cry signified, that his death should be public, and proclaimed to all the world, as it hath been to you this day; and his yielding up the ghost, shewed, that he voluntarily resigned his soul to be an offering for sin, according to his undertaking as our surety, Isa. liii. 10. Death being the penalty for the breach of the first covenant, "Thou shalt surely die;" the Mediator of the new covenant must make atonement by means of death, otherwise no remission. Now he gave up the ghost, and immediately the vail of the temple was rent. 2. You have a note of admiration, Behold! intimat- · ing what a wonderful thing did immediately ensue. Several miracles, besides the rending of the vail, are here mentioned; but this seems to be the most remarkable. We are told, that the earth did quake, the rocks rent, graves were opened, and many dead bodies of the saints arose; but that which is put in the first rank of these miracles, is, that the vail of the temple was rent in twain and we find the evangelist Mark mentions this in particular, and none of the rest of the miracles here named, as if this rending of the vail were the miracle most to be noticed, as containing somewhat mysterious and significant therein, Mark x. 37, 38. where we have the very same words, Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost; and the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom." And here it is ushered in with a Behold! turn aside and see this great sight! be astonished at it. to wonder at? Then, 66 But what are we - 3. See this object of admiration: the vail of the temple was rent in twain, just as our Lord Jesus expired; that vail of the temple which parted betwixt the Holy Place and the Most Holy, was rent by an invisible power. In this, and the rest of the miracles, Christ gave testimony to his Godhead: putting forth the power of his divine nature at the same time wherein his human nature, his soul and body, were rent in twain, like the vail of the temple. It is remarkable how the evangelist describes the manner in which the vail of the temple was rent; shewing what a full and entire rent it was. Luke says, "it was rent in the midst ;" and here Matthew and Mark say, "it was rent in twain:" rent from the top to the bottom; an entire rent. But what was the meaning of all this? What did the rending of the vail signify? (1.) It was in conformity to the temple of Christ's body which was now dissolved: Christ was the true temple in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. When he cried, and gave up the ghost, and so dissolved and rent the vail of his flesh, the literal temple did, as it were, echo to the cry, and answer the strokes by rending its vail. (2.) The rending of the vail of the temple, signified the revealing of the mysteries of the Old Testament. The vail of the temple was for concealment: it was extremely dangerous for any to see the furniture of the most holy place within the vail, except the high-priest; and he but once a year with great ceremony, and through a cloud of smoke: all which pointed out the darkness of that dispensation, 2 Cor. iii. 13. But now, at the death of Christ, all was laid open; the mysteries are unveiled, so that he that runs may read the meaning of them. (3.) The rending of the vail of the temple signified the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, by removing the partitionwall betwixt them, which was theceremonial law: Christ, by his death repealed it, and cancelled that hand-writing of ordinances, nailed it on the cross, and so broke down the middle wall of partition: and, by abolishing these institutions and ceremonies, by which the Jews were distinguished from all other people, he abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, conG tained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, Eph. ii. 14, 15. Just as two rooms are made one, by taking down the partition wall. (4.) The rending of the vail did especially signify the consecrating and opening of a new and living way to God. The vail kept off people from drawing near to the most holy place; but the rending of it signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God for himself, as our blessed high-priest; and for us in him. 1. For himself this was the great day of atonement, wherein the high-priest, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood entered once for all into the holy place; in token of which, the vail was rent, Heb. ix. 7, 13. Though Christ did not personally ascend to heaven, the holy place not made with hands, that is, to heaven, till above forty days after; yet he immediately acquired a right to enter, and had a virtual admission: his entrance into the heavenly temple, into the holy of holies, began in his death; having offered his sacrifice in the outer court, the blood of it was to be sprinkled on the mercy-seat within the vail, according to the manner of the priests under the law; but now the legal shadows were all to evanish: the great, the true high-priest having by his own blood entered, and so procured, 2. For us an open entrance into the true holy of holies, as the apostle applies it, Heb. x. 19, 20. "We have boldness to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the vail." We have now free access to come with boldness to a throne of grace, to a God in Christ, Heb. iv. 16. The vail of the temple did so interpose betwixt the people and the most holy place, that they could neither go in, nor look into it, but only the priest, in the manner that I said before; but the rending of the vail signified, that the true holy of holies, heaven itself, is now open to us, by the entrance of our great high-priest, that we also may enter in by faith, as a royal priesthood, following our forerunner, who for ús hath entered within the vail, Heb. vi. 19. Nothing can obstruct or discourage our access to God in his grace and glory, for the vail is rent. Now, I am to touch a little at the special mystery here represented, "Behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom." OBSER. That Christ by his death hath rent the vai that interposed betwixt God and us, and obstruct ed our access to him. He gave up the ghost, and behold the yail was rent, 1 Pet. iii. 18. "Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. Why?" That he might bring us to God;" and, in order thereunto, that he might rend the vail of guilt and wrath that interposed betwixt us and him, that he might take away the cherubims and flaming sword, and open a way to the tree of life. The method wherein I shall speak of this subject, shall be to shew, I. What is that Vail that interposed betwixt God and us. II. How the death of Christ hath rent that vail. IV. For what end the vail is rent. V. Draw some inferences from the whole for application. There may be some here that came to this occasion, to inquire into God's temple, to see his beauty and glory there, and to get near to God; but, ah! they are complaining, they have lost their end; why? they apprehended a vail betwixt them and the glory of God, and thought it impossible to get through the vail: but perhaps, you knew not that the vail of the temple was rent; and therefore you have not seen the beauty of the Lord in his temple. If you had known that the vail was rent from the top to the bottom, you would have gone in more boldly to the most holy place; and if yet you will believe that the vail is rent, I can promise that you shall not miss a sight of his glory, through the rent vail: "Did I not say to thee, if thou wouldst believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?" But I proceed in the method proposed. I. What is that vail that interposed betwixt God and us? Not to speak of the vail of Old Testament shadows and ceremonies, now rent and removed by the death of Christ, there are some vails that, in a special manner, obstructed our access to God; and they may be reduced to these three, the vail of a broken covenant, the vail of God's injured attributes, and the vail of man's sin. 1. The vail of a broken covenant, or law of works, The covenant of works, you know, was, Do and Live, otherwise you shall die; " In the day thou eatest, thou shalt surely die." In which covenant, you see, there was a precept, a promise, and a penalty. The precept, was Do, or perfect obedience; the promise was Life, or eternal happiness upon obedience; and the penalty was death and eternal damnation, in case of disobedience. Now man by his sin hath broken the precept of that covenant, and so forfeited the promise of life, and incurred the penalty of death. If ever we have access to God, this broken precept must be repaired, this forfeited life must be redeemed, this penalty must be execute. Here is a vail that separates betwixt God and us; a vail that neither men nor angels can rend, and yet a vail that must be rent, otherwise we die and perish for ever; and this vail is the harder to be rent, because of the following, namely, 2. The vail of God's injured perfections: particularly, his incensed justice, and injured holiness. Justice, infinite justice, was a black vail that obstructed our access to heaven; for God became an angry God, a God filled with fierce wrath against the sinner. God hath set this penalty upon the law, commanding perfect obedience upon pain of death: God's justice was engaged to make this penalty effectual upon man's falling into sin. Nothing can satisfy justice but infinite punishment; "The wages of sin is death; and God will, by no means clear the guilty:" And so, if this vail be not rent by a complete satisfaction, the guilty sinner must go down to the pit. The holiness of God also was injured by the breach of the law; "Sin is a transgression of the law;" a transgression of the precept. Now, as God's justice stands up in defence of the threatening and penalty, so his holiness stands up for the defence of the precept and com |