will all be complete; for that which is in part shall be done away, and that which is perfect shall come, 1 Cor. xiii. 10. O what a sweet exchange will that be, when faith will say to vision, I give place to you; when hope will say to fruition, I give place to you; when grace will say to glory, I give place to you; when partial communion will say to perfection, I give place to you; when short passing blinks will say to uninterrupted everlasting joys, I give place to you! Little wonder then believers, long to be wholly within the vail (but I insist not on it), for then indeed they fully enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

Thus you see the two great ends for which the vail was rent, namely, that way might be made for Christ's entering into the holy of holies, and so for our entering in also through him, and after him. But I come

now to

V. The Fifth thing, viz. the application. Is it so, that Christ hath by his death rent the vail that interposed between God and us, and obstructed our access to him? Then, First, for information, Hence we may see

1. What a full feast of love we have to feed upon on a communion-day, namely, the love of Christ, not only in dying, but in rending the vail, that he might enter into the holiest for us. The apostle says, That Christ loved us; and how does he prove it? Eph. v.

2.

He gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. This savoury and sweet smelling sacrifice, was the offering of incense; and where was the incense offered under the law? Why, it was offered within the vail. God tells Moses, that Aaron should take his handful of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail, Lev. xvi. 12. Now, Christ having given himself an offering and sacrifice to God without the camp in this world, he rends the vail, and goes to heaven, and offers himself as incense within the vail. Perhaps you have seen and thought upon the love of Christ, in his dying upon the cross, in his making himself a sacrifice; but, O see his, love also in his incense within the vail. We feed too. sparingly upon Christ: and therefore our faith is weak:

we eat, for the most part, but of one dish, Christ, as the paschal Lamb slain on the cross, but we should learn to feed upon Christ as a Priest gone in within the vail: our faith should not tarry on the cross, but we should carry it further, even after Christ, within the vail, into heaven itself. Our faith should flee for refuge, to lay hold upon all the hope that is set before us: the anchor of our soul will not be so sure and stedfast, as it might be, except it enter within the vail, Heb. vi. 19. As the apostle says of patience, "Let it have its perfect work" so we say of faith, let it have its perfect work; let us follow Christ within the vail, and view him, not only shedding his blood, but entering into the holy of holies within the vail, and sprinkling his blood upon the mercy-seat and before it, Lev. xvi. 15. The priests under the law sprinkled the mercy seat, which was within the vail, all over, and when Christ went to heaven within the vail, he did that in substance, which the priests did in ceremony, in order to make a full atonement: and when faith is acted upon all this, then the believer is said to be come to the blood of sprinkling; and we act not our faith far enough, when we act it no further than the death of Christ: for the atonement was not actually perfected, though it was made fundamentally on the cross, yet not formally, till upon the rending of the vail, our High-Priest entered into the holy place, and sprinkled the mercy-seat with his blood; by which act mercy and justice are actually met, and kiss each other.

2. If the vail of the temple be rent, hence we may see the glory of the New-Testament dispensation, beyond that of the Old; the vail of the covering is rent, the darkness of that dispensation removed by the death of Christ, and Old-Testament mysteries unveiled: so that now, he that runs may read the meaning of them. Now we see clearly, that the mercy-seat signified Christ, the great propitiation; the pot of manna signified Christ, the bread of life. Now we all with open face beholding the glory of the Lord, as in a glass, which helps the sight as the vail hindered it; and that the vail of the temple was rent, it may give us ground further to expect, that

the vail shall be taken away from the hearts of the Jews; "For even to this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their hearts; nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away," 2 Cor. iii. 15.

3. If by the death of Christ the vail be rent, that interposed betwixt God and us, hence we may see what is the way to heaven, and what access we have this way; why, "We have boldness to come to the holiest by the blood of Jesus by that new and living way, that he hath consecrated through the vail." We may come boldly to the throne of grace, for the vail is rent: by the blood of Jesus the way is open. How shall the unholiest of sinners venture to come into the holiest of all, or to God's presence? Yea, says the Holy Ghost, "By the blood of Jesus," by the rent vail. There are many mistakes about the way to the holy place; it is a dreadful thing to think, that many who have heard the gospel, it may be ten, twenty, thirty years, if they be asked of the way to heaven, they will say, " Why, if we do justly, live honestly and civilly, and do as we would be done to, we shall surely be saved. But I tell you, you shall surely be damned if no more be done. O sad, that after all the light that hath shined about the way of salvation by the slain Son of God, that civility that is to be found among heathens, is all the title that a great many have to eternal life. Others, they hope to get to heaven by a better righteousness, but it is a righteousness of their own: they say they will do as well as they can; they must read and pray and hear, and the like, and so they find out a way to heaven for themselves: some cannot endure to hear any thing spoken against self-righteousness as if no person were in danger to be ruined by it; whereas this is a great part of the strong man's armour, whereby he keeps possession of souls. I tell you, sirs, your false righteousness is so far from being the way to heaven, that true holiness itself is but the business that people have to do who are in the way; there will never be another way to heaven but Christ: holiness is the walk, Christ is the way in which we walk, Col. ii. 6. " As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.. I am the way, no man comes to the Father, but by me."

H

This is the new and living way, consecrated through the vail. The vail of the temple is rent, and the way to the ho liest through the rent vail. Every person thinks, that it is very hard to get to heaven, and that it will cost a great deal of time, and pains, and struggling: But, says one, here is the mischief of it; people do not know, that it is hard to know the way to heaven, and that flesh and blood cannot reveal it, till God himself send in a beam of light upon the heart, and give the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ, who is the way, having by his death rent the vail O this way is little known, and yet we assure you, that there is free access for you all this way; and nothing to hinder your access to God and heaven this way, if it be not your own ignorant unbelieving heart; nothing to hinder your entering into the holiest, for the vail is rent, the law is fulfilled, justice is satisfied, holiness vindicated, sin is expiated. Will you go to heaven this way, man, woman? for the door is open for you, the vail is rent, for you; "To you is the word of this salvation sent;" to you, man, woman, young or old; whosoever hears me, to you is the way to the holiest made patent: and whosoever will, let him come and enter in; and him that cometh he will in no wise cast out. What in all the world is to hinder you from coming in? The law, however holy, needs not hinder you, here is a righteousness; justice, however awful, needs not hinder you, here is a satisfaction; your sins, however great, need not hinder you, here is a sacrifice: all these vails are rent, what should hinder? Are there any other vails to be rent? O, say you, the vail of darkness, ignorance, enmity, and unbelief that is upon my heart. Well, let me tell, you, that needs not hinder you neither to come to Christ, and employ him to rend these vails on your part; that is but little for him to do, who could rend such great vails as were on God's part. O sirs, he is good at rending vails; give him work, and the work is done. Did he not rend a greater vail, when he satisfied infinite justice, and stopt the flood-gates of divine wrath? And if he hath done the greater, Ŏ will you not employ him to do the less? Why, say you, if I knew that he rent that great vail for me, I would not fear, but he would rend the lesser;

up

Why man, the vail was rent for sinners, and why not for you? Christ came to save sinners. But, say you, all shall not be saved and brought within the vail, and perhaps not I. We answer, Some shall be saved, and why not you? Wherefore are not all that hear this gospel saved, but because, they will not give employment to Christ to save them? Through unbelief they think he meant no favour towards them, when he rent the vail, and so stand aloof from him, saying, It was not for me; but I declare in his name, it was for you, man; for you, woman; whoever will have the benefit of it. The gospel notifies in general, that the vail is rent for you all, so far as that God calls and commands you all to come into the holiest by this way, this new and living way consecrated through the vail, and if you do not you shall be damned for your neglect of it. But as for your particular personal knowledge of your actual interest in the benefit of this rent vail, it is impossible for you to have it, till you come to Christ and sue for it: there. fore, let nothing hinder you to enter, since the vail is rent and the way patent: you have nothing to do yourself, for you cannot rend any vail; all that you have to do, is to consent that Christ should rend all vails betwixt God and you; for he will be a complete Saviour; he will not leave a rag of the vail for you to rend, but with his own hand will rend all in twain from the top to the bottom. O say Amen to it, that he may get all the work, and all the praise.

Use Second, for examination. Try what interest you have in this privilege: if the vail be actually rent from the top to the bottom, with respect to you; try whether or not you have gone in within the rent vail of the temple, to the holy of holies. The vail was rent fundamentally, when Christ gave up the ghost; it was rent formally, when he entered into the holiest. The vail is rent objectively in the preaching of this gospel; and now the question is, if the vail be rent subjectively, and so as you have the actual saving benefit of it in your own person. It is not enough that the vail is rent doctrinally for you, so as you have liberty to go into the holy place, but whether is the vail rent effectually