him, that he might take away the cherubims and flaming fword, and open a way to the tree of life.

The method wherein I fhall fpeak of this fubject, fhall be, to fhew,

I. What is that Vail that interpofed betwixt God and

us:

II. How the death of Chrift hath rent that vail.

III. In what manner is the vail rent.

IV. For what end the vail is rent.'

V. Draw fome Inferences from the whole for appli

cation.

There may be fome here that came to this occafion, to enquire into God's temple, to fee his beauty and glory there, and to get near to God; but, ah! they are complaining, they have loft their end; why? they apprehended a vail betwixt them and the glory of God, and thought it impoffible to get through the vail: but perhaps, you knew not that the vail of the temple was rent; and therefore you have not feen 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 moft holy place; and if yet you will believe that the vail is rent, I can promife that you fhall not mifs a fight of his glory, through the rent vail: "Did I not fay to thee, if thou wouldst believe, thou fhalt fee the glory of God?" But I proceed in the method propofed.

I. What is that vail that interpofed betwixt God and us? Not to peak of the vail of Old-Teftament fhadows and ceremonies, now rent and removed by the death of Chrift, there are fome vails that, in a fpecial manner, obftructed our accefs 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 fin.

1. The vail of a broken covenant, or law of works. The covenant of works, you know, was, Do and Live, otherwife you fhall die;" In the day thou eateft, thou fhalt furely die." In which covenant, you fee, there

was

was a precept, a promife, and a penalty. The precept was Do, or perfect obedience; the promife was Life, or eternal happiness upon obedience; and the penalty was death and eternal damnation, in cafe of difcbedience. Now, man by his fin hath broken the precept of that covenant, and fo forfeited the promife 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 muft be execute. Here is a vail that feparates betwixt God and us; a vail that neither men nor angels can rend, and yet a vail that must be rent, otherwife we die and perifh 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 incenfed juftice, and injured holinefs. Juftice, infinite juftice, was a black vail that obftructed our accefs to heaven; for God became an angry God, a God filled with fierce wrath against the finner. God hath fet this penalty upon the law, commanding perfect obedience upon pain of death: God's juftice was engaged to make this penalty effectual upon man's falling into fin. Nothing can fatisfy juftice but infinite punishment; "The wages of fin is death: and God will, by no means clear the guilty:" And fo, if this vail be not rent by a complete fatisfaction, the guilty finner must go down to the pit. The holinefs of God alfo was injured by the breach of the law; "Sin is a tranfgreffion of the law;" a tranfgreffion of the precept. Now, as God's juftice ftands up in defence of the threatening and penalty, fo his holinefs ftands up for the defence of the precept and command of the holy law. God cannot justify the finner, nor accept of him as righteous, unlefs he hath a complete righteoufnefs; not a lame, partial, and imperfect righteoufnefs; but a righteousness every way commenfurate to the extenfive precept of the law, will fatisfy an infinitely holy God. As infinite juftice cannot be fatisfied, without a complete fatisfaction, answering to the threatening and penalty of the law; fo the infinite holiness of God cannot be fatisfied without a perfect obedience, anfwerable to the precept

H 2

and

and command of the law. Now, our natural want of ability to yield fatisfaction, and our natural want of perfect conformity to the law, make juftice and holiness, and other perfe&tions of God, fland in the way of our falvation, and of our accefs to heaven, like a vail that can never be rent by us; efpecially confidering, that there is,

3. A third vail, and that is the val of fin on our part. This is a feparating vail betwixt God and us, Ifa. lix. 2. "Your iniquities have feparated betwixt you and your God." Now, before we can get near unto God, this vail must be rent, the guilt of fin must be expiated; for without fhedding of blood there is no remiffion the filth of fin muft be purged; for, who fhall afcend to the hill of the Lord, and ftand in his holy place, but he that hath clean hands and a pure heart? The power of fin mult be broken.-There is, by nature, in us all power of ignorance; our minds are become a dungeon of darkness, and this is fuch a vail betwixt God and us, that unlefs it be removed, there is no hopes of mercy therefore fays the prophet, "It is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them, will not have mercy on them."-There is'in us a power of enmity, "The carnal mind is enmity againft God," etc. We are enemies to God by wicked works: this is another vail that mufl be rent by the arm of Almighty power; for it is a vail and curtain that the devil hath ftrongly wrought, like a web, with the warp and waft of pride, carnality, fecurity, worldlinefs, and all other wickedness whatsoever, which are but fo many threads and pieces of this web, this vail of enmity.-There is a power of unbelief, that is another vail, that on our part ftands betwixt us and the holy place, and feparates us from divine favour; "He that believeth not, is condemned already."

II. The Second thing, How the death of Chrift hath rent the vail when he gave up the glioft, behold the vail was rent.

1. By the death of Chrift the vail of a broken covėnant was rent in twain, fo as we might get to God through that vail of the law; for the law was fulfilled

in every part of it, by his obedience to the death. Was the precept of the law a perfect obedience? Wel, Chrift by his obedience to the death, did magnify the law, and make it honourable, brought in an everlafling righte ouinefs his death was the finifling ftroke, the higheft act of that obedience whereby the law was fulfilled. Was the promile of lile in the law, or firft covenant forfeited by us? Well, Curilt rent this vail by redeeming the forfeiture with the price of his blood: he bought back the inheritance for us that we had loft, making a pur chafe of us, and of eternal falvation for us. Was the penalty of death in the law flanding alfo in the way? Well, Chrift comes in the finner's room, endures this penalty, by coming under the curfe of the law, becoming obedient to the death, enduring the wrath of God, and delivering us from the wrath to come: and fo behold, the vail of a broken covenant was rent.

2. By the death of Chria, the vail of God's injured Attributes, that flood betwixt God and us, was rent and removed. Chris hath fatisfied the juftice of God, by offering himself a facrifice, Eph. v. 2. This offering being through the eternal Spirit, it was of infinite worth and value: here the altar fanctified the gift; the altar was the Godhead of Chrifl, the offering was made upon the altar of the divine nature; and therefore this blood of Chrift is called the blood of God. This facrifice was of infinite worth and value, for doing the bufinefs of poor man, in atoning juttice, and fo rending this vail. But now, as Chrift hath fatisfied the justice of God, by enduring the penalty and threatening of the law; fo he hath vindicated the holine's of God, by fulfilling the precept and command of the law, which he not only did through the whole courfe of his life, but perfe&ly finished in his death. Now, if Christ hath fulfilled the law, fatisfied the juftice, and vindicated the holiness of God, by his obedience to the death, then we may fee and fay, "Behold the vail was rent." But,

3. There is the vail of fin on our part: How is this rent by the death of Chrift? Why, the Lamb was fa

H 3.

crificed

crificed to rend and remove this vail, "Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the fin of the world." By his death, the guilt of fin is expiated; for God fet him forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteoufnefs for the remiffion of fins, &c. By his death the filth of fin is purged; "For the blood of Chrift cleanfeth from all fin :" and that both meritoriously and efficacioufly; for, by his death, the power of fin alfo is broken fundamentally, feeing by his death. he purchased the Spirit; which, in due time, he pours out, and thereby actually removes the vail on our part, which he had done fundamentally and virtually on the crofs. By this purchafed Spirit he rends the vails of darknefs and ignorance: "The God who commanded light to fhine out of darknefs, fhines into the heart," etc. All the light of nature, reafon, education, and human literature cannot rend this vail, till the man receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Chrift, By this purchased Spirit he rehds the vail of enmity, fhedding abroad his love upon the heart and indeed the view and apprehenfion of God's mighty love in Christ, can rend that mighty vail of enmity; for we love him whenever we fee that he firit loved us, 1 John iv. 19. When the foul fees the God, whofe majefty he dreaded, is now a God in Chrift, reconciled to the foul through the facrifice that Chrift offered up, then the foul is reconciled to God, and fo the vail of enmity rent in twain. By this purchased Spirit he rends alfo the vail of unbelief; for, as he is a Spirit of light, to remove the vail of darkness, and a Spirit of love, to remove the vail of enmity; fo he comes into the heart, as a Spirit of faith, and removes the vail of unbelief; he begins the rent of humiliation, when he rends the heart in twain with a fenfe of fin, and a fight of its undone flate; when he makes the foul take with fin, and juftify the Lord, though he should damn him for his fin. He makes the rent of the vail wider by a gracious manifeftation, like that, John ii, 11. "He manifefted forth his glory, and his difciples believed on him." Thus he rends the vail of unbelief; and compleats the rent of this vail when faith