rous fheep, and lef him alone, John xvi. 32.-" But I will turn my hand on my little ones :" fome make that word a threatening, that, as Chrift fuffered, fo fhall his difciples; they fhall be baptized with the bloody baptifm he was baptifed with. Think not ftrange, if a fcaffold of blood fhould be your trial; if you be a believer indeed, you fhall notwithstanding overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the blood of the Shepherd, the man that is God's Fellow. "I will turn my hand on the little ones" fome make it a promife, that God will gather together the fcattered fheep; the little ones among Chrift's fcholars, may be divided and difperfed, but they fhall rally again. O look for a time when he will return; and, in mercy, turn his hand on the little

ones.

Now, let all the little ones, the poor, weak, feeble fheep of the flock, follow and lean upon the great Shepherd that was fimitten for them, and he will fupply all your wants, fubdue all your iniquities, pardon all your fins, and bear all your burdens, and fanctify all your croffes, and do all your work in you and for you. If you have not now gotten what you would have, cry to him, and wait upon him, and let it be the top of your defires and endeavours, to have more and more fellowfhip, with the man that is God's Fellow, efpecially in his being the only facrifice to the fword of juftice in your room. Upon this facrifice wherewith God is fo infinitely well pleafed, let all your hope of grace and glory depend.

Now, go in peace, and may the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jefus, that great Shepherd of the fheep, through the blood of the everlating covenant, make you perfect, in every good work, to do his will; working in you that which is well pleafing in his fight, through Jefus Chrift; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

SER

SERMON II.*

The RENT VAIL of the TEMPLE; or, Accefs to the Holy of Holies by the DEATH of CHRIST.

MATTH. xxvii. 51.

And behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom.

SOME here may think, what will the minifter make

of that text, and what relation hath it to the work of this day? Indeed, I cannot promise to make any thing of it, unless the Lord himself make fomething of it to you. But, with his help, we may find a feaft in it to our fouls; and a fuitable feast on the back of a feast, fuch as many of you have been celebrating. Chrift hath been evidently fet forth crucified among you this day, and as you have been called to feaft upon his paffion, fo now you are called to feaft upon the fruits and effects of it. Have you feen him dying on a cross for you! O come and fee 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 connection of this verfe, with what went before, in the particle AND, intimating, the time of this miracle, that it intended the death of Chrift, verfe 50. "When he had cried, with a loud voice, he gave up the ghoft." This loud cry fignified, that his death fhould be public, and proclaimed to all the world, as it hath been to you this day; and his yielding up the ghoft, fhewed, that he voluntarily refigned his, foul to be an offering for fin, according to his undertaking as our Surety,

Ifa.

This fermon was preached on the fabbath-evening, immediately after the adminiftration of the facrament of the Lord's fupper at Carnock, July 12th, 1719.

Ka. liii. 10. Death being the penalty for the breach of the first covenant, "Thou fhalt furely die;" the Mediator of the new covenant must make atonement by means of death, otherwife no remiflion. Now, he gave up the ghoft, 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' enfue. Several miracles, befides the rending of the vail, are here mentioned; but this feems, 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 faints arofe; but that which is put in the firft rank of these miracles, is, that the vail of the temple was rent in twain and we find the evangelift Mark mentions this in particular, and none of the reft of the miracles here named, as if this rending of the vail were the miracle most to be noticed, as containing fomewhat myfterious and fignificant therein, Mark x. 37, 38. where we have the very fame words, "Jefus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghoft; 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 afide and fee this great fight; be aftonished at it. But what are we to wonder at? Then,

3. See this object of admiration; the vail of the temple was rent in twain, juft as our Lord Jefus expired; that vail of the temple which parted betwixt the Holy Place and the Moft Holy, was rent by an invisible power. In this, and the reft of the miracles, Chrift gave teftimony to his Godhead; putting forth the power of his divine nature at the fame time wherein his human nature, his foul and body, were rent in twain, like the vail of the temple. It is remarkable how the evangelift describes the manner in which the vail of the temple was rent; fhewing what a full and intire rent it was. Luke fays, it was rent in the midft;' and here Matthew and Mark fay, it was rent in twain:' rent from the top to the bottom; an intire rent. But what was the meaning of all this? What did the rending of the vail fignify?

(1.) It was in conformity to the temple of Chrift's body which was now diffolved: Chrift was the true temple, in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. When he cried, and gave up the ghoft, and fo diffolved and rent the vail of his flefh, the literal temple did, as it were, echo to the cry, and answer the ftrokes by rending its vail.

(2.) The rending of the vail of the temple, fignified the revealing of the myfteries of the Old Teftament. The vail of the temple was for concealment; it was extremely dangerous for any to fee the furniture of the moft holy place within the vail, except the high prieft; and he but once a year with great ceremony, and through a cloud of fmoke: all which pointed out the darkness of that difpenfation,, 2 Cor. ii. 13. But now, at the death of Chrift, all was laid open; the myfteries are unvailed, fo that he that runs may read the meaning of them.

(3.) The rending of the vail of the temple fignified the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, by removing the par tition-wall betwixt them, which was the ceremonial law; Chrift, by his death repealed it, and cancelled that hand-writing of ordinances, nailed it on the crois, and fo broke down the middle wall of partition; and, by abolishing thefe inftitutions and ceremonies, by which the Jews were diftinguifhed from all other people, he abolifhed in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained 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 efpecially fignify the confecrating 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 fignified, that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God for himfelf, as our bleffed High-priest; and for us in him.

1. For himfelf: this was the great day of atonement, wherein the High-prieft, 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 Chrift did not perfonally

afcend

afcend 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 admiflion: his entrance into the heavenly temple, into the holy of holics, began in his death; having of fered his facrifice in the outer-court, the blood of it was to be fprinkled on the mercy-feat within the vail, according to the manner of the priefis under the law: but now the legal fhadows were all to evanish: the great, the true High-prief having by his own blood en.. tered, and fo procured,

2. For us an open entrance into the true holy of holies, as the apoftle applies it, Heb. x. 19, 20. "We have boldness to enter into the holieft, by the blood of Jefus, by a new and living way, which he hath confecrated for us through the vail." We have now free accefs to come with boldnefs to a throne of grace, to a God in Chrift, Hcb. iv. 16. The vail of the temple did fo interpofe betwixt the people and the moft holy place, that they could neither go in, nor look into it, but only the priest, in the manner that I faid before; but the rending of the vail fignified, that the true holy of holies, heaven itself, is now open to us, by the entrance of our great High-prieft, that we alfo may enter in by faith, as a royal priesthood, following our Forerunner, who. for us hath entered within the vail, Heb. vi. 19. Nothing can obflru&t or difcourage our accefs to God in his grace and glory, for the 'vail is rent.

Now, I am to touch a little at the fpecial myftery here reprefented, "Behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom."

OBSER. That Chrift, by his death hath rent the vail that interpofed betwixt God and us, and obftructed our accefs to him.

He gave up the ghoft, and behold, the vail was rent, 1 Pet. iii. 18. "Chrift hath once fuffered for fins, the juft for the unjuft. Why? That he might bring us to God;" and, in order thereunto, that he might rend the. vail of guilt and wrath that interpofed betwixt us and VOL. I.

H

him,