the calamities of the church, the rents of the church. The Lord's anger with her, and absence from her, may indeed make you weep when you remember Zion, and hang your harps upon the willow trees, while we are gone so far into captivity, and the glory is so far departed. In a word, if the vail be rent with you, your heart will be rent habitually for all these things, as also for all your heart-plagues. Your heart will be so rent for your atheism, ignorance, enmity, carnality, hypocrisy, roving, wanderings, worldliness, and such like, that you will be ready to say as Rebecca said to Isaac, in another case, "I am weary of my life, because of the daughters of Heth."

(2.) If the vail be effectually rent, then, as there are some things your heart will be rent for, so there are some things your hearts will be rent from. Why, your hearts will be rent from sin as well as rent for sin; your heart will say with Ephraim, "What have I to do any more with idols?" What have I to do any more with lusts? All that expect to get into the holy of holies in the heavenly temple, are students of holinesss and purity: "He that hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is pure." Christ having rent the vail, entered into the holiest with blood; and believers are daily besprinkling themselves with that blood, that so they may enter in all sprinkled over with that blood also. Believers want not sin, and it cleaves to them here; but they are so far from cleaving to it, that it is the desire of their soul to be rent from it, and therefore their daily sins oblige them to make daily application to the blood of sprinkling.Again, if the vail be effectually rent, then your heart will be rent from the world. O but this globe of earth, and all the glory of it, looks but like a filthy mote, a piece of dung, to the man who hath got his heart within the vail. The glory of God in Christ darkens all created glory. What cares he for worldly pleasures, who hath Christ for his delight? What cares he for worldly profits, who hath Christ for his gain? What cares he for worldly honour, who hath Christ for his crown of glory? What cares he for the world's all, who hath Christ for his all in all? His heart is rent from the world.-Again, when the vail is rent, the inan's heart is rent from the

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law: "He that is married to Christ, is divorced from the law," Rom. vii. 4. The law, as a covenant of works, the believer hath nothing to do with it. He does not owe it a cup of cold water,' as one says; for Christ hath perfectly fufilled the condition of the covenant of works; and therefore, if the law challenge him, he sends it to Christ for a perfect obedience; if the penalty challenge him, he sends it to Christ for a complete satisfaction. He desires, with Paul, to be found in Christ, and would not be found in his own righteousness for ten thousand worlds; he sees so much unholiness in his own holiness; so much unrighteousness in his own righteousness; so much carnality, in all his spirituality; so much earthliness, in all his heavenliness; so much sin in all his du-. ties; that he is sure God may damn him for his best duties as well as his worst sins: and therefore he hath no expectation from the law, but is rent from it, and joined to the Lord Jesus, saying, “In the Lord only have I righteousness and strength."In a word, when the vail is effectually rent, the man is rent from self: it is very hard indeed to rend a man from himself; self insinuates itself into all our praying, preaching, and communicating. However, the power of self is broken in all true believers. Instead of self-estimation he is brought. to that, "Behold I am vile;" he hath never a good word to speak of himself, not a good thought to think of himself; but every time he prays, every time he communicates, he cries out, "Behold, I am vile." Instead of selfjustification, he is brought to that, "I will lay my hand upon my mouth;" I will not answer, I cannot justify myself, but must condemn myself, and justify the Lord. Instead of self-love, he is brought to that, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes:" Self-lothing and abhorrence takes place. Instead of self-will, he is brought to that, "Lord what wilt thou have me to do?" Instead of self-ease and carnal security, he is brought to that, "O what shall I do to be saved?" And after the first exercise about salvation hath landed in conversion, he is always exercising himself to godliness, and giving employment to Christ to carry on and complete his salvation, and restless till salvation be completed. Instead

of self-fulness and sufficiency, he is brought to that, "In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing;" he sees himself empty of all good, and filled with all evil. Instead of self-confidence and hope, he is brought to that," We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raised the dead." They are brought to despair in themselves. And instead of self-righteousness, of which before, they are brought to that, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."-Thus, in so far as they share of the saving benefit of the rent vail, so far are they rent from self: and thus, by these things you may examine your selves, what interest you have in this privilege of Christ's rending of the vail betwixt God and you.

Use Third, for terror to unbelievers, who, though they hear that the vail is rent, and so a free access to the holy of holies proclaimed, yet they are not at all concerned about entering in by this rent vail. The door of heaven is open to you, but you will not come in; the vail of the temple is rent, but you will not enter. O wretched creature how can you answer that challenge, John v. 40. " You will not come to me, that you might have life?" You have no grace, no holiness, no repentance, no good thing; but, says Christ, you will not come to me that you might have grace, you will not come to me that you might have holiness, you will not come to me that you might have repentance, you will not come to me that you might have all good things that you need. The vail is rent, the door is open, but you will not come in. "O! what will you do in the day of visitation ?"-What will you do when he that rent the vail shall rend your soul and body in twain, and say, O slighter of the Son of God, come and give account of what use you have made of the Sabbaths, sermons, and communion-seasons that you enjoyed? Perhaps you are little thinking on death, but what know you but God will say to you, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee?" I defy all the ministers on earth to assure you that you shall live to get another offer of Christ to-morrow. Many here will not come again to-morrow; and many here may never

have another venture for heaven. O! what will you do, when he that rent the vail, that you might have access to God, will rend these heavens, and come down to judgment? "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him! With what countenance will you look him in the face in judgment, when you did not care for a sight of his face in mercy, through the rent vail? O what a dreadful voice will that be to you, when he will say, Rise ye dead, and come ye to judgment! Rise ye unbelievers of the gospel, and give an account of yourselves! Do you know, that while you are neglecting the gospel, and slighting the Son of God, you are saying with the Jews, "His blood be upon us, and upon our children?" The guilt of the blood of Christ is upon you, and upon the generation after you, that follow your example; and, O! how terrible will it be, when he comes to make inquisition for blood, for the blood of God which you trampled under foot! O! how will you then wish to be rent and grinded in pieces, when you shall find all the curses of the Bible lighting upon you! O what will you do when he that rent the vail, shall openly rend you from the company of God, saints, and angels, and set you with the goats on his left hand! When you shall see some of your acquaintances that are here, standing on his right hand, how will you then think with yourself, O what hindered me, that I did not consent to the gospel, as well as they? now join with them in the same congregation, but your hearts are disjoined from them; you separate from them in your choice, your affections, your disposition, and conversation; but ere long, there shall be another kind of separation; you that will not come in among them through the rent vail now, there shall be a vail hung up betwixt you and them, that shall never be rent; yea, a vail betwixt you and the glory of God; for you shall be punished with everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power: he that rent the vail to pieces, will eternally tear you to pieces, when there shall be none to deliver. Now, the vail is rent betwixt God and you, so as you may come to God's presence with boldness, through the new and

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living way that is consecrated through the vail; and shall have God, and Christ, and saints, and angels, all welcoming you; "For, the spirit and the bride say, come; and whosoever will, let him come:" for the vail is rent; but if once you go down by the sides of the bottomless Tophet, the vail that then shall be placed betwixt God and you, will never, never be rent, so long as eternity lasts. You will never hear again such a sweet word; and, O what would you then give for such a word as that, Behold, the vail is rent, that you may come to God's favour and fellowship? But no such news shall be heard in hell: "Now, only now, is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation; to-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts;" but think of coming into the holy of holies, while you hear that the vail is rent, and nothing to hinder you.

Use Fourth, for consolation to believers, to whom the vail is so effectually rent in twain, that from the marks given, they may conclude, they have made some entrance within the vail, by coming to a God in Christ, and casting their anchor within the vail. I have a word of comfort to say to you, though perhaps you are still complaining of many vails that separate betwixt God and you; yet a little while and you shall have a triumphant entrance ministered unto you, into the holy of holies above, whither the forerunner hath for you entered; for, "Behold the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom!" Therefore you shall come into Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon your heads; you shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away; and then all vails shall be rent and removed for ever. I will tell you, for your comfort, of a few vails that then shall be rent; for the rending of the vail of the temple, promisés the rending of all vails in a short while.

1. Then the vail of sin and corruption shall be rent. in twain; all the rents, all the strokes that sin gets by the word, the rod, the spirit, never rends a body of death from you; but still you are groaning under a sense of indwelling-sin, that separates betwixt God and you: but then, O then, believer, this vail shall be rent