the servant's glory in the Son's face; yea, the glory of God in the face of Jesus, and the law fulfilled and established by the everlasting gospel.

Fourthly. This vail was to shew them that the way into heaven by a better Mediator was then hid, and not made manifest: for the Holy Ghost, by Moses and by this vail, by the tabernacle and the vail of that, this signified; that the way into the holiest of all was not made manifest, while that worldly sanctuary, and the ministry of it, were then standing. But now the law is magnified, the better Mediator hath appeared, the better covenant is revealed, the way of life cast up, the door of hope opened; and free, full, and eternal, salvation by grace proclaimed to every self-lost, selfcondemned, and self-despairing sinner, whether Jew or Gentile.

Fifthly. This vail was to shew the superior privileges of the children of Israel to all the rest of the world. They had a vail to look through, but the Gentiles had none; the law encompassed them as a partition wall, "For you only," says God, "have I known of all the families of the earth," while the poor Gentiles were in utter darkness, left to their own ways, given up to a reprobate mind, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of promise, without God, and having no hope in the world. Which partition wall, vail of separation, and obscure covering, was to be removed when Christ came and the Holy Ghost was poured forth; then

the holy waters of the sanctuary, which came under the threshold, from the fountain of the Father's love, went forth, overflowing all the banks of separation, and ran into the sea of the Gentile world; causing all to live that touched them, and raising up trees of righteousness on each side of the banks, both of Jews and Gentiles; causing some instrumentally to be for meat, and others for medicine. This vail is now done away, and of twain Christ hath made one new man; there is one fold and one shepherd, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us

not.

Sixthly. This vail pointed to the remains of darkness that would remain in the best of men; that none would know but in part, and prophesy in part; that they would see only through a glass darkly; and that mortality and her shrouds would be a heavy veil upon the hearts of the brightest saints and servants of the Lord, who would at times grope like the blind at noonday, but that the time would come when this sackcloth, in which we now prophesy, would be put off; when mortality would be swallowed up of life; when he who only hath immortality would appear, and burst the vail of corruption and of the grave also, and raise the sleeping dust of the saints to a state of immortality, glory, power, and eternal felicity! Thus much for the vail of Moses; which leads me to the fourth general head, which is to shew the end that Israel could not look to:

They could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. The end of which is the Lord Jesus Christ, personated by Moses; who was to be born of the children of Israel, made of a woman, made under the law; and who, as the sinner's surety, was to discharge their infinite debts, and restore that honour to the law which he took not away. And this is published by the Lord himself in the proclamation of his ever blessed and ever adorable name, "The Lord, the Lord God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in goodness and truth, pardoning iniquity, transgressions, and sin, and who will not clear the guilty," or at all acquit the wicked, nor hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain. All which was to shew the need of a surety, and the certainty of one; that God never could clear the guilty without satisfaction, nor hold any guiltless without an atonement; nor shew mercy to any, much less to thousands, without a perfect obedience to the law which was then given. And this surety Moses then personated, his high office he then bore, of him he prophesied, and of his righteousness he witnessed; who was to be sent into the world, and should be a prophet like unto Moses, be circumcised, and so become a debtor, in the debtor's law-place, to keep the whole law, and thereby fulfil all righteousness; who, by holiness, by love and in life, never deviated from one tittle of it; but could appeal to God his Father for the perfection of his obedience; "Father, I have finished the

work which thou gavest me to do;" I have obeyed thy law perfectly; have magnified it, and made it honourable; and now I come to thee, holy Father, by the sacrifice of myself, in which I will endure the curse, appease thy wrath, satisfy justice, make an atonement for sins; and so, as a surety, be numbered with the transgressors, make my grave with the wicked and with the rich in my death, and arise to an immortal life, as the firstfruits of all that sleep: by which I shall dethrone Satan, destroy death, be the plague of the grave, and bring life and immortality to light in the souls of my purchased inheritance.

It is needful to make a difference between the law of God, which was given by Moses, and the law of truth, which came by Jesus Christ. The Father says, He shall magnify the law, which is the moral law; and then he was to publish his own law, which is the law of faith. The isles shall wait for his law, which was to be sealed among his disciples. He kept his Father's commandments, and abode in his love; and we are to keep Christ's commandments, and abide in his love. Christ was a servant, whom the Father upheld; and, as such, obeyed the legal precepts; and the life-giving commandment is made known to us for obedience to the faith, Rom. i. 5.

The moral law is a chastening rod in the hand of God the Father, which he uses upon all the elect children that he has given to Christ, who are all of them transgressors of his law, being by na

ture under it, and children of wrath even as others; and guilty before him: hence it is, "If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judg ments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with stripes. Nevertheless, my lovingkindness will I not make void from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to lie." All the elect have broken this law, therefore God sends the commandment home, and reveals his wrath in the soul till the sinner becomes dead, and left without either hope or help; the Father then leads the soul to Christ, in whom he has chosen him, where lovingkindness is to be had, and where faithfulness is not to fail.

Thus God chastens the sinner upon his bed with pains, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain; "so that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty meat; his flesh is consumed away that it cannot be seen; and his bones, that were not seen, stick out. Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life unto the destroyers. If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man his uprightness; then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom," Job xxxiii. This is God the Father's teaching. An interpreter is one that has passed under it, understands it, and can explain it to others; and these are like Solomon's faithful One among a thousand; he is to shew the

men.