Contemplations and Devotions, Part 25
XXV. The vayle of the Temple is rent from the top to the bottome.Mat. 27.51.
IT was a custome among this people of the Iewes, at the hearing of blasphemy to rend their garments, wee may see it in the high Priest at that pretence of blasphemy in this our blessed Saviour,Mar. 14.63. how pregnantly, how iustly then doth the temple (here) vpbrayd these their owne blasphemies 'gainst him in this their own custome of rending the garment: And indeede how could it doe lesse? it is the Lord of the Temple that is thus blasphem'd,Ier. 7.4. and can the Temple of that Lord, but suffer with him? if David rend his cloathes at the death of his friend Ionathan, … Sam. 1.11can the Temple doe lesse at the death of its friend Iesus? how true a friend, a Champion both to the Temple, and the Law, let that his zealous vindication of the one from the trash of Merchandize and burthens, Luk. 19.45.of the othe… from the more prophaning, burdening glosses of the Pharises, beare him witnesse. Well then might the law, and temple rend this their vayly garment at such a death, of such a friend; so false was that their pretended cavill of his emnity to the Temple, that the very Temple it selfe as sufferingly conscious of the iniury, will among the rest, the heavens, the earth, the rockes, the dead, make a mourner too at his funeralls; and rend this its garment, as if willing to be rid of so vnseasonable a crimson one, Exo. 36.35.to get one more suitably sad; the Sunne puts on a vayle of darknesse, as otherwise too glorious for such a spectacle, the Temple puts off her vayle of colours, as now too gawdy for such a funerall, all things in their way suffer with him save onelyonly man, for whō only it is he suffers all, he died neither for heavens, nor earth, nor rockes, nor vayle, but for vsus men, and for our salvation, for vsus, and by vsus too, if wee beare not then a part in this so vniversall sorrow, what can either their sufferings be but to our greater shame, or his but to our greater iudgement? doth hee take vsus into the glorious fellowship of the sonnes of God to him,1 Ioh. 3. and doe we exclude our selves out of the compassionate fellowship of the sonnes, the elements of nature towards him? doe we call our selves his followers, his members, and doe wee suffer lesse with him then his insensible by-standers, and spectators? true, the Temple is his house, but wee are his household, 2 Cor. 6.10.and shall the house mourne more at his death then the family? nor are these his mourners without their significance as well as sufferance, the…e foure, the heavens, the earth, the rockes, the vayle, as they exemplarily teach vsus repentance, so extensively doe they teach vsus faith, as the burthen, so the benefit of his passion, and that in an effectuall extension of it to some of all these suffering places, in heaven to the Saints, and (as some think) to the Angels in their establishment, in earth both, to the living and the dead too, and among them to some of both kindes,2 Cor. 3.15.16. the heart-vayled Iewes, and the rocke-hearted Gentiles; if the mysterie hold, the morrall will be this, none share but such as feele his sufferings, to such onelyonly, heav…n is opened, the grave conquered, the rocke of all true refuge cleft for them to shelter in, Psa. 181. Exo 33.22.the vayle of all those legall types and ceremonies, rent and done away, so that now this the true holy of holyes, is no longer to them shadowed, but that now they may looke on him better then the people on his shadow.Exo 34.33. Moses when hee then had but talked a while with him, without any other vayle then (what the Apostle so call…) his owne flesh; here did this Sunne of righteousnesse breake forth,Heb 10.20. and dispel that cloud of figures, here did the day spring from on high visite vsus, Mal. 4.2. Luk. 1.78.and chase away those shadowes of the night, here's the way into the heavenly Sanctuary opened, here the vayle it selfe makes a fall, and reall comentary on that our Saviours last text,Ioh. 19 30. it is finished. If any aske what is finished? the vayle in way of answere rends it selfe assunder to let vsus see here finished, the Fathers wrath, the Sonnes sufferings, mans redemption, the devils doubts, the Priests designes, the perdictions of the Prophets, the expectations of the Fathers, the curse, and ceremonies of the Law; the curse of the morall, and vse of the ceremoniall, yet let not any vnhearded, vnheaded, or rather too too heady Schismatique henceforth conclude the vselesnesse of all present ceremonies in the Church; let him know that they are but the ceremonies of type, and figure, that are here abollish'd, not those of rite, and order: Vnity it is the ground-weake of nature, the very Atlas of the Beeing of all things; love and order are the two shoulders of this Atlas, order protects that vnity that love attracts: were it not for these, how soone would the Church, the world it selfe crumm'l out it selfe into miscarrying factions, fractions of dissolution? even the sacred Trinity it selfe; that architype of vnity, is not without order, such order as that equality of Deity permits, an order coordinative, though not subordinative, an order of priority, though not of superiority; and as in that Kingdome of vnity, so in that other of confusion, hel, there is order too, the devils themselves have their Prince Belzebub, that kingdome of darknesse, Mat. 3.2….if either devided 'gainst it selfe, or altogether disordered in it selfe could not stand; let the Papist then make his Church (like the mushrome) all head, no body; the Brownist his, like Pliny's Acephaloi, all body, and no head; let not vsus make Christs mysticall body lesse organicall, then his naturall, but proportionally knit together in the vse-fullRom. 12. variety of the several members, by the sinewes of love,1 Cor 12.12.18. and order; how weake and superstitiously spleenish thē is the rage of the Brownist 'gainst the Church of God, about her ceremonies, how poorely borrowed from Rome it selfe, who out of hatred to the tyranny of the Tarquins, bannish'd the very name it selfe in a good Consull, so called; though the vayle be rent, the Temple hath not lost all her other ornaments, in which, so there be in their number paucity, in their nature purity, in their vse decencie, I see no reason why the same God should not now (as heretofore) be worship'd in the beauty (as well as duty)Psa 93.6.96.9. of holinesse: holinesse becommeth his house, and worship him (sayes David) in the beauty of holinesse. But,
O my blessed Lord and Saviour, thou who art that true holy of holy's, Exod. 36.so long vayl'd, and shadowed by types, and figures, but now pervious to the weakest eye of faith in thy word, & Sacraments, give me leave to aske thee why thou so long shew'dst the Sunne by a candle, thy selfe, the true day light, by these weaker glow-wormes of legall types? Didst thou envie mans happinesse in knowing thee; alas no, 'twas in that knowledge thou mad'st him happy; at the first didst thou need those sacrifices? no, all the beasts of the field are thine, Psa. 50 10.and so are the cattell vponupon a thousand hils: rather (ô Lord) to confirme the faith of thine by the exact impletion of all those prophetike types of thee, in thee, so that if now any vn-Israelited Iew have that vnseasonable question of Iohns Disciples, still lurking in his heart,Mat. 11.3. art thou hee that should come? the vayle it selfe of all those shaddowish ceremonies that bespoke thee, in way of answere rends it selfe into that confession of the Centurion: Mar. 15.39.truly this is the Sonne of God; the devills themselves have now given over that, there if thou be, Mat 4.3. Iam. 2.19.and confesse, beleeve, and tremble, the Israelites garments waxt not old in all their iourney,Deut. 8.4. vntill they brought them home to Canaan, nor hath this garment of their Temple but lasted, vntill it hath brought them through the fleeting travaile of their figures, to the flowing Canaan of his crosse: (O Lord) as thou didst rend this vayle of types to make way for my faith into thee, so rend (I beseech thee) that fleshy vayle of infidelity, of obduracie from my heart, 2 Co. 3.15.16.to make way for thy grace into it. But did not the barbarous Souldiers (Lord) spare thy garment whole; how comes it to passe then that this garment of the Temple scapes no better? Wert thou lesse thrifty, or more cruell to this of the Temple, then they to thine? no, but herein more mercifull to me, this garment of the law, 'twas like Adams figge-leaf'd breeches, Gen 3.too short to cover my shame, my sinne; like that covering in Esay, Esa 28 22. Esa. 59.6.so narrowe that I could not wrap mee in it: in that therefore to prevent my trust, didst thou thus rend it, but thine owne the embleme of thy all-sufficient merit, how mercifully, how providently didst thou for me keepe that whole? let me not then with the selfe-saving Papist (against that thine owne Parable) goe about to put a new peece into the olde garment, Luk. 5.36.the new peece of mine owne wrought, or bought merit into this old, yet strong garment of thine, what neede I? it is both whole, and large enough, why should I then (as thou speak'st thy selfe) so,Luk. 5.36. rend and take away from the garment, my rents of sinne will so become worse; what should I so doe lesse, if still a patching out this thy garment with shreds of mine owne merit? then give thee the flat lye, and that in those thy last words vponupon the Crosse,As the Papists by their doctrine of condigne merits. telling thee to thy face, It is not finish'd.