Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/300

 Such are  the  pretexts  which  the  sinner  who  delays  his  conversion draws from  the  part  of  God. Let us  now  examine  those  which  he takes  from  within  himself.

Part II. — It is  astonishing,  my  brethren,  that,  life  being  so short,  the  moment  of  death  so  uncertain,  every  instant  so  precious, conversions so  rare,  the  examples  of  those  who  are  taken  unawares so frequent,  and  futurity  so  awful,  so  many  frivolous  pretexts  can be urged  for  delaying  a  change  of  life. In all  other  dangers  which threaten either  our  life,  our  honour,  or  our  property,  the  precautions are prompt  and  ready,  the  danger  alone  is  dubious  and  distant;  here the danger  is  certain  and  present,  and  the  precautions  are  always uncertain and  remote. It seems  either  that  salvation  is  an  arbitrarything,  or  that  our  life  is  in  our  own  hands,  or  that  the  time  for  our penitence hath  been  promised  to  us,  or  that  to  die  impenitent  is  no great  misfortune, — so  strongly  do  all  sinners  lull  themselves  in  this hope of  being  one  day  converted,  without  ever  attempting  a  change of life. And what  is  still  more  incomprehensible  in  the  delay  of their  penitence,  is,  that  they  all  admit  of  the  necessity  of  their  conversion, of  the  bad  state  of  their  conscience,  and  that  they  all  consider as  the  worst  of  evils,  that  of  dying  in  that  fatal  state;  and, nevertheless, that  they  all  defer  withdrawing  from  it,  under  pretexts so childish,  that  even  the  gravity  of  the  Christian  pulpit  suffers  in refuting  and  overthrowing  them.

Age, the  passions,  the  consequences  of  a  change  of  life,  which  they dread the  being  able  to  support, — such  are  the  vain  pretexts  inwardly alleged for  delaying  that  conversion  which  God  demands  of  us.

I say,  in  the  first  place,  the  age. They wish  to  allow  the  years of youth  to  pass  away,  to  which  a  consideration  so  important  as  piety seems little  suited;  they  wait  a  certain  season  of  life,  when,  the bloom of  youth  effaced,  the  manners  become  more  sedate,  the  attention more  exact,  the  world  less  watchful  upon  us,  even  the  mind riper and  more  capable  of  supporting  that  grand  undertaking;  they promise themselves  to  labour  at  it,  and  that  they  will  not  then  allow any thing  to  divert  them  from  it.

But, it  would  be  natural  to  ask  you  first,  who  hath  told  you  that you shall  arrive  at  the  term  which  you  mark  to  yourself;  that  death shall not  surprise  you  in  the  course  of  those  years  which  you  still allot to  the  world  and  to  the  passions;  and  that  the  Lord,  whom you do  not  expect  till  the  evening,  shall  not  arrive  in  the  morning, and when  you  least  think  of  it? Is youth  a  certain  safeguard against death? See, without  mentioning  here  what  happens  every day to  the  rest  of  men,  if,  even  in  confining  yourself  to  the  small number of  your  friends  and  of  your  relations,  you  shall  find  none for whom  the  justice  of  God  hath  dug  a  grave  in  the  first  years  of their  course,  who,  like  the  flower  of  the  field,  blooming  to  the  morn, have withered  before  the  close  of  day,  and  have  left  you  only  the melancholy regret  of  seeing  so  speedily  blasted,  a  life  of  which  the blossoms had  promised  so  fair. Fool! Thy soul  is  to  be  re-demanded perhaps  at  the  opening  of  thy  race;  and  those  projects  of