Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/399

 of their  unbelief,  whom  the  spectacle  of  an  unexpected  death,  a fatal  accident,  a  grievous  loss,  a  reverse  of  fortune,  hath  not cast into  gloomy  reflections  on  his  situation,  and  excited  desires of a  more  Christian  life:  there  is  hardly  one  who,  in  these  trying situations, seeks  not  consolation  in  the  support  of  the  godly, and takes  not  some  step  which  leaves  hopes  of  amendment. It is not  to  their  companions  in  impiety  and  licentiousness  that  they then have  recourse  for  consolation;  it  is  not  by  those  impious  railleries upon  our  mysteries,  and  by  that  horrible  philosophy,  that they try  to  alleviate  their  sufferings:  these  are  discourses  of  festivity and dissipation,  and  not  of  affliction  and  sorrow:  it  is  the  religion of the  table,  of  pleasures,  of  riotings;  it  is  not  that  of  solemn  adversity and  sadness;  the  relish  of  impiety  vanishes  with  that  of  pleasures. Now, if  their  unbelief  were  founded  in  real  uncertainties upon religion,  so  long  as  these  uncertainties  existed,  unbelief  should be the  same;  but,  as  their  doubts  spring  only  from  their  passions, and as  their  passions  are  not  always  the  same,  nor  equally  violent and masters  of  their  heart,  so  their  doubts  continually  fluctuate  like their passions;  they  increase,  they  diminish,  they  are  eclipsed,  they re-appear, they  are  mutable,  exactly  in  the  same  degree  as  their passions. In a  word  they  share  the  lot  of  the  passions,  for  they are nothing  but  the  passions  themselves.

In effect,  to  leave  nothing  unsaid  on  this  subject,  and  to  make you thoroughly  feel  how  much  this  vaunted  profession  of  unbelief is despicable,  observe  this  reply  to  every  difficulty  of  the  boasting sinner, reduce  him  to  have  nothing  more  to  say,  and  yet  still  he  does not yield:  you  have  not  thereby  gained  him;  he  retires  within  himself, as  if  he  had  still  more  overpowering  reasons  which  he  disdains to bring  forward:  he  keeps  firm,  and  opposes  a  mysterious  and decisive air  to  all  those  proofs  which  he  cannot  resolve. You then pity his  madness  and  obstinacy;  you  are  mistaken;  be  touched only for  his  libertine  life,  and  his  want  of  candour;  for,  let  a  mortal disease  strike  him  on  quitting  you;  approach  his  bed  of  anguish, ah! you will  find  this  pretended  unbeliever  convinced;  his  doubts cease, his  uncertainties  end,  all  that  deplorable  display  of  unbelief vanishes and  tumbles  in  pieces;  there  is  no  longer  even  question  of it:  he  has  recourse  to  the  God  of  his  fathers,  and  trembles  at  the judgments he  made  a  show  of  not  believing. The minister  of Jesus  Christ,  called  in,  has  no  occasion  to  enter  into  controversy  to undeceive  him  on  his  impiety:  the  dying  sinner  anticipates  his cares and  his  ministry:  he  is  ashamed  of  his  past  blasphemies,  and repents of  them;  he  acknowledges  their  falsity  and  deception;  he makes  a  public  reparation  of  them  to  the  majesty  and  to  the  truth of religion;  he  no  longer  demands  proofs,  he  asks  only  consolations. Nevertheless, this  disease  hath  not  brought  new  lights  upon  faith; the blow  which  strikes  his  flesh  hath  not  cleared  up  the  doubts  of his  mind;  ah! it is  because  it  touches  his  heart,  and  terminates  his riots; in  a  word,  it  is  that  his  doubts  were  in  his  passions,  and that whatever  tends  to  extinguish  his  passions,  tends,  at  the  same time, to  extinguish  his  doubts.