Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/487

 with the  gods,  they  had  ascended  to  heaven  in  order  to  assume their station  among  the  other  stars,  which,  according  to  them,  were so many  divinities  who  enlighten  us,  and  for  the  purpose  of  there enjoying that  immortality  to  which  their  divine  birth  entitled  them: if so  very  vulgar  a  fiction  had  of  itself  been  able  to  render  men  so long  idolatrous,  what  impression  must  the  reality  of  that  fable  not have made  upon  the  people! And if  the  universe  had  worshipped impostors, who  were  falsely  said  to  have  mounted  up  to  heaven, would it  not  have  been  excusable  to  worship  a  miraculous  man, whom men,  with  their  own  eyes,  had  seen  exalted  above  the  stars? But observe,  my  brethren,  that  the  occasion  of  error  finishes not with  Jesus  Christ;  it  is  announced  to  us  that,  at  the  end  of ages,  he  will  again  appear  in  the  heavens,  surrounded  with  power and majesty,  and  accompanied  with  all  the  heavenly  host;  all assembled nations  shall,  with  trembling,  await  at  his  feet  the  decision of  their  eternal  destiny:  he  will  sovereignly  pronounce  their decisive sentence. The Abrahams,  the  Moseses,  the  Davids,  the Elijahs, the  John  the  Baptists,  and  all  that  ages  have  produced of great  and  most  wonderful,  shall  be  submitted  to  his  judgment and to  his  empire;  he  will  himself  be  exalted  above  all  power, all dominion,  and  all  which  is  termed  great  in  heaven  and  in  the earth: he  will  erect  his  throne  above  the  clouds,  and  sit  on  the right hand  of  the  Most  High:  he  will  appear  Master,  not  only  of life  and  death,  but  the  immortal  King  of  ages,  the  Prince  of eternity,  the  chief  of  a  holy  people,  the  supreme  Arbiter  of  all  the created. What then  is  this  man  to  whom  the  Lord  hath  delegated such power? And the  dead  themselves  who  shall  appear  in  judgment before  him,  shall  they  be  condemned  for  having  worshipped him, when  they  shall  see  him  clothed  with  such  glory,  majesty, and power.

And one  reflection,  which  I  beg  you  to  make  in  finishing  this part of  my  Discourse,  is,  that,  if  only  one  extraordinary  and  divine trait were  to  be  found  here  in  the  course  of  a  long  life,  we  might  be inclined  to  believe  that  it  sometimes  pleaseth  the  Lord  to  allow his glory  and  his  power  to  shine  forth  in  his  servants. Thus Enoch was carried  up,  Moses  appeared  transfigured  on  the  holy  mountain, Elijah  was  raised  up  to  heaven  in  a  fiery  chariot,  John  the Baptist was  foretold. But, besides  that  these  were  individual  circumstances, and  that  the  language  of  those  miraculous  men  and  of their  disciples,  with  respect  to  the  Divinity  and  to  themselves,  left no room  for  superstition  and  mistake;  here,  it  is  an  assemblage  of wonders,  which  all,  or  even  taken  separately,  would  have  been  sufficient to  deceive  the  credulity  of  men;  here,  all  the  different  traits, dispersed among  all  these  extraordinary  men,  who  had  been  considered almost  as  gods  upon  the  earth,  are  collected  together  in Jesus  Christ,  but  in  a  manner  a  thousand  times  more  glorious  and more divine. He prophecies,  but  more  loftily,  and  with  more striking characters,  than  John  the  Baptist:  he  appears  transfigured in the  holy  mount,  but  surrounded  with  more  glory  than  Moses: he ascends  to  heaven,  but  with  more  marks  of  power  and  majesty