Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/537

 how to  answer  even  the  common  salutations,  shall  be  placed  on  a throne  of  glory  and  light. Rabab, a  sinful  woman,  shall  mount  up to  the  heavenly  Sion  along  with  the  true  Israelites;  while  the  sister of Moses,  and  the  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,  shall  be  driven  from  the camp and  the  tents  of  Israel,  and  shall  appear  covered  with  a shameful  leprosy. Thou art  determined,  O  my  God! that nothing shall be  wanting  toward  the  despair  of  the  criminal  soul. It is  not sufficient that  he  shall  be  overwhelmed  under  the  weight  of  his  own misery; thou  shalt  create  for  him  a  new  punishment  in  the  felicity of the  just,  who,  preferred  to  him,  shall  be  seen  conducted  by angels  into  the  bosom  of  immortality.

What change  of  scene,  my  brethren,  in  the  universe! It is  then that, all  scandals  being  plucked  out  from  the  kingdom  of  Jesus Christ, and  the  just  wholly  separated  from  the  sinful,  they  shall form a  holy  nation,  a  chosen  race,  and  the  church  of  the  first  born, whose names  were  written  down  in  heaven. It is  then  that  the commerce of  the  wicked,  inevitable  on  this  earth,  shall  no  longer occasion their  faith  to  lament,  or  their  innocence  to  tremble. It is then  that  their  lot,  no  longer  connected  with  the  unfaithful  or  the hypocrite, shall  no  more  constrain  them  to  be  witnesses  of  their crimes, and  sometimes  even  the  involuntary  agents  of  their  passions. It is  then  that  all  the  bonds  of  society,  of  authority,  or  dependence, which  attached  them  on  this  earth  to  the  impious  and to the  worldly,  being  broken  asunder,  they  shall  no  longer  say  with the prophet,  "  Lord,  why  lengthenest  thou  out  here  our  banishment and  our  sojourning?  How  long  shall  the  land  mourn,  and  the herbs  of  every  field  wither  for  the  wickedness  of  them  that  dwell therein?" Lastly, then  it  is  that  their  tears  shall  be  changed  into joy, and  their  sighs  into  thanksgivings;  they  shall  pass  to  the right hand  as  the  sheep,  while  the  rest  shall  be  reserved  for  the goats and  the  impious.

The disposition  of  the  universe  thus  laid  out;  all  nations  of  the earth thus  divided;  each  one  fixed  in  the  place  allotted  to  him; surprise, terror,  despair,  and  confusion  marked  in  the  countenance of one  part;  on  that  of  the  other,  joy,  serenity,  and  confidence: the eyes  of  the  just  raised  on  high  toward  the  Son  of  Man,  from whom they  await  their  deliverance;  those  of  the  impious  frightfully fixed  on  the  earth,  and  almost  piercing  the  abyss  with  their looks, as  if  already  to  mark  out  the  place  which  is  destined  for them: the  King  of  glory,  says  the  Gospel,  placed  in  the  middle  of two  nations,  shall  come  forward:  and,  turning  toward  those  who who shall  be  at  his  right  hand,  with  an  aspect  full  of  sweetness  and majesty, and  sufficient  of  itself  to  console  them  for  all  their  past sufferings, he  will  say  to  them,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the world.  The  sinful  had  always  considered  you  as  the  outcast,  and the  most  useless  portion  of  the  earth;  let  them  now  learn  that  the world  itself  existed  only  for  you,  that  all  was  created  for  you,  and all  hath  finished  from  the  moment  that  your  number  was  completed.    Quit,  then,  an  earth  were  you  had  always  been  travellers