There are fome chriftian paffions which may be excited either by a tender, or violent method. Re I could of my love. The lively impreffions, which his adorable perfections have made on me, make me impatient with every thing, that intercepts my view of him. not be content to be any longer upon earth, except his law, which is the rule of my conduct, ordained it yet the law, which ordains me to live, does not forbid my defiring to die. Death I confider as the fummit of my defires, and as the confummation of my happinefs. While I am in the body, I am abfent from the Lord. But it is incomparably better for me to be abfent from the body, and prefent with the Lord, and what fhould ftay me upon earth, when God fhall please to call me to himfelf! It fhall not be you, criminal objects. You I never loved, and, if I have fometimes fuffered myself to be feduced by your deceitful delights, I have been fo punished by the griefs you have caufed me, by the confufion the remembrance has made in my conscience, that I have no fear of your entering into the plan of my felicity. "It thall not be you, lawful objects, how tender foever the pentance bonds, which unite me to you are; you are only rills of happinefs to me, and I go to the fpring of felicity; you are only emanations of goodnefs, and I go to the bleed God. "Nor fhall it be you, objects of religion. You are only means, and death will conduct me to the end. You are only the way, and death will bring me home. True, I fhall read no more excellent books, in which fuperior geniuffes have drawn the truth from an abyfs of prejudices, and darkneffes, where it was buried. I fhall no more hear difcourfes in which the preacher, animated by the spirit of God, endeavours to raise me above the prefent world: but I fhall contemplate, I fhall hear the eternal wisdom, and therein difcover the views, defigns, and plans of my creator; and I fhall learn more in one moment of that union, than all books and all religious difcourfes could poffibly teach me. True, I fhall no more give myself up to you, Closet-exercifes, holy meditations, efforts of a foul, that feeks its God, and which cries to him, Lord, fhew me thy glory, Lord diffipate thefe clouds, and darknefics, pentance is of this kind, for which extremely tender motives may be employed, as the love, and bounty of God, which we have fo unworthily treated. Violent motives may also be used, as cenfure, an enumeration and defcription of the enormity of the fins reigning amongst us, the horror of our ingratitude, the fear of God's judgments, the juftice of his fcourges, and chaftifements, &c. (6) In however no other direction to give you, and the abridgment of all this difcourfe, of all my preaching, and of all my whole miniftry is, LOVE GOD, be to God by inclination what you are by condition and engagement, then the miferies of this life will be fupportable, and then the approaches of death will be delightful. God grant you this grace, to him be honour, and glory for ever, amen." Saur. fer. tom. viii. ser. ii. fur l'empire de Jefus Chrift. (6) Conclufion may be mixed, Example of a mixed conclu. fion from Maffillon. "The annihilation of the foul is the laft resource of impiety. But what punishment would it be for a wicked man to be no more? He wishes for annihilation, and propofes it as his highest hope. He lives tran quil in the midst of his pleafures in this agreeable expec tation. What! Will the juft God punish a finner by giving him In like manner, firmness againft temptations may be difcuffed; for tender motives may be used, as the vanity of the promises and hopes of this world, him what he defires? Ah! It is not thus that God punishes. For what can the wicked find fo very bad in annihilation? Would it be the privation of God? But a wicked man does not love him, he does not know him, he will not know him, for his god is himself. Would it be annihilation? But what more pleafing to fuch a monster, who knows that if he lives after death it is only to fuffer, and expiate the horrors of an abominable life. Would it be the lofs of worldly pleasures, and of all the objects of his paffions? But when he ceases to be, he must cease to love. Imagine if you can a more defirable lot for the wicked, and fhall this after all be the fweet end of his debaucheries, horrors, and blafphemies! No, my brethren, the hope of the wicked hall perish: but his crimes fhall not perifh with him. His torments will be as endless as his pleafures would have been, if he had been mafter of his fate. He would fain perpetuate upon earth his fenfual pleasures. Death limits his crimes: but does not limit his criminal defires. The juft judge who fearches the heart will pro portion then the suffering to the offence, immortal flames for intentionally immortal pleasures, and eternity itself will be only a juft compenfation, and an equality of punifhment. These fhall go away into everlasting punishment. "What is the conclufion of this difcourfe That a wicked man is to be pitied for placing his highest hope in a frightful uncertainty about revealed truths.-He is to be pitied, in that he is not able to live peaceably, unless he lives without faith, without worship, without God, without hope-that he is to be pitied if the gospel muft be a fable, the faith of all ages credulity, the confent of all men a popular error, the first principles of nature and reafon childish prejudices, the blood of fo many martyrs, whom the hope of a futurity fupported in torments, a concerted game to deceive mankind; the converfion of the univerfe a human enterprize, the accomplishment of prophecies a lucky hit, in one word, if all that is beft eftablished in the univerfe muft be found falfe, fo that he may not be eternally miserable. What madness to be able world, which are only falfe, and delufive appearances the confideration of the miferable state of backfliders and apoftates-the dignity to which God calls his children-the eternal rewards which attend perfeverance-the joy of a good man when he has gained a fignal victory over temptationsViolent methods may alfo be employed, as-infpiring an holy ambition to defeat the defigns of the world-a contempt of the plots, and powers against us-the hope, or rather the inviolable affurance we have that all the powers of earth joined together cannot shake us. St. Paul ufes mixed motives at the end of the eighth of Romans. Who fball feparate us from the love of Chrift? Shall tribulation, or distress, or perfecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or fword? Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am perfuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Jefus Christ ou Lord. (7) A conclufion fhould be diverfified. I mean, we should not be content to move one single christian paffion, many must be touched, and a proper length of discourse affigned to each, in order to ftir up the paffion. Too long time, however, muft not be spent: but, when the effect is evidently produced, pafs to another paffion. As the conclufion ought to be compofed at least of four, or five reflections (naturally arifing from the text, either general, from the whole text, or particular, from fome of the parts, into which it is divided) fo if poffible these reflections must be placed in prudent order, fo that the weakest and leaft powerful may be the first, and the strongest last, and so that the discourse may become more rapid as it runs. I think, however, it would be vicious to finish with motives too violent, as fubjects tending to horror-indignation-or heavy cenfure. It would be much better in general to close with a tender, or even with an elevating motive. Different motives may be (and indeed they ought to be) mixed in the fame conclufion, that is, violent, tender, and elevated, in order to ftir up many paffions of different kinds. Conclufion fometimes delights in examples, fimilitudes, short and weighty fentences, the inven from fearing this futurity, you will haften to it in defire, you will figh after the happy day, when the fon of man, the father of the world to come, will appear to punish infidels, and to receive into VOL. II. tions his kingdom all fuch as have lived in expectation of a bleffed immortality." Maffil. fer. Car. tom. i. pour le lundi de la 1. fem. (7) St. Paul concludes with mixed motives. We cannot 3Q |