4. And whereas the apostle expressly affirms that "he offered him- self but once," if he offered himself a sacrifice in his last supper, you must maintain that he offered himself twice, unless you will deny his sacrifice on the cross.
5. Moreover, it is greatly opposite to your countrymen's faith about the priesthood of Christ and his real sacrifice ; which are to them things of that moment, that whosoever shakes their faith in and about them shakes the very foundations of their hope, consolation, and salvation. They have been taught that Christ remains a high
MASS AND TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 423
priest for ever; and the multiplication of priests in succession arising mei'ely from the mortality and death of them that preceded, they believe that no priest can be substituted unto him in his office to oifer a proper sacrifice unto God, the same which he offered himself, v.'ithout a supposition of an insufficiency in him for his work. It is true, there are persons who, in his name and authority, as he is the great prophet of the church, do minister unto it, whom some of them, either as the word may be an abbreviation of presbyter, or out of analogy unto them who of old served at the altar, do call priests : but that any should intervene between God and Christ in sacrificing, or the discharge of his priestly office, you will not find your countrymen ready to believe ; for they are persuaded there are as many mediators and sureties as priests or sacrificers of the new covenant.
6. Moreover, they believe that the sacrifice of the mass is a high derogation from the virtue and efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, and to be set up in competition with it.
7. They are at a stand at the whole matter, — to see you turning- bread and wine into that very body and blood of Christ which suffered on the cross, and then to worship them, and then to pray to God to accept at your hands that Christ which you have made, and then to eat him! But when they consider that by so doing you suppose yourselves to effect that which they believe to be wrought only by the blood of the cross of Christ, once offered for all, and therein fancy a sacrifice of Christ, wherein he dieth not, contrary to so many ex- press testimonies of Scripture, they are utterly averse from it: for whereas they look for redemption, forgiveness of sins, and reconcilia- tion with God, by the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross (wherein consists the foundation of their hope and consolation ; because it, being absolutely perfect, was every way able and sufficient, without any re- petition, as the apostle teacheth them, to take away sin, and for ever to consummate them that are sanctified), you teach them now to look for the same things from this sacrifice of yours ; which would make them question the validity and perfection of that of Christ.
8. And when they have so done, yet they would still be forced to question the validity of yours, because it is a pretended sacrifice of Christ without his death, which they know to have been indispen- sably required to render his sacrifice valid and effectual.
9. And they cannot but think that this repeated sacrifice, being pretended to be for the very same ends and purposes with tliat of Christ himself, is very apt to take off the minds and confidence of men from that one sacrifice performed so long ago, which they have not seen, and to fix them on that which their eyes daily look upon, as the " prsesens numen" that they can immediately apply themselves unto. Thus they fear that insensibly all faith of the true propitiation
424 A VINDICATION OF THE ANIMADVERSIONS ON FIAT LUX.
wrought by Christ is obhterated, and that which they think an idol set up in the room of it.
10. And, which farther troubles them, they are jealous that by this your fiction you quite overthrow the testament of Christ, which certainly no man ought to endeavour the disannulling of; for whereas in this sacrament believers come to receive from him the great legacy of his body and blood, with all the fruits of his death and passion, you direct them to be offering and sacrificing of them unto God: which quite alters the will of our great testator. And very many other things there are wherein your countrymen affirm that your sacrifice is contrary to the faith wherein from Scripture they have been instructed, and that in things of the greatest importance to their consolation here and salvation hereafter.
11. Neither is this all : your request also lies cross to your reason no less than to your faith; for your sacrifice cannot be performed without a supposition of a change of the substance of the bread and wine into the substance of the body and blood of Christ, and the substance of that body and blood in every consecrated host, under the species of bread and wine, Christ himself alive being in every host and every particle of it. Hence many things, they say, ensue which no man can possibly admit of without offering violence unto the main principles of that reason whereby we are distinguished from the beasts that perish. Some few of tliem may be instanced in : —