Page:The Eternal Priesthood (4th ed).djvu/28

16 Son of God." For this cause the action of consecration and the action of the Incarnation are related to each other. Next to the Incarnation there is no action so transcendent, so purely divine, as the consecration and the Holy Sacrifice. It is the continuity of the Incarnation and Oblation of the Incarnate Son. The voice that speaks the words is human: the words and the effects are of the almighty power of God.

4. Fourthly, this jurisdiction expresses the intimate closeness of the relation between the priest and the Son of God. It would seem that, after the participation of His priesthood, the impression of His character, and the configuration of the priest to his Divine Master, there is no relation left to be conceived. And yet there are two still to be spoken of. First, there is the continual daily fellowship of the disciple with his Master, and the servant with his Lord. He is servant, friend, companion. As Peter, James, and John were of all the disciples nearest to our Saviour upon earth, so are His priests among the faithful now. All the day long they are near to Him; all their life is related to Him. From Him they go out in the morning, and to Him they return at night.