ot and will not hear it. Now God has
laid down Christ as a foundation, whereon they should have been
placed, and through Him have obtained complete salvation; and He has
caused Him to be preached throughout the whole world, that they,
through the proclamation of the Gospel, might be grounded on Him. Yet
would they not receive Him, but rejected Him, and remain in their own
nature and works; for if they suffered themselves to rest upon Him,
then would their own honor, riches, and power fall, insomuch that
they would never rise again.--St. Peter says further:

V. 9. _But ye are the chosen generation, the royal priesthood, the
holy nation, the peculiar people._ There he gives Christians a true
title, and has quoted this passage from Moses, Deut. vii., where he
says to the Jews, "Ye are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the
Lord your God has chosen you as his peculiar people out of all the
nations that are on the earth." So, Ex. xix., he says: "Ye shall be
my possession before all peoples, and shall be to me a kingdom of
priests and a holy people." There you see where Peter's words are
from. As I have said before, so I say again, that it should be
understood how Scripture is wont to speak of priests. Let no one be
troubled as to those whom the people _call_ priests; let every one
call them as he pleases, but abide thou by the pure word of God, and
what _this_ calls priests do thou call priests also. We could well
endure it that those should call themselves priests whom the bishops
and the Pope consecrate, and let them call themselves as they will,
only see to it that they do not call themselves priests of God, for
they cannot quote a word from Scripture in proof of it.

But should they claim that in this passage he speaks of them, answer
them as I have instructed you above, and ask them to whom St. Peter
is here speaking,--so shall they of necessity be made ashamed; for it
is certainly clear and plain enough that he speaks to the whole
congregation, to all Christians, in that he says, ye are the chosen
generation and the holy people, since he has hitherto spoken of none
but of those who are built upon this stone and believe. Therefore it
must follow, that whoever does not believe is no priest. If they say,
then, "Ah! we must explain the passage just as the holy fathers have
interpreted it;" then do you say, Let the fathers and teachers,
whoever they may be, explain as they will, yet St. Peter, who has
received grea