A reply to an answer made of M. Doctor Whitgifte Against the admonition to…A replye to an ansvvere made of M. Doctor VVhitgifte Against the admonition to…

And it is very probable / that our saviour Christ which did honour the ministry of God by the hand of men so far / as he would vouchsafe to be baptised of John / would not neglect or pass by his ministry of the word / being more precious then that of the sacrament / as it appeareth by John that our saviour Christ was present ¹at his sermons / for so much as S. John doth as he was preaching to the people point him out with the finger / and told them that he was in the middest of them which was greater then he. And there is no doubt / but those words which our saviour Christ said before his supper / although they are gathered by the Evangelists into short sentences / were notwithstanding long sermons / touching the fruit of his death and use and end of that sacrament. And this order of ²preaching immediately before the ministering of the sacraments / is continually noted of S. Luke throughout the whole story of the Acts of the Apostles. But I will not precisely say neither yet do the authors of the Admonition affirm (as M. Doctor surmiseth of them) that there must be preaching immediately before the administration of the sacraments. This I say / that when as the life of the sacraments dependeth of the preaching of the word of God / there must of necessity the word of God be / not red but preached unto the people / amongst whom the sacraments are ministered. And forasmuch as I have proved before / that no man may minister the sacraments but he which is able to preach the word / although I dare not affirm / that there is an absolute necessity / that the word should be preached immediately before the sacraments be ministered / yet I can imagine no case / wherein it is either meet or convenient or else almost sufferable / that the sacraments should be ministered without a sermon before them / for the minister being as he ought of necessity to be / able to preach / ought so to do. And if it be said that his health or voice will not serve him sometimes to preach / when he is able enough to minister the sacraments: I say that either he ought to beg the help of an other minister hard by / or else there is less inconvenience in deferring the celebration of the sacrament until he be strong enough to preach / then ministering it so maymedly and without a sermon / whereby it is seen / how just cause M.

And it is very probable / that our sauiour Christ which dyd honoure the mynistery of God by the hand of men so farre / as he would voutchsafe to bee baptysed of Iohn / would not neglect or passe by hys mynistery of the word / being more precious then that of the sacrament / as it appeareth by Iohn that our sauiour Christ was present