is requifite, with the feveral circumftances belonging to it, according to the word of God..

XXXIII..

Of the facraments:

We believe, that our gracious God, on account of our weakness and infirmities, hath ordained the facraments for us, thereby to feal unto us his promises, and to be pledges of the good will and grace of God towards us, and alfo to nourish and ftrengthen our faith; which he hath joined to the word of the gofpel, the better to prefent to our fenfes, both that which he fignifies to us by his word, and that which he works inwardly in our hearts, thereby assuring and confirming in us the falvation which he impars to us. For they are visible signs and feals of an inward and invifible thing, by means whereof, God worketh in us by the power of the Holy Ghost. Therefore the figns are not in vain or infignificant, fo as to deceive us. For Jefus Chrift is the true object prefented by them, without whom they would be of no moment. Moreover we are fatisfied with the number of facraments which Christ our Lord hath inftituted, which are two only, namely, the facrament of baptifm and the holy fupper of our: Lord Jefus Chrift..

the minifters, on their part, adminifter the facrament, and that which is vifible, but our Lord giveth that which is fignified by the facrament, namely, the gifts and invifible grace, washing, cleanfing and parging our fouls of all filth and unrighteoufnefs; renewing our hearts, and filling them with all comfort; giving unto us a true affurance of his fatherly goodness, putting on us the new man, and putting off the old man with all his deeds: Therefore we believe, that every man who is earneftly ftudious of obtaining life eternal, ought to be but once baptifed with this only baptifm, without ever repeating the fame: fince we cannot be born twice. Neither doth this baptifm only avail us at the time when the water is poured upon us, and received by us, but also through the whole courfe of our life; therefore we deteft the error of the anabaptifts, who are not content with the one only baptifm they have once received, and moreover condemn the baptifm of the infants of believers, whom we believe ought to be baptifed and fealed with the fign of the covenant, as the children in Ifrael formerly were circumcifed, upon the fame promises which are made unto our children. And indeed Chrift fhed his blood no lefs for the washing of the children of the faithful than for adult perfons; and therefore they ought to receive the sign and facrament of that which Christ hath done for them; and as the Lord commanded in the law, that they fhould be made partakers of

the facrament of Chrift's fufferings and death, fhortly after they were born, by offering for them a lanıb, which was a facrament of Jefus Christ. Moreover what circumcifion was to the Jews, that baptifm is to our children. And for this reafon Paul calls baptifm the circumcifion of Chrift.

Of the holy fupper of our Lord Jefus Chrift.

We believe and confefs that our Saviour Jefus Chrift did ordain and inftitute, the facrament of the holy fupper, to nourish and fapport thofe whom he hath already regenerated and incorporated into his family, which is his church. Now thofe who are regenerated, have in them a two-fold life, the one corporal, and temporal, which they have from the fire birth, and is common to all men: The other spiritual and heavenly, which is given them in their second birth, which is effected by the word of the gospel, in the communion of the body of Chrift; and this life is not common, but is peculiar to God's elect. In like manner God hath given unto us, for the fupport of the bodily and earthly life, earthly and common bread, which is fabfervient thereto, and is common to all men, even as life itself. But for the fupport of the fpiritual and heavenly life, which believers have, he hath fent a living bread which defcended from heaven, namely Jefus Chrift, who nourishes and strenghens the fpiritual life of belie