tion; the two
blessings are not to be confounded, but neither are they to be
disjoined. The assurance which the believer has of salvation he
receives from the operation and witness of the Holy Spirit; but this
again rests on the divine choice of the man to salvation; and this
falls back on God's eternal sovereign purpose, whereby He has
predestined some to eternal life while the rest of mankind are
predestined to condemnation and eternal death. Those whom God has
chosen to life He effectually calls to salvation, and they are kept by
Him in progressive faith and holiness unto the end (bk. iii.
_passim_). The external means or aids by which God unites men into the
fellowship of Christ, and sustains and advances those who believe, are
the church and its ordinances, especially the sacraments. The church
universal is the multitude gathered from diverse nations, which though
divided by distance of time and place, agree in one common faith, and
it is bound by the tie of the same religion; and wherever the word of
God is sincerely preached, and the sacraments are duly administered,
according to Christ's institute, there beyond doubt is a church of
the living God (bk. iv. ch. 1, sect. 7-11). The permanent officers in
the church are pastors and teachers, to the former of whom it belongs
to preside over the discipline of the church, to administer the
sacraments, and to admonish and exhort the members; while the latter
occupy themselves with the exposition of Scripture, so that pure and
wholesome doctrine may be retained. With them are to be joined for the
government of the church certain pious, grave and holy men as a senate
in each church; and to others, as deacons, is to be entrusted the care
of the poor. The election of the officers in a church is to be with
the people, and those duly chosen and called are to be ordained by the
laying on of the hands of the pastors (ch. 3, sect. 4-16). The
sacraments are two--Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the sign
of initiation whereby men are admitted into the society of the church
and, being grafted into Christ, are reckoned among the sons of God; it
serves both for the confirmation of faith and as a confession before
men. The Lord's Supper is a spiritual feast where Christ attests that
He is the life-giving bread, by which our souls are fed unto true and
blessed immortality. That sacred communication of His flesh