God has feveral books. Deut. 4. 37, be loved thy fathers, and chofe their feed, compared with Deut. 7. 6, 7. But of that election, which is the defignation and enrolment of the heirs of eternal falvation: or, as Paul speaks 2 Thess. 2. 13, by which God hath, from the beginning, chofen you to falvation, through fanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. VI. For this purpose the BOOK OF LIFE, is fo frequently mentioned in Scripture: it will not then be improper, here to enquire, what is intended by that appellation. That God has no book properly fo called, is felf-evident: but as men write down, those things in books, which they want to know and keep in memory; fo the book of God denotes the series of perfons and things, which are most perfectly known to God. Moreover, the Scripture speaks of several 1,Ofcom- books of God. 1ft, God has a book of common promon pro- vidence, in which the birth, life and death of men, vidence. 2, Of and every thing concerning the fame, are inferted; Pf. 139. 16, in thy book all my members were written. 2dly, There are alfo books of judgment, in which the judgment, actions, good or bad, of every man in particular are written, Rev. 20. 12, and the dead were judged out of thofe things, which were written in the books, according to their works. Thefe books are mentioned in the plural number, as if each particular perfon had his own peculiar book affigned him, leaft the good, or bad, behaviour of one fhould be put to the fcore of another, and thence any confufion fhould arife. By which is fignified the most exact and diftinct knowledge of God. And because, in other refpects, God knows all things at one intuitive view of his understanding, this very book is mentioned in the fingular number, Mal. 3. 16, a book of remembrance was writ3, Oflife, ten before bin. 3dly, There is alfo the book of LIFE; either na- which is three-fold. 1, Of this NATURAL LIFE, Of tural, which Mofes fpeaks Exod. 32. 32. Where entreating the face of the Lord, who had faid, he would confume Ifrael in the wilderness, and make Mofes a great a great nation. Mofes prays, that God would preferve his people, and bring them into the inheritance of the land of Canaan, offering himself, at the fame time, instead of the people: yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their fin: and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book, which thou haft written. As if he had said, "I accept not the condition offered of preferving “me alive, and encreafing me greatly after the def"truction of Ifrael: I choose rather to die an un timely death, than that Ifrael fhould be destroyed "in the wildernefs." 2, Of a FEDERAL and EC- or ecclefi CLESIASTICAL life, confifting in communion with astical, the people of God. Which is the register, not only of those internally, but of thofe externally in covenant, mentioned Ezeck. 13. 9, they fhall not be in the affembly of my people, neither fhall they be written in the writing of the house of Ifrael; and Pf. 87. 6. The Lord fball count, when be writeth up the people, that this man was born there. 3, Of LIFE ETERNAL, mentioned, If. 4. 3. Dan. 12. 1. Phil. 4. 3. Luke 10. 20. Rev. 3. 5: 13. 8: 20. 12; and 21. 27; which book fignifies the register of those predeftinated to life eternal. or eternal¿ book of life alfo VII. Further, as the book of God denotes not one The writand the fame thing; fo the writing of perfons in any ing in the of these is not always the fame. The writing of fome is only imaginary, confifting in a fallacious judgment various. concerning ourselves or others, too eafily prefuming either our own, or the election of others, fuch as was that of those, who cried out, Jer. 7. 4, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are thefe: and of the people of Sardis, who were faid to live, tho' they were really dead, Rev. 3: 1. There is another infcription which is indeed true, but it is only human, in the book of the federal life, done either by the man himself, by a profeffion of the faith, fubfcribing as with his own hand, I am the Lord's, If. 45. 5; or by the guides of the church, inferting fuch a perfon in the lift of profeffors, and acknowledging B 2 Election tion. him for a member of the church, of the vifible at leaft. There is in fine, a writing of God himself, made by his eternal and immutable decree; of which the Apostle fays, 2 Tim. 2. 19, the Lord knoweth them, that are bis. The obfervation of these things throws much light on many places of Scripture, and will immediately prove alfo of use to us. VIII. This election to glory, is not fome general is the fpe- decree of God about faving the faithful and the godly, cial defignation of who shall perfevere in their faith and piety to the end the heirs of their life; but a particular defignation of certain inof falva- dividual perfons, whom God has enrolled as heirs of falvation. It is not confiftent with the perfection of God, to ascribe to him general and indeterminate decrees, which were to receive any determination or certainty from men. We read, Acts 2. 23, of the determinate counsel of God, but never of a general and indeterminate decree. Neither does the Scripture ever defcribe election, as the determination of any certain condition, by, and without which, falvation is, or is not obtained. It is no where faid, that faith is chofen by God, or written down in the book of life, or any thing like that; but that men, indeed, are chofen by God. Let us refer to Rom. 8. 29, 30, for whom he did foreknow, be alfo did predeftinate. Whom he did predeftinate, them be alfo called, &c. It is not faid in the text, perfons fo qualified, that it might be applied to the defignation of any condition, but certain perfons are appointed as the objects of the acts there mentioned. ὁρίζειν. fignifies to point out a certain perfon. IX. The very term, poop, to predeftinate, which the Apostle more frequently ufes on this fubject, does not obfcurely difcover this truth. For, as opi fignifies to point out, or ordain a certain perfon (Acts 17, 31, by that man, whom as he bath ordained, and pointed out by name; and Als 10. 42. a wpiousvos, Χωρίσμενος, which was ordained of God to be the judge; and Rom. 1. 4, poblog e, declared to be [determinately marked out as] the Son of God, who was, by name, and particu larly declared to be fo by God, by a publick nomi nation; so poop, as applied to the heirs of eternal that account. the difci ples writ X. This is what Chrift faid to his Difciples, Luke 10. 20, rejoice, because your names are written in bea. The ven. Where he fpeaks to them by name, and af- names of fures them of his election, and bids them rejoice on Which is certainly of much greater ten in hea import, than if he had faid in general, "rejoice be- ven. caufe God has established, by an eternal decree, that he would make all believers happy in heaven, "though he has thought nothing of you by name:" for in this manner, according to the opinion of our adverfaries, thefe words were to be explained. Clement XI. What the Apostle, Phil. 4. 3, exprefsly afferts concerning Clement and his other fellow-labourers, As alfo of that their names were in the book of life; ought to be and fufficient for determining this enquiry: fince impu- others. dence itself dares not wreft that to a general decree · of fome condition. For, 1ft, The name of a perfon is one thing, the condition of a thing, another. He who determines to inlift none but valiant men for foldiers, does not write down the names of fome foldiers in the roll. 2dly, The condition of falvation is but one, but the Scripture always fpeaks in the plural number of the names written in the book of life. Therefore the writing down of the names is one thing, the determination of fome condition another. 3dly, It is certain, that the Apostle, and other facred writers, when they fay, that fome men, or the names of some, are written in the book of life, do always, by that very thing, diftinguish them from others, who are not inferted. But, according to the opinion of our adverfaries, the appointment of this condition imports no actual diftinction between men. Because notwithstanding that decree, about faving believers and those who obey it, it may be poffible, "according to their principles, that none fhould believe, obey, or be faved. 4thly, All these things will be more cogent, if we attend to the original of God's om tion of this metaphorical expreffion. The fimilitude is taken from a geneological catalogue or register, ef pecially among the people of God; in which the names of every particular perfon, belonging to any family, was written: and, according to this catalogue, at the time of the jubilee, or other folemnity, when the paternal inheritance was reftored to any family, every one was either admitted, or rejected, according as his name was, or was not found there. We have an example of this, Ezra 2. 61, 62. When after the Babylonish captivity the pofterity of Habaiah, Koz, and Barzillai, not being able to prove their descent by the genealogical registers, were put from the priesthood. In the fame manner, the book of life contains the names of thofe, who belong to the family of God; in which he, who is not written, whatever he may prefume, or pretend, will be deprived of the inheritance. XII. To conclude, I would afk our adverfaries, pifcience when the Apoftle fays, 2 Tim. 2. 19, the Lord knoweth imports a them that are bis; and the Lord Jefus, John 13. 18, defignaI know whom I have chofen, whether there is nothing certain afcribed to God, or to Christ, in these words, but perfons, what the leaft in the fchool of Chrift knows, that they who believe in, and obey Chrift, are the peculiar property of God and of Chrift? Has not that language a grander found, and does it not intimate, that God has the exacteft account of all, in whom he will be glorified, as his peculiar people? We yield to what our adverfaries declare in Compend. Socin. c. 4. §. 1. Admitting the infallible prefcience of all future contingents, Calvin's doctrine of the predeftination of fome by name to life, of others to death cannot be refuted. But that prefcience of God has as many witneffes, as he has conftituted Prophets. It follows therefore, that election is a defignation, or appointment, of fome certain perfons. The defignation made XIII. This defignation was made from ETERNITY; as were all the counfels or decrees of God in general, for, known unto God are all his works from the begin |