Paradise Opened, or the Secrets, Mysteries,
and Rarities of Divine Love, of Infinite Wisdom, and of Wonderful Counsel—Laid
Open to Public View
XI. The eleventh and last plea that a believer may form up as to these ten
scriptures, [Eccles. 10:9, and 12:14; Mat. 12:14, and 18:23; Luke 16:2;
Romans 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5. 3] which refer
to the great day of account, or to a man's particular account, may be drawn
up from the consideration of the book of life,
out of which all the saints shall be judged in the great day of our Lord.
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky
fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead,
great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another
book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according
to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead
that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and
each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades
were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If
anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into
the lake of fire." Revelation 20:11-15.
In the 11th verse John describes the judge with
his preparation; in the 12th verse he describes the people who will
be judged; and then he describes the process and sentence; and
lastly, he describes the execution of the sentence, namely—the
casting of the reprobates into the lake of fire, and the placing and fixing
of the elect in the heavenly Jerusalem, verse 13-15.
In these five verses, you have a clear and full
description of the last general judgment, as is evident by the surrounding
context and series of this chapter, Rev. 20:1-3. For having spoken of the
devil's last judgment, which, by Jude, is called "The judgment of the great
day," Jude 6; it is in agreement, therefore, to understand this of such a
judgment whereby he is judged. And, indeed, the expressions are so full, and
the matter and circumstances so satisfying and convincing, that they leave
no place for fears, doubts, or disputes. This scripture runs parallel with
that Dan. 12:1-3, and several other places of Scripture where the day of
judgment is spoken of; and let him who can, show me at what other judgment
all the dead are raised and judged, and all reprobates sent to hell, and all
the elect brought to heaven, and death and hell cast into the lake; all
which are plainly expressed here. He shall be an Apollo to me, who can make
these things which are here spoken of, to agree with any other judgment than
the last judgment. Let me give a little light into this scripture, before I
improve it to that purpose for which I have cited it.
"And I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated
on it." This is a lively description of the last judgment, "a great throne."
"Great," because it is set up for the general judgment of all, for the
universal judgment of the whole world. Before this throne all the great ones
of the world must stand—popes, emperors, kings, princes, nobles, judges,
prelates—without their miters, crowns, scepters, royal robes, gold
chains—and before this throne all other sorts and ranks of men must stand.
And he who sits upon this throne is a great King, and a great God above all
gods; he is "Prince of the kings of the earth, who is King of kings, and
Lord of lords," [All the thrones of the kings of the earth, with Solomon's
golden throne, are but petty thrones, compared to this throne; yes,
they are but footstools to this throne; and therefore upon this single
ground it may well be called a great throne.] Rev. 1:5, 17:14, and 19:16.
Upon all which accounts this throne may well be called a great
throne.
It is also called "a white throne," because of its
celestial splendor and majesty, and to show the uprightness and glory of the
judge. The color white in Scripture is used to represent purity and
glory. Here it signifies that Christ, the judge, shall give most just and
righteous judgment, free from all spot of partiality.
"From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away." The
splendor and majesty of the judge is such, as neither heaven nor earth is
able to behold or abide the same; how then shall the wicked be able to stand
before him? Augustine says, "the judgment being finished, then shall this
heaven and earth cease to be—when the new heaven and earth shall begin." For
this world shall pass away by a change of things, not by an utter
destruction. "The heaven and the earth shall flee away;" that is, this shape
of heaven and earth shall pass away; because they shall be changed from
vanity, through fire, that so they may be transformed into a much better and
more beautiful estate; according to that which the apostle Peter writes,
"The heaven shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with
heat; but we expect new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells
righteousness," 1 Pet. 3:12.
How this passing away, or perishing of heaven and earth,
shall come to pass—there are divers opinions of learned men. Some think that
the substance or essence itself of the world shall wholly perish and be
annihilated. Others are of opinion, that only the corruptible qualities
thereof shall perish and be changed, and the substance or essence remain.
There shall be a renovation of all things, say most, and that only the
fashion of the world, that is, the outward form and corruptible qualities,
shall be destroyed; and so the earth shall be found no more as it was, but
shall be made most beautiful and glorious, being to be "delivered into the
glorious liberty," as far as it is capable, "of the sons of God," Romans
8:19-22; being to be freed from corruption and bondage; and with these I
close. The sum of the 21st verse is, that the creature shall not be always
subject to vanity, but shall have an emancipation from bondage; of the which
deliverance, three things are declared;
First, Who the creature is—that is, "the world;"
Secondly, From what—from "corruption," which is a
bondage;
Thirdly, Into what estate—into "the glorious liberty of
the sons of God."
Some here note the time of the deliverance of the
creature, namely, when the children of God shall be wholly set free; for
though they have here a freedom unto righteousness, from the bondage of sin,
yet they have not a freedom of glory, which is from the bondage of
misery. But others take it for the state itself which shall be glorious, yet
not the same with each of the children of God—but proportioned according to
its kind with them; for it is most suitable to the liberty of the faithful,
that as they are renewed, so also should their habitation. And as when a
nobleman mourns, his servants are all clad in black; so it is for the
greater glory of man, that the creatures, his servants, should in their kind
partake of his glory. And whereas some say that it is deliverance enough for
the creature, if it ceases to serve man, and have an end of vanity, by
annihilation, I affirm, it is not enough, because this 21st verse notes, not
only such deliverance, but also a further estate which it shall have after
such deliverance—namely, to communicate in some degree, with the children of
God in glory.
Certainly the creatures, in their kind and manner, shall
be made partakers of a far better estate than they had while the world
endured; because God shall fully and wholly restore the world, being fallen
into corruption through the transgression and sin of mankind. And this does
more plainly appear by the apostle's opposing subsequent liberty against
former bondage; which, that he might more enlarge, he calls it not simply
freedom or liberty—but liberty of glory, as it is in the Greek text,
meaning thereby, according to the phrase and propriety of the Hebrew tongue,
glorious liberty, or liberty that brings glory with it; under which term of
glory, he comprises the excellent estate that they shall be in after their
delivery from their former baseness and servitude.
As for those words, of the "sons of God," to which we
must refer the glorious liberty before mentioned, they must be understood by
a certain proportion or similitude thus; that as in that great day, and not
before, God's children shall be graciously freed from all dangers and
distresses of this life whatever, either in body or soul, and on the other
side, made perfect partakers of eternal blessedness; so the creatures then,
and not before, shall be delivered from the vanity of man, and their own
corruption, and restored to a far better estate than at present they enjoy;
which also may further appear by the words the apostle uses, setting
glorious liberty, deliverance and freedom, against servile bondage and
slavery. Chrysostom reads, for the glorious liberty of the sons of God: as
if the end or final cause of their deliverance were pointed at, namely, that
as God made the world for man, and for man's sin subdued it to vanity; so he
would deliver it and restore it for men, even to illustrate and enlarge the
glory of God's children. I could, by variety of arguments, prove that this
deliverance of the creature that our apostle speaks of, shall not be by a
reduction into nothing, but by an alteration into a better estate. But I
must hasten to a close.
[If any shall inquire what shall be the particular
properties, works, and uses of all and every creature after the last
judgment, I answer, (1.) That as to these things the word is silent, and it
is not safe to be wise above what is written; (2.) Here is place for that
which Tertullian calls a learned ignorance.]
Verse 12, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God." The judge, before whom all do appear, is our dear Lord Jesus,
"who has the keys of hell and death in his hands," Rev. 1:18; Acts 17:30-31,
and who is designed and appointed by God the Father to be the judge of the
living and the dead. He has authority, and a commission under his Father's
hand, to sit and act as judge. Here you see that John calls the judge
absolutely God, but Christ is the judge; therefore Christ is God absolutely;
and he will appear to be God in our nature in that great day.
The parties judged, who stand before the throne, are,
Generally "the dead," all who had died from Adam to the
last day. He calls them "the dead," after the common law of nature, but then
raised from death to life by the power of God, Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13. He
speaks not of men dead in sins and trespasses, but of such as died
corporally, and now were raised up to judgment. But shall not the living
then be judged? Oh, yes! "For we must all appear before the
judgment-seat of Christ: that he may be judge of the living and the dead,
and be Lord both of the dead and the living," 2 Cor. 5:10; Romans 14:9-10.
Under this phrase, "the dead," are comprehended all those that then shall be
found alive. By "the dead" we are to understand the living also, by an
argument from the lesser. If the dead shall appear before the judgment-seat,
how much more the living! But the dead alone are named, either because the
number of the dead, from Adam to the last day, shall be far greater than
those that shall be found alive on earth in that day, or because those who
remain alive shall be accounted as dead, because "they shall be changed in
the twinkling of an eye," 1 Cor. 15:52.
Secondly, He describes them from their age and condition,
for the words may be understood of both "great and small," which takes in
all sorts of men, tyrants, emperors, kings, princes, dukes, lords, etc., as
well as subjects, vassals, slaves, beggars; rich and poor, strong and weak,
bond and free, old and young. All and everyone, without exception, are to be
judged; for the judgment shall be universal. No man shall be so great
as to escape the same, nor none so small as to be excluded; but everyone
shall have justice done him, without respect of persons, as that great
apostle Paul tells us, "We must all appear before the judgment-seat of
Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to
that he has done, whether it be good or bad," 2 Cor. 5:10. I am no admirer
of the schoolmen's notion, who suppose that all shall be raised about the
age of thirty-three, which was Christ's age; but do judge that that
perfection, which consists in the conforming them to Christ's glorious body,
is of another kind than to respect either age, stature, or the like.
"Stand before God," that is, brought to judgment. The
guilty standing ready to be condemned, and the saints standing ready in
Christ's presence to be absolved and pronounced blessed, John 3:18.
"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which
is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works." Christ the judge being set
on his throne, and having all the world before him, "the books are opened."
(1.) In the general, the books are said to be open.
(2.) Here is a special book for the elect, "The book of
life was opened."
(3.) Here you have sentence passed and pronounced,
according to what was written in these books, and according to their works.
Here the judicial process is noted by imitation of human courts, in which
the whole process is accustomed to be drawn up, and laid before the judge,
from whence the judge determines for or against the person, according to the
acts and proofs that lie open before him. The equity, justice, and
righteousness of Christ the judge, who sits on his white throne, is set
forth by a metaphor taken from human courts, where the judge pronounces
sentence according to the written law, and the acts and proofs agreeing
thereunto. "All things are naked and bare before him, whose eyes are as a
flame of fire," Heb. 4:13; Rev. 1:14.
But to show that the judgment shall be as accurate and
particular in the trial, and just and righteous in the close, as if all were
registered and put on record, nothing shall escape or be mistaken in its
circumstances, but all things shall be so cleared and issued beyond all
doubts and disputes, as if an exact register of them had been kept and
published; in all which there is a plain allusion unto the words of Daniel,
speaking thus of this judgment, "The judgment was set, and the books were
opened," Dan. 7:10.
We find six different BOOKS mentioned in the Scripture.
[1.] The book of NATURE.
This is mentioned by
David, "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in
your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" Psalm
139:16. ["The world," says Clemens Alexandrinus, "is the first Bible that
God made for the instruction of man."] It is a metaphor from precise
workmen, that do all by the book, or by a model set before them, that
nothing may be deficient or done amiss. "The heavens declare the glory of
God, and the skies show his handiwork." The psalmist looks upon that great
volume of heaven and earth, and there reads in capital letters the prints
and characters of God's glory.
In this book of nature, which is made up of three great
leaves, heaven, earth, and sea, God has made himself visible, yes, legible,
"even his eternal power and godhead," Romans 1:20. So that all men are left
without excuse. Out of this book of nature, the poor blind heathen might
have learned many choice lessons, as:
first, that they had a maker;
secondly, that this maker, being before the things made,
is eternal, without beginning or ending;
thirdly, that he who made all things out of nothing, and
sustained such a mass of creatures—must needs be almighty,
fourthly, the order, variety, and distinction of
creatures declare his marvelous wisdom;
fifthly, in this book they might run and read the great
goodness, and the admirable kindness of God to the sons of men, in making
all the creatures for their good, for their service, and benefit;
sixthly and lastly, in this book they might run and read
what a most excellent, what a most admirable, what a most transcendent
workman God was. What are the heavens, the earth, the sea—but a sheet of
royal paper, written all over with the wisdom and power of God?
Now, in the great day of account, this book shall be
produced to witness against the heathen world, because they did not live up
to the light which was held forth to them in this book, but crucified that
light and knowledge by false ways of worship, and by their wicked practices,
whereof the apostle gives you a catalogue, from verse 21st to the end of
that 1st chapter of Romans. But,
[2.] Secondly, There is the book of PROVIDENCE
,
wherein all particulars are registered; even such particulars, as we may
count trivial and inconsiderable. Mat. 10:30, "But the very hairs of
your head are all numbered." And where is their number summed up? Even in
the book of providence. The three Hebrew worthies were taken out of the
fiery furnace, with their hairs in full number, not one of them singed, Dan.
3:27. Paul, encouraging the passengers to eat, who were in fear and danger
of death, tells them that "there should not a hair fall from the head of any
of them," Acts 27:34. And when Saul would have put Jonathan to death, the
people told him "that there should not a hair of his head fall to the
ground," 1 Sam. 14:45. Christ does not say that the hairs of your eyelids
are numbered, but the hairs of your head, where there is the
greatest plenty, and the least use. Though hair is the least significant
part of man, yet every hair of an elect person is observed and registered
down in God's books, and not one of them shall be lost. God has already
booked them all down, and all to show us that special, that singular care
that God takes of the smallest and least concerns of his chosen ones. God
will produce this book of providence in the great day—to confute and condemn
the atheists of the world, who have denied a divine providence, and whose
hearts have swelled against his government of the world, "according to the
counsels of his own heart." But,
[3.] Thirdly, There is the book of men's AFFLICTIONS.
This some account an entire book of itself: Psalm 56:8, "You keep track of
all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have
recorded each one in your book." God counted all those weary steps that
David took in passing over those two great forests, when he fled from Saul.
While David was hunted up and down like a partridge, and chased out of every
bush, and had no certain dwelling-place, but driven from post to pillar,
from one country to another, God was all this while a-noting down and
a-numbering of his sorrows, and a-bottling up his tears, and a-booking down
his sighs: "You have collected all my tears in your bottle." Not a single
tear of mine is ever lost, but kept safe in God's bottle, as so much sweet
water. God is said in Scripture to have a bag and a bottle: a bag for our
sins, and a bottle for our tears. ("My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
you will cover over my sin." Job 14:17) And oh that we would all labor to
fill his bottle with our tears of repentance, as we have filled his bag with
our sins!
And certainly if the white tears of his servants
be bottled up, the red tears of their blood shall not be cast away.
If God treasures up the tears of the saints, much more will he
remember their blood, to avenge it! And though tyrants burn the bones
of the saints, yet they cannot blot out their tears and blood out of God's
register: "Are they not in your book?" Are they not in your register or book
of accounts, where they cannot be blotted out by any time or tyrants? That
is—yes, certainly they are! You assuredly book them down, and will never
forget one of them. Let the great Nimrods and oppressors of the saints look
to themselves, for God books down all the afflictions, sufferings, and
persecutions of his servants; and in the great day he will bring in this
book, this register, to witness against them.
Ah, sinners, sinners! look to yourselves. In the great
day of account, the Lord will reckon with you for every rod that he
has spent upon you; he will reckon with you, not only for all your
mercies, but also for all your crosses; not only for all your
sweets, but also for all your bitters; not only for all your
cordials, but also for all your corrosives. In this book of
afflictions there is not only item for this mercy and that, but item also
for this affliction and that, this sickness and that, this
cross and that, this loss and that. And will not the opening of
this book of the saints' afflictions and sufferings, and of sinners'
afflictions and sufferings, be as the handwriting upon the wall, to all the
wicked of the earth, in the great day of account? Dan. 5:5-6. Surely yes;
for as they cannot answer for one mercy of ten thousand that they
have enjoyed, so they cannot answer for one affliction of ten
thousand that they have been exercised with. But,
[4.] Fourthly, There is the book of CONSCIENCE.
"Conscience," says Philo, "is the little tribunal of the soul."
Conscience is a thousand witnesses, for or against a man, "Indeed, when
Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,
they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now
even defending them." Romans 2:14-15.
Conscience is God's preacher in the heart. "Conscience
has a good memory," says one. The chief butler forgot the promise that he
had made to Joseph, but conscience told him of it, Gen. 41:9. "A good name
acquit us among men, but it is a good conscience only that can acquit us
before God," says Augustine. In this great day, the book of every man's
conscience shall be opened for their conviction, wherein they shall read
their guilt in legible characters; for that is a book of record, wherein
men's actions are entered. And although now it be shut up close, and
sinners will by no means be brought to look into it, and though many things
that are written in this book seem to be so greatly obliterated and blotted,
that they can hardly be read, yet in that great day of accounts God will
refresh and recover the luster of those ancient writings; and sinners, in
that day, shall find that conscience has an iron memory!
In the last day God will bring the book of conscience
out of the rubbish, as they did the book of the law in Josiah's time; and
the very laying open of this book before sinners will horrify them, and fill
them with unspeakable dread and terror, and be a hell on this side hell unto
them. In this book they shall find an exact account of every vain thought
they have had, and of every idle word they have spoken, and of every evil
action they have done; and oh, what amazement and astonishment will this
fill them with!
By the books in this Rev. 20:12, Origen does understand
the books of conscience, which now are hidden, not from God, but from most
men; for the hidden things of the heart are not now known, but
then they shall be opened, and manifested to the consciences of every
sinner, so as there shall be no place, no room left for any excuse or plea.
Ambrose says that the books that are here said to be opened are the books of
men's consciences and God's omniscience. Oh, what dreadful accusations will
every sinner be forced to read out of this book of conscience in the great
day! Oh, how in that great day will all wicked men wish that they had
followed the counsel of the heathen orator when he said, "A man may not
depart an hair's-breadth all his life long from the dictates of a good
conscience." The book of God's omniscience takes in all things past,
present, and to come, as if he had kept a diary of every man's thoughts,
words, and actions. But,
[5.] Fifthly, There is the book of SCRIPTURE.
And of all books, this book is the most precious book. The book of the
creature is but as the inventory of the goods; the book of the Scripture is
the evidence, and conveyance, and assurance of all good to us. The book of
Scripture is the book of the statutes and ordinances of the King of heaven,
which must be opened and consulted, and by which all must be judged in the
great day: James 2:12, "So speak, and so do, as those who shall be judged by
the law of liberty;" that is, by the gospel of Jesus Christ, by the whole
word of God, registered in the blessed Scriptures, James 1:23-25. Now the
whole word of God is called the law of liberty; because thereby we are born
again to a new spiritual life, and so freed from the bondage and slavery of
sin and Satan. ["Let the word be president in all assemblies and judgments,"
says Beza. In the Nicene Council, Constantine caused the Bible to be set
upon the desk as judge of all controversies. The word shall be the judge of
all men's estates at last; every man shall stand or fall, according as he
holds weight in the balance of the sanctuary.]
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in his proceedings in the great
day of account, will judge us by the Scriptures, and pass everlasting
sentence upon us according to the tenor of the Scriptures. At the great and
general assize, Christ will try all causes by the word of God, and pass
judgment upon all people according to the word: John 12:48, "He who rejects
me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have
spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." The people that are to be
judged in the great day are not believers in Christ, they are not receivers
of Christ, but such as reject his person, and receive not his doctrine. "He
who rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him," etc.
However the rejecters of Christ may escape judgment
for a time, yet they shall never be able to escape the judgment of the
last day; they shall assuredly, they shall unavoidably, be judged in the
last day. Though the rejecters of Christ had none to witness against them,
yet the word of the Lord shall be more than a thousand witnesses against
them in the great day, "The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge
him in the last day." The word of the Lord is so sure and infallible a word,
that Christ's sentence in the great day, when heaven and earth shall pass
away, 2 Pet. 3:7, 10-12, shall proceed according to the verdict and
testimony thereof, "For the word that I have spoken shall judge him in the
last day." Christ will pronounce then according to what it says now; and
that as well in favor of believers as against unbelievers. Look, as Christ
himself is "ordained to be the judge of the living and the dead," Acts
17:31; so the word, the doctrines which he has delivered, will be the rule
of all his judicial proceedings, both in acquitting the righteous, and
condemning the wicked.
By the books in this Rev. 20:12, Augustine
understands the books of the Old and New Testament, which shall then be
opened; because, according to them, the judge will pronounce sentence:
Romans 2:16, "When God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ,
according to my gospel," which promises heaven and happiness to all
believers. The sentence of the last day shall be but a more manifest
declaration of that judgment, that the Lord, in this life, generally has
passed upon men. Heathens shall be judged by the law of nature;
profligate professors by the written law, and the word preached; true
believers by the gospel, which says, "He who believes shall be saved; he
who believes shall not perish, but have eternal life; he who believes on the
Son has everlasting life; he who believes shall not come into condemnation,
but is passed from death to life," Mark 16:16; John 3:15-16, 36, and 5:24.
Christ shall, in the great day, give sentence according to the doctrine of
the gospel, which says, "If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted
according to that a man has, and not according to that he has not." Upon the
credit of the word of God, if we believe, really, savingly, and repent
sincerely—all our sins shall be blotted out; and a book of clean paper, in
respect of sin, shall be presented to the judge. But,
[6.] Sixthly and lastly, There is a book of LIFE.
Rev. 20:12, "And another book was opened, which is the book of life." The
book of life is the book of all those who were elected and redeemed to life
through Christ Jesus. [God neither needs nor uses books to judge by, but
this is spoken after the manner of men.] This book of life contains a
register of such particular persons in whose salvation, God from all
eternity determined to have his mercy glorified, and for whom Christ merited
faith, repentance, and perseverance, that they should repent, believe, and
be finally saved. "The book of life shall be opened;" that is to say, the
decrees of God will be then published and made known, which now are sealed
up in his bosom and locked up in his archives. Then it will be seen whom are
appointed to eternal life, for the glorifying of God's free, rich, and
sovereign grace; and whom he purposed to leave in their sins, and to perish
forever, for the exaltation of his justice. It is called "a book of life,"
not that God has need of a book, but to note the certainty of
predestination—namely, that God knows all and each of the elect, even as men
know a thing which, for memory's sake, they set down in writing. This book
of life shall be opened in the great day, because then it shall be shown . .
. who were elect—and who were reprobates; who truly believed in Christ—and
who did not; who worshiped God in spirit and in truth—and who did not; who
walked with God as Noah did—and who did not; who truly reverenced God—and
who did not; who followed the Lamb wherever He went—and who did not; who
were sincere—and who were not; who are sheep—and who are goats; who are sons
of God—and who are slaves of Satan; who have mourned for their sins—and who
have made a sport of sin; who preferred Christ above ten thousand worlds—and
who did not; who preferred their farms, and their oxen, and their swine,
yes, their very lusts—before a Savior, a Redeemer! Ezek. 9:4,6, etc.
Of this book of life you read often in Scripture: Phil.
4:3, "And I entreat you also, true yoke-fellow, help those women which
labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my
fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life." Vorsitus thinks it a
speech taken from the custom of soldiers or cities, in which the chosen
soldiers or citizens are by name written in a certain book or scroll. This
book or scroll is called here "the book of life," because therein are
written all the elect who are ordained to eternal life: Rev. 3:5, "He who
overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot
out his name out of the book of life." In this book of life all "the just,
who live by faith," are written. The elect are certain of eternal life, they
shall never perish, nor none can ever pluck them out of the Father's hand,
nor out of Christ's hand, John 10:28-31.
God is said to have books metaphorically; he needs
no books to help his memory; he does all things by his infinite wisdom,
eternal foreknowledge, counsel, government, and judgment. But thus men
cannot do; for whatever is done in their councils, cities, families,
contracts, etc., for memory's sake, is set down in writing, that so, as
there is occasion, they may look it over, and call to mind such things as
they desire. [The holy God, by an anthropomorphism, speaks to our
capacity; for he does all things without the help of books.] Mark, not to
have our names blotted out of the book of life is to have them always remain
therein; that is, to enjoy eternal glory; and what can the soul desire more?
The names of the elect are written in the book of life.
They do not obtain salvation by chance, but were elected of God to eternal
life and happiness before the foundation of the world. Now their names being
once written in the book of life, they shall never, never be blotted out of
that book. In the book of predestination there is not one blot to be
found—the salvation of the elect is most sure and certain: Rev. 13:8, "All
inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not
been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from
the creation of the world." The names of the elect are said to be written in
the book of life by a usual metaphor; for we commonly write down the names
of such as are dear unto us, that we may continually remember them. So God
having in his eternal counsel elected some to salvation, has written their
names in the book of life; as our Savior tells us, "Rejoice, because your
names are written in heaven," Luke 10:20. Some understand the metaphor of
the sonship of the elect; so that to be written in the book of life shows
that they are heirs of glory; for we know that such are to inherit whose
names are written in the last will and testament of men. Of this book of
life you may further read, Rev. 17:8, 20:15, 21:27, and 22:19.
Now from this book of life, which shall be opened in the
great day, when the other books shall be opened, as has been showed, every
sincere Christian may form up this eleventh plea as to these ten scriptures,
[Eccles. 11:9, and 12:14; Mat. 12:14, and 18:23; Luke 16:2; Romans 14:10 2
Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5; Dan. 9:24; Col. 2:14.] that
refer to the great day of account, or to a man's particular account.
Most holy and blessed Lord, cast your eye upon the book
of election, and there you will find my name written. Now my name being
written in that book, I am exempt from all condemnation, and savingly
interested in the great salvation. My name being written in the book of
life, I am secured from coming into the judgment of reprobation or
condemnation, John 5:14; Rev. 21:27. Jesus Christ, who has written my name
in the book of life, has made up my accounts for me; he has satisfied your
justice, and pacified your wrath, and borne my curse, and purchased my
pardon, and put upon me an everlasting righteousness. He has crossed out
the black lines of my sins—with the red lines of his blood; he has
cancelled all the bonds wherein I stood obliged to divine justice. I further
plead, O blessed Lord, that there is an immutable connection between being
written in this book of life and the obtaining of eternal life; and if the
connection between being written in this book of life and the obtaining of
eternal life were not commanding, what reason could there be of opening this
book in the day of judgment? The book of life is a book of sovereign grace,
upon which lies the weight of my salvation, my happiness, my all; and
therefore by that book I desire to stand or fall."
"Well," says the Lord, I cannot but accept of this plea
as holy, honorable, just, and righteous; and therefore enter into the joy of
your Lord, inherit the kingdom prepared for you!" Mat. 25:21, 34.
Thus, by divine assistance, and by a special and a
gracious hand of providence upon me—I have finished those select and
important cases of conscience which I designed to speak to.