Commentary on Genesis and Exodus, Chapter 32 · Questions · Question 79 – Question 81
QUEST. LXXVIII. What booke it was, out of the which Moses wisheth to be raced.
Vers. 32. IF thou wilt not race me out of the booke which thou hast written. 1. By this booke R. Salomon understandeth the booke of the Law, as Deut. 33.4. Moses commanded us a Law: hee desireth, if the Lord were purposed to destroy the people, that his name should not be mentioned in the Law, nor he taken to be the Law-giver: for to what purpose should he be spoken of, as a Law-giver unto that people, which was not?
Contra. But this is not the meaning. 1. Because the bookes of the Law were not yet written: Moses therefore would not desire to be raced out of a booke, which was not. 2. Neither would Moses aske that of God, which was in his owne power to doe: now Moses did write the booke of the Law, and he might have left out his owne name, if he would. 3. Againe, Moses setteth against this great benefit, the safety of the people, the greatest losse which he could have: but this had beene no such great losse unto Moses, not to have his name remembred in any such written booke. 4. Moses here useth a disjunctive speech, Do… this, or else race mee, &c. but if he meant the racing of his name out of the booke of the Law, there had beene no disjunction at all; for one had followed upon the other: for if Israel: had beene destroyed, neither should Moses have written the booke of the Law, which was only given unto Israel: for it had beene in vaine to give Lawes unto a people, that were not. 5. Moses also speaketh of a booke which God had written: now Moses writ the booke of the Law, the ten Commandements only were written with Gods hand, Tostat. quaest. 41.
2. R. Abraham Francus, who writeth upon Aben Ezra, understandeth the racing out of this booke, of the death of the body; and he addeth further, that there is, quaedam rota coelest…, a certaine celestiall wheele, wherein are many starres, which worke by their influence upon those i…eriour bodies: and by the moving of this wheele, death or life is caused: so that thus he would interpret Moses speech, Cause me by the motion of this wheele to dye.
But seeing the motion of this wheele, which he imagineth, is the naturall cause, as he supposeth, of life and death: Moses could not dye naturally, before his time came: and if now he should have died, it had beene not a naturall death, but supernaturally caused by God; therefore not by the motion of any such wheele, Tostat. ibid.
3. Hierom also differeth not much from this former opinion in substance,Hieronym. Alg… sia. understanding Moses desire of death in this life: he wisheth, Perire in praesentiam, non in perpetnum; To perish for the present, not for ever. But whereas the Lord afterward answereth Moses, Whosoever hath sinned will I put out of my booke, vers. 33. it followeth, that they which sinne not, that is, without repentance, are not put out of that booke: but all, as well the righteous, as unrighteous, the just, and the sinners, are subject to this temporall death: therefore Moses speaketh not of that.
4. Hierom hath beside another opinion, for upon that place, Psalm. 69.28. Let them bee put out of the booke of life, neither let them bee written with the righteous; he inferreth, that God hath two bookes, viventium, & justorum, of the living, and of the righteous: that was the booke of the living, In quo ante adventum Dei Prophetae & Patriarchae scripti sunt; Wherein the Prophets, and Patriarkes were written before the comming of God (in the flesh;) the other, wherein the faithfull are written: whereof our blessed Saviour speaketh, Rejoyce because your names are written in the booke of life: and of the first Moses (saith he) speaketh in this place. So some doe understand this booke (in the same sense with Hierom) of the booke of Gods Covenant, which hee made with Israel, out of the which the Gentiles were excluded, of which mention is made, Ezech. 13.9. where the Lord saith that the false Prophets, shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel. So Moses desireth here, not to be counted of the family of Israel, wherein all the Prophets and Patriarkes were written. But if Israel had now perished, the booke of Gods Covenant with Israel likewise, should have beene no more remembred: therefore it had beene superfluous for Moses to desire to be raced out of that booke. And againe, the booke of the living, mentioned in the Psalme, is the same with the booke of life, spoken of, Apocal. 3.5. I will not put his name out of the booke of life. In which booke of life, not only the Prophets and Patriarkes before Christ, but all the faithfull before and since are written.
5. Cajetane understandeth it, De libro principatu… in hoc mundo, Of the booke of principality and preeminence in the world: for it is decreed with God, as in a booke, Quod isto vel illi principentur in hac vita; That such, or such shall beare rule in this life. And so Moses desireth to lose his principality and government, which the Lord promised him, that hee would make of him a great nation, &c. But whereas they which sinned, only are taken out of this booke of life, and yet many wicked and evill men are governours in the world, it cannot be meant of any such booke or decree of principalitie or government.
6. Oleaster by this booke thinketh to be understood, the booke of the acts and doings of the righteous, which is mentioned, Iosh. 10.13. and 2 Sam. 1.18. But there are many righteous men, whose names and acts were not written in that booke: which is now thought also to be lost: therefore it had beene no great matter for Moses to wish to be put out of that booke.
7. Burgensis maketh foure bookes of God. 1. One is the booke of life, wherein only are written the names of the Elect, that are ordained unto life: as when souldiers are written in the muster booke, which are pressed, and appointed for warre. 2. That also may be called the booke of life, wherein those things are written, which lead and direct us unto life eternall: as that may be called a booke of warfare, wherein the precepts of the act military are contained. So the Scriptures are called the booke of life, wherein the truth is contained, Eccles. 24.26. 3. The booke of God is that divine power, wherein every mans doings shall bee brought to his remembrance, as it is said, Dan. 7.10. Iudgement was set, and the bookes opened. 4. There is also a booke of the righteous, which conteineth the acts of the Saints, for the memory of times to come. In this place he thinketh the booke of God here may be taken, either the first or second way, Burgens. addit. 8. But Moses here speaketh of a booke only written by God, but those bookes of the Scriptures, and of the righteous, were written by men.
8. Tostatus maketh three bookes: one a great booke, wherein are all things registred in the world, and all men foreseene good or bad; which booke hee saith is divided into two other bookes, the one which only containeth the names of those which are ordained unto life, which is called liber praedestinationis, the booke of predestination: the other, wherein they only are written, whom the Lord foreseeth shall come to everlasting destruction: and this is called liber praescientia, the booke of Gods prescience. And in this place, Moses by Gods booke, understandeth the booke of predestination, Tostat. qu. 41.
But as Tostatus resolveth well, that the booke of life, and of Gods predestination is here understood: so yet that assertion of his, that there is a booke of prescience wherein their names are written, which shall be damned, hath no warrant in Scripture: for although it be most true, that as the number is certaine with God of those which shall be saved, so the Lord knoweth who are left unto destruction; yet the Scripture only giveth the name of a booke unto the first, and they which are rejected, are not said to bee written in any booke, but only not to be written in the booke of life, Psal. 69.28. Apocal. 27.8.
9. Therefore, thus better are the Lords bookes distinguished: 1. There are two generall and common bookes, as they may be so called; the one is the booke of Gods prescience, and providence, wherein the Lord seeth and directeth all things, which hee himselfe doth in the world: of this booke speaketh the Prophet David, Psal. 139.26. In thy booke were all things written, Simler. 2. The second generall booke is the booke of remembrance before the Lord, wherein all the acts of men, good and evill, are as registred before the Lord, as Malach. 3.16. it is said, A booke of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord: so Apocal. 20.12. other bookes beside the booke of life were opened: the booke of every ones conscience, Borrh. 3. Then the third booke is the particular summe of all the elect appointed to salvation, and this is the booke of life, which Moses meaneth here, Simler.
QUEST. LXXIX. How the Lord is said to have a booke.
TAke me out of the booke, &c. 1. This is a metaphoricall speech, sicut nos ea literis consignamus, as we use to signe with letters, those things the memory whereof we would have kept: so God is said to have a booke, not that he needeth any booke of remembrance, but because all things are present before him, as if they were written in a booke, Simler. Iunius.
2. So also Thomas: Liber vitaein Deo dicitur metaphorice; The booke of life is said to be with God by a metaphor,1. p.q. 24. ar. 1. in cor. according to the use and custome of men: for they which are chosen to any speciall place or service, conscribuntur in libro, are written in a booke, as souldiers, and Counsellers, as among the Romans the Senators were called patres conscripti, the fathers whose names were written or registred.
3. So also Burgens. Sicut liber militiae vocatur, in quo scribuntur electi ad militiam; As the muster booke, or of warfare is so called, wherein their names are written, which are chosen for warre: so the Lord is said to have a booke of life, wherein all they are comprehended, which are ordained to salvation, Burgens. addit. 8.
QUEST. LXXX. Whether any can indeed be raced out of the booke of life.
TAke me out of the booke of life. 1. Some thinke that the elect indeed may be raced out of the booke of life: for they which are elected, Si secure vivunt abs que penitentia à numer… electorum Dei excluduntur, If they live securely without repentance, are excluded out of the ranke, and number of the elect, Marbach. To the same purpose also Osiander: Deletur rursus de libro vitae, &c. He is blotted againe out of the booke of life, which by his sinnes loseth the celestiall inheritance. 2. Contra. But this is an unsound opinion: 1. For thus either they must make God ignorant of things to come, that he certainly forseeth not the end of the elect and reprobate, and so is deceived in his decree, in ordaining some to be saved, which shall not be saved; or else they must be driven to confesse, that Gods decree is mutable, that hee changeth his sentence in excluding those upon their sinnes, which were before elected. But neither of those are to be admitted, for neither is God subject to change, Iames 1.17. neither can his prescience or foreknowledge be deceived: as the Apostle saith, The foundation of God remaineth sure, &c. the Lord knoweth who are his, 2 Tim. 2.19. But this were no sure foundation, if they, which God in the decree of his election, knew to be his, should afterward fall out not to be his.
2. Indeed, they which live and dye without repentance, cannot be elected. But it is impossible that they which are elected, should finally fall away, or be void of repentance: but as God hath decreed the end of such to be everlasting salvation, so he hath also ordained the way and meanes, which they should walke in: as the Apostle saith, Ephes. 1.4. As he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that wee should be holy, and without blame before him in love. Therefore Tostatus, with other of that side, are herein more sound, than the moderne Lutherans: Qui intus scripti sunt in libro vitae secundum firmam Dei praedestinationem, impossibile est deleri, &c. It is impossible for those to be blotted out, which are written in the booke of life, according to Gods firme and certaine predestination, Tostat. qu. 43. So also Lyranus, Impossibilis est deletio, &c. It is impossible to be blotted out, if we take it simplie to be written in the booke of life. So also Burgens.