The title of this paper may possibly present a theme which some of our readers have not thought
much about; yet few themes are more important. Indeed, we believe that the difficulty felt in
explaining many passages of Scripture, and in interpreting many acts of divine providence, can
be traced to a lack of understanding as to the vast difference between God in grace and in
government. It is our purpose in this paper to unfold a few of the leading passages of Scripture
in which the distinction between grace and government is fully and clearly presented.

Adam

In the third chapter of the Book of Genesis we find our first illustration_the first exhibition of
divine grace and divine government. Here we find man a sinner_a ruined, guilty, naked sinner.
But here we also find God in grace, ready and able to remedy the ruin, to cleanse the guilt, and
to clothe the nakedness. All this He does in His own way. He silences the serpent and consigns
him to eternal ignominy. He establishes His own eternal glory and provides both life and
righteousness for the sinner_all through the bruised Seed of the woman.

Now this is grace_unqualified, free, unconditional, perfect grace_the grace of God. The Lord
God gives His Son to be bruised for man’s redemption_to be slain to furnish a robe of divine
righteousness for a naked sinner. But let it be carefully noted, that in immediate connection with
this first grand display of grace, we have the first solemn act of divine government. It was grace
that clothed the man. It was government that drove him out of Eden. "Unto Adam also and to his
wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and dotted them." Here we have an act of purest
grace. But then we read:"So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of
Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of
life." Here we have a solemn, soul-subduing act of government. Adam was the subject of both the
grace and the government. When he looked at the coat, he could think of divine grace_how God
provided a robe to cover his nakedness; when he looked at the sword, he was reminded of divine,
unflinching government.

The reader may perhaps feel disposed to ask, "How was it that the Lord God drove out the man
if He had previously forgiven him?" The same question may be asked in connection with every
scene, throughout the entire Book of God and throughout the entire history of the people of God,
in which the combined action of grace and government is exemplified. Grace forgives; but the
wheels of government roll on in all their terrible majesty. Adam was perfectly forgiven, but his
sin produced its own results. The guilt of his conscience was removed, but not the "sweat of his
brow." He went out pardoned and clothed; but it was into the midst of "thorns and thistles" he
went. He could feed in secret on the precious fruits of grace, while he recognized in public the
solemn and unavoidable enactments of government.

Jacob

We shall consider another case from the Book of Genesis_ a deeply practical one_one in which
the combined action of grace and government is seen in a very solemn and impressive way. This

is the case of the patriarch Jacob. The entire history of this man presents a series of events which
illustrate our theme. I shall merely refer to the one case of his deceiving his father for the purpose
of supplanting his brother. Long before Jacob was born, the sovereign grace of God had secured
to him a pre-eminence of which no man could ever deprive him; but not satisfied to wait for God’s
time and way, he set about managing matters for himself. What was the result? His entire after-life
furnishes the reply:exile from his father’s house; twenty years of hard servitude; his wages
changed ten times; never permitted to see his mother again; fear of being murdered by his injured
brother; dishonor cast upon his family; terror of his life from the Shechemites; deceived by his
ten sons; plunged into deep sorrow by the supposed death of his favorite Joseph; apprehension of
death by famine; and finally, death in a strange land.

Reader, what a lesson is here! Jacob was a subject of sovereign, changeless, eternal grace. This
is a settled point. But he was likewise a subject of government; and let it be well remembered that
no exercise of grace can ever interfere with the onward movement of the wheels of government.

All this is deeply solemn. Grace pardons, yes, freely, fully, and eternally pardons; but what is
sown must be reaped. A man may be sent by his master to sow a field with wheat, and through
ignorance, dullness, or carelessness, he sows some harmful weed. His master hears of the
mistake, and, in the exercise of his grace, he pardons it freely and fully. What then? Will the
gracious pardon change the nature of the crop? Assuredly not; and hence, in due time, when the
field ought to be covered with the golden ears of wheat, the servant sees it covered with weeds.
Does the sight of the weeds make him doubt his master’s grace? By no means. As the master’s
grace did not alter the nature of the crop, neither does the nature of the crop alter the master’s
grace and the pardon flowing there-from.

This will illustrate, in a feeble way, the difference between grace and government. There is a
verse in the New Testament which is a brief but most comprehensive statement of the great
government principle:"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). It matters
not who he is:as is the sowing, so will be the reaping. Grace pardons; in fact, it may make you
higher and happier than ever. But if you sow weeds in the spring, you will not reap wheat in the
harvest. This is as plain as it is practical. It is illustrated and enforced both by Scripture and
experience.

Moses

Look at the case of Moses. He spoke unadvisedly with his lips at the waters of Meribah (Num.
20). What was the result? Jehovah’s governmental decree prohibited his entrance into the
promised land. But let it be noted that while the decree of the Throne kept him out of Canaan, the
boundless grace of God brought him up to Pisgah (Deut. 34) where he saw the land, not as it was
taken by the hand of Israel, but as it had been given by the covenant of Jehovah. And what then?
Jehovah buried His dear servant! What grace shines in this! Jehovah’s government kept Moses out
of Canaan. Jehovah’s grace dug a grave for Moses in the plains of Moab. Was there ever such a
burial? May we not say that the grace that dug the grave of Moses is only outshone by the grace
that occupied the grave of Christ? Yes; Jehovah can dig a grave or make a coat; and, moreover,
the grace that shines in these marvelous acts is only enhanced by being looked at in connection

"with the solemn enactments of the throne of government.

David

But again, look at David "in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." Here we have a most striking
exhibition of grace and government. In an evil hour David fell from his holy elevation. Under the
blinding power of lust, he rushed into a deep and horrible pit of moral pollution. There, in that
deep pit, the arrow of conviction reached his conscience, and drew forth from his broken heart
the confession, "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Sam. 12:3). How was this confession met? By
the clear and ready response of that free grace in which our God ever delights:"The Lord also
hath put away thy sin." This was absolute grace. David’s sin was perfectly forgiven. There can
be no question as to this. But while the soothing words of grace fell on David’s ears upon the
confession of his guilt, the solemn movement of the wheels of government was heard in the
distance. No sooner had mercy’s tender hand removed the guilt, than the sword was drawn from
the sheath to execute the necessary judgment. This is very solemn. David was fully pardoned, but
Absalom rose in rebellion. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." The sin of sowing
weeds may be forgiven, but the reaping must be according to the sowing. The former is grace,
the latter is government. Each acts in its own sphere, and neither interferes with the other. The
luster of the grace and the dignity of the government are both divine. David was permitted to tread
the courts of the sanctuary as a subject of grace (2 Sam. 12:20) before he was called to climb the
rugged sides of Mount Olivet as a subject of government (2 Sam. 15:30). We may safely assert
that David’s heart never had a deeper sense of divine grace than at the very time in which he was
experiencing the righteous action of divine government.

Sufficient has now been said to open to the reader a subject which he can easily pursue for
himself. The Scriptures are full of it, and human life illustrates it every day. How often do we see
men in the fullest enjoyment of grace, knowing the pardon of all their sins, walking in unclouded
communion with God, and all the while suffering in body or estate the consequences of past follies
and excesses. Here again you have grace and government. This is a deeply important and practical
subject; it will be found to aid the soul very effectively in its study, not only of the page of
inspiration, but also of the page of human biography.