God has revealed Himself to us as the "God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10), and He has set us in the
position of "having tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2:3). How hard it is for us to believe
that the Lord is gracious I The natural feeling of our hearts is, "I know that thou art an austere
man" (see Luke 19:21). There is in all of us naturally a lack of understanding of the grace of God.

There is sometimes the thought that grace implies God’s passing over sin. To the contrary! The
thought of grace sup-poses sin to be such a horribly bad thing that God cannot tolerate it. If it
were in the power of unrighteous, evil man to patch up his ways and mend himself so that he
could stand before God, there would be no need of grace. The very fact that the Lord is gracious
shows man’s state as a sinner so utterly ruined and hopeless that nothing but free grace can meet
his need. The moment I understand that I am a sinful man, and that the Lord came to me because
He knew the full extent and hatefulness of my sin, I understand what grace is. Faith makes me see
that God is greater than my sin, and not that my sin is greater than God.

Now it is good to realize that the Lord who lay down His life for me is the same Lord with whom
I have to do every day of my life. All His dealings with me are on the same principles of grace.
The great secret of growth is the looking up to the Lord as gracious. How precious, how
strengthening it is to know that Jesus is at this moment feeling and exercising the same love
toward me as when He died on the cross for me.

This is a truth that should be applied by us in the most common everyday circumstances of life.
Suppose, for instance, I have a bad temper which I find difficult to overcome. If I bring it to Jesus
as my Friend, virtue goes out of Him for my need. My faith should thus be ever in exercise
against temptations, and not simply my own effort. My own effort will never be sufficient. The
source of real strength is in the sense of the Lord’s being gracious.

The natural man in us always disbelieves Christ as the only source of strength and of every
blessing. Suppose my soul is out of communion and the natural heart says, "I must correct the
cause of this before I can come to Christ." But He is gracious! And knowing this, we should
return to Him at once, just as we are, and then humble ourselves deeply before Him. It is only in
Him and from Him that we shall find that which will restore our souls. Humbleness in His
presence is the only real humbleness. If we own ourselves in His presence to be just what we are,
we shall find that He will show us nothing but grace.

It is Jesus who gives abiding rest to our souls, and not what our thoughts about ourselves may be.
Faith never thinks about that which is in ourselves as its ground of rest. Rather, it receives and
loves what God has revealed, and what are God’s thoughts about Jesus, in whom is His rest. In
knowing Jesus to be precious to our souls, and having our eyes and our hearts occupied with Him,
we will be effectually prevented from being taken up with the vanity and sin around. And this,
too, will be our strength against the sin and corruption of our own hearts.

WHATEVER I SEE IN MYSELF THAT IS NOT IN HIM, IS SIN. But it is not thinking of my
own sins and my own vileness that will humble me, but thinking of the Lord Jesus_dwelling upon

the excellency in Him. It is well to be done with ourselves, and to be taken up with Jesus. We are
entitled to forget ourselves; we are entitled to forget our sins; we are entitled to forget all but
Jesus.

There is nothing so hard for our hearts as to abide in the sense of grace, to continue practically
conscious that we are not under law, but under grace. There is nothing more difficult for us to
comprehend than the fulness of that "grace of God wherein [we] stand," and to walk in the power
and consciousness of it. It is only in the presence of God that we can know it. The moment we get
away from the presence of God there will always be certain workings of our own thoughts within
us, and our own thoughts can never reach up to the thoughts of God about us, to the "grace of
God."

The having very simple thoughts of grace is the source of our strength as Christians. The abiding
in the sense of grace, in the presence of God, is the secret of all holiness, peace, and quietness of
spirit.

In Romans 7 we find a description of a person born again, but whose whole set of reasonings
centers in himself. He stops short of grace. He stops short of the simple fact that, however bad
he may be, God is love, and only love towards him. Instead of looking at God, it is all /, I, I.
Faith looks at God as He has revealed Himself in grace.

Grace has reference to what God is, and not to what we are, except indeed that the very greatness
of our sins magnifies the extent of the "grace of God." At the same time we must remember that
the object of grace is to bring our souls into communion with God_to sanctify us by bringing our
souls to know God and to love Him. Therefore the knowledge of grace is the true source of
sanctification.

It is better to be thinking of what God is than of what we are. The looking at ourselves is really
pride, a want of the thorough consciousness that we are good for nothing. Until we see this we
never quite look away from self to God. In looking to Christ, it is our privilege to forget
ourselves. True humility does not so much consist in thinking badly of ourselves, as in not
thinking of ourselves at all. I am too bad to be worth thinking about. What I want is to forget
myself and look to God, who is indeed worth all my thoughts.

Beloved, if we can say as in Romans 7, "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing," we
have thought quite long enough about ourselves. Let us then think about Him who thought about
us with thoughts of good and not of evil, long before we had thought of ourselves at all. Let us
see what His thoughts of grace about us are, and take up the words of faith, "If God be for us,
who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

The year was about 455 B.C. The place was Shushan in the land of Persia. Some eighty years
previously, the first company of Jews had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon.
But some of the Jews still remained in the land of their captivity. One of these was a man by the
name of Nehemiah who was a servant of Artaxerxes, the king of Persia. Now in spite of
Nehemiah’s position, the Lord was working to open the way for him to return to Jerusalem so that
he might provide leadership in rebuilding the walls of the Jews’ beloved city. The story of how
Nehemiah found favor in the sight of the king is an interesting one and gives some good
illustrations of how God answers prayer. Let us read Nehemiah’s own account:

It came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, that
Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the
Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said
unto me, "The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and
reproach:the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire."

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain
days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, and said, . . . "O Lord, I beseech thee,
let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who
desire to fear thy name:and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the
sight of this man." For I was the king’s cupbearer.

And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine
was before him:and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime
sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, "Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou
art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart."

Then I was very sore afraid, and said unto the king, "Let the king live for ever:why should not
my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchers, lieth waste, and the
gates thereof are consumed with fire?"

Then the king said unto me, "For what dost thou make request?"

So I prayed to the God of heaven.

And I said unto the king, "If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight,
that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchers, that I may build
it."

And the king said unto me (the queen also sitting by him), "For how long shall thy journey be?
And when wilt thou re-turn?" So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

Moreover I said unto the king, "If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors
beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; and a letter unto Asaph
the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the
palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the bouse that I shall
enter into." And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me (Nehemiah
1:1-4; 1:11-2:8).

It is very interesting to observe the way in which God brought about the accomplishment of
Nehemiah’s desire. Four months had passed since he had offered the prayer recorded in chapter
1. He is careful to give us the dates. In the month Chisleu (answering to our November) he had
prayed; and in the month Nisan (answering to our March) the answer came. During this period,
this man of faith must have waited in daily expectation upon God. He could not foresee how the
answer would come, but he knew that God could intervene when and how He would. It is in this
way God both tries and strengthens the faith of His people. He waits while they wait. But if He
waits, it is only to work out in His people more entire dependence upon Himself, and thus to
prepare their hearts more fully for the blessing He is about to bestow. And when He steps in, it
is often, as in this case, in such a quiet and unseen way_unseen by all but the eye of faith_that
it needs the exercise of faith to detect His presence. How natural, on the surface, is the way in
which Artaxerxes was induced to give Nehemiah permission to return to Jerusalem. But it must
be remembered that Nehemiah had prayed that God would grant him mercy in the sight of the
king. Let us examine this scene in detail.

At the beginning of chapter 2 we find Nehemiah occupied with the duties of his office as the
king’s cupbearer. He took up the wine and gave it unto the king; but his heart was occupied with
other things, for he was burdened with the unutterable sorrow of his people’s condition. But wine
and sadness are incongruous, and it was intolerable to the king that his cupbearer should wear a
sorrowful face at such a time. It destroyed his own pleasure. The king became angry and asked
Nehemiah why he looked sad. This made Nehemiah very much afraid. And well might he have
been afraid, for in such a mood, Artaxerxes, as a true oriental despot, could have had him
immediately executed. But although Nehemiah was afraid, God gave him presence of mind, and
led him to tell simply and truly the cause of his sorrow.

The king was well acquainted with the subject of Nehemiah’s sorrow, for it was he who had
permitted Ezra to go up to build the temple, and had himself given gold and silver to aid Ezra in
that work. So God used Nehemiah’s simple words to interest the king once more in the condition
of Jerusalem. The king then asked Nehemiah if he could help him out in any way. What an
opportunity! What an answer to prayer! Surely most men would have hastened to answer the king.
But note what Nehemiah did. First he prayed to God, and then he presented his petition. Are we
to conclude that he kept the king waiting while he prayed? By no means. But the point to be
observed is that before he answered his master he cast himself upon his God. He thus
acknowledged his dependence for wisdom to say the right thing. How we should seek to be like
Nehemiah in this way! Surely it is blessed to be so walking in dependence on God that when we
face difficulties, perplexities and dangers, we naturally look to the Lord for the needed wisdom,
direction and help. When this is the case, the presence of God will be more real to us than the
presence of men. It is wonderful to notice the boldness which God gave to Nehemiah as he stood

before the king. He did not stop with asking permission to return to Judah. He further requested
letters from the king to assure him of a safe journey to Jerusalem and also to provide him with
building materials which would be needed once he got to Jerusalem. And the king granted him all
that he requested, according to the good hand of God. Nehemiah had poured out before God the
desires of his heart (desires which God Himself had produced); then he had looked to God for
guidance and strength when in the presence of the king; and God now showed that He had
undertaken for His servant by inclining the king to grant all that was necessary for the
accomplishment of the work. And Nehemiah acknowledged this, saying that it was "according to
the good hand of my God upon me."

It is well for us to mark this principle in the ways of God with His people. If He puts within our
hearts a desire for any service_a service for His glory_He will surely open out before us the way
to it. If it be really His work on which our minds are set, He will enable us to do it in His own
way and time. The door may seem to be closed and barred; but if we wait on Him who "openeth,
and no man shutteth" (Rev. 3:7), we shall find that it will suddenly open to us, so that we may
enter in without hindrance. There could be no more difficult position than that in which Nehemiah
found himself. But the Lord who had touched his heart with the affliction of His people removed
all obstacles and set him free for his labor of love in Jerusalem. "Wait on the Lord:be of good
courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart:wait, I say, on the Lord" (Psalm 27:14).

The principles of truth laid down in Luke 12 are of the most solemn and searching character.
Their practical bearing is such as to render them of the deepest importance. Worldly-mindedness
and carnality cannot live in the light of the truth here set forth. This section of the Scriptures might
be entitled "Time in the Light of Eternity." The Lord evidently wanted to set His disciples in the
light of that world where everything is the opposite of this present world_to bring their hearts
under the influence of unseen things, and their lives under the power and authority of heavenly
principles.

While the Lord Jesus was in the act of showing forth these heavenly principles, a true child of
earth intruded upon Him with a question about property. "And one of the company said unto Him,
Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me" (Luke 12:13). How little did
he know of the true character of that heavenly Man who stood before him! He knew nothing of
the profound mystery of His being or the object of His heavenly mission. He certainly had not
come from the bosom of the Father to settle lawsuits or to arbitrate between two covetous men.
It was not a question of who was right or who was wrong as to the property. According to Christ’s
pure and heavenly doctrine they were both wrong.

In the light of eternity a few acres of land were of little worth; and as to Christ Himself, He was
not only teaching principles entirely hostile to all questions of earthly possession, but in His own
Person and character He set an example of the very opposite. He did not go to law about the
inheritance. He was "Heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2). The land of Israel, the throne of David, and
all creation belonged to Him, but man would not own Him or give Him the inheritance. To this
the Heir submitted in perfect patience, but by submitting unto death He crushed the enemy’s
power and brought "many sons unto glory" (Heb. 2:10).

Thus we see in the doctrine and practice of the Heavenly Man the true exhibition of the principles
of the kingdom of God. He would not arbitrate, but He taught truth which would entirely do away
with the need of arbitration. If the principles of the kingdom of God were dominant, there would
be no need for courts of law; for inasmuch as people would not be wronged of their rights, they
would have no wrongs to be righted. This would be admitted by all. But then the Christian, being
in the kingdom, is bound to be governed by the principles of the kingdom and to carry them out
at all cost. In the exact proportion that he fails to exhibit these principles, he is robbing his own
soul of blessing and marring his testimony.

Hence, a person going to law is not governed by the principles of the kingdom of God, but by the
principles of the kingdom of Satan, who is the prince of this world. It is not a question as to his
being a Christian, but simply a question as to the principle by which he is governed in the act of
going to law under any circumstances. I say nothing of the moral instincts of the divine nature
which would surely lead one to apprehend the gross inconsistency of a man who professes to be
saved by grace going to law with a fellow-man. Do we not realize that if we had our right_what
we deserve_from the hand of God, we would be burning in the lake of fire? How then can we
insist upon exacting our rights from our fellow-man?

If it be true that in the kingdom of God there is no need for courts of law, then I press it solemnly
upon my reader’s conscience that he, as a subject of that kingdom, is totally wrong in going to
law. True, it will lead to loss and suffering; but who is "worthy of the kingdom of God" who is
not pre-pared to "suffer for it"? Let those who are governed by the things of time go to law; but
the Christian is, or ought to be, governed by the things of eternity. People go to law now, but it
will not be so then; and the Christian is to act now as if it were then. He belongs to the kingdom;
and it is just because the kingdom of God is not dominant, but the King rejected, that the subjects
of the kingdom are called to suffer. Righteousness "suffers" now; it will "reign" in the
millennium; and it will "dwell" in the new heavens and the new earth. Now in going to law, the
Christian anticipates the millennial age. He is preceding his Master in the assertion of his rights.
But the Christian is called to suffer patiently all sorts of wrongs and injuries and injustices. To
resent them is to deny the truth of that kingdom to which he professes to belong. Let this truth
have its full weight upon the reader’s conscience. There is nothing which tends so to hinder the
freshness and power, growth and prosperity, of the kingdom of God in the heart as the refusal to
carry out the principles of that kingdom in the conduct.

It is not so much principles we want, as the grace, the energy, the holy decision, that will carry
them out, cost what it may. We admit the truth of principles which most plainly cut at the very
things which we ourselves are either directly or indirectly doing. We admit the principle of grace,
and yet we live by the strict maintenance of righteousness. Thus at the present day, eloquent
sermons and lectures are delivered and elaborate treatises are written about the principles of grace,
and yet the courts of law are frequented and lawyers are called upon to act in order to assert our
rights. Need we wonder, therefore, that true practical Christianity is at a low ebb among us? What
else could be expected when the principles of the kingdom of God are openly violated?

But is it unrighteous to seek to get our own, and to make use of the means within our reach in
order to do so? Surely not. What is here maintained is that no matter how well defined and clearly
established the right may be, the assertion of that right is diametrically opposed to the kingdom
of God.

FRAGMENT
"Take heed, and beware of covetousness" (Luke 12:15). If love of the world or covetousness slips
into the heart, it checks the power of Christ over the soul and conscience and eats out the practical
life of the Christian so that the soul is withered. This covetous care about earthly things is so
subtle that while there is nothing on which to lay the hand, the practical power of Christian life
in the soul is gone.

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.