Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 56:224 (Oct 1899)
Article: Government And Atonement
Author: Archibald Eugene Thomson

BSac 56:224 (Oct 1899) p. 689

Government And Atonement

Rev. Archibald Eugene Thomson

That God’s direction of the universe is the direction of a ruler admits of no question with those who have read nature or the Bible with any care. In the natural world we are encompassed on every side by laws which are rigidly enforced, and which we break at our peril. Through the entire Old Testament God assumes the title and authority of a judge and a ruler, and he is so addressed and spoken of by men. Abraham said, “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?”1 In the wilderness, God, as a ruler, gave to Israel a code of laws. David said, “Yea, the Lord sitteth as king forever.”2 Jeremiah said, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting king.”3 In the New Testament, the “kingdom of God” and “the kingdom of heaven” were strikingly prominent in the preaching of John the Baptist and of Jesus, and appear frequently in the writings of the apostles. Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come”; Paul, in an inspired and inspiring apostrophe, said, “Now unto the King eternal, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever,”4 and John saw God, as a ruler, administering justice to the world. The kingdom of God was largely the theme of Christ’s conversation with his disciples during the momentous interval between his resurrection and ascension.5 Whatever God’s relation to those who since their creation have heartily obeyed his

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will may be, his relation to those who are disposed to disobedience must always be the relation of a governor to subjects.

There are certain characteristics which, of moral necessity, belong to a good government; and, as God’s rule will certainly be perfectly righteous and wise, we are justified in affirming with certainty these qualities concerning his government. They are demanded by reason; they are the simplest applications of the moral law; and they are necessary to intelligent thought concerning God’s government. Like time relations of God, it may be affirmed that he is free from them, but, constituted as we are, we cannot think of God without them. Further, these features are not only demanded by reason, but are shown by Scripture actually to belong to the divine government. It will be profitable briefly to review them.

1. The Purpose of a Government.—The purpose of a good government is to keep the governed in proper b...