All Things For Good - Puritan Paperbacks (Watson)

Thomas Watson’s book All Things For Good provides the biblical answer to the contemporary question; Why do bad things happen to good people?

Thomas Watson, the 17th century minister of St. Stephen’s Walbrook, believed he faced two great difficulties in his pastoral ministry. The first was making the unbeliever sad, in the recognition of his need of God’s grace. The second was making the believer joyful in response to God’s grace. He believed the answer to the second difficulty could be found in Paul’s teaching in Romans 8.28: God works all things together for good for his people.

First published in 1663 (under the title A Divine Cordial), the year after Watson and some two thousand other ministers were ejected from the Church of England and exposed to hardship and suffering, All Things For Good contains the rich exposition of a man who lived when only faith in God’s Word could lead him to such confidence.

Thomas Watson’s exposition is always simple, illuminating and rich in practical application. He explains that both the best and the worst experiences work for the good of God’s people. He carefully analyses what it means to be someone who ‘loves God’ and is ‘called according to his purpose’.

Table of Contents: 

I. THE BEST THINGS WORK FOR GOOD TO THE GODLY 

The attributes of God 

The promises of God 

The mercies of God 

The graces of the Spirit 

The angels of God 

The communion of Saints 

The intercession of Christ 

The prayers of Saints 

II. THE WORST THINGS WORK FOR GOOD TO THE GODLY 

The evil of affliction 

The evil of temptation 

The evil of desertion 

The evil of sin 

III. WHY ALL THINGS WORK FOR GOOD TO THE GODLY 

The reason why all things work for good 

Inferences from this proposition

IV. OF LOVE TO GOD 

The nature of love

The ground of love 

The kinds of love 

The properties of love

The degrees of love. Use: A reproof to those who do not love God 

V. THE TESTS OF LOVE TO GOD

VI. AN EXHORTATION TO LOVE GOD 

An exhortation to become lovers of God – twenty motives for loving God

An exhortation to preserve your love to God 

An exhortation to increase your love to God

VII. EFFECTUAL CALLING 

A distinction about calling

Our condition before we are called 

The means of our effectual calling 

The method God uses in calling sinners 

The properties of this effectual calling 

The end of effectual calling. Use: An exhortation to make your calling sure 

VIII. EXHORTATIONS TO THEM WHO ARE CALLED

Admire God’s free grace

Pity those who are not yet called 

Walk worthy of your high calling 

IX. CONCERNING GOD’S PURPOSE 

God’s purpose is the cause of salvation 

God’s purpose is the ground of assurance 

Author

Thomas Watson (c. 1620-1686) was a Puritan preacher and author during the English Revolution and the Act of Uniformity. Watson’s works are a legacy that have continued to be a blessing to those who love sound, heart-searching exposition of the Scriptures.