1. A flood of quality.
2. A (food of estate.
Quest. Now therefore what kind of good is this the apostle meaneth ?
Ans. He doth not here mean the natural or civil good estate of them that love God, but their spiritual condition in grace, and their glorious estate for the life to come ; for the furthering whereof, whatsoever befalls them in this life shall help forward still.
And thus much for the words themselves.
Doct. The first point to be spoken of is, the excellent jnivilerie of God's children, ' that all things shall work together for the best ;' both good and evil shall turn to their happiness. The reason stands thus : ' All things shall work together for the best to them that love God.' Therefore all afflictions, crosses, and vexations whatsoever, that betide such persons, shall work together for their good ; and for this cause all God's servants must learn patiently to bear, and cheerfully to undergo poverty or riches, honour or dishonour, in this world.
That all good things do work for the best to God's servants, is most apparent by daily proof and experience.
1. To begin with the first chief good of all, which is God the Father, mho is goodness itself, and unspeakably confortahle to all his. Do not all God's attributes conduce to our eternal welfare ? Is he not set forth in Scripture under the sweet name of a * Father,' of a ' Shield and Buckler,' of a ' Tower of defence,' of an ' all-sufficient and almighty God,' ' just, wise, provident, merciful,' full of boundless compassion, and all to support his poor creatures from failing before him ?
As he is our ' Father,' he is careful of us above the care of earthly parents to their children ; as he is a ' Shield,' so he shelters us from all wrongs ; as he is ' God almighty and all-sufficient,' so his power and bounty serve to
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sustain us in this world, and reserve us for ever safe in the world to come. His ' wisdom' makes us wise to prevent the politic plots of the devil or wicked men ; liis justice and providence, they serve to defend us in our right, to provide for us in all our wants, and prevent the evils of the un- godly intended against us ; his power is ours, to keep us ; his providence, to dispose all things for our advantage. Everything in God shall co-work to provide and foresee all good for us, and mercifully to impart and bestow whatsoever is behoveful upon us. So that God being our Father, we have right and title to his love, mercy, power, justice, truth, faithfulness, pro- vidence, wisdom, and all-sufficiency : all which ' shall ever work together for the best to them that love his appearing.'
2. So for Ji'sas Christ, the eternal So)l of God. All his glorious titles and attributes serve likewise for the everlasting comfort of his poor saints on earth. He is called the ' husband of his church,' to cherish and maintain the same. His love unto his church is far above the love of any husba'nd to his wife. He is called the ' Saviour of the world,' because he ' so loved the world, that he gave his life for it,' Gal. ii. 20, and hath promised, ' that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish,' 2 Peter iii. 9. He is called the ' Fountain of life,' the ' Well of life,' the ' Water of life,' the ' Bread of life,' the ' Way, the Truth and the Life,' because that in him is our life, and by him we are fed and nourished to eternal life. Here in him we obtain the life of grace, and in the world to come shall for ever enjoy the life of glory.
3. So likewise for the Hoh/ Ghost. What heavenly attributes are ascribed to him in the Scriptures ! He is called ' the Comforter' of God's servants ; the' Sealer of the redemption of God's children in their hearts. He teacheth the elect to call God Father ; he ' beareth witness with their spirits that they are the sons and daughters of God ;' he teacheth them * to pray as they ought ;' ' he fills them with peace that passeth all under- standing,' and refreshes their spirits with such unspeakable joy as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the like.* He that is instructed by the Spirit knoweth the things of God, which a natural man is ignorant of. The Holy Ghost doth call to remembrance the doctrine of God taught unto his ser- vants, and writes the same in their hearts ;t so that the operations of the blessed Spirit are all appropriated to them that ' love God,' and they alone have their right in them. The direction, comfort, teaching, and guidinc of the Spirit of God do serve entirely and peculiarly to order and work all things together for the best to the godly.
4. Yea, the angels themselves are called ' messengers and ministering spirits,' appointed by God to attend and wait upon his servants. ' He gives his angels charge over these, to serve them in all their ways, and to pitch their tents round about them,' Ps. xxxiv. 7. Whensoever God pleaseth to call any of his out of this world, the angels are a safe conduct, to carry their souls into ' Abraham's bosom.' And at the ' last judgment,' the Lord shall send forth his angels ' to gather his elect,' Mat. xxiv. 31, from one end of the world to the other, that they may fully enjoy that which they have long waited for, even eternal bliss and glory.