and made them his people; and this distinguishing favour is the true source of their love to him. To this effect both our Lord and his beloved Apostle testify e — To the eternal pur- poses of God, therefore, and not to the inclinations of our carnal minds, must all the good that is in us be traced.]
To persons of this description the Apostle an- nounces,
II. His strange yet assured confidence respecting them —
It is under sufferings that the superiority of the Christian's state is to be seen to the greatest advantage. Of them the Apostle speaks ; and declares that, of whatever kind they be, they shall work for the good of them that love God —
[The Christian ma)' be called to bear the heaviest afflic- tions ; but they shall bring him to consideration, stir him up to prayer, wean him from the world, and lead him to seek his rest above He may be assaulted also with the most dis- tressing temptations ; but these will shew him the evil of his heart, and the faithfulness of his God : they will also teach him to sympathize with his tempted brethren : even death itself will be among the number of the things that shall prove bene- ficial to him. This is the most formidable enemy to fallen man : it cuts him off from all means and opportunities of salvation, and seals him up under endless and irremediable misery ; but to a true Christian it is a most invaluable treasured It puts a period to all his sorrows and temptations, and introduces him to the immediate, everlasting enjoyment of his God.]
Nor can we doubt of this blessed truth —
[The Apostle speaks of it not as a matter of conjecture, but of certainty: as he knew it, so may " we know" it, from the declarations and promises of Godg. Both David and Paul have attested it also from their own experience11 : nor is there any Christian in whom it has not been realized. It is not how- ever singly or separately that all things work for good, but as taken " together" in a collective view. Separately considered, many things may have wrought for evil, by producing sinful tempers or actions ; but when viewed as connected with all their effects and consequences, the most untoward circumstances will be found to have wrought for good.]
This subject naturally suggests,
e John xv. 1G. 1 John iv. 19. f 1 Cor. iii. 22.
e Ps. xxv. 10. h Ps. cxix. 71. Phil. i. 19.