Puritan Paperbacks - All Things For Good

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

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