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Roman viii. 28
He now leaves us again to try our own resolutions, and anon
we are in darkness. Now all our good promises are forgotten
and we go mourning without the light. But as soon as we feel
our entire dependence on God’s grace, he makes darkness light
before us and crooked things straight. This is something like
the way that the Lord leads us on. Now then, the way that these
things work together for our good is that all our doubts, fears,
darkness, temptation, coldness, barrenness, &c. teach us that
we are saved by faith and not by works; and in every such trial
of our faith we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ, until we can say in truth, with the Psalmist, “The
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth
in his way. Though he fall he shall not utterly be cast down for
the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”
Thirdly, Persecution works for good to them that love God.
When the world and false professors pretend friendship to the
saints, it produces a natural tendency in the latter to conform
to the world; to keep back those truths which are most offensive
to human nature, and to find fault with those who faithfully
advocate and defend them, and especially if they expose the iniquity
of hypocrites. But persecution separates the church from
the world and anti christ. The saints do not expect and therefore
do not try to please the world. It strengthens union among
themselves and weans them more and more from the world.
Finally, All things work together for our good. There are many
things which, in themselves considered, and alone, would be for
the harm of God’s children; yet when they work together with
other things, all result to our advantage. For instance, the case of
Joseph: his dreams, in themselves considered, would have done
but little good or hurt. The intention of his brethren to kill him,
in itself considered, produced very evil consequences, &c. Yet,
when they are worked together, we see that every link was necessary.
If Joseph had not had dreams he could not have told them:
the telling of them moved the envy of his brethren, which resulted
in selling him, &c. In this circumstance we can see how
God makes the wrath of man to praise him, and how he restrains
the rest. Now although the circumstances above are detailed and
we can see how they worked for good to the Israelites, we are not
to doubt God’s overruling hand in every other case, and towards
every one of them that love him. The promise in the text is applicable
to every saint in every circumstance and in every age. Let us
therefore rest upon his promise in every affliction and under every
trial, for if God be for us who can be against us?
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