you when all the mysteries of providence
will be solved. John Macduff, Brief Thoughts
for the Followers of Jesus, 1855. And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose. Romans 8, 28. The scriptures
contain many great and precious promises, and this is one of
the foremost. It is a promise that has wiped
away the tear of sorrow from many an eye. It has proved a
balm to many a bleeding and almost broken heart. It has given to
many a mourner in Zion beautiful ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
and the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Many
have reposed upon its truth, and by so doing have found peace
and joy, they have been enabled to glory in tribulations and
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. The language of the apostle
is particularly decisive. We know, not we suppose, not
we hope, not we trust, but we know. It was not to him a matter
of any doubtful disputation, and neither should it be to us.
God has said it, and let God be true, though all men are liars. we know that all things—oh, how
comprehensive is this, all, nothing whatever is accepted—all things,
temporal and spiritual, prosperous and adverse, health and sickness,
life and earth, and they all work together in the most complete
and beautiful harmony, The various wheels in the great machine of
divine providence may appear to be opposed to each other,
and yet every movement is directed by infinite wisdom, and tends
to the accomplishment of the end proposed. And what is that
end? For good to those who love God. Is the believer cast into the
furnace of affliction? Are all his earthly prospects
blasted? Is the desire of his eyes taken
away with a stroke? Whatever the painful visitation
may be, it is for our good. It is the well-being of the patient
that the physician has in view in the mixing up of his bitter
medicines, so it is the well-being of his people that God has in
view in all his afflictive dispensations towards them. There may be much
in the divine dealings that is above our comprehension, but
what we don't understand now, we shall understand hereafter.
Even should God's inscrutable dealings be shrouded in mystery
as long as we live, Yet in heaven all will be clear. For every
tear we have shed, for every pang we have borne, the needs
be will then be apparent. We shall no longer wonder why
our path was so rugged, why our sin was so often obscured, why
one wave of trouble should have followed another in almost constant
succession. but we shall then bless God for
it all with our whole hearts." After the Saviour had performed
some of His miracles, the people were astonished beyond measure,
and they cried out with one voice, saying, He has done all things
well. Very similar to this will it
be with us in heaven, if through rich and reigning grace we shall
reach that blessed world, when we shall gaze upon the eternal
throne, and him who sits upon it, we shall be astonished beyond
measure. and when the books will be opened,
and when all the mysteries of providence will be solved, and
when the whole of our own history will be explained, and when all
the turnings of the wilderness will be accounted for, and when
all the dangers to which we have been exposed will be made clear,
oh, we shall then be astonished beyond measure. And if its greatness
will allow us to give expression thereto, our adoring cry will
also be, He has done all things well. O believer, cherish high
thoughts of God in all His dealings towards you.