A mother thrust into single parenthood because of a tragic car accident. A father loses his job. A son or daughter diagnosed with cancer. A tornado eats a city. Yet another school shooting occurs.

All of these circumstances stir us to ask: Where is God in the midst of suffering? Why does he permit affliction? Why do I struggle with sin?

If you’re looking for help with these questions, I recommend Thomas Watson’s All Things for Good. Thomas Watson, a man acquainted with affliction, lost four children in their youth and wrote this book one year after the Act of Uniformity ejected 2,000 pastors from their pulpits, himself included.

All Things for Good is a rigorous exposition of Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (KJV). Watson treats this passage over a series of nine chapters.

Chapters 1-3 focus on the verse’s first part, covering how the best things work, how the worst things work, and why all things work for good. Chapters 4-6 explore the significance of “to them that love God,” examining love itself, the tests of love, and concluding with an exhortation to love. Chapters 7-8 attend to effectual calling, and chapter 9 concludes this discussion by looking at God’s purpose for all good things.

This book merits unhurried and attentive reading; I did not turn a page without stopping to reflect. Watson is rightly regarded as one of the most vivid and engaging Puritan writers, as you will discover. While the style of All Things For Good is impressive, the argument is sublime. Watson exhaustively examines each section of this verse.