It is clear from the actions and conversation of the sailors this was no ordinary storm. Perhaps it was strangely localised or held them in one spot or by some other means instilled a supernatural fear in them. They discerned the hand of judgment upon them and decided to cast lots and make inquiry of the divine being ‘that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us’. On the verge of death and the edge of hell their desire was to find someone to blame. God in control Again, the overruling hand of God is seen. Proverbs tells us, ‘The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD’. The use of the lot or any…

Jonah was a prophet of God in Israel around eight hundred years before the coming of Christ. He is thought to be amongst the earliest of the named writers whose prophecies we have in our Bible. Jonah is called God’s prophet in 2 Kings 14:25-27. He prophesied the successful recovery of occupied land by King Jeroboam, the son of Joash. Most of what is known of Jonah comes from the book that bears his name. It tells of his calling to preach to the heathen city of Nineveh and his reluctance to do so.

With the Lord Jesus Christ comes all good things. Our Saviour told His disciples, ‘seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you’. What are ‘these things’? All temporal things that are good and necessary for our earthly life. All the blessings of salvation; a hatred of sin, forgiveness of sin, and peace with God. All the blessings of spiritual life; union with Christ, the love of God, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. All the blessings of heaven and eternal glory.

In coming to the world to save sinners our Lord Jesus Christ was not spared humiliation, contradiction of sinners, cruel suffering or the loss of divine fellowship with His Father. He was given as our Substitute and delivered up in our behalf to bear our sins, endure our punishment and die in our place. Substitutionary atonement is a central gospel truth and the Lord Jesus died as our Substitute. The price of our salvation was paid by Christ and our Redeemer bore our grief and carried our sorrow in His own body on the tree.  Knowing your audience Here Paul speaks of ‘us all’. He is referring to all for whom Christ died. The ‘all’ refers to God’s elect whom He foreknew, predestinated, called, justified…

The Apostle Paul has been leading us to consider the high privileges of sovereign mercy granted to God’s beloved people. Step by step he has been showing us the components of covenant grace. Link by link he has revealed the unbreakable chain of divine purpose. God’s great salvation originates in everlasting love and culminates in the church’s eternal glory. Every stage is carefully planned and executed to glorify God, honour the Son and bless the chosen vessels of mercy. 

The Apostle asks his readers, ‘What shall we then say to these things?’ It is a question as to what ‘things’ Paul is referring to. If it is ‘the sufferings of this present time’ in v. 18 then he has shown that for believers our sufferings, while real, are not to be compared to the blessing laid up in store ‘for them that love God’. All things are presently working for our good, even our sufferings, and every element in God’s sovereign plan of grace leads inevitably to our glory. Troubles are real We do not minimise the difficulties our brothers and sisters are called to face in this life. Pain, loss and hardship afflict the Lord’s people along with others. We are prone to…