Watson wants you to know up front; although good might come out of evil, evil remains evil: “Do not mistake me; I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good” (Watson 25) As to their origin, these things are “fruit of the curse”, meaning despite their antiquity, they are an imposition and not natural to humanity. So how are these invaders going to be set to fruitful labour? “though they are naturally evil, yet the wise over-ruling hand of God disposing and sanctifying them, they are morally good.”
On the face of it, and depending on one’s life experience, the assertion that the evils of life are working together for good may or may not ring true. Watson wants us to consider the complexity of the macro; he points to the contrary ‘elements’ in nature which have been divinely tempered for the good of the universe – “Or as in a watch, the wheels seem to move contrary one to another, but all carry on the motions of the watch: so things that seem to move cross to the godly, yet by the wonderful providence of God work for their good.”
“Do not mistake me; I do not say that of their own nature the worst things are good”
Thomas Watson
But what sort of thing does he have in mind and for whom are they supposed to work? To the former point, Watson says “Among these worst things, there are four sad evils” which are Affliction (by which he means sickness, grief and the like), Temptation (towards selfish and immoral actions), Desertion (being abandoned or rejected) and Sin (personal failure committed by oneself or by others). These are the genres of evil which he will examine as to how they produce good.
To the latter question, we must remember here that he is building upon Saint Paul’s words in Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” So it is ‘those who love God’ (some translations say ‘the Godly’ but that’s probably a bit grandiose not to mention misleading – take it from one who loves God; loving God and being godly are not always synonymous) in whom he observes this ‘working of evil for good’ actually taking place. Now, that is not to say those who would not self-describe as those who ‘love God’ should find no wisdom in what he will go on to say: Perhaps one who would ‘love to love God’ or just recognises how others benefit from belief but has not, for whatever reason, developed those feelings themselves, will still benefit from eavesdropping upon Watson’s thoughts. You can suspend judgment. Like someone auditing a course, you can hear the reasoning for the thing, and forgo the final examination.