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Thomas Brooks
Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680). English Puritan preacher and author born in Glastonbury, Somerset. Likely educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he entered ministry during the English Civil War, possibly serving as a chaplain in the Parliamentary navy. By 1648, he preached in London, becoming rector of St. Margaret’s, New Fish Street, in 1652, where he ministered through the Great Plague and Great Fire of 1666. A nonconformist, he was ejected in 1662 under the Act of Uniformity but continued preaching privately. Brooks wrote over a dozen works, including Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (1652) and The Mute Christian Under the Rod, blending practical theology with vivid illustrations. Known for his warm, accessible style, he influenced Puritan spirituality, emphasizing repentance and divine sovereignty. Married twice—first to Martha Burgess in 1640, with whom he had four sons, then to Patience Cartwright—he faced personal loss but remained steadfast. His sermons drew crowds, and his books, reprinted centuries later, shaped Reformed thought. Brooks’ legacy endures through digital archives and reprints for modern readers.
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Thomas Brooks emphasizes that true assurance in God is accompanied by profound humility, as demonstrated by biblical figures like David, Abraham, Jacob, Job, Moses, and Paul. Each of these individuals, despite their close relationship with God, recognized their insignificance and unworthiness, illustrating that genuine assurance does not lead to pride but rather to a humble acknowledgment of one's smallness before God. Brooks warns against the delusion of presumption, which inflates one's self-worth and leads to spiritual pride, contrasting it with the humility that comes from a true understanding of God's grace.
A Very Little Worm
A well-grounded assurance is always attended with humility. David, under assurance, cries out, "I am a worm and no man!" The Hebrew word which is here rendered worm, signifies a very little worm, which a man can hardly see or perceive. Psalm 22:6. Abraham, under assurance, cries out, that he is but "dust and ashes!" Jacob, under assurance, cries out, "I am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love You have shown to me!" Job, under assurance, "abhors himself in dust and ashes!" Moses had the honor and the happiness to speak with God "face to face;" and yet "Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." Num. 12:3. The great apostle Paul, under all the revelations and glorious manifestations of God to him, counts himself "less than the least of God's people." Eph. 3:8. That is mere presumption, that is a delusion of the devil, and no sound assurance—which puffs and swells the souls of men with pride; which makes men prize themselves above others, above the value which God has put upon them.
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Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680). English Puritan preacher and author born in Glastonbury, Somerset. Likely educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he entered ministry during the English Civil War, possibly serving as a chaplain in the Parliamentary navy. By 1648, he preached in London, becoming rector of St. Margaret’s, New Fish Street, in 1652, where he ministered through the Great Plague and Great Fire of 1666. A nonconformist, he was ejected in 1662 under the Act of Uniformity but continued preaching privately. Brooks wrote over a dozen works, including Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (1652) and The Mute Christian Under the Rod, blending practical theology with vivid illustrations. Known for his warm, accessible style, he influenced Puritan spirituality, emphasizing repentance and divine sovereignty. Married twice—first to Martha Burgess in 1640, with whom he had four sons, then to Patience Cartwright—he faced personal loss but remained steadfast. His sermons drew crowds, and his books, reprinted centuries later, shaped Reformed thought. Brooks’ legacy endures through digital archives and reprints for modern readers.