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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 God's discipline serves as a means of instruction, akin to a rod that reveals folly and vanity in His people. He explains that God's corrections are not merely punitive but are intended to lead believers to self-reflection and spiritual growth. Afflictions act as mirrors, helping Christians to identify and rectify flaws in their lives. Brooks highlights that both chastening and teaching are intertwined, as the ultimate purpose of God's discipline is to educate and guide His children towards righteousness.
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His School of Instruction
"The rod is for the back of the one who lacks sense." Proverbs 10:13 The rod is to make the child sensible of his folly and vanity. So it is here: God takes up the rod, but it is to make His people sensible of their folly and vanity; it is to make them look up to Him, and to look into conscience, and to look out to their lives. God's house of correction is His school of instruction: His lashes are our lessons, His scourges are our schoolmasters, His chastisements are our corrections. Hence both the Hebrews and Greeks express chastening and teaching by one and the same word, because teaching is the true end of chastening. Afflictions are a Christian's looking-glass, by which he may see how to dress his own soul, and to mend whatever is amiss.
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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.