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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 the profound impact of God's omniscient presence on our lives, illustrating how awareness of God's watchful eye can elevate our pursuit of holiness. He draws parallels between the diligence of a student under a teacher's gaze and the believer's conduct when recognizing God's constant observation. Brooks urges that a serious acknowledgment of God's presence should inspire us to strive for higher degrees of holiness, as we cannot deceive the all-seeing God. He concludes that if the awareness of God's scrutiny does not motivate us, nothing else will.
His Window in All Our Hearts
"Does He not see my ways and number all my steps?" Job 31:4 The eye of God had so strong an influence upon Job's heart and life, that it wrought him up to a very high pitch of holiness. The scholar writes most exactly while his teacher's eye is upon him; and the child walks most exactly while his father's eye is upon him; and the servant works most exactly while his master's eye is upon him; and so certainly all the sons and servants of the most high God do hear most exactly, and pray most exactly, and walk most exactly—when they see themselves as in the presence of the great God—who is all sight, who is all eye! Ah friends! as ever you would be high in holiness, have a serious apprehension of God's presence; set yourselves daily as in His sight, as under His eye. Remember, though a man may easily baffle his conscience, and deceive the world—yet he shall never be able to baffle or deceive God's omniscient eye! God has His window in all our hearts, and exactly and narrowly observes all that is done within us, and all that is done by us! If the serious consideration of His sharp, piercing, all-seeing eye will not influence us to labor after the highest degrees of holiness, I know not what will. "I have kept Your precepts and decrees, for all my ways are before You." Psalm 119:168
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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.