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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 necessity of parental correction in his sermon 'She Hugs Her Young Ones to Death.' He warns that failing to discipline children can lead to their spiritual demise, comparing negligent parents to an ape that hugs its young to death. Brooks cites Proverbs 23:13-14, explaining that the rod of correction is essential to prevent folly and misery in children, and that it is a divine ordinance meant to guide them away from sin. He illustrates the consequences of neglecting this duty through the examples of Eli and David, who lost their sons due to their fondness and lack of discipline. Ultimately, Brooks asserts that true love for a child involves consistent and prayerful correction.
She Hugs Her Young Ones to Death
"Withhold not correction from the child, for if you beat him with the rod, he shall not die. You shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from hell." Proverbs 23:13-14 God uses the rod to prevent further folly, mischief, and misery. It is said of the ape, that she hugs her young ones to death; so many fond parents, by not correcting their children, they come to slay their children. The best way to prevent their being scourged with scorpions in hell, is to chastise them with the rod here. So God takes up the rod; He afflicts and chastises His dearest children, but it is to prevent soul-mischief and misery; it is to prevent pride, self-love, worldliness, etc. The rod is to purge out that vanity and folly that is bound up in the heart of the child. Proverbs 22:15, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." The rod is an ordinance, as well as the word; and such parents who use it as an ordinance—praying and weeping over it—shall find it effectual for the chasing away of evil out of their children's heart. Eli and David were two very choice men, and yet, by their fondness on one hand, and neglect of this ordinance on the other hand, they ruined their sons; and whether they did not undo their souls, I shall not at this time stand to inquire. When Moses cast away his rod, it became a serpent; and so, when parents cast away the rod of correction, it is ten to one but that their children become the brood of the serpent: Proverbs 13:24, "He who spares his rod hates his son; but he who loves him chastens him often." Not only the care, but also the cure of the child—so far as the rod will reach—lies upon the hands of the parent.
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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.