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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 danger of being outwardly holy while lacking true inner holiness, comparing such individuals to Halifax nuts, which are all shell and no kernel. He warns that many present a glorious facade to the world but are abominable in God's sight, highlighting the hypocrisy of those who appear righteous externally but are filled with wickedness internally. Brooks draws parallels to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were outwardly religious yet inwardly corrupt, and cautions that God despises those who masquerade their sins with a guise of holiness. The sermon serves as a stark reminder that true holiness must come from within, lest one face severe consequences in the afterlife.
Halifax Nuts
A man may be visibly holy—who is not inwardly holy. A man may have an outward dress of holiness upon him —who has not the spirit and vitality of holiness in him. They say of Halifax nuts, that they are all shells—with no kernels. Just so, there are many who make a glorious show before men—who are abominable in the sight of God, who are gold in man's eyes—but dirt in God's sight. "In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous; but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." Matthew 23:28 They were outwardly religious—but inwardly wicked; they had the semblance of sanctity—but inwardly very full of impurity; they were fair professors—but foul sinners; they were gracious without—but impious within. Look! as those are the worst of vices which are covered over with the show of virtue; so they are the worst of sinners, who cover over their inward filthiness with the disguises of outward holiness. The Egyptian temples were fair on the outside—but foul and filthy within. Such were the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's days—and such are many professors in our days. God will at last hate that man to hell, yes, cast him into the hottest place in hell—who has a form of godliness upon him; but nothing of the reality and power of holiness in him. "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" Matthew 23:33
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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.