- Home
- Speakers
- Thomas Brooks
- A New Heart And A New Spirit
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.
Download
Topics
Sermon Summary
Thomas Brooks emphasizes the transformative power of God in giving believers a new heart and spirit, as described in Ezekiel 36:26-27. He explains that a true child of God finds joy and delight in obeying God's laws, as they are written on their hearts. This inner transformation leads to a natural aversion to sin and a deep love for spiritual practices such as prayer and meditation. Brooks highlights that genuine obedience is not burdensome but rather a source of pleasure for those who have received God's grace. The sermon encourages believers to embrace their new identity in Christ and the joy that comes from living according to His statutes.
Scriptures
A New Heart and a New Spirit
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances." Ezekiel 36:26-27 A true child of God has the law of God written, not only in his understanding—but also in his heart and affections. And this is that which makes his obedience to be pleasing and delightful to him. If he might be free from the injunctions and directions of the word—he would not value such a liberty. He would not swear, nor lie, nor be drunk, nor whore, nor dissemble, nor cheat, nor run into all excess of riot if he could—because in his soul he has a principle of grace, and an inward contrariety and antipathy against evil. He would not cease to hear, to read, to pray, to meditate if he could—because his soul takes a pleasure and sweet delight in these things. There is a principle within him agreeable to the precepts of Scripture, which makes all pious performances to be easy and pleasurable to him. Look! as the eye delights in seeing, and the ear in hearing, so a gracious heart (except when it is under a cloud of desertion, or in the school of temptation, or under some grievous tormenting afflictions, or sadly worsted by some prevalent corruption) delights in obedience.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
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.