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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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Sermon Summary
Thomas Brooks emphasizes that all afflictions and trials serve a divine purpose, working for the good of those who love God. He illustrates how, like a bee extracting honey from bitter herbs, believers can derive sweet lessons, obedience, and experiences from their hardships. Brooks encourages the faithful to view their struggles as opportunities for growth and deeper faith, noting that afflictions can lead to greater spiritual maturity and closeness to Christ. He uses various analogies to show that suffering often leads to the brightest displays of grace and strength in believers. Ultimately, he reassures that God's intention behind every trial is to refine and uplift His children.
Scriptures
Sweet Honey Out of the Bitterest Herbs
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 Consider that all your afflictions, troubles, and trials shall work for your good. Why then should you fret, fling, fume—considering God intends you good in all? The bee sucks sweet honey out of the bitterest herbs; so God will by afflictions teach His children to suck sweet knowledge, sweet obedience, and sweet experiences, sweet humility—out of all the bitter afflictions and trials He exercises them with. That scouring and rubbing, which frets others, shall make them shine the brighter; and that weight which keeps others crushed, shall but make them, like the palm tree, grow better and higher; and that hammer which knocks others all into pieces, shall but knock them the nearer to Christ, the corner stone. Stars shine brightest in the darkest night; torches give the best light when beaten; grapes yield most wine when most pressed; spices smell sweetest when pounded; vines are the better for bleeding; gold looks the brighter for scouring; juniper smells sweetest in the fire; chamomile, the more you tread it the more you spread it; the salamander lives best in the fire; the Jews were best, when most afflicted. Afflictions are the saints' best benefactors to heavenly affections. Where afflictions hang heaviest—corruptions hang loosest. And grace that is hidden in nature, as sweet water in rose leaves, is then most fragrant when the fire of affliction is put under to distill it out. Grace shines the brighter for scouring, and is most glorious when it is most clouded.
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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.