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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 godly sorrow stems from evangelical faith, illustrating that true mourning arises from a heartfelt gaze upon the pierced Christ. He explains that the depth of one's sorrow correlates with the depth of faith, as the more one perceives Christ's wounds, the more one mourns for their sins. Brooks asserts that God's free love and mercy, revealed through Christ, is the source of all genuine sorrow, as it compels the heart to lament over sin. He contrasts the fear of condemnation with the transformative power of witnessing a bleeding Savior, which evokes sincere mourning in the believer's heart.
All Tears of Godly Sorrow Drop From the Eye of Faith
"They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced—and shall mourn." Zechariah 12:10 All godly sorrow is the fruit and effect of evangelical faith. Godly sorrow flows from faith—as the stream from the fountain, the branch from the root, and the effect from the cause. All gracious mourning flows from looking, from believing. Nothing breaks the heart of a sinner like a look of faith. All tears of godly sorrow drop from the eye of faith. Godly sorrow rises and falls—as faith rises and falls. The more a man is able by faith to look upon a pierced Christ—the more his heart will mourn over all the dishonors which he has done to Christ. The more deep and wide the wounds are, which faith shows me in the heart and sides of Christ—the more my heart will be wounded for sinning against Christ. The free love and favor of God, and His unspeakable goodness and mercy manifested in Jesus Christ to poor sinners—is the very spring and fountain of all evangelical sorrow. Nothing breaks the heart of a poor sinner like the sight of God's free love in Christ, the Redeemer. A man cannot seriously look upon the firstness, the freeness, the greatness, the unchangeableness, the everlastingness, and the matchlessness of God's free favor and love in Christ—with a hard heart, or with dry eyes! It is only such a love as this, which sets the soul a-mourning and a-lamenting over a crucified Christ. The fears of wrath, of hell, and of condemnation—works unsound hearts to mourn. But it is the sight of a bleeding, dying Savior— which sets sincere, gracious souls a-mourning.
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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.