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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 that a believer's last day is their best day, as death brings the soul into a state of eternal rest. He explains that death provides relief from the troubles of labor, afflictions, persecutions, temptations, sin, and sorrow. While in this world, even the godliest believers experience a lack of both temporal and spiritual mercies, but death leads to unchangeable rest and everlasting enjoyment of God. Brooks describes death as a coronation and marriage day for believers, marking their entrance into paradise and the joy of the Lord. Ultimately, he asserts that the day of a believer's death is far better than the day of their birth.
Death Brings the Soul to a State of Eternal Rest
("A Believer's Last Day, His Best Day") Revelation 14:13, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Why? "They will rest from their labor." A believer's last day is his best day! Death brings the soul to a state of eternal rest. Death is . . . a rest from the trouble of our labors, a rest from afflictions, a rest from persecutions, a rest from temptation, a rest from sin, and a rest from sorrow. Now while we are here in this present world, the soul is in a perpetual agitation. The godliest man in the world, who is highest and clearest in his enjoyments of God— either lacks some temporal mercy or spiritual mercy—and will do so until his soul is swallowed up in the everlasting enjoyments of God! Death brings a man to an unchangeable rest! Death is a believer's coronation-day, it is his marriage-day. Death is an eternal rest . . . from sin, from sorrow, from afflictions, from temptations. Death to a believer is an entrance into paradise—into the joy of his Lord. A believer's dying-day is his best day. The day of his death, is better than the day of his birth.
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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.