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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 while God had only one Son without corruption, all His children face temptation. He explains that temptations serve to mold Christians into the likeness of Christ, as they draw closer to Him through their struggles. The more a Christian is tempted, the more they reflect Christ's qualities such as meekness and holiness. Tempted souls look to Jesus for support, and through this reliance, they experience transformation and growth in their faith. Ultimately, temptations help believers to see sin as more detestable and the world as less appealing.
The More a Christian Is Tempted
God had but one Son without corruption—but He had none without temptation! By temptations the Lord will make His people more and more conformable to the image of His Son. Christ was much tempted—He was often in the school of temptation; and the more a Christian is tempted, the more into the likeness of Christ he will be transformed. The most tempted Christians do most resemble Christ in meekness, lowliness, holiness, heavenliness, etc. The image of Christ is most fairly stamped upon tempted souls. Tempted souls are much in looking up to Jesus— and every gracious look upon Christ changes the soul more and more into the image of Christ. Tempted souls experience much of the succouring of Christ, and the more they experience the sweet of the succourings of Christ—the more they grow up into the likeness of Christ. Temptations are the tools by which the Father does more and more carve, form, and fashion His precious saints into the similitude and likeness of His dearest Son. By temptations, God makes . . . sin more hateful, and the world less delightful, and relations less hurtful.
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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.