- Home
- Speakers
- Thomas Brooks
- The Best Way To Be Holy
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
Sermon Summary
Thomas Brooks emphasizes that the path to holiness begins with a deep, heartfelt mourning over one's own unholiness and sinfulness. He urges believers to reflect on the nature of their sins as offenses against a holy God, leading to genuine repentance and sorrow. Brooks highlights that true holiness is achieved through self-indictment and a sincere desire to seek God's mercy and grace. He warns that those who do not mourn for their sins in this life will face eternal regret in the next. Ultimately, he reassures that those who mourn will find comfort in God's forgiveness.
The Best Way to Be Holy
"Turn to the Lord with weeping and with mourning." Joel 2:12 The best way to be holy is to accuse, indict, arraign, and condemn yourself for your unholiness. Greatly lament and mourn over your own unholiness, over your own wickedness. The first step to holiness, is melting and mourning over a man's own unholiness. Go to your closet, and fall down before the most high and holy God, and mourn bitterly over . . . the unholiness of your nature, the unholiness of your heart, the unholiness of your affections, the unholiness of your intentions, the unholiness of your resolutions, the unholiness of your expressions, the unholiness of your life. Oh, who can look upon sin . . . as an offence against a holy God, as the breach of a holy law, as the wounding and crucifying of a holy Savior, as the grieving and saddening of a holy Sanctifier, as an eternal loss and undoing of his own soul— and not mourn over it? Oh, who can cast a serious eye . . . upon the nature of sin, upon the exceeding sinfulness of sin, upon the aggravations of sin— and not have . . . his heart humbled, his soul grieved, and his spirit melted for sin? Oh, who can look upon sin as it strikes at . . . the honor of God, the name of God, the being of God, the glory of God, the design of God— and not have . . . his mouth full of penitential confessions, his eyes full of penitential tears, and his heart full of penitential sorrow? The Christian mourns that he has sinned against . . . a God so great, a God so gracious, a God so bountiful, a God so merciful. Oh, how should a sinner fall a-weeping when he looks upon the greatness of his wickedness and his lack of holiness! As ever you would be holy, mourn over your own unholiness. Those who weep not for sin here—shall weep out their eyes in hell hereafter. It is better to weep bitterly for your sins on earth, than to weep eternally for your folly in hell. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4
- 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.