- Home
- Speakers
- Thomas Brooks
- No Mind Has Imagined
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 the contrast between earthly joy, which is often interrupted by sin, Satan, and afflictions, and the perfect joy that awaits believers in heaven. He describes how, in this life, joy is mixed with sorrow and challenges, but in heaven, believers will experience pure and everlasting joy without any disturbances. Brooks highlights that the joys of heaven are beyond human comprehension, filled with fullness and eternal pleasures at God's right hand. He encourages believers to look forward to the ultimate joy that will encompass every aspect of their being in the presence of God.
No Mind Has Imagined
Surely there is no believer but who finds that sometimes sin interrupts his joy, and sometimes Satan disturbs his joy, and sometimes afflictions eclipse his joy. Sometimes the cares of the world, and sometimes the snares of the world, and sometimes the fears of the world—mar his joy. Here on earth, our joy is mixed with sorrow; our rejoicing with trembling. The most godly have . . . sorrow mixed with their joy, water mixed with their wine, vinegar mixed with their oil, pain mixed with their ease, winter mixed with their summer, etc. But in heaven, they shall have . . . joy without sorrow, light without darkness, sweetness without bitterness, summer without winter, health without sickness, honor without disgrace, glory without shame, and life without death. "In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11 Mark— for quality—there are pleasures; for quantity—fullness; for dignity—at God's right hand; for duration—forevermore. And millions of years multiplied by millions, do not make up one minute of this eternity of joy which the saints shall have in heaven! In heaven there shall be no sin to take away your joy, nor any devil to take away your joy, nor any man to take away your joy! As they shall have in heaven pure joy, so they shall have in heaven fullness of joy. Here on earth all joy is at an ebb—but in heaven is the flood of joy! Here shall be joy above joy, joy surmounting all joy. Here shall be such great joys—as no geometrician can measure; so many joys—as no arithmetician can number; and such wonderful joys—as no rhetorician can utter, had he the tongue of men and angels! Sometimes great crosses, sometimes hard losses, and sometimes unexpected changes—turn a Christian's harping into mourning. Here shall be joy within you, and joy without you, and joy above you, and joy beneath you, and joy about you. Joy shall spread itself over all the members of your bodies, and over all the faculties of your souls. In heaven, your knowledge shall be full, your love full, your visions of God full, your communion with God full, your enjoyment of God full, and your conformity to God full; and from thence will arise fullness of joy. If all the earth were paper, and all the plants of the earth were pens, and all the sea were ink, and if every man, woman, and child, had the pen of a ready writer; yet they would not able to express the thousandth part of those joys which saints shall have in heaven! All the joy which we have here in this world is but pensiveness—compared to that joy which we shall have in heaven. All the pleasure which we have here in this world is but heaviness—compared to that joy which we shall have in heaven. All sweetness which we have here in this world is but bitterness— compared to that joy which we shall have in heaven. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9
- 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.