- Home
- Speakers
- Thomas Brooks
- How So?
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 profound nature of God's covenant of grace, which He established out of His mercy to save mankind from eternal loss. This covenant assures that God will be our God, providing us with His attributes for our benefit, including grace, power, wisdom, goodness, mercy, and glory. Brooks highlights that this covenant is everlasting, with God promising never to turn away from doing good to His people, while also instilling a reverent fear in their hearts to ensure they remain faithful. The glory of this covenant lies in God's commitment to fulfill all that He requires from us, transforming our hearts and spirits to align with His will. Ultimately, it is a divine assurance of our eternal happiness and relationship with God.
How So?
All mankind would have been eternally lost, had God not, of His own free grace and mercy, made a covenant of grace with poor sinners. "They will be My people, and I will be their God." Jeremiah 32:38 This is a comprehensive promise, for God to be our God—it includes all. The covenant of grace is an agreement, which God has made with sinful man, out of His mere mercy and grace, wherein He undertakes for fallen man, to make him everlastingly happy. God engages that He will be our God; that is, as if He said, "You shall have an interest in all My attributes for your good: My grace shall be yours to pardon you, My power shall be yours to protect you, My wisdom shall be yours to direct you, My goodness shall be yours to relieve you, My mercy shall be yours to supply you, My glory shall be yours to crown you." "I will make an everlasting covenant with them; that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear into their hearts— that they shall not depart from Me." Jer. 32:40 The covenant of grace is everlasting on God's part, and also on our part. On God's part, "I will never turn away from them to do them good." And on our part, "they shall never depart from Me." How so? "I will put My fear into their hearts—that they shall not depart from Me." That they shall persevere, and hold out to the end—I will so deeply rivet a reverent dread of Myself in their souls—as shall cause them to believe, love, repent, obey, cling and cleave, and keep close to Me forever. O sirs! this is the glory of the covenant of grace— that whatever God requires on man's part, that He undertakes to perform for man! "I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances." Ezek. 36:25-27
- 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.