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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 the transformation of a holy Christian is the greatest miracle, illustrating how God opens the eyes of the blind to see sin and Christ, gives deaf ears the ability to hear His call, and enables the dumb to speak for Him. He describes the once lame who now runs towards God's commands and the dead who are made alive through faith in Christ. This miraculous change reflects a profound shift from a life of sin to one of holiness, showcasing the power of God's grace in a believer's life.
So Blind, So Deaf, So Dumb, So Lame, So Dead
The holy Christian is the greatest miracle. He can tell you that he was so blind—but now God has given him eyes to see sin to be the greatest evil; and Christ to be the choicest good. He can tell you that once he was so deaf—that though God called very often and very loudly to him—by His word and by His works, by His rods at home and by His judgments abroad, and by his Spirit and conscience, which were still a-preaching in his bosom—sometimes life, sometimes death, sometimes heaven, and sometimes hell —yet he could not hear! But now God has given him a hearing ear, so that now he can with delight hear the sweet music of the promises on the one hand; and with a holy trembling listen to the voice of divine threatenings on the other hand. He can tell you that once he was so dumb—that if he might have had the whole world, he could not have spoken a good word for God, nor for His ways, nor for His people, nor for any of His concernments. Oh! but now his tongue is as the pen of a ready writer—and he is never better, than when he is a-speaking either of God, or for God and His concerns. Now he can contend for the faith, and speak for saints. And though in some cases he may lack power to act for God—yet he never lacks a tongue to speak for God. The spouse's lips drop honeycombs in Canticles 4:11. Yes, his tongue now becomes a tree of life, whose leaves are medicinal. He can tell you that once he was so lame—that he was not able to move one foot heaven-wards, nor Christ-wards, nor holiness-wards, etc. But now his feet delight, not only to go—but to run in all the ways of God's commands! Yes, he can tell you that once he was so dead—as to all his soul-concerns. But now he is alive, and the life that he leads in the flesh, is by faith in the Son of God, who has loved him and given Himself for him, Gal. 2:20. It was by a miracle that the Red Sea was driven back; and it is no less a miracle—to see a sinner who was accustomed to do evil—now habituated to do good. That the tide of sin, which before did run so strong —should be so easily turned; that the sinner who, a little before was sailing hellward, and lacked neither wind nor tide to carry him there—should now suddenly alter his course, and tack about for heaven—what a miracle is this! To see . . . an earthly man become heavenly, a carnal man become spiritual, a loose man become precise, a proud man become humble, a covetous man become liberal, and a harsh man become meek, etc., is to behold the greatest of miracles!
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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.