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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 saving faith elevates a person's perspective, allowing them to view earthly treasures as insignificant compared to the eternal riches of heaven. He argues that true faith leads individuals to disdain worldly pleasures and comforts, recognizing them as mere 'birds' nests' in comparison to the glory of God's grace. Brooks illustrates how faith enables believers to see beyond the temporary, focusing instead on their heavenly inheritance, which makes earthly pursuits seem trivial. He cites biblical examples, such as Moses, who viewed the treasures of Egypt as worthless when compared to the promises of God. Ultimately, faith transforms the heart, leading it to seek a better home in heaven rather than being entangled in worldly desires.
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Birds' Nests
Saving faith will make a man set his feet, where other men sets their hearts. Faith looks with an eye of scorn and disdain upon the things of this world. "What," says faith, "are earthly treasures, compared to the treasures of heaven? What are stones compared to silver; dross compared to gold; darkness compared to light; hell compared to heaven? No more," says faith, "What are all the treasures, pleasures, and delights of this world —compared to the influences of God's grace?" Faith will make a man write 'worthless' upon the best of worldly things; it will make a man trample upon the pearls of this world, as upon dross and dirt, Hebrews 11:24-26. Faith deadens a man's heart to the things of this world: "I am crucified to the world, and the world is crucified to me," says Paul, Phil. 3:8; Gal. 6:14. "This world," says faith, "is not my house, my habitation, my home; I look for a better country, for a better city, for a better home," 2 Cor. 5:1-2. He who is the heir to a crown, a kingdom —looks with an eye of scorn and disdain upon everything below a kingdom, below a crown. Faith tells the soul that it has a crown, a kingdom in reversion; and this makes the soul to scorn the things of this world, 2 Tim. 4:8. The view of Lucian is very interesting, who, going to the top of a high mountain, saw all the affairs of men, and looked on their greatest, richest, and most glorious cities, as little birds' nests! Faith sets the soul upon the hill of God, the mountain of God, which is a high mountain; and from thence, faith gives the soul a sight, a prospect of all things here below. And, ah! how like birds' nests do all the riches, honors, and glories of this world look and appear to those whom faith has set upon God's high hill. Faith set Moses high, it set him among invisibles; and that made him look upon all the treasures, pleasures, riches, and glories of Egypt, as little birds' nests, as molehills, as dross and dirt, as things that were too little and too low for him to set his heart upon. Truly, when once faith has given a man a sight, a prospect of heaven, all things on earth will be looked upon as little and despised.
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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.