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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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Sermon Summary
Thomas Brooks emphasizes that God uses severe providences and fiery trials to purify His people and promote their growth in grace. He illustrates that just as a candle shines brighter when trimmed, believers often flourish spiritually during times of affliction. Brooks reassures that while trials may seem harmful, they ultimately serve to deepen our relationship with God and enhance our holiness. He encourages Christians to embrace their struggles, recognizing that they can lead to greater humility, compassion, and faithfulness. The sermon concludes with the promise that God disciplines us for our good, allowing us to share in His holiness.
Scriptures
Fetch Out the Dirt and Spots
"I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities." Isaiah 1:25 By severe providences and by fiery trials, God designs the growth of His people in grace. Usually the graces of the saints thrive best—when they are under a smarting rod. Grace usually is in the greatest flourish—when the saints are under the greatest trials. The trimming of the candle—makes it burn the brighter. God bruises His spices—to make them send forth the sweeter fragrance. Fiery trials are like the brush, which, though it is sharp and scratching—it makes the cloth more pure and clean. God would not rub so hard, were it not to fetch out the dirt and spots which are in His people. Stars shine brightest in the darkest nights; and so do the graces of the saints shine brightest in the darkest nights of affliction and tribulation. God will sometimes more carry on the growth of grace by a cross than by a mercy. Yes, the Lord will, sooner or later, more or less—turn all fiery trials into blessings for the helping on the growth of grace in His people's souls. Though fiery trials are grievous—yet they shall make us more gracious. Though for the present they appear to harm and damage us; yet in the outcome we shall find that God will turn them into the spiritual and eternal advantage of our precious souls. Thrice happy will afflicted Christians be, if under all their crosses and losses they grow into a more deep acquaintance with God and His holiness; with the vanity, mutability, impotency, and uncertainty of the world; and with the deceitfulness, vileness, baseness, and wretchedness of their own hearts! If under fiery dispensations, we grow . . . more holy than ever, more humble than ever, more heavenly than ever, more meek and lowly than ever, more tender and compassionate than ever, more faithful and fruitful than ever, more patient and contented than ever, then we may be confident that the grand design of God in bringing all those fiery trials upon us, was for His glory, and our own spiritual and eternal good. "God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness." Hebrews 12:10
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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.