- Home
- Speakers
- Thomas Brooks
- God's Bag And Bottle
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 care God has for our sorrows and sins, illustrating that God keeps a record of our iniquities in a bag and collects our tears in a bottle. He reflects on how God meticulously notes every sorrow and sigh, particularly highlighting David's struggles while fleeing from Saul. Brooks encourages believers to fill God's bottle with tears of repentance, recognizing that every tear is precious and accounted for. The sermon serves as a reminder of God's intimate involvement in our lives and His compassion towards our pain.
God's Bag and Bottle
"My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and You sew up my iniquity." Job 14:17 "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book." Psalm 56:8 God counted all those weary steps that David took in passing through those great forests, when he fled from Saul. While David was hunted up and down like a partridge, and chased out of every bush, and was driven from one country to another—God was all this while, a-noting down and a-numbering of all his sorrows, and a-bottling up all his tears, and a-booking down all his sighs! Not a single tear of mine is ever lost, but kept safe in God's bottle—as so much sweet water. God is said in Scripture to have a bag and a bottle: a bag for our sins, and a bottle for our tears. And oh that we would all labor to fill His bottle with our tears of repentance, as we have filled His bag with our sins!
- 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.