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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 for a holy man, death serves as both an outlet from the burdens of sin and suffering and an inlet to the eternal joys and pleasures of God. He describes death as a means of liberation from all earthly troubles, transforming grace into glory and faith into vision. Brooks reassures that death is not an end but a transition to a fuller, more satisfying existence in the presence of God. He encourages believers to view death as a welcome friend that ushers them into eternal life and immortality. Ultimately, he proclaims the victory over death through Christ, as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:54.
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An Outlet and an Inlet
"Death has been swallowed up in victory!" 1 Corinthians 15:54 DEATH is an outlet and an inlet to a holy man. Death is an eternal outlet . . . to all sins, to all sorrows, to all shame, to all sufferings, to all afflictions, to all temptations, to all oppressions, to all confusions, and to all vexations. Death is an eternal inlet into . . . the clear, full, and constant enjoyment of God, the sweetest pleasures, the purest joys, the highest delights, the strongest comforts, and the most satisfying contentments. Death is the funeral of all a holy man's sins and miseries—and the perfection of all his joys, graces, and spiritual excellencies. Death is not the death of the man—but the death of his sin. Death is a Christian's discharge from all trouble and misery! Death came in by sin—and sin goes out by death. Death cures all diseases—the aching head and the unbelieving heart; the diseased body and the defiled soul. Death will cure the holy man of all natural and spiritual distempers. Death is God's gentle usher to conduct us to heaven. Death to a holy man, is nothing but the changing of . . . his grace—into glory, his faith—into vision, his hope—into fruition, and his love—into eternal rapture! Oh, who would not go through death . . . to heaven! to eternal life! to immortality and glory! Death, to a Christian, is . . . a welcome guest, a happy friend, a joyful messenger! "Death has been swallowed up in victory!" 1 Cor. 15:54
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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.