The condition of God's people in this life is a mixed
condition. In this life they have . . .
their rejoicing times and their mourning times,
their laughing times and their weeping times,
their singing times and their sorrowing times, etc.
It is true, in heaven there is . . .
all joy and no sorrow,
all gladness and no sadness;
and in hell there is . . .
all sorrow and no joy,
all grief and no gladness,
all howling and no singing,
all madness and no mirth.
But in this present life it is otherwise, for if
there would be nothing but joy, many would
look for no other heaven; and if there should
be nothing but sorrow, most would look for
no other hell. If men should have nothing but
joy—how sadly would they be puffed up! And
if they should have nothing but sorrow—how
easily would they be cast down! But now, by
a divine hand, our sorrows being mixed with
our joys—our hearts come to be the more
effectually weaned from the vanities of this
life, and to long more earnestly after the
pure and unmixed joys in the world of glory.
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Thomas Brooks (1608 - 1680)
Much of what is known about Thomas Brooks has been ascertained from his writings. Born, likely to well-to-do parents, in 1608, Brooks entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1625, where he was preceded by such men as Thomas Hooker, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard. He was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel by 1640. Before that date, he appears to have spent a number of years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet.After the conclusion of the First English Civil War, Thomas Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle's, London, and was sufficiently renowned to be chosen as preacher before the House of Commons on December 26, 1648. His sermon was afterwards published under the title, 'God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright', the text being Psalm 44:18: 'Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way'. Three or four years afterwards, he transferred to St. Margaret's, Fish-street Hill, London. In 1662, he fell victim to the notorious Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and to have preached as opportunity arose. Treatises continued to flow from his pen.[3]
Thomas Brooks was a nonconformist preacher. Born into a Puritan family, he was sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He soon became an advocate of the Congregational way and served as a chaplain in the Civil War. In 1648 he accepted the rectory of St. Margaret's, New Fish Street, London, but only after making his Congregational principles clear to the vestry.
On several occasions he preached before Parliament. He was ejected in 1660 and remained in London as a Nonconformist preacher. Government spies reported that he preached at Tower Wharf and in Moorfields. During the Great Plague and Great Fire he worked in London, and in 1672 was granted a license to preach in Lime Street. He wrote over a dozen books, most of which are devotional in character. He was buried in Bunhill Fields.