"This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they
increase in wealth. When I tried to understand all this,
it was oppressive to me—until I entered the sanctuary
of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely
You place them on slippery ground; You cast them down
to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely
swept away by terrors!" Psalm 73
When the bodies of the wicked are rotting in their graves,
and their souls are roaring in hell, none of their worldly
greatness, pomp, state, glory, gallantry, riches, houses,
or revenues, shall descend after them to administer one
drop of comfort to them! Therefore never envy their
outward prosperity or worldly glory.
"Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when
the splendor of his house increases; for he will take
nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not
descend with him." Psalm 49:16-17
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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.