"Deliver him from going down into the pit,
for I have found a ransom!" Job 33:24
"I have found a ransom, or an atonement, a
cover for man's sin. Angels and men could
never have found a ransom; but by My deep,
infinite, and unsearchable wisdom," says God
the Father, "I have found a ransom! I have
found out a way, a means for the redeeming
of mankind, from going down to the infernal
pit, namely—the death and passion of My
dearest Son!"
But where, O blessed God, did you find a ransom?
"Not in angels, not in men, not in legal sacrifices,
not in gold or silver, not in the tears, humblings
and meltings of My people; but in My own bosom.
That Jesus, that Son of My love, who has lain in
My bosom from all eternity—He is that ransom,
who by My own matchless wisdom and singular
goodness, I have found. I have not called a council
to inquire where to find a ransom, that fallen man
might be preserved from falling into the fatal pit of
destruction; but I have found a ransom in My own
heart, My own bosom! Without advising or consulting
with others, I have found out a way how to save
sinners without injuring My honor, justice, holiness
and truth!"
Had all the angels in heaven, from the first day of
their creation, to this very day, sat in serious council
—to invent, contrive, or find out a way, a means,
whereby lost man might be secured against the
curse of the law, hell, condemnation, and wrath to
come; and whereby he might have been made happy,
and blessed forever; they could never have found out
any way or means to have effected those great things.
Our redemption, by a ransom, is God's own invention,
and God's only invention. The blessed ransom which
the Lord has found out for poor sinners, is the blood
of His own dearest Son—a ransom which never entered
into the thoughts or hearts of angels and men, until
God had revealed it!
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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.