"Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his
income." Ecclesiastes 5:10
He who is not contented with a little, will never
be satisfied with much. Money of itself, cannot
satisfy any desire of nature.
If a man is hungry, money cannot feed him;
if naked, money cannot clothe him;
if cold, money cannot warm him;
if sick, money cannot cure him.
A circle cannot fill a triangle; no more can the whole
world fill the heart of man. A man may as soon fill a
chest with grace—as a heart with wealth. The soul of
man may be busied about earthly things—but it can
never be filled nor satisfied with earthly things. There
is many a worldling who has enough of the world to
sink him, who will never have enough of the world to
satisfy him. The more money is increased—the more
the love of money is increased; and the more the love
of money is increased—the more the soul is unsatisfied.
It is only an infinite God, and an infinite good, which
can fill and satisfy the precious and immortal soul of man.
The sum of all that the creatures amount to, according
to Solomon's reckoning, is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Vanity and vexation is the very quintessence of the creature,
and all that can possibly be extracted out of it. Now if vanity
can satisfy, or if vexation can give contentment; if you can
gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles—then go on and
dote upon the world still, and be always enamored with a
shadow of perishing beauty.
Oramuzes the enchanter boasted that in his egg all the
happiness in the world was included; but being broken,
there was nothing in it but wind and emptiness.
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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.