Assurance will keep the heart from an inordinate
running out after the world, and the glory thereof.
Moses, having an assurance of the recompense of
reward, and of God's love and favor, could not be
drawn by all the honors, pleasures, and treasures
of Egypt. He slights all, and tramples upon all the
glory of the world, as men trample upon things of
no worth, Heb. 11:24-27.
So after Paul had been in the third heaven, and had
assurance that nothing should separate him from the
love of God in Christ, he looks upon the world as a
crucified thing: "The world is crucified to me," says
he, 2 Cor. 12:1-3, and Rom. 8:38; "and I am crucified
unto the world," Gal. 6:14. The world is dead to me,
and I am dead to it: the world and I am well
agreed—the world cares not a pin for me, and I
care not a pin for the world.
I have read of Lazarus, that after he was raised
from the grave, he was never seen to smile. The
assurance that he had of more glorious things,
deadened his heart to the things of this world;
he saw nothing in them worthy of a smile. Ah!
were there more assurance among Christians,
there would not be such tugging for the world,
and such greedy hunting and pursuing after it, as
is in these days, to the dishonor of God, the
reproach of Christ, and the shame of the gospel.
So when God gave Galeacius, that Italian marquis,
an assurance of everlasting happiness, he withstood
many golden temptations, and cried out, 'Cursed be
he who prefers all the glory of the world to one
day's communion with Christ!'
Be the first to react on this!
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.