"Moses said unto God—If Your presence does not go
with us, do not send us up from here!" Exodus 33:15
Nothing would satisfy Moses, below the presence of God,
because he knew that it would be better that they should
never move a foot farther—as to go on without God's
favorable presence.
God promised that His angel would drive all their
enemies out of the land. "Oh, but if Your presence
does not go with us—do not send us up from here!"
"Yes, but I will bring the necks of all your proud, stout,
strong, and subtle enemies under your feet!" "Oh, but if
Your presence does not go with us—do not send us up
from here!"
"Yes, but I will bring you to a land flowing with milk and
honey. I will make you to suck honey out of the rock, and
oil out of the flinty rock; and you shall drink the finest
wine!" "Oh, but if Your presence does not go with us—do
not send us up from here!"
"Yes, but I will bring you to the paradise of the world—to a
place of pleasure and delight, to Canaan, a type of heaven!"
"Oh, but if Your presence does not go with us—do not send
us up from here! O Lord, if I might have my wish, my desire,
my choice—I had infinitely rather to live in a barren, howling
wilderness with Your presence—than in Canaan without it!
It is a mercy to have an angel to guard us, it is a mercy to
have our enemies sprawling under our feet, it is a mercy to
be brought into a pleasant land. Oh, but if Your presence
does not go with us, do not send us up from here! Lord,
nothing will please us, nothing will profit us, nothing will
secure us, nothing will satisfy us—without Your presence!"
I have read of the Tyrians, that they bound their gods with
chains—that they might secure them, and not be conquered
by their enemies. And among the rest, they chained and
nailed their god Apollo to a post—that they might be sure
to keep their idol, because they thought their safety was in it.
I am sure of this—that our safety, our comfort, our all—lies
in the special presence of God with us! Therefore let us, by
faith and prayer—chain God to our self! If we let Him go,
a thousand worlds cannot make up His absence!
The heathens in Troy imagined that so long as their idol
was kept safe, they were unconquerable; all the strength
and power of Greece would never be able to prevail against
them. Therefore the Grecians sought by all the means they
could—to get this idol from them.
O my friends, so long as you keep the presence of God with
you—I am sure you are unconquerable! But if God withdraws
His special presence—the weakest enemy will be too hard for
you; yes, wounded men will prevail over you!
The burning bush, which was a type of the Church, was not
consumed—because God was in the midst of it. Oh, do but
keep God's special presence with you—and nothing shall hurt
you, nothing shall burn you! But if God's special presence
departs—nothing can secure you!
"Moses said unto God—If Your presence does not go
with us, do not send us up from here!" Exodus 33:15
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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.