Communion with God is that which will make you stand
fast, and triumph over all enemies, difficulties, dangers,
and deaths. Communion with God will make a man as
courageous and bold as a lion, yes, as a young lion
which is fearless of any creature.
Communion is a reciprocal exchange between Christ
and a gracious soul. Communion is Jacob's ladder,
where you have Christ sweetly descending down into
the soul—and the soul by divine influences sweetly
ascending up to Christ.
Communion with God is . . .
a shield upon land,
an anchor at sea,
a sword to defend you,
a staff to support you,
balm to heal you,
a cordial to strengthen you.
High communion with Christ will yield you two
heavens, a heaven upon earth, and a heaven
after death.
He enjoys nothing, who lacks communion with God.
He lacks nothing, who enjoys communion with God.
Therefore above all gettings, get communion with
Christ; and above all keepings, keep communion
with Christ. All other losses are not comparable to
the loss of communion with Christ. He who has lost
his communion, has lost his comfort, his strength,
his all, and it will not be long before the Philistines
capture him, and put out his eyes, and bind him
with fetters of brass, and make him grind in a
prison, as they did Samson, in Judges 16:20-21.
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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.