"My Beloved is mine, and I am His!" Song 2:16
"I know," says the spouse, "that Jesus Christ
is mine! I can with the greatest confidence
and boldness affirm it. He is . . .
my Head,
my Husband,
my Lord,
my Redeemer,
my Justifier,
my Savior.
And I am His!
I am sure that I am His.
I am His by purchase;
I am His by conquest;
I am His by election;
I am His by covenant;
I am His by marriage;
I am wholly His;
I am specially His;
I am universally His;
I am eternally His!"
A well-grounded assurance will make a man . . .
patient in waiting,
courageous in doing,
cheerful in suffering.
It will make a heaven in a man's heart—on
this side heaven; and make him go singing
into paradise, despite all of life's calamities
and miseries—as he realizes that he is . . .
everlastingly chosen and beloved of God,
that God's heart is set upon him,
that his name is written in the book of life,
that there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness,
and that nothing shall be able to separate him from
Him who is his light, his life, his crown, his all in all.
Ah, Christians! only remember what Christ has done for
you, and what He is still a-doing for you in heaven, and
what He will do for you to all eternity—and you will not be
able to spend your days in whining and whimpering.
Christians, your mercies are greater than your miseries!
One hour's being in the bosom of Christ, will recompense
you for all your trouble and travail on earth! Why, then,
do you spend more time in sighing, than in rejoicing?
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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.