Thomas Brooks (1608–1680) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

non-conformist

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...

preacher and author.

Life

Much of what is known about Thomas Brooks has been ascertained from his writings. Born in 1608, likely to wealthy parents, Brooks entered

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

in 1625,See Publisher's Note in ''The Secret Key To Heaven'' (see Works section above) where he was preceded by such men as

Thomas Hooker Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding spea ...

, John Cotton, and Thomas Shepard. He was licensed as a preacher of

the gospel The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...

by 1640. Before that date, he appears to have spent several years at sea, probably as a chaplain with the fleet. After the conclusion of the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

, Thomas Brooks became minister at Thomas Apostle's, London, and was sufficiently renowned for being chosen as preacher before the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

on 26 December 1648. His sermon was afterward published under the title, 'God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright', the text being

Psalm 44 Psalm 44 is the 44th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of ...

:18: 'Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from Thy way'. Three or four years afterward, he transferred to St. Margaret's, Fish-street Hill, London. As a writer C. H. Spurgeon said of him, 'Brooks scatters stars with both hands, with an eagle eye of faith as well as the eagle eye of imagination'.Spurgeon Charles, Preface to ''Smooth Stones, taken from Ancient Brooks'', W H Collingridge, London In 1662, he fell victim to the Act of Uniformity, but he appears to have remained in his parish and preached as the opportunity arose. Treatises continued to flow from his pen.

Works

* ''Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices'', Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (Puritan Paperbacks), first published 1652, * ''The Secret Key to Heaven: The Vital Importance of Private Prayer'', Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh (Puritan Paperbacks), first published as 'The Privie Key of Heaven' 1665, * ''Heaven on Earth: A Treatise on Christian Assurance'', Banner of Truth Trust (Puritan Paperbacks), first published 1654, * ''A Mute Christian Under the Rod'' by Thomas Brooks, Old Paths Gospel Press, Choteau, MT USA * ''The Works of Thomas Brooks'', Banner of Truth Trust, * ''Smooth Stones taken from Ancient Brooks'', by Thomas Brooks and C.H. Spurgeon, Banner of Truth Trust,

References

External links

*
Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 1
Nichol's Series of Standard Divines, Puritan Period, with General Preface by John C. Miller, D.D.; Rev. Thomas Smith, General Editor, Edinburgh, James Nichol, 1866. Titles include: Grosart's Memoir of Brooks; Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices; The Mute Christian Under The Smarting Rod; A String of Pearls
Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 2
Nichol's Series of Standard Divines, Puritan Period, with General Preface by John C. Miller, D.D.; Rev. Thomas Smith, General Editor, Edinburgh, James Nichol, 1866. Titles include: An Ark for All God's Noahs; The Privy Key of Heaven; Heaven On Earth
Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 3
Nichol's Series of Standard Divines, Puritan Period, with General Preface by John C. Miller, D.D.; Rev. Thomas Smith, General Editor, Edinburgh, James Nichol, 1866. Titles include: The Unsearchable Riches of Christ; A Cabinet of Jewels
Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 4
Nichol's Series of Standard Divines, Puritan Period, with General Preface by John C. Miller, D.D.; Rev. Thomas Smith, General Editor, Edinburgh, James Nichol, 1866. Titles include: The Crown and Glory of Christianity
Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 5
Nichol's Series of Standard Divines, Puritan Period, with General Preface by John C. Miller, D.D.; Rev. Thomas Smith, General Editor, Edinburgh, James Nichol, 1866. Titles include: The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures
Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 6
Nichol's Series of Standard Divines, Puritan Period, with General Preface by John C. Miller, D.D.; Rev. Thomas Smith, General Editor, Edinburgh, James Nichol, 1866. Titles include: London's Lamentations; The Glorious Day of the Saints' Appearance; God's Delight in the Progress of the Upright; Hypocrites Detected; A Believer's Last Day His Best Day; A Heavenly Cordial; The Legacy of a Dying Mother
Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks
by Rev. C.H. Spurgeon of the New Park Street Chapel, Southwark - Being a collection of sentences, illustrations, and quaint sayings, from the works of that renowned Puritan, Thomas Brooks, Published by Sheldon & Company, New York, 1860
Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) (Biography) Excerpt from Meet the Puritans
by Dr. Joel Beeke and Randall J. Pederson {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Thomas 1608 births 1680 deaths English Calvinist and Reformed theologians English evangelicals Ejected English ministers of 1662 Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century English Anglican priests