"Their destiny is destruction, their god is their
stomach." Philippians 3:18-19
Intemperance robs men of everlasting happiness and
blessedness. It shuts them out from all the glory of
heaven, and tumbles them down to the lowest hell,
as you may see in that great instance of luxurious
Dives, who was "dressed in purple and fine linen
and lived in luxury every day." The intemperate
man's table proves a snare to his soul.
Intemperant people eat and drink away their Christ;
they eat and drink away their souls; they eat and
drink away their own salvation! Those who serve their
own bellies, serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, and shall
never reign with Him in heaven. Certainly that man
who makes his belly his god, shall be forever
separated from God.
All belly-gods shall at last be found in the belly
of hell! The intemperate person has his heaven here;
his hell is to come. Now he has his sweet cups, his
merry cups, his pleasant cups. Oh, but there is a cup
of shame and sorrow to come! "Upon the wicked he
shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible
tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup." Psalm
11:6. The intemperate person has been a gulf to devour
many mercies, and therefore he shall at last be cast into
a gulf of endless miseries.
How many make their belly their god, and their kitchen
their altar; whose whole felicity lay in eating and drinking,
whose bodies were as sponges, and whose throats were
as open sepulchers to take in all precious liquors, and
whose bellies were as graves to bury God's creatures in!
Augustine well observes that God has not given to man:
claws to tear in pieces—like bears and leopards; nor
horns to push—like bulls and rams; nor
a sting to prick—like wasps, and bees, and serpents; nor
a bill to strike—like eagles and ostriches; nor
a wide mouth to devour—like dogs and lions;
but a little mouth, to show that man should be
very temperate both in his eating and drinking.
How applicable these things are to the luxurious people
who lived within the walls of London before it was turned
into ashes—I shall leave the wise in heart to judge.
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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.